By BRIAN TORTELLA
Correspondent
On X @tortreports
btortreportssj@gmail.com
Mike Wilson enjoys the challenging task of rebuilding a football program from the ground up.
And if his track record has shown us anything, he’s the perfect man for that job.
Back in 2020, Wilson took the head coaching position at Arthur P. Schalick High and in his first season the Cougars finished with an 0-7 record and were outscored 317-47.
It didn’t take long for him to turn the program around, though, as he guided Schalick to a 30-14 record over the next four seasons — including two sectional final appearances.
He transformed the Cougars from a winless team at the time he started to one of the best Group 1 squads in the region by the end of his tenure.
After departing Schalick this offseason as the winningest coach in program history by percentage (.588), Wilson is ready for a similar challenge as the new head coach at Clearview Regional.
The Pioneers had one of the worst seasons imaginable in 2024, finishing with an 0-8 record and being outscored 348-13. Yeah, you read that right: 13 total points.
Most coaches who see a team with a recent history like that wouldn’t think about touching that program. But for Wilson, the opportunity intrigues him. And he already believes his squad has a head start.
“I love the challenge,” said Wilson, a 2000 Lower Cape May Regional High graduate. “It’s similar, but it’s different (reflecting on his start at Schalick compared to Clearview). The reason why is five years ago we had the pandemic. That 2020 season at Schalick, it wasn’t really a season because we had no offseason and no summertime. We have a real good jump start here, so I like where we’re at right now.”
Wilson, who has previous coaching experience at St. Augustine Prep, Lower Cape May, Oakcrest and Mainland Regional, , and served as head coach at Middle Township from 2010 to 2011 before his time at Schalick, recruited several of his former assistant coaches to help transform the Pioneers’ football program.
Among them is Special Teams Coordinator Frank Amar, who’s been alongside Wilson for much of his journey since he began at St. Augustine in 2004.
“We’ve coached at six different schools together, so at this point we’re kind of a pair,” said Amar, who teaches at the Pineland Learning Center in Vineland. “The kids have been great. They’re eager to learn and they’re willing to put the work in. We’re looking for growth. Our goal is to get one percent better every day. In every aspect — effort, execution — and I think if we can do that, we’ll show some growth this year. It’s a building process for the future. I mean, we’re under no illusions. We’re not looking to win a state championship this year. But if we show improvement over last year and we build on that for the future, I think we’ll be in good shape.
“We understand it’s going to be a long process, but we’ve done it before, and we’re willing to do it again.”
Other coaches who followed Wilson from his past stints include Secondary Coach Matt McCluskey and Defensive Coordinator Steven Contento.
Wilson, a current Middle Township resident and high school history teacher at the Cape May County school, commutes more than two hours per day to Mullica Hill — a one-hour-plus, 56-mile one-way trek — and that’s without shore traffic.
“When you grow up in Cape May County like I did, you learn from a very young age you drive to go anywhere,” Wilson said. “So, when I was a kid growing up, the closest mall was 45 minutes. When you live down there, people drive all the time — you have to. It’s a part of life down there.”
For Wilson, the drive is well worth it.
“Having that opportunity to coach at a school like (Clearview) with the support, the community and all those things — you can’t beat it,” he said. “So, driving doesn’t bother me, and it never has.”
Perhaps that sentiment is wearing off on his oldest daughter, Kinsley, who’s entering her junior year and will attend Clearview in the fall. Wilson’s wife of 18 years, Danielle, is a teacher in the Upper Pittsgrove Township School District, where their youngest daughter, Kerragan, will attend.
However it doesn’t matter how long the drive is for the Wilsons.
The mileage will be well worth it when the Clearview Regional High football program is resurrected. The Pioneers went 7-3 and made the state playoffs in 2019 but have had just one winning season since.
It might not be easy, but if Wilson’s past is any indication, Clearview fans might not have to wait long to see their team rise again.
Wilson said he is here to win now.
“I told the kids I’m here to win, and that’s what we’re going to do,” he said. “And we’re going to put our best effort every week. I think there’s going to be a vast improvement from Week 1 on.”
HERE’S A LOOK AT CLEARVIEW’S 2025 SCHEDULE
August 28 vs. Cumberland Regional, 7 p.m.
Sept. 4 vs. Bridgeton, 7 p.m.
Sept. 12 at Cherry Hill West, 6 p.m.
Sept. 19 vs. Highland Regional, 7 p.m.
Sept. 26 vs. Vineland, 7 p.m.
Oct. 3 at Cherry Hill East, 6 p.m.
Oct. 10 vs. Kingsway Regional, 7 p.m.
Oct. 17 at Eastern Regional, 6 p.m.
Oct. 23 at Pennsauken, 6 p.m.
