Old school Burlington County Scholastic League fans will recognize this new division right away as it is made up of six Delaware River schools that made up the traditional Freedom Division team with the addition of Lawrence from Colonial Valley Conference.
With rivalries that stretch back as far as the two 1911 games between Burlington City and upstart Palmyra, the new National figures to feature top notch matchups week after week.
Florence is the lone returning division champion after the most recent WJFL realignment. The Flashes won the Classic last fall.
Mark Your Calendars
Burlington City at Florence, Sept. 26, 6 p.m. The top two programs in the newly formed National play in a series dating back to 1942 and played out over the year in the Burlington County Scholastic League for the last nine decades. Florence won the Classic Division last year while City was second in the Freedom.
Players to Watch
Bordentown: Roger Chapdaloine, senior OL; Tahji Hill, junior LB; Ari Miller, senior.
Burlington City: Dymear Hill, junior WR; Daman Johnson, senior DL; Malachi Sadler, junior DB.
Florence: Brendon Boucher, senior OL; John Dodge, senior PK; Nick Hiros, senior OL; Damian Ricketts, senior RB; Darien Woody, senior RB.
Palmyra: Stephen Hankey, senior LB; John Latimore, senior QB.
Pemberton: Anthony Carter, senior RB; EJ Zapata Smalls, senior DL.
Riverside: Isaiah Ali-Lewis, junior LB; George Brandon, senior OL; Chase Perry, junior OL.
New Coaches
Joe Frappolli Jr., Florence. No new coach has ever had a more complete preparation for his new post. Replacing iconic Joe Frappolli Sr. after his 50-year stint with the Flashes has been a life-long process for the younger Frappolli.
Zep, as Frappolli Jr. is known, has spent a lifetime on the Florence sidelines and is more than ready for his first season as head coach.
Sean Scott, Palmyra. Scott steps into a program that went 54-55 over the previous 11 seasons under retired coach Jack Geisel. The Panthers closed out the season with an eight-game losing streak, which will be the first challenge for the new coach.
Projected Finish
Florence
Burlington City
Riverside
Bordentown
Maple Shade
Pemberton
Lawrence
Tom Rimback grew up reading the Burlington County Times and Courier Post sports sections and began writing for the BCT in 1996. He has covered everything from Super Bowls and Final Fours to Tri-County Swimming but he’s happiest on a sideline interviewing South Jersey scholastic athletes. Follow him on twitter @Rimbacksports. Email him with story ideas at tomrimback@gmail.com and, most importantly, support local journalism with a subscription to the Courier Post.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: WJFL preview: National Division Players to Watch, predictions
Most Popular
Comments / 0