By DAVE O’SULLIVAN
Staff Writer
On X @GDsullysays
In November of 2023, the Winslow Township High football team won the Central Jersey Group 4 sectional championship and the Eagles started daydreaming about winning a state championship, getting fitted for that coveted ring they could show off to their grandkids someday.
But then, in the state semifinals, the Eagles got their doors blown off by a Mainland team that went on to finish 14-0 and win the state title with a blowout win over Ramapo. Winslow got thumped by the Stangs, 41-7; the game was pretty much over by halftime, as Mainland raced out to a 27-7 lead.
Winslow coach Bill Belton knew after that game that his team wasn’t ready to be a champion. Not quite yet. But they would be, sooner rather than later.
He wanted to know everything he could about the Mainland program so he could teach his players how to walk, talk, act and play like champions. He did some research and tweaked a few things to fit the Winslow style, and what followed in 2024 was an equally dominant, 14-0 season capped off by Winslow winning the state championship.
“I think for us, we needed that,” Belton said of the crushing loss that ended the Eagles’ 2023 season. “We needed to see Mainland, what a championship team and a championship program looks like. What did they do that separated them from everybody else? I didn’t care what it was, I needed every single detail. I had conversations with different people and figured it out. We had to find out what worked for us, and that’s pretty much what we did. Getting beat like that is needed. Sometimes you walk around thinking that you’ve arrived. That was the biggest loss of my career as a coach and definitely what we needed as a program. I understand now (Mainland’s) attention to detail, how they work day in and day out. It’s not necessarily a scheme thing, it’s more of what they do on a day-to-day basis to get their kids prepared.”
Winslow attacked the offseason prior to the 2024 campaign the way piranhas attack their prey.
So did the Glassboro Bulldogs.
In 2023 they made it to the state championship, but lost to Mountain Lakes. The Bulldogs — who perhaps have the most talented skill position players in Group I in the entire state — got to work on their own redemption tour, and they, too, capped it off with a 14-0 mark and a state championship.
These two South Jersey programs are on the rise, and they dominated their competition from start to finish in 2024. Think about this — only Mainland and Highland scored more than eight points against Winslow the entire season, and those two teams lost by a combined 62 points. Glassboro was just as good, as the Bulldogs had five shutouts and held four other teams to less than 10 points. Glassboro also had two 1,000-yard quarterbacks and rushed for more than 2,500 yards. Kenny Smith, a senior transfer from Hammonton, had more than 1,800 yards and 23 touchdowns despite missing the first three games because of the transfer rule.
“We had some hiccups early this season, but against Salem, we ended up blowing that game open, 46-0. Seeing the plays that were made and how the boys were coming together, that was special to see,” said Bulldogs coach Timmy Breaker. “Kenny is a superb ball player, a gamer, for sure. He’s a hard-nosed kid and one of the hardest workers I’ve seen. He has innate leadership abilities just by the example he sets, and vocally he helped the team a lot. It doesn’t hurt that he’s one of the best backs in New Jersey.
“They had a lot of experience coming back and they all had the same mentality to do one thing,” he continued. “Adding Smith and seeing the camaraderie and brotherhood they built, all working toward the same thing, it was really special to see. They set goals for themselves throughout the offseason, and then you see it all come to fruition. They didn’t stop, they stayed locked in the entire year and that’s every coach’s dream.”
These two teams had a lot of similarities, not the least of which are young, passionate coaches who played at a high level and who have surrounded themselves with up-and-coming coaching talent. They are also home grown. Belton starred at Winslow before heading to Penn State, while Breaker was a standout player at Glassboro before a solid career at the University of Delaware.
“We have a group of coaches who are hungry to prove themselves across the board. We’re not a very old staff, we have a bunch of former college players who either worked for someone else or people told them that they weren’t good enough, or not ready (to be a head coach),” Belton said. “They never got a chance to showcase what they could do, so those guys are extremely hungry to prove their work to everybody, across the board. And I was extremely hungry to prove that I belonged (among the best coaches).”
Other teams were impressed with these two programs, as they beat some of the top squads in South Jersey.
“They were very good on both sides of the ball and had outstanding athletes,” said St. Augustine Prep coach Pete Lancetta, referring to Winslow. “They brought it every week and had a great year. They had a nice, simple running game, they spread you out and put you in a bind. Their quarterback (Jalen Parker) has great arm strength and touch to go along with that, and he can also pull it down and take off. They were solid all over.”
Both Belton and Breaker said being able to attack defenses in a variety of ways is what they wanted out of their offenses, and boy did the numbers prove that. Parker passed for nearly 3,000 yards and 43 touchdowns for Winslow, and the Eagles had four receivers with more than 400 yards and three running backs who rushed for better than 400 yards. Glassboro and Winslow combined to score 137 touchdowns.
“We wanted to be multifaceted and find different ways to get the ball into the hands of our playmakers. Having one of the best and most experienced offensive lines helped,” Breaker said. “Jayce Grays (6-2, 275) is a three-year starter, Tyler Bright (6-0, 235) and Kyle Williams (6-5, 285) were two-years starters; Jordan Gravener (6-3, 280) was a four-year starter, and Amon Wright (6-4, 270) is one of the brightest young offensive linemen in the country. Having those guys up front helped us a lot. We wanted to get our guys in space and let them work. I always tell people you can’t coach to the philosophy that you have, you coach to the philosophy of the kids you have. Having guys at the pinnacle of their level made this year so exciting.”
“The goal for our team was to put the best product out there. It doesn’t matter who has the hot hand, you have to be happy for your teammate, celebrate them because any game could be your game. You have to maintain focus and be ready when it’s your time. I think everybody got a piece of the pie this year because we were one of the few teams that had that many playmakers. It was special — across the board — and it’s amazing what a team can do when players are unselfish,” Belton added. “This senior class was one of the best in Winslow history. They won sectional and state championships. They wanted to go out with a bang, leave their legacy on this place, and going through all the adversity allowed them to be the leaders that they needed to be for this team.”
Another similarity? Work ethic. The boys on both of these rosters put in the time and effort during the offseason to make sure they were ready to compete hard for 14 games.
“That Monday after the state championship they were ready to get in the weight room. I actually had to slow them down,” Breaker said. We took a week off and they were itching to get back at it. They don’t stop. We preach it all the time, that there’s a next level you can get to, there’s always more you can do. They feel disrespected as far as people saying we don’t play anyone, but these kids have played against the same kids on some of those top tier teams their whole lives. Just because we’re Group 1 doesn’t mean these kids didn’t play all those (Group 4 and Group 5) kids when they were younger. Football is football, and no matter where you put that pigskin, our boys are ready to play, for sure. They will play against anybody. They are going to play hard, and they believe in the utmost of their abilities. They’ll accept the challenge from anybody in the state. They are hard-nosed kids and they play because they love football.”
“I thought we were going to be good, I just didn’t know how good. We did a great job defensively and each week we got better and we put together some great performances. It was definitely meant to be for us,” Belton added. “My first year we were 6-4 and had a bunch of injuries. We had a solid freshman class come in and our sophomore class was really good. We just had to continue to grind through that year, and the next year we came back and went 10-3. Those guys were a year older, got a lot better and put a lot of work in. Then we come back this year and go 14-0. It’s just a product of guys buying into what we’re doing as a program.”
Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sullyglorydays@gmail.com