WJFL preview: Memorial Division Players to Watch, predictions
Football in prime time is coming to the Eastside of Cherry Hill for the first time.
Could a divisional title also be on its way?
The Cougars finished one game off the pace behind Florence in the Classic Division title race last season.
More: Football 2024: Check out all our content for the South Jersey high school season
East, which has gone 11-9 over the last two seasons combined, appear ready to take the next step. The Cougars have plenty of experience and skill returning, including one of the area’s top running backs in Denzel Lee.
There will be plenty of competition for the top spot in the Memorial.
Triton, Egg Harbor Township and Deptford will look to work their way up the standings and keep an eye on Atlantic County Tech. The Red Hawks may be a first-year varsity program, but they’ve had two years of seasoning on the junior varsity level.
Bridgeton will look to end a 17-game losing streak and are looking for its first win since 2021.
Mark the Calendar
Vineland at Atlantic County Tech, Sept. 7, 1 p.m. It’s the first varsity football game in the history of the ACIT Red Hawks. It’s the first debut for a usually Cape-Atlantic League-based team since Cedar Creek kicked off its program in 2011.
Players to Watch
Cherry Hill East: Denzel Lee, senior, RB; Dominic Tomasetti, senior, DL
Deptford: Keon Ebanks, senior, WR/DB; Najee Johnson, senior, OL/DL
Egg Harbor Township: Maximus Cocci, sophomore, TE/LB; Xavier Cocci, sophomore, QB; Matthew Kaelble, senior, OL/DL
Triton: Braydon Lewis, junior, WR/DB; Ryan Morley, senior, RB/DB
New Coaches
Dom Williams returns home to Bridgeton. A star running back for the Bulldogs and later at Wagner, Williams landed his first head coaching gig with his alma mater. He takes over for Steven Lane, who led the program for six seasons.
Chris Mancuso will lead Atlantic County Tech on its maiden voyage. A Holy Spirit grad, Mancuso started the Red Hawk program in 2022 getting their sea legs on the junior varsity level.
Predicted Order of Finish
Cherry Hill East
Triton
ACIT
Egg Harbor Township
Deptford
Bridgeton
Tom McGurk is a regional sports reporter for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and Burlington County Times, covering South Jersey sports for over 30 years. If you have a sports story that needs to be told, contact him at (856) 486-2420 or email tmcgurk@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @McGurkSports. Help support local journalism with a digital subscription
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: WJFL Memorial Division preview: Players to Watch, predictions
