By MARK TRIBLE

South Jersey Glory Days Senior Football Writer

On X @Mtrible

BUENA VISTA — It’s a long football season for high school teams expected to make the playoffs in New Jersey. Winslow Township, one of the presumptive favorites in Group 4 and the defending state champion, can take a little solace in that as it pertains to its offense.

That peace of mind exists due to a defensive unit that showed its capacity on Friday night in a showdown between the South Jersey Football Frenzy Show’s top two teams.

No. 1 Winslow allowed just 145 yards on the road in a 19-6 win over No. 2 St. Augustine Prep. The Eagles (2-2, 1-0 West Jersey Football League American) gave up a mere 37 in the second half.

“They played really, really well,” coach Bill Belton said. “They had a great showing tonight…

“It’s very, very important. We’ve got a long way to go offensively. I’ve been saying this the last three weeks, we’re a different team than we were last year. So, we’ve got to figure it out and we’ll go from there.”

One of the linchpins of the defense came in the form of a 5-foot-9, 175-pound safety who answered his call from his coaches this week. Winslow’s staff sought all the help it could manage against the run-heavy Hermits (3-1, 1-1 WJFL American).

Coaches needed Karon Ali to play down in the box, rather than in the defensive backfield.

No problem.

“We had to stack the box and I had to take that risk for my team,” Ali said. “I always will.

“I’m a team player first. I love my guys … My mentality doesn’t really change — stay confident, be tough and be aggressive.”

Ali practiced what he preached. He played with tenacity and continually stuck his nose among the massive bodies up front. No. 4 in white stayed around the ball and came back for more in a clash built for a player of his demeanor.

Rugged; rough-and-tumble. If you want to win in front of the Richland Rowdies, it almost always has to be that way.

“I feel like if our offense is ever struggling, we can always depend on our defense to hold it down,” star back Nakeem Powell, who ran 16 times for 109 yards, said. “We have great leaders on defense and they always keep our players in check.

“I feel like our defense is amazing.”

After two losses to out-of-area powerhouses in IMG Academy (Fla.) and Bergen Catholic, Friday’s tilt loomed large. The Hermits and Eagles were projected by many to sit atop the American Division — if not all of South Jersey.

The fact that much of the autumn is left is good news for Belton and his offense. It has tested every one of his last nerves thus far. Even though it racked up 343 total yards, sloppiness, inconsistency and mistakes thwarted true progress.

Save for the first drive of the second half, they were never in full gear here on Friday. However, that single possession showed what is possible.

Powell ran for 18 yards on the first snap, then 8 on the second. Jalen Parker found Nyqir Helton for a 48-yard pass on the third. Powell ran for 5 on the fourth, then scored on the fifth from a yard out.

It took 79 seconds to go 80 yards. At that point, it stood 13-6 and Winslow needed no more.

Parker found Quayd Hendrix on a 4th-down touchdown pass later in the third frame to round out the score.

Prep scratched two Luke Tanzola field goals in the first half. The first opened the score. Winslow’s Karon Ceaser ran for a 12-yard score in the second quarter to make it 7-3. Tanzola’s second came after deliberation in timeout after Prep initially lined up to go for 4th-and-goal.

“They’re a quality football team, they’ve got speed all over the place,” Hermits coach Pete Lancetta said. “Everybody knows we like to run the ball.

“They did a pretty good job with that tonight. Kudos to them, they had two tough games. It’s not like we thought they weren’t a good football team, we knew they were an outstanding football team.”

A sloppy affair that saw 18 accepted penalties for 184 yards dwindled to triple zeroes with neither side particularly pleased.

The Eagles could at least take the victory back to Atco and have a little momentum to build off after an arduous first few weeks.

They can harp on examples like Ali’s team-first approach to help get things in line to make another run for a state title.

Ali spoke his truth as the lights shut out around Stephen J. LaRosa Field.

“For our brand of football,” Ali said. “We can never be selfish.”

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 from high school football games throughout South Jersey.