Pleasantville football caps regular season with bounce back division victory on the road

Pleasantville's Ta'kiesse Barnes (3) runs with the football against Gloucester at JA Lynch Field on the campus of Gloucester City High School in Gloucester City, New Jersey on Friday, October 24, 2025. Jeremy Roemmich/856 Photography

GLOUCESTER CITY - After suffering a 47-22 loss at home at the hands of Willingboro, the Pleasantville High School football team needed to right the ship heading into the Group III playoffs.

The Greyhounds got back in the win column with a 34-23 victory over West Jersey Football League Continental Division rival Gloucester. The win on Friday night makes Pleasantville coach Elijah Glover 2-0 against Gloucester as a player and coach. Glover was a senior on the 2018 Pleasantville team that trounced the Lions, 40-0, in Gloucester City.

"It was on my mind a little, I can't lie," Glover noted. "I didn't think about it too much because it's all about the players. They're the ones who come out and play and got the win. My playing days are over, but it is cool to come back here as a coach and get a win. After tonight, we're going to focus on the playoffs. We ended the regular season right, but now we're shifting our focus on what's ahead for us."

Both teams traded blows early, but it was Pleasantville who pulled away during crunch time. Semaj Dozier opened the scoring with a rushing touchdown and completed the "octopus" by taking in the two-point conversion himself.

Gloucester's Rylan Coffigny answered right back, taking a double reverse handoff to the endzone. Jamaad Washington then responded with a 21-yard score on the ground.

Cole Little cut into the deficit, hauling in a tipped pass in stride to scamper in for six, making it a two-point game. Pleasantville put its foot on the gas and never looked back after Washington found the endzone for the second time so far.

Ta'kiesse Barnes got on the stat sheet with a 56-yard score, putting the game practically out of reach before Washington put the final nail in the coffin with his third score of the game. With the offensive showing, the defense got in on the action as well.

Freshman Sekou Toure locked down the edge, tallying a few tackles for a loss, quarterback pressures, and a fumble recovered. Henry Fermin held down the other edge, racking up a pair of passes deflected, a couple of tackles for a loss, as well as forcing the Gloucester offense out of rhythm. Jeffery Austin and Railel Wiggins snagged a pair of interceptions, adding to the statement made.

As a junior, Jamaad Washington and the Greyhounds missed the playoffs, losing to Gloucester in the final game of the regular season at home and dropping to 2-8 on the season. Under alumni and first-year head coach, Elijah Glover, Pleasantville is headed back to the postseason with a 6-3 record and presumably a home playoff game in the Group III bracket.

"I knew we weren't going to miss the playoffs my senior year," Washington said. "It's my final year of high school, and I wasn't going to let what happened last year happen again this year. We all bought in under Coach Glover and have put in the work. We didn't want to miss the playoffs again, so we all worked to make sure we can get a home game in the playoffs."

A "hidden" gem amongst the Pleasantville defense is Sekou Toure. The youngest brother of Miami Hurricanes linebacker Mo Toure, Sekou holds offers from Syracuse, Rutgers, Temple, Miami, and Boston College as a 14-year-old freshman standing at 6-foot-4. The youngest Toure picked up where his eldest brother left off for Pleasantville.

"It's great getting to wear the uniform my brother did," Toure claimed. "I feel like I can do anything he did and more. The defense was really good when he was in high school, and I feel like we can bring that now with the team we have. We can't wait to get things started in the playoffs."