Group 4 Semifinal Preview: Brick Memorial vs. Winslow Township
WHO: Brick Memorial (10-2) at Winslow Township (10-2)
WHEN: Saturday, Nov. 22, at 1 p.m.
WHERE: Winslow Township High School, 10 Cooper Folly Rd, Atco
BRICK MEMORIAL’S ROAD TO THE GROUP SEMIFINALS: Defeated Marlboro 57-7; defeated Steinert 40-7; defeated Middletown North 28-0.
WINSLOW TOWNSHIP’S ROAD TO THE GROUP SEMIFINALS: Defeated Cumberland 56-0; defeated Shawnee 47-7; defeated Millville 53-14.
Brick Memorial quarterback Jason Lajara will try to find the end zone against the best defense the Mustangs have faced all season. (Photo by Patrick Olivero)
ANALYSIS
Brick Memorial is the heaviest underdog of any public school team in the Group semifinals this weekend.
The Mustangs are coming off their first state sectional title in 17 years and face a star-studded Winslow Township team that is the defending Group 4 champion. The Eagles have won 23 straight games against public school opponents and are widely considered the top public squad in the state. Their only losses are to national power IMG Academy of Florida and state power Bergen Catholic.
The good news is Brick Memorial has an offense that should at least give them a shot to hang in there against the Eagles.
The Mustangs average 35 points per game behind Offensive Player of the Year candidate Jason Lajara, a dynamic dual threat quarterback with nearly 3,000 total yards of offense this season, and senior wideout Nyzier Matthews, one of the state’s best.
Senior running back Nazeer Whittaker has also had a big season with more than 1,300 yards of offense. He is coming off a game where he had a rushing touchdown and a kickoff return for a score in a 28-0 win over Middletown North in the sectional final. Junior wide receiver Shawn Fowler, junior tight end Joe Livio, senior tight end Trey Tallmadge and senior wideout Ricky Dillon are all playmaking threats.
Millville did hit two touchdown passes of 70-plus yards against Winslow Township last week, so there are at least some tiny cracks in the armor.
Brick Memorial senior WR/DB Nyzier Matthews and the Mustangs will try to shock the state’s top-ranked public school program. (Photo credit: Bob Badders | rpbphotography.com)
One advantage Winslow has that most teams that face Brick Memorial do not is that the Eagles can match up with the Mustangs’ explosive wideouts in man-to-man coverage. Most teams are not deep or skilled enough to go one-on-one with Matthews, Fowler and Co., so they play zone, but Winslow can go toe to toe. Towson recruit Ka’Ron Ali took an interception 84 yards to the house in the win over Millville in the sectional final, senior Julian Peterson has multiple Power 4 FBS offers and sophomore Matt McNair has 49 tackles and a pair of interceptions.
Winslow allows 8.5 points per game, and no public school has scored more than the 14 Millville scored in a 53-14 loss in the sectional final. Lajara will also have to deal with a fierce pass rush led by senior Rob Carstarphen, one of the state’s best defensive linemen, who has 12 sacks and 17 tackles for a loss. Junior linebacker Ausar Heard is another FBS prospect, and junior LB/DE Benji Carter had a pick-six in the win over Millville. Carter also has eight sacks, and junior Camaj Matthews has 10.5.
The other side is where it’s an especially tall order for Brick Memorial. Winslow’s offense has some of the best players in the state running the show. The Eagles average 38.1 points per game – 41 vs. public schools – and have not been held under 47 in the playoffs.
Junior Jalen Parker is on pace to become New Jersey’s all-time leader in passing yards and touchdown passes. He has 103 career touchdown passes already and 7,282 career passing yards. He has 2,874 yards and 36 touchdown passes this season.
His top wideout is North Carolina recruit Nyqir Helton, a senior who has 53 catches for 1,132 yards and 16 touchdowns this season, the last of which is a school record. He has 38 touchdown catches in his career. UConn recruit Quayd Hendrix is another target with 665 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns, and sophomore TJ Maddox (29-473-6) is yet another FBS prospect in the receiving corps. It’s as loaded as it gets for a public school.
Brick Memorial’s defense, which allows 16.3 points per game, is coming off its first shutout of the season. The unit is led by Tallmadge, one of the Shore’s top defensive players and the program’s all-time leading tackler. The senior linebacker and Sacred Heart recruit missed a large chunk of the season with a hamstring injury but has made a strong return in the postseason. Senior linebacker Mike Pappas is the team’s leading tackler and junior defensive lineman Jaxon Pacheco is a solid pass rusher, but much of this will come down to how well Brick Memorial can cover Winslow’s receivers.
A potentially marquee matchup could be Matthews at corner against Helton, so that is one to watch. This is the definition of what I would call a “film game,” where players on an underdog team who want to prove they are FBS- or FCS-caliber recruits match up against a team loaded with scholarship players and show whether they are on that level, too.
The Mustangs will make the drive to Atco and take their shot.
The pick: Winslow Township, 41-20
Scott Stump is the football editor and a reporter for Shore Sports Insider. He first started covering Shore Conference football in 1999 and has covered basketball, baseball and seemingly every other Shore Conference sport at some point.
Email: scottstump25@gmail.com
