West Jersey Football League Games of the Week, Week 3

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With as much football action as our Great Garden State has this coming weekend within the high school ranks, here are a handful of games – and as a fan what I am looking for in each one – throughout the West Jersey Football League this weekend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Be sure to follow me on&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/BrendanScoutsNJ">Twitter</a>&nbsp;for the latest New Jersey high school football prospect news and not miss a beat!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Thursday, September 18</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Riverside (3-0) at Burlington City (3-0)<br><br>The Riverside Rams are absolutely rolling. After "faltering" in a 40-6 victory to open the season, they went on to defeat their next two opponents by a combined score of 88-0. Opposing them are is host Burlington City, who most recently hung up 60 points on the road at Pemberton. This ought to be an interesting matchup and a good gauge for each team.<br><br>The Rams like to get things done on the ground and are putting much faith in a young sophomore, [player_tooltip player_id='1893358' first='Terence' last='Barnes']. Barnes leads all ball carriers with 37 attempts for 438 yards, and 5 touchdowns, while adding a punt return score, interception, and 2 tackles for loss to his ledger. It is worth noting that the Rams also have two other ball carriers with 20 attempts and four total with double-digit touches. A playmaker on defense appears to be [player_tooltip player_id='1893360' first='Jayden' last='Harris']. The junior lineman has made 12 stops so far - good for second on the team - while leading the team with 5 tackles for loss and 2 sacks. Additionally, he has forced and recovered a fumble.<br><br>As is not the case with many high school teams, Burlington City has been awfully balanced in their offensive approach. [player_tooltip player_id='1543892' first='Donte' last='Davis'] leads the way offensively. His 60 carries are 51 more than his next closets teammate. The workhorse back has milled 550 yards and 9 scores so far with that voluminous workload. Nearly matching Davis yard-for-yard is quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='910850' first='Mason' last='Shansey']. Shansey, a junior, has thrown for 504 yards on 32-50 passing with 3 scores and 3 picks; he has also slashed 8/49/2 on the ground. Should Burlington City get up early, look for [player_tooltip player_id='1893368' first='Malachi' last='Sadler'] to have a breakout game defending the pass. To go along with his 12 tackles, Sadler leads the team with 2 interceptions. Additionally, he leads the team with 14 receptions and 269 yards with 1 score as a receiver.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Friday, September 19</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Northern Burlington (3-0) at Delran (3-0)<br><br>Things are good in Burlington. Between City and Northern, the teams are a combined 6-0 and cooking with gas. On the heels of a 35-7 victory, Northern Burlington heads to Delran, who is also 3-0 - albeit a stylish 3-0 - who has rolled through their schedule with a combine score of 97-7. <br><br>Three players on Delran have been absolutely balling to start their season. Under center, [player_tooltip player_id='1547356' first='Vinny' last='Sacca'] has gotten it done on the ground and through the air. As a thrower, Sacca is 25-41 for 434 yards with 5 touchdowns and 1 pick, adding 169 yards and 3 scores on the ground on 24 attempts. Delran's leading rusher is [player_tooltip player_id='1893369' first='Nick' last='Pean'], who just slightly outpaces Sacca with his 33/173/3 stat line thus far. However, when they Sacca drops back to throw, [player_tooltip player_id='1225963' first='Justin' last='Mary'] is who he targets. Mary, by far, leads Delran in all receiving categories, slashing 12/262/4.<br><br>Chomping at the bit to slow down Delran are several defenders from Northern Burlington. [player_tooltip player_id='1893373' first='Josh' last='Melton'] will look to add to his team-leading 3 sacks and make plays behind the line of scrimmage. [player_tooltip player_id='1043512' first='Danny' last='Greene'], a linebacker, does a great job of getting over the top as he leads the way with 24 tackles. Meanwhile, [player_tooltip player_id='1523195' first='Josiah' last='Ruttley'], who flanks Greene in the defense's second level, is on his heels with 20 tackles, but has shown to make disruptive plays, having recorded a sack, a fumble recovery, and an interception.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Winslow (1-2) at St. Augustine (3-0)<br><br>Despite a losing record at this point, Winslow has really challenged themselves this season by taking on national powers IMG Academy and Bergen Catholic. Both were lopsided losses; however, the Eagles ought to be battle-tested and ready to roll as their conference schedule. Their first step is a 3-0 St. Augustine team who has beaten opponents by a combine score of 85-14. How will the early-season lumps from the school of hard knocks fair against, arguably, the best remaining team on Winslow's schedule?<br><br>The ball gets spread around well in Winslow, but what caught my eye is that the departure of former running back [player_tooltip player_id='909525' first='Roman' last='Duckett'] might be leaving a bigger hole than expected. As a result of his commission from the roster, [player_tooltip player_id='606231' first='Nakeem' last='Powell'] appears to have been trusted into the running back role. As a result, Powell has gone 20/140/2 as a rusher, while also managing to be tied for the team lead in receptions (13). Those 13 hauls have yielded 139 yards and 1 score. Adding to Powell's versatility, he has scored 3, two-point attempts and has turned 5 punts into 212 yards. Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='910875' first='Jalen' last='Parker'] must be more careful with the ball. Already with 6 picks on the year, he has already surpassed his freshman total of 3, while he is quickly approaching his sophomore year total of 10. [player_tooltip player_id='1141042' first='Mekhi' last='McNair'] is an unfamiliar name on Winslow that we ought to acquaint ourselves with. McNair currently leads the Eagles in tackles with 21 (12 solo) and has a pick. Meanwhile, fellow sophomore Kameriin Walters is off to a strong start too, making 17 tackles (11 solo) with a sack. <br><br>For St. Augustine to come out victorious their defense ought to come up big. Ohio State-bound [player_tooltip player_id='829432' first='Damari' last='Simeon'] must, and ought to, have an impact on their game plan. Simeon leads the team in sacks (2.5) and tackles for loss (8). With as much attention Simeon warrants, [player_tooltip player_id='1267894' first='Chase' last='Shealey'] might spring loose to add to his 1.5 sacks and 2 tackles for loss - the same can be said for [player_tooltip player_id='1279669' first='Akeem' last='Jones Jr.'] (4 tackles for loss). However, the key for St. Augustine might be to get more production out of [player_tooltip player_id='1264830' first='Nick' last='Costa']. A standout camp performer who got serious recruiting attention, Costa has had a slow start with just 4 tackles and 1 tackle for loss. Turn Costa loose: game changes.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Sterling (3-0) at Gateway (3-0)<br><br>In one final matchup this weekend from the WJFL, two more undefeated teams link up with one thing certain: one of these teams will be undefeated no more. For visiting Sterling, they have scored 41-, 48-, and 37 points while only allowing 13... in just one of those contests. Meanwhile, Gateway has had offensive output of 29-, 33-, and 35 points and allowed just more than one score in only one game.<br><br>With only 16 passing yards and 1 completion on the season, it is as clear as the sky is blue that Gateway prefers to run the ball. Look to [player_tooltip player_id='1893378' first='Aidan' last='Barbato'], senior, and [player_tooltip player_id='1893381' first='Lamar' last='Smith'] to lead the way. Barbato has gone for 8 scores and 497 yards on the ground in 41 attempts; while smith compliments him nicely iwth 221 yards and 3 scores of his own on 26 carries. Smith is the team's leader in tackles with 15 (12 solo) and has intercepted 2 passes - one of which he took to the house. [player_tooltip player_id='1893380' first='Kingston' last='Lomanno'] also gets his licks on defense, tying Smith in tackles with 15, while also leading the Gators with 3 sacks and 6 tackles for loss. To his credit, he also has recovered a fumble.<br><br>A much more balanced attack, Sterling seems to have option 1a and 1b playing off of each other well when they drop back to mass. [player_tooltip player_id='1893465' first='Jayden' last='Ali-Ward'] seems to be the possession receiver. Ali-Ward currently leads the team in receptions with 10 for 97 yards and 2 scores. Should Sterling need a big play, they seem to look to [player_tooltip player_id='1893467' first='Tyheem' last='Sallie']. Sallie's slash line is 7/202/3, with his longest reception being a 94 yarder. For as much as Gateway likes the run the ball, look for [player_tooltip player_id='1893470' first='Will' last='Nicholas'] to have an impact and be a focal point for the offensive line. Nicholas has only 8 tackles on the year, but his 8 total tackles have all behind the line of scrimmage (3 sacks, 5 tackles for loss).</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list -->