Washington Twp. wins share of conference title

Behind an alert defense and the passing of junior Mike Piperno, the Washington Township High School football team stunned host Williamstown 28-7 in a West Jersey Football League American Division game.

The win provided the Minutemen with a share of the division title with Cherokee and avenged a 21-0 loss to the Braves (9-2) in a South Jersey Group 5 quarterfinal game.

The Minutemen (6-4) took an early lead on Dyllon Headley’s 6-yard TD run and a 35-yard interception return by Cooper Bentz.

Holding a 14-7 lead heading into the fourth quarter, Piperno took over, hooking up with Nick Grosso for touchdown passes of 52 and 44 yards as Washington Township took an 11-6-1 lead in the series.

•Cherokee 14, Seneca 12: Marquese Holmes’ 7-yard touchdown and a 25-yard TD pass from Jake Bodine to Stephan Gervasi, along with a pair of kicking PATs by Ethan McCarren, were enough offense for the Chiefs in an interdivisional game. Kevin Gsell kicked field goals of 25 and 37 yards for Seneca, which trails in the series 11-2.

•Florence 41, Riverside 20: Scoring twice within 90 seconds allowed the Flashes to take control of the game.

Joey Foga barged into the end zone from six yards out, followed by a 32-yard fumble return by Jeff Korinko in second quarter to spark Florence. Foga added another score, hauling in a 5-yard pass from Cameron Phillips with 11 seconds remaining as Florence took a 27-12 into the locker room at the half.

•Palmyra 49, Burlington City 6: It was the Max Smyth to Kelvin Harmon show as the pair hooked up for three touchdown passes to power the Panthers to a 35-6 lead at the break.

Leading 7-6 after the opening quarter, Palmyra (10-1) broke the Freedom Division game open, scoring 28 second-quarter points within a five-minute span. After Smyth found Harmon open for TD passes of 53, 11 and 23 yards, Elijah Karnjay closed out the scoring spree with a 71-yard scamper down the left sideline. Smyth tossed four TD passes, while Danny Kay nailed all seven of his kicking PATs for Palmyra, which holds a 55-46-12 edge in the series. Karnjay carried the ball six times for 138 rushing yards as the Panthers captured the division title.

•Bordentown 48, New Egypt 14: Xander Sommers caught touchdown passes of 65 and 36 yards, while Kevon McClary rambled into the end zone from 49 and 31 yards to lead the Scotties to ownership of the traditional Thanksgiving Day Trophy.

New Egypt, which holds a 9-6 lead in the series, averted a shutout on a 23-yard fourth-quarter touchdown reception by Matt Mansure and Chris Terszcyn’s 26-yard TD run.

•Cinnaminson 41, Delran 16: Cinnaminson spotted the Bears a 9-0 lead before roaring back with 41 unanswered points. Leading the charge was quarterback Shaun Davilla, who rushed for touchdowns of 37, 4 and 1 yard, finishing the game with 82 yards on 15 carries.

Rashad Raymond carried the ball 11 times for 109 yards and a 43-yard TD as the Pirates gained a share of the Liberty Division title and increased its series edge to 13-11 with the win.

•Pemberton 22, Northern Burlington 20: Behind the arm of Joe Benson, Pemberton claimed the Commander’s Cup.

Benson connected on 22-of-33 passes for 280 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Antoine Wilson and Dezmen Johnson. Benson also tossed a two-point conversion pass to Taro Gaither for what proved to be the decisive points following a 2-yard TD run by Robbie Forchion. Dave Fladger caught a 9-yard TD pass from Scott Senachi late in the fourth quarter to bring the Greyhounds to within two points, but a two-point conversion attempt failed.

•Timber Creek 65, Triton 14: After a scoreless first quarter, the Chargers overwhelmed their district-rival as Devin Leary completed 8-of-12 passes for 166 yards and a 5-yard touchdown to Walter Lewis. Lewis scored again on a 1 yard run, while Shane Pease scored twice on runs of 45 and 5 yards.

Dominic Staiano was a workhorse for the outmanned Mustangs, rushing for 198 yards, including a 50-yard TD run, on 27 carries. Timber Creek retained the Turkey Bowl Trophy and a 9-5 edge in the series.

•Kingsway 20, Clearview 14: The Dragons, on the strength of a 24-yard fumble return by Jay Scerbo, a 6-yard touchdown by Anthony Seas and a 20-yard TD pass from Peter Orio to Shaune Oates, took a 20-0 lead into the locker room at the half.

The Pioneers rallied with a pair of third-quarter TDs – a 3-yard run by Jarett Baker and a 5-yard pass from Baker to Alex Rucci – but were unable find the end zone again as Kingsway recorded three interceptions. Seas rushed 27 times for 138 yards as the Dragons took possession of the Kingsway-Clearview Coaches Trophy and a 20-9 lead in the series.

•Salem 16, Woodstown 14: Shareef Jefferies took the Rams offense on his back, having a hand in all 16 points. Jefferies scored both TDs on runs of 2 and 10 yards, passed to Ray Bentley for a two-point conversion and ran in for the winning points on a 2-point conversion as Salem took the Woodstown-Salem Classic Ttrophy, increasing its series lead to 58-35-10.

•Clayton 33, Pitman 8: The Clippers defense rose to the occasion, returning three interceptions for touchdowns. Anthony Pasquale had a 20-yard INT return, while Premire Wilson took an interception to the house from 70 yards and Michael Gibson recored an 85-yard interception return. Pasquale’s TD, along with a 75-yard scoring strike from Kwenzel Hannah to Elijah Rehm, plus a safety, gave Clayton a 14-0 halftime lead and the Turkey Day Trophy. Despite the defeat, Pitman holds a 59-27-4 lead in the series.

•Gloucester 27, Gloucester Catholic 7: With the Memorial AA City Series Trophy at stake, the Lions scored a pair of fourth-quarter TDs to turn back winless Gloucester Catholic.

Chris Rodriguez caught a 60-yard pass from Andrew Burkhardt, their second TD pass of the game, and Vincent DiGiacomo scored his second touchdown of the game from 3 yards out to secure the win. DiGiacomo finished the game with 242 yards rushing on 23 carries as Gloucester evened the series at 20-20-1.

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•Schalick 22, Cumberland 14: The Cougars (3-7) won their third straight game to claim the Neighborhood Game Trophy.

A 6-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter by Kason Barrett, his second of the game, followed by a Ethan Clark kicking PAT provided the deciding points. Jael Hernandez intercepted a pass with under two minutes remaining to seal the victory for Schalick which leads the series 10-4.

•Glassboro 42, Deptford 7: Isom Golden scored on touchdown runs of 6 and 24-yards, while A.J. Kittles caught a 15-yard TD pass from Jamir Jenkins and returned a fumble 60 yards for a score to power the Bulldogs (6-6). Dan Guerin was 6-for-6 in kicking PATs as Glassboro leads the series 14-8-1.

•Pennsville 29, Penns Grove 12: The Eagles took possession of the Norm Willey Boot as Brennan Rieco scored a pair of third-quarter rushing TDs. Logan Johnson kicked 32- and 36-yard field goals, and added three PATs for Pennsville (10-1). PJ Halter and Matt Widmaier combined to connect on 16-of-22 passes for 212 yards, while Nicholas Bard carried the ball 21 times for 173 yards and a TD.

Defensively, the Eagles were led by Ryan Simpkins with 10 tackles and Robbie Saulin with eight tackles and two sacks. Despite the loss, Penns Grove leads the seies 29-26-4.

•Rancocas Valley 48, Burlington Twp. 21: The Red Devils (6-5), behind a pair of Ricky Jones 1-yard plunges into the end zone, scored the final 36 points of the game to take a 4-0 lead in the series. After Jones’ TDs, Iverson Clement returned an interception 57 yards into the end zone followed by Jeff Konzelman’s 19 yard TD and a 14-yard run by Marc Sykes.

•Bishop Eustace 29, Pennsauken 28: Kevin Brandt barged into the end zone twice from a yard out and Trystin Golowski nailed three kicking PATs to lead the Crusaders (7-4). After closing the gap to 29-28 in the final minute of the game on a 53 yard touchdown pass from Andrew Goshine to Martin Booker, Pennsauken elected to go for the win, but the two-point conversion run fell short.