By MARK TRIBLE

South Jersey Glory Days Senior Football Writer

On X @Mtrible

MILLVILLE — Let there be no doubt, South Jersey. Your No. 1 high school football team is Winslow.

The Eagles proved that in every possible manner on the road at Millville on Friday night. In a matchup of the top two teams the South Jersey Football Frenzy Show Best 11, coach Bill Belton’s squad started fast and kept up the pace with a 35-7 rout of the No. 1 Thunderbolts.

“I’m extremely proud,” Belton said. “I try to pride them on just showing up and playing.

“At the end of the day, people can talk, fans can talk, other teams can talk. It doesn’t matter. We’ve got to still show up and play. That’s what we did tonight.”

With all local eyes on the matchup as both teams entered unbeaten, Winslow (5-0, 2-0 West Jersey Football League American) quickly muted the pregame chatter. By the fourth quarter, though, the green-and-white had ratcheted the volume back up.

The loud noises were all chants from the visitor’s bleachers and the band that accompanied those fans.

Friday’s first snap foreshadowed what the misty night had in store.

On a reverse, the Thunderbolts (4-1, 1-1 WJFL American) put the ball on the turf. Four plays later, Jalen Parker scrambled around and found Nakeem Powell for a 17-yard score.

“That was the spark,” Powell said. “That fired me up. We’ve been ready, we’ve been planning for this game since the start of the season.”

The two parts of the connection both proved pivotal for the victors. Parker threw four touchdowns. Powell became the lead tailback in the second half. He fell forward time and time again as the Eagles milked the clock.

While that duo did plenty, star senior Cam Miller may have been the most impressive player of the night. He made a play on 4th-and-17 to start the second half that proved an eventual knockout punch.

It loomed large as Winslow had dominated the first half, yet only held a 14-7 edge at intermission. Millville’s Shemar Collins scooped a fumble and returned it 49 yards to the 7-yard line — then caught a touchdown on the next play with less than 40 seconds left in the second frame.

In no man’s land at the 30-yard line, Parker dropped back and heaved the ball to the back corner of the end zone. Miller — headed to play at Wisconsin next year — came down with the improbable catch between two defenders.

“He put it in the right spot and I finished the rest,” Miller said. “It was (the knockout blow), I feel like it was.”

And while the grab proved his Big 10-level talent, Miller’s defense on Thunderbolts’ star Lotzeir Brooks was equally impressive. Brooks finished with four catches for 34 yards.

“I enjoyed it, it was very competitive,” Miller said. “That’s a great player, shout out to him. He’s going to be great, as everybody knows.

“But I took on the challenge, being myself and doing the things I was coached to do.”

The defense allowed very little across the board, as the hosts’ lone touchdown drive spanned seven yards and they never threatened to score otherwise.

There were plenty of other major contributors who helped Winslow make this massive statement. In fact, when the Eagles play you need a roster on hand as throughout the game a different number on the back of the jersey steps up in a huge spot.

Is that Miller? Or Nyqir Helton — who caught a late touchdown? Could it be Powell? Or Parker? Or Marcus Upton? Or Ausar Heard? Or another?

The talent level’s been boasted about across the region, but it was the discipline and consistency in this clash that painted a full portrait of what a No. 1 team looks like.

It looked perfect on canvas and even better on the field. However, a top spot in mid-season rankings isn’t what this team desires. They want to win the Group 4 state championship.

That could mean another matchup with Millville. Powell sure thinks so.

“That was only Part I,” Powell said. “We will see them again.”

Friday night proved two things:

One, that Winslow is the best team in South Jersey.

And two, the Thunderbolts have a lot of things to get straightened out if they run into the Eagles again.

Mark Trible is the host of the South Jersey Football Frenzy Show. You can check it out every Wednesday at 7 p.m. at facebook.com/sjglorydays. The show features highlights, analysis, rankings and more.