Delsea's Wayne Adair (5) follows a block by Ashton Blose (66) in the NJSIAA Group 3 state semifinals at Cherokee High School in Evesham, New Jersey on Saturday, November 19, 2022. Ryan Fuhs/D2 Sports Network
2022 South Jersey Sports Zone All-South Jersey Teams
FIRST TEAM
(Offense)
QB: Jacob Zamot, Jr. (Millville)
QB: Sean Burns, Sr. (Holy Spirit)
RB: Jared Schoppe, Sr. (Delsea) RB: Ja'Briel Mace, Sr. (Mainland)
RB: Kenny Smith, So. (Hammonton)
RB: James Hill, Jr., Jr. (Woodstown)
WR: Gavin Roman, Sr. (Holy Spirit)
WR: Lotzeir Brooks, So. (Millville)
WR: Sah'nye Degraffanreidt, So. (Atlantic City)
AP: Aaron Young, Sr. (Burlington City)
AP: Wayne Adair, Jr. (Delsea)
AP: Zyaire Goffney-Fleming, Sr. (Lenape)
OL: Marcus Offer, So. (Millville)
OL: John Stone, Sr. (Washington Township)
OL: Christian Medina, So. (Hammonton)
OL: Ashton Blose, Sr. (Delsea)
OL: Vincent Isom, Jr. (St. Augustine)
K: Trevin DelGozzo, Sr. (St. Joseph)
(Defense)
DL: James Heard, Jr., Sr. (Camden)
DL: Kye Pressley, Sr. (Hammonton)
DL: Brahim Wynn, Jr. (Timber Creek)
DL: Roman Dougherty, Sr. (Cherokee)
LB: Amare Smith, Sr. (Salem)
LB: Danny DiGiovacchino, Sr. (Delsea)
LB: Solomon Massey-Kent, Sr. (Millville)
LB: Derron Moore, Sr. (Woodbury)
DB: Ta'Ron Haile, Jr. (Millville)
DB: Hamin Anderson, Sr. (Camden)
DB: Michael Lemay, Jr. (Lenape)
DB: Roman Kuzmick, Sr. (Kingsway)
AP: Zac Fearon, Jr. (Seneca)
AP: Kwinten Ives, Sr. (Palmyra)
AP: Ja'Bron Solomon, Sr. (Woodbury) AP: Taquan Brittingham, Sr. (Camden) AP: JaSuan Solomon, So. (Woodbury)
P: Brady Clark, Sr. (West Deptford)
SECOND TEAM
(Offense)
QB: Bryan Johnson, Sr. (Woodbury)
QB: Nate Maiers, Sr. (Kingsway)
RB: Angelo Rodriguez, Sr. (Highland) RB: Jahcere Ward, So. (Holy Spirit)
RB: Na'eem Sharp, Jr. (Millville)
RB: Anthony Reagan, Jr., Jr. (Woodbury)
WR: Jayden Llanos, Sr. (Holy Spirit)
WR: Avant Stewart, Sr. (Highland)
WR: Matt Iuvara, Sr. (Haddon Heights)
AP: Brayden Davis, Sr. (Seneca)
AP: Clark Norway, Sr. (Northern Burlington)
AP: Allen Packard, Sr. (Atlantic City)
OL: Damien Eichler, Jr. (Woodstown)
OL: Malachi Brown, So. (Winslow)
OL: Dominic DeChurch, Sr. (Cherokee)
OL: Carter Williams, Sr. (Kingsway)
OL: Nick Oliveira, Sr. (Clearview)
K: Darren Wu, Sr. (Shawnee)
(Defense)
DL: Malik Moore-Summers, Sr. (Cedar Creek)
DL: Malachi Castle, Jr. (Rancocas Valley)
DL: Detric Simmons, Jr. (Salem)
DL: Benjamin Pittman, Sr. (Salem)
LB: Josh Peluse, Sr. (Shawnee)
LB: D.J. DiPietro, Sr. (Kingsway)
LB: David Harvey, Sr. (Woodstown)
LB: Sean Finan, Sr. (Holy Spirit)
DB: Julius Dominguez, Jr. (Camden Eastside)
DB: Jamie Tyson, Jr. (Mainland)
DB: Ethan Krauss, Sr. (Shawnee)
DB: Kyon Conyers, Jr. (Millville)
AP: Ejani Shakir, Sr. (Winslow)
AP: Kenai Simmons, So. (Schalick) AP: Damere Finley, Jr. (Gloucester) AP: Darrell Brown, Jr., Sr. (Kingsway)
AP: Kahlil Ali, Sr. (Pennsauken)
P: Sean Rullo, Sr. (Pennsauken)
Player of the Year: Jared Schoppe, Sr. (Delsea).
Schoppe helped the Crusaders finish as the top-ranked team in the final South Jersey Sports Zone Top 15. The senior rushed for 1,250 yards and 25 touchdowns. He also tallied 62 tackles, nine tackles for loss, two sacks and two interceptions on defense.
The 175-pound wrestling state finalist a season ago showed up when it mattered the most.
The senior scored three touchdowns in a single game on six separate occasions, including a 31-21 win over Winslow in front of Penn State coach James Franklin on September 9. He did it again versus Kingsway with 118 yards in a 26-21 win. Schoppe also silenced an upset bid by St. Joseph with 130 yards and three touchdowns on the ground en route to a 33-27 victory.
The senior augmented his resume with a career-high 192 rushing yards in a win over Cedar Creek. He tallied 569 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground in four consecutive victories over quality opponents Kingsway, Cedar Creek, Hammonton and St. Joseph.
His impact continued to show with a game-high 128 yards and a touchdown in a 20-14 come-from-behind triumph over Camden in the NJSIAA Group 3 state semifinals. In a setback to Old Tappan in the Group 3 state final, Schoppe powered the Crusaders' offense with a team-high 90 rushing yards and a score.
"He's just an unbelievably tough kid," Delsea coach Sal Marchese said. "He signifies Delsea football. He's a heck of a leader, too."
Offensive Player of the Year: Lotzeir Brooks, So. (Millville).
Brooks reeled in 69 receptions for 1,089 yards as the Thunderbolts captured the inaugural NJSIAA Group 4 state title this season. The sophomore hauled in a career-high 11 receptions for 113 yards and a touchdown in Millville's 18-14 win over Northern Highlands at Rutgers University.
Brooks also led South Jersey with 14 touchdown receptions. According to South Jersey historian Chuck Langerman, he became the first sophomore in Garden State history to accumulate at least 100 career receptions (106) and 2,000 career receiving yards (2,060) through two seasons.
The Millville wide receiver also thrived in critical moments.
The sophomore caught four passes for a career-high 183 yards and two touchdowns in a 41-10 statement win over five-time Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association state champion Thomas Jefferson in the Battle at the Beach in Ocean City, New Jersey. Almost two months later, Brooks hauled in six receptions for 125 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-20 win over Cherokee. The victory secured an outright West Jersey Football League American Division title. He also snared eight receptions for 133 yards and a touchdown to lift Millville past Hammonton, 18-16, in the South Jersey Group 4 semifinals.
Brooks currently holds offers from Georgia, Oregon, Texas A&M, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Kentucky, Syracuse, Rutgers, Nebraska, Boston College, West Virginia, Louisville, UConn and Temple.
"I think everyone knows how special (he is)," Millville coach Humberto Ayala said. "He's an amazing athlete, an amazing piece to this team. We're fortunate to have a player like him as well as all the others."
Defensive Player of the Year: James Heard, Sr. (Camden).
Despite missing four games by rule after transferring from Saint Joseph's Prep (Pa.), Heard powered the Panthers' defense with 33 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, 18 sacks and three forced fumbles in nine games. Heard's five-sack effort against Central Jersey Group 1 finalist Paulsboro contributed to a 41-0 win. A three-sack outing against Seneca also helped the Panthers capture their first sectional title since 1976.
The West Virginia commit helped Camden record four shutouts this season.
"It all stems from having great practices," Heard, Jr. said. "We practiced hard every day since July or June. (Our defense) built a great bond and we have trust in each other."
Coach of the Year: Anthony Reagan, Sr. (Woodbury).
The Thundering Herd became the first-ever public state champions in New Jersey under the direction of Reagan, Sr. The 1997 Woodbury graduate guided his alma mater to its second consecutive South Jersey Group 1 title and tied a program record with 12 wins in 2022.
"They did it collectively as a group," Reagan, Sr. said. "We didn't name captains this year or anything like that. We said the team is a captain. They bought into that and as an entire team, from upperclassmen down to underclassmen, we view ourselves as seniors. This is the only time that this 2022 football was going to be together."
Salem served as a roadblock for the Thundering Herd's championship hopes for more than a season. The Rams thumped Woodbury, 34-8, in the NJSIAA South/Central Group 1 regional final in 2021. Salem added a 21-20 come-from-behind triumph on October 22 to remind the South Jersey football community that Group 1 still traveled through Walnut Street.
Following a 36-6 win over Maple Shade in the sectional final, the blue and gold's approach to Salem changed under Reagan, Sr.'s guidance. The celebration was kept short, and the focused remained on the Rams because the job wasn't completed. Reagan, Sr. constantly reminded his team of the ultimate goal.
Consequently, Woodbury upended Salem, 22-7, in the Group 1 state semifinals to pave its path to the state's first ever public state final. Two weeks later, the Thundering Herd erased a seven-point halftime deficit to Mountain Lakes with 31 unanswered points over the final two quarters to secure the Group 1 state championship.
Woodbury has a 24-3 record over the past two seasons.
There will never be another first-ever public high school football state champion in New Jersey.
"We're a proud program that's been around for a long time," Reagan, Sr. said. "It's special that Woodbury's able to be a representative of that."
Rookie of the Year: Lamar Best, Fr. (Willingboro).
Best completed 93 out of 171 pass attempts for 1,358 yards, 23 touchdowns and nine interceptions as a freshman. The rookie also added three rushing scores.
He lifted the Chimeras to their third sectional title since 2018 on 10-for-15 passing for 169 yards, three touchdowns and an interception in a 20-7 victory over Gloucester City. Best's signature performance proved to be a five-touchdown outing against Shore Conference powerhouse Point Pleasant Borough in the Central Jersey Group 2 semifinals. The freshman also tallied a career-high 208 passing yards in the triumph.
Best threw at least three touchdown passes in a single game on four separate occasions.
South Jersey Sports Zone Final Top 15
1. Delsea (12-1)
2. Millville (12-2)
3. Holy Spirit (9-2)
4. Camden (10-3)
5. Woodbury (12-2)
6. Mainland (10-2)
7. Kingsway (7-4)
8. Hammonton (9-3)
9. St. Augustine (6-5)
10. St. Joseph (6-4)
11. Lenape (6-5)
12. Cherokee (5-6)
13. Seneca (10-2)
14. Atlantic City (7-3)
15. Winslow (6-4)
Others under consideration (listed alphabetically): Camden Eastside, Gloucester, Haddonfield, Highland, Paulsboro, Paul VI, Pennsauken, Pleasantville, Rancocas Valley, Salem, Shawnee, Timber Creek, Washington Township, Willingboro, Woodstown