The West Jersey Football League Royal Division will be an interesting race between teams that are building their programs.
Only one of the seven teams (Pitman) put together a winning season in 2023, but as many as four teams could compete for the division title this fall.
Pitman and Clayton, longtime Thanksgiving Day rivals since their first meeting in 1925, are expected to battle for the Royal Division penthouse. The Panthers won last year’s meeting 29-13, sinking the Clippers for the first time since 2020.
Former Colonial Conference foes Gateway, Haddon Township and Sterling will look to make a jump into the upper portion of the division.
Mastery will get its first crack at competing in division play in the WJFL.
Mark the Calendar
Gateway at Haddon Township, Sept. 5, 4 p.m. Two old school Colonial Conference foes will renew acquaintances on a Thursday afternoon. Gateway kicked off its first season under head coach Andrew Daley with a 19-0 victory over HT at the Swamp last August.
Players to Watch
- Clayton: Marcus Fowler, senior, G/DT; Demetris Williams, senior, RB/DB
- Gateway: D.J. Binck, junior, WR/DB; Dylan Cruet, WR/DB; Anthony Hewitt, junior, DB
- Gloucester Catholic: Carlos Mendez, senior DB; Kybron Ricks, senior, DB
- Haddon Township: Will Conover, senior, OL/DL
- Pitman: Tyler Morrone, senior, RB/DB; Trey Tinges, senior, WR/DB
- Sterling: John Crawford, senior, OL; Jaden Davis, junior, RB/LB.
- Mastery: Jahmere Johnson, senior; Jaiden Steele, junior.
New Coach
Brandon Bather takes over the Mastery program in Camden, replacing Troy Still. Bather is the second coach in program history. Still led Mastery for the first two seasons.
Predicted Order of Finish
- Pitman
- Clayton
- Haddon Township
- Gateway
- Gloucester Catholic
- Sterling
- Mastery
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 preview: Royal Division Players to Watch, predictions
Local News
Comments / 0