Holy Cross Prep football takes another big step, clinches a share of division title

DELRAN – TJ Maderia walks through the football tunnel every day and reads a sign on the wall.

“It says: 'Those who stay will be champions,'” the head coach of the Holy Cross Prep Academy football team said.

“In today’s day and age, if you don’t get your way or if things aren’t going right, people leave or they quit. These kids never did that for me and this program. It made me think about how special this team really is.”

And for these Lancers, the message on the sign held true. They are champions.

The team locked up at least a share of the West Jersey Football League United Division title with a 19-12 victory over KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy on Friday night at Tom Reilly Stadium.

Holy Cross improved to 7-1, including a 5-0 mark in the division. The Lancers can clinch the title outright with a win at Lindenwold next Friday.

It’s the first divisional title since they shared the Liberty crown with Cinnaminson and Willingboro in 2017. The program’s last outright division title came in 2014 when the Lancers went 10-1.

“Over the years, we definitely had our ups and downs, but this year we decided it was time to prove people wrong,” senior two-way lineman CJ Pearce said. “We put the work in and we got the chance to show what we've got on the field.”

Senior Manny Doku added, “Winning the (division) title means a lot. We knew this year was going to be our year. When we looked at the schedule, we knew we could compete with every team on it. The difference for us is all about want. We wanted it. My guys have been in the weight room the whole offseason, getting ready. We’ve done the 6 a.m. lifts and practice until 8 p.m. every night for this right here.”

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After Maderia took over the program in 2020, the Lancers won nine games combined over the first four seasons. Now, the squad has its first winning season in six years.

“Look at where we were four, five years ago and we were winning one or two games a season,” Maderia said. “These guys stuck with it. They put in the hard work to get to this point.”

Lancers’ D helps pin down another win

Holy Cross has surrendered just 51 points in its eight games this season (6.4 points per game) and the defensive unit put together another stellar showing.

The Lancers forced three takeaways, two that led to touchdowns for the offense.

“The numbers say it all,” Maderia said about the Lancers’ D. “They lifted. They listen. It’s fun to watch, they just make plays.

Junior Christian Shio recovered a fumble deep inside KIPP territory and he scored on the next play from scrimmage as the Lancers took a 6-0 lead in the first quarter.

At the end of the first half, Anthony D’Ambrosio picked off a pass and sent the Lancers deep into KIPP territory again. Four plays later, Doku hauled in a 15-yard pass on the final play of the first half for a touchdown and a 19-6 lead at the intermission.

One play after KIPP had a touchdown called back because of a penalty, senior Bernie Wojtkowiak recorded an interception in the fourth quarter.

It was Senior Night for Holy Cross, a bittersweet moment for those players, who likely played their final home game.

“It’s sad. I’m really going to miss it,” said Pearce, who recorded two sacks in the game.

Senior quarterback Will Updike, who entered the game with a Burlington County-best 1,036 passing yards, threw for 87 more and his 11 ^th passing TD of the season.

KIPP Academy fell to 5-3, but the Titans continued to show how far they have come in the very short three-year history of the program.

Xyere Brooks rushed for a touchdown in the first half and Jykhai Boyd took a short pass from Davion Ross-Ways and raced 28 yards for another score late in the game.

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: Holy Cross Prep football takes another big step, clinches a share of division title