Brian Tortella

09/17/2026

Facing a daunting schedule, Kingsway is off to another rough start. Can the Dragons work toward another magical run?

BY BRIAN TORTELLA
[email protected]

As the seconds ticked away in the closing moments of regulation, Erin Bernat had to remind herself of what her feelings were like when the buzzer sounded at the end of the first quarter.

That was also a common theme throughout the fall of 2025.

While admittedly facing one of the toughest schedules in the region, Bernat’s Kingsway squad dropped to 2-3 on the young season with a 8-2 loss to No. 1 state-ranked and No. 4 nationally ranked Oak Knoll on Wednesday evening.

However, Kingsway held a 2-1 lead after the opening quarter with goals from Reagan Peddle and Alex Beety and only trailed 3-2 at intermission before Oak Knoll rattled off five unanswered goals in the second half.

“You know, I think what we saw in the first quarter is who we are,” the second-year coach said. “We definitely still have a lot of growing to do, which I’m fine with. It’s still the beginning of the season, so playing a top caliber team like this really shows us what we need to work on as a team. Every game we have prepares us for the end.”

The end goal? Another state title.

After starting 0-6 last year, Kingsway won 12 of its final 17 games, including five straight playoff victories, to capture its fourth consecutive Group IV state title.

And while the Dragons may not be winless through five games this fall, the road to their fifth straight title isn’t exactly off to the desired start. Their first two setbacks came on rough endings to West Deptford, 4-2, and rival Clearview, 4-3, in overtime.

“Comparing it to last year starting 0-6, there’s never a doubt that we can turn the season around,” said junior Elizabeth Maiers, who assisted both of the team’s goals on Wednesday. “We’re only 2-3, and we won the first quarter 2-1. We’ve been playing with each other so long that we’ll be able to turn that switch at the peak of the season when playoffs start.”

There’s a strong sense of confidence not only throughout the program, but statewide, that Kingsway will be able to make another run when the time comes, and Oak Knoll coach Ali Good agrees.

“One of my lines that I say is that it doesn’t matter where you start, it’s about how you finish,” said Good, who won her 450th career game last week. “If we were all judged on how we start our seasons and our careers then it’d probably be a pretty rough going for us. As coaches, you just keep looking for improvement and development, and that’s what I saw in the Kingsway team last year especially.

“Being new to a program, there’s so many different variables that you have to manage for your team. Erin did a really good job of just staying the course and not hitting the panic button. She kept believing in her team and getting them to perform when it mattered. They’re a really talented team.”

Kingsway certainly has the talent needed to make another magical run. Rutgers commit Reese Samra and Ohio State commit Alex Beety headline a talented roster capable of seeing Bordentown’s turf for the state finals on Nov. 14.

But will they?

“I’m definitely confident,” Bernat said. “The group of girls we have this year have shown so much growth since last season. They’ve been working hard all offseason and they’re brought in as a team for what our ultimate goal is. We need to continue to grow as a team in order to reach that ultimate goal.”

09/16/2026

Hello from Green Village

No. 1 state-ranked Oak Knoll field hockey hosting Kingsway. Dragons hoping to stay competitive. We’ll see.

Updates to follow. 🏑🔥

09/16/2026

No matter how you shape it, there will certainly be a showdown in Richland on Saturday night.

Check out my full preview for Winslow — St. Augustine in what’s expected to be a memorable contest in Bill Belton’s first time facing his Alma Mater.

BY BRIAN TORTELLA Correspondent on Instagram [email protected] After one of the most highly anticipated coaching switches in our region’s recent memory, Bill Belton sent shockwaves across the Garden state when he departed his Alma Mater, Winslow Township — where he had just w...

09/15/2026

Here are MY South Jersey Field Hockey Rankings for this week‼️🏑🔥

Note: Today’s games were not taken into consideration.

09/14/2026

Here are MY South Jersey Girls Soccer Rankings for this week‼️⚽️🔥

Note: Today’s games were not taken into consideration.

09/14/2026

Here are MY South Jersey Boys Soccer Rankings for this week‼️⚽️🔥

Note: Today’s games were not taken into consideration.

09/12/2026

No. 5 Winslow breaks the streak, stuns No. 1 Glassboro in biggest win of Jamal White era: 🏈🔥

BY BRIAN TORTELLA
[email protected]

Prior to the start of the season, not many could have correctly predicted what the future of the Winslow Township High School football program would look like.

After winning back-to-back Group IV state titles, coach Bill Belton departed for St. Augustine Prep, resulting in a wave of players to transfer, including star quarterback Jalen Parker — who now plays at Washington Township.

Despite the uncertainty, the Eagles sure look like they haven’t lost a step.

Winslow, ranked No. 5 in the latest South Jersey Football Frenzy Show rankings, earned its biggest win of the Jamal White era with a 21-7 victory over No. 1 Glassboro on Friday night. The Eagles’ historic win snapped the state’s longest active winning streak as Glassboro had not lost since the Group 1 state final on November 26, 2023.

“The defense was stellar,” the first-year head coach said. “They keep doing it over and over again, and that’s what we’re leaning on. The defense is strong, and they showed up today.”

Man, did they ever.

The Eagles suffocating defense didn’t allow Glassboro’s offense to reach pay dirt once the entire game. Winslow quarterback Javon Thompson found Andrew Kratee in the end zone for the first score of the game midway through the opening quarter. The Bulldogs’ only score came when star Oregon commit Xavier Sabb returned an interception for a touchdown late in the first half to even the contest 7-7 at intermission.

Just when momentum started to flurry to the Glassboro sideline, KaRon Ceaser returned the opening kickoff of the second half. That heavily changed the momentum in the Eagles’ favor.

“That changed it,” White said. “We went into halftime knowing that we still had things going the way we wanted them too, unfortunately the field position game didn’t play our way in the second quarter. They had a very aggressive defense, but we held up, our defense held on. Ceaser is a playmaker.”

A Penn State commit, Ceaser sure showed why he is one of the top overall players in South Jersey with the dazzling return.

“Coming out of the half, we knew they were going to come out hard,” Ceaser said. “We were going to come out harder, so that’s what it was. Coach (White) was next to me and said ‘Let’s go get one,’ and that’s what I did. He was depending on me to make a play. He was talking about it all week, that I was going to get a kick return.

“Big time players make big time plays. I’m going Big Ten, and that’s what Big Ten players do.”

Trey Alexander led the ground attack for Winslow and put the nail in the coffin with a touchdown run late in the fourth quarter to give the Eagles a 21-7 lead they would not relinquish.

Winslow is undefeated through three games and has outscored opponents 114 to 13. The Eagles’ next contest may be their most challenging, however, as they’ll take on coach Belton’s St. Augustine squad on Saturday at 6 p.m.

Many of Winslow’s current players were coached by and won at least one state title alongside Belton, but according to Ceaser, it’s time to show his former coach that the team he left is still legit.

“It means a lot,” Ceaser said of being able to play against Belton. “He’s the one who got me looked at from Penn State, so I appreciate him a lot. But you know, it’s war with everyone. He knows it’s all love though, but it’s war with everyone.

“Coach Belton was a really good coach to us, but we’re coming out the same with everyone. Just play football and show them that Winslow is one of the top public schools.”

Despite the tough loss, Glassboro coach Timmy Breaker believes it was mostly self-inflicted. The Bulldogs had numerous penalties and offensive turnovers that limited scoring opportunities.

“It’s just mistakes,” said Breaker who led the Bulldogs to the last two Group 1 state titles before the Bulldogs were moved up to Group 2 this fall. “We beat ourselves. We had two fumbles, two picks, right? We gave up a kick return. That’s mistakes. They earned the win, but they didn’t flat out beat us. We beat ourselves. It happens in the game of football, man. It’s a beautiful thing.

“It’s a blessing to be 29-0, we get it. But that doesn’t change the main goal. For them, that’s the superbowl. For us, it’s not. We’re going into next week like we did last week. We are going to get better.

“Did we lose the game? Absolutely. But not every championship has been won undefeated. It would’ve been a blessing to go undefeated, for sure. But now we get down to the nitty-gritty. This is when the fun starts.”

09/12/2026

Final from the Boro

No. 5 Winslow 21
No. 1 Glassboro 7

New Jersey’s active winning streak is broken. It was 29 straight for the Bulldogs. Glassboro hadn’t lost since the Group 1 final on November 26, 2023 — until today.

09/11/2026

Following in her father’s footsteps, Mia Morrell is thriving at West Deptford 🏑🔥

BY BRIAN TORTELLA
[email protected]

Jason Morrell was raised by the West Deptford community.

Bleeding green is all he’s ever known.

That’s why the 2001 graduate always knew that he wanted to raise his family the same way he was raised — with an unfathomable sense of tradition.

Morrell still remembers his playing days at West Deptford. The football team would practice next to the field hockey field, and afterward they would cheer on the highly successful program whenever there was a big game.

“I remember practicing right there, and coach (Clyde) Folsom used to bring us over here when there was a big game,” he recalled. “We would all take our helmets off and kneel in the corner and cheer the team on. It was awesome.”

A quarter of a century later, not much about that experience has changed. The location remains exactly the same and both the football and field hockey programs are still just as successful as they were back then.

However, the roles are now completely reversed.

After previously serving as the athletic director for a decade, Morrell is now the principal at West Deptford High School. And after a long day heading the administration at the Gloucester County school, Morrell got the opportunity to walk out to the same field he once stood on 25 years ago.

But on this humid September evening, he was watching his daughter, Mia, showcase her talents as one of the best overall players in the region for the Eagles. His other daughter, Jayley, is a freshman who rotates between junior varsity and varsity. His beloved Eagles lost, 1-0, to Haddonfield, as Emerson Hall’s first-quarter goal stood up behind Bulldawgs goalie Connolly Cassin’s 11 saves.

Only a sophomore, Mia burst onto the scene before her high school career even started last fall. She made the Team USA U16 team and has been overseas to compete three times, including a 12-day trip to Amsterdam this summer for the World Youth Festival. Only 16 years old, she has gone solo on each trip, which included one to London last spring. No parents, no family. Just field hockey.

“Mia is the most dedicated player I’ve ever seen, coached, and witnessed,” West Deptford coach Courtney Stetson said. “She is so dedicated to her craft and really works at it. People wonder how she got that good, and it’s because she takes field hockey so seriously.”

Those are wise words coming from Stetson, who has guided the Eagles to two Group I state titles and numerous deep playoff runs across seven full seasons at the helm. Realistically, Stetson knows Morrell could be playing wherever she wants to right now, but she chooses to represent the colors her father once wore.

That’s pride. That’s commitment. And that’s what true tradition looks like.

“We bleed green here,” said Stetson, a 2005 West Deptford graduate. “She probably could’ve gone to any prep school that she wanted and been a star there, too, but she loves where we are from. She wants to wear the green-and-white. That’s very important. She loves West Deptford field hockey and wants our team to be successful. She’s not interested in herself. She wants the team to be as good as they can be.

“It’s incredibly special, and I’ve been lucky to be her coach since she was 10,” added Stetson, who coaches for South Jersey Edge Club in the offseason. “I’ve seen her grow into this mature player, and it’s really nice.”

For Mia personally, coming to West Deptford was a no-brainer and always inevitable. And while she admits her trips overseas playing for the U16 national team are nice, they pale in comparison to game days right off of Exit 22 on I-295, on a small grass field behind the school that has meant so much to her upbringing.

“These are the people who built me up,” Mia said. “Playing for them and playing for my community makes me really proud to be a part of West Deptford. I wanted to stay in the program and help build other girls up. I wanted to make West Deptford great.”

“It means a lot,” she continued, referring to being able to follow in her father’s footsteps. “I have always looked up to him. He has always been my trainer and has helped me get to where I am today. Being able to make my family proud means a lot.”

So far this fall, the Eagles are off to a 2-1 start through three games. Morrell has two goals and one assist, but she shines in the defensive midfield. Both of her scores came in a 4-2 upset victory over defending Group 4 state champion Kingsway on Tuesday.

Morrell will now look to help the Eagles reclaim their place atop Group 1 statewide. After winning state titles in 2023 and 2024, West Deptford has been unable to get past eventual state champion Shore Regional each of the past two years in the sectional final.

No matter how this season ends, though, one thing will never change:

“There’s nothing more important to our family than West Deptford,” Jason Morrell said. “That’s how we raised our children. It’s funny because people ask me how Mia feels about playing for team USA and going overseas. I tell everyone that there’s nothing more important to her than wearing the green-and-white and playing on this field. It’s just unbelievable.

“Those two work really, really hard. Both Mia and Jayley work really hard to put themselves in a position to support this team and this school. That’s their priority — to do what’s best for West Deptford and their family.”