New Jersey high school football opening weekend continues with Friday night action. JSZ has three exciting match-ups from around the state, plus bonus coverage of Wayne Hills in action in South Carolina.
Cedar Creek 24 Willingboro 20
The Pirates pulled off a statement win to open the season, against the defending Central Jersey Group 1 champion Chimeras. Cedar Creek senior QB Louis Barrios ran for a touchdown and connected with sophomore WR Jojo Bermudez for a score. Purdue commit Malachi Melton returned a punt for a touchdown in what proved to be the game-winning score. Ah-Shaun Davis threw three touchdown passes for Willingboro in the loss, two of them going to Temple recruit Chris Long.
JSZ’s Mike Frankel has the highlights from Egg Harbor City:
Pleasantville 27 Salem 18
The Greyhounds fell behind 12-0 early before battling back to take down the Rams. Freshman QB Marlon Leslie showed great poise in his debut for Pleasantville, as he rushed for a touchdown and connected with Zahir Washington for a score. Keon Henry and Ernest Howard also found the endzone for The Ville. Kaciir Street made a 94-yard touchdown catch and rushed for another score for Salem in the loss.
JSZ’s Mike Frankel has the highlights from Pleasantville:
DePaul 52 Pope John 28
The first game in the Andrew Butler era at DePaul couldn’t have been much better. Butler threw for 343 yards and four touchdowns while also adding in another score on the ground. West Virginia tight end commit Charles Finley found the end zone twice, along with senior tailback Sean Kelly. DePaul head coach John McKenna secured his 100th career win in the victory.
JSZ’s Jay Cook has the highlights from Wayne:
Ridge View (SC) 12 Wayne Hills 0
After opening last season in Utah, Wayne Hills went out of state once again this time to Columbia, South Carolina and a matchup with Ridge View High. The Patriots had some NFL support on the sidelines as Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen came from Charlotte to support his high school alma mater. Ridge View took a 6-0 lead into the half on a Cincere Scott TD and added one more score to pick up the win. Wayne Hills returns to NJ and gets ready for a showdown with rival Wayne Valley in Week 1.
