N.J. high school football team loaded with freshmen and sophomores clinches first playoff berth in four years

PEMBERTON — Khyree Bowens didn’t know the last time the Deptford High School football team qualified for the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) playoffs.

He was in 5th grade.

The freshman quarterback threw a pair of touchdown passes to Orlando Concepcion in the second half of the Spartans’ 20-0 win over Pemberton in a West Jersey Football League Royal Division tilt on Saturday afternoon.

Deptford improved its record to 6-2 and secured a spot in the South Jersey Group 3 playoffs for the first time since 2022. The Spartans only have a few seniors on their roster.

Khyree Bowens, left, threw two touchdown passes to Orlando Concepcion, right, in a 20-0 win over Pemberton in a West Jersey Football League Royal Division game at Helen A. Fort Middle School in Pemberton, New Jersey on Saturday, October 17, 2026. Kevin Emmons/South Jersey Sports Zone

“We got a great group of young guys,” first-year Deptford coach Montrey Wright said. “Every week, it could be a different young guy doing good things for the program. They give effort every single day. They came from a good youth program as well. You can’t undermine that. They prepare these guys for these moments.”

Joshua Dixon intercepted a pass for the Hornets to end Deptford’s first drive of the second quarter with 6:17 left. Pemberton also stuffed a run play on 4th-and-goal at the 1-yard line with 32 seconds left before halftime.

“Defense played well,” Pemberton coach Gerald Davis said. “I think the second half came down to attrition.”

Bowens connected with Concepcion for a 20-yard TD to give the Spartans a lead they would never relinquish with 3:12 left in the third quarter. Bowens looked beyond his first read and hit Concepcion in stride after he identified the location of one of the opposing safeties.

“I identified the safeties coming down and they were in cover zero,” Concepcion said. “I looked at my quarterback and he gave me that look. We went to the end zone from there.”

Concepcion’s second TD catch — a 36-yard grab with 6:29 left in the fourth quarter — felt like déjà vu.

“Same scenario,” he said. “We have too many athletes for them to try and cover us one-on-one. I looked at my quarterback, he gave me that look, and next thing you know I’m celebrating in the end zone.”

Omar Johnson added a 56-yard TD run for Deptford late in the fourth quarter.

The Hornets dropped to 4-4 with their second consecutive loss. A win next week against Mastery Charter would put the program one step closer to securing its first winning season since 2015.

“This isn’t the outcome we wanted (today),” Davis said, “but we still have a lot to play for. We have two more games at minimum and can still end with the best record in 10 years. They can hang their hats on that. The seniors can hang their hats on that. This is my first graduating class as a head coach. So they can own that.”

Wright coached at Haddon Heights and Salem prior to his current tenure. Salem, his alma mater, celebrated eight straight winning seasons, won two sectional championships and won a regional championship under his direction. He also coached Indianapolis Colts All-Pro running back Jonathan Taylor.

The opportunity to be Deptford’s next leader offered promise. The Spartans won three sectional championships between 1998 and 2004.

With the program’s first playoff berth in four years — and a chance to secure the first winning season since 2020 — the rebuild looks to be ahead of schedule. Deptford has also posted three straight shutouts.

“Everybody knows that Deptford was a powerhouse in the past,” Wright said. “The fact that this group and us coaches are able to do this with the community behind us is big. Deptford is one of those programs that could be a championship program year in and year out. The community deserves it. I talk to alumni all the time and they’re excited about the things we’re doing here.”