By BRIAN TORTELLA
Correspondent
On X @tortreports
WOOLWICH TOWNSHIP — Kingsway Regional High senior Justin Sanchez knew the Dragons haven’t had the best of luck against state-power Cherokee recently.
He got to experience what it was like to be eliminated from the state playoffs by the Chiefs twice in his high school career — a loss in the South Jersey Group 4 semifinal his freshman year, and a heartbreaking first-round defeat last year.
He used those losses as fuel and motivation, scoring a goal and adding an assist to lead Kingsway to a 3-1 upset Tuesday afternoon over Cherokee, ranked No. 20 in the state by nj.com.
“It was a great team win, we’ve been putting in the work a lot,” he said. “Cherokee, they’ve gotten to us the last couple of years. I’m just glad that the full team can come together, get some goals, and finally put something in the back of the net. The last four years they’ve just been kicking our butts, so I’m happy we could get a win against them.”
After a scoreless first half, junior Dom Nguyen gave the Dragons (3-2, 1-0 Tri-County Royal) a 1-0 lead 4:40 into the second with his first career varsity goal. Sanchez’s strike, also the first of his career, put Kingsway up 2-0 in the 50th minute. Josh Failbus scored Cherokee’s lone goal on a free kick in the 72nd minute, but it was too little, too late for the Chiefs (2-1-1, 1-0 Olympic American).
Said Kingsway coach Derrick Brewer: “(Sanchez) is really stepping up, and that’s what we expect out of him. He’s a three-year varsity guy. He really showed his potential and his ability today, and I’m really proud of him.”
For Nguyen, this season is his first on the varsity field as he played JV his first two years. With that noted, he said it felt extra sweet that he was able to make a major impact on Tuesday.
“It’s my first goal, so I’m really excited about it,” said a smiling Nguyen. “I just got on varsity, so I really wanted to win the game, so I just got out there and tried.”
Coach Brewer was thrilled with the way his squad played on Tuesday against a solid Cherokee team that outscored Seneca and Lenape by a 4-0 margin and tied with Princeton, No. 5 in the state, last week.
“It was a huge result for us, he said. “Cherokee is always one of the best programs in South Jersey, so we always respect and love playing them. It’s huge for these guys’ confidence.”
“I think some of them definitely had a chip on their shoulder,” he continued when asked if last year’s loss in the playoffs gave the Dragons any extra motivation. “Getting another crack at them, and we’re sure we’ll run into them at some point again. Our game plan — especially with our strength of schedule — is just get to halftime. If we have a 0-0 result, that’s a positive. To go out and make it a 40-minute game, these guys controlled it.”
Logan Theodore added a goal for Kingsway, which is trying to keep pace with undefeated Washington Township (3-0-2, 1-0) in the Tri-County Conference Royal Division. Kingsway hosts the Minutemen to close out September, but before that the Dragons have a tough stretch including Delran and GCIT, and road games at Williamstown and Haddonfield.
WHAT’S NEXT: Cherokee travels to Cherry Hill East on Thursday at 3:45 p.m. Kingsway hosts Delran on Thursday at 4:15 p.m.
Contact Brian Tortella: btortreportssj@gmail.com.
