By BRIAN TORTELLA

Correspondent

On X @tortreports

WEST DEPTFORD — West Deptford High’s roster — filled with underclassmen — is the main reason coach John Emel, formerly the skipper at Penns Grove, ventured up 295 to the Eagles’ nest.

“They’re young, but they have a chance to be pretty good,” he said. “I came here for a reason. I wanted to coach these young guys. They started sharp and fast, and Collingswood didn’t let up. Our guys were just ready to go and they got it done.”

Throughout the offseason, Emel was tasked with molding a roster filled with sophomores and juniors. The Eagels lost to Manchester Township in the season-opening Battle at the Beach Football Classic in Week 0, and just squeezed by Pennsville last week.

Friday night’s game vs Collingswood had a different meaning, though. It was Emel’s first old-school, Colonial Conference rivalry game, and the Eagles’ home-opener. Everyone around town came to see the new-look Eagles.

Expectations were high.

Emel’s youngsters lived up to the hype.

Sophomore Zamir Davis rumbled for four touchdowns, three of which came in the first quarter, to lead West Deptford past Collingswood, 46-6.

“We were preparing all week for them,” he said. “I’m just grinding, and ready for Friday night lights all the time. They haven’t beaten us since 1988 or something like that, and just wanted to keep the streak going.”

Collingswood hasn’t beaten West Deptford since 1998, to be exact. They were determined to not let the Panthers (2-1, 1-1 West Jersey Football League Patriot), who started the season with wins over Clayton and Overbrook, spoil the streak. That winning feeling the Eagles have enjoyed for a quarter century continued.

“We beat Collingswood for many years now, and this year we were getting a little underlooked in this game,” said junior offensive linemen Sal Fife, who cleared the way for Zamir’s touchdown runs. “They’re 2-0, they’re doing really good this year, and we came out and punched them in the mouth. We went through a lot of adversity last week, and we practiced really hard this week. I expected this.”

All three of Davis’s first-quarter touchdowns were routine running plays, but his big splash was on the first play of the second-half when he returned the opening kickoff for a score. On top of that, he added an interception on defense.

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Said Emel, “I was excited for him. He had three in the first quarter. He’s our guy. He’s a two-way guy and plays hard every play. Kick return on special teams. He’s only a sophomore, but he’s one of our guys and we need him to play big in every game.”

Perhaps one of the reasons the lopsided score may have been a surprise to some was because West Deptford quarterback Brady Cobb, a junior, suffered a shoulder injury last week toward the end of the Pennsville game. He fought through it and started Friday’s game — playing a serviceable role.

“I wanted to play for the guys and we wanted to put more points on the board,” he said. “Last week left a sour taste in our mouths. It wasn’t the way we wanted the game to go. We wanted to make a statement for this program and I think we did that.”

The statement was made. It couldn’t have been a more picture-perfect home debut for Emel and his Eagles.

“First taste of this old-school Colonial rivalry,” Emel said. “We talked about all week ‘starting fast’ and our guys couldn’t have started any faster. 26-0 in the first quarter just took the life out of them (Collingswood). We want West Deptford to be a tough place to play. When you start fast like that you really put the pressure on them. Tonight, I was just happy our guys started fast. That was my goal for today. It’s one-game-at-a-time, one-day-at-a-time. We have a big one next week at Camden Catholic.”

And for Davis, the vision is clear.

“We’re just getting started,” he said. “We’re going all the way. For us, we’re just getting started.”

Cole Paskiewicz and Logan Rivell each added a touchdown for West Deptford (2-1, 2-0 WJFL Patriot).

WHAT’S NEXT: West Deptford travels to Camden Catholic on Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. Collingswood hosts Paulsboro on Sept. 19 at 6 p.m.

Contact Brian Tortella: btortreportssj@gmail.com