West Deptford football battles emotions and longtime rival to retain Mayor's Cup

West Deptford's Zamir Davis (2) runs into the end zone against Paulsboro in the football game played at Clyde Folsom Field on the campus of West Deptford High School in West Deptford, New Jersey on Friday, September 11, 2026. Collin Conway/D2 Sports Network

WEST DEPTFORD (N.J.) - Around 6:45pm, spectators at West Deptford High School gathered pre-game for an unveiling of a new statue outside of the football field. The statue is a bronze eagle commemorating West Deptford alum Nick Brandemarti, who lost his life in the September 11th terror attacks, 25 years ago on the day. 

The number 44 Brandemarti wore as an Eagle has been a symbol of courage and toughness that Brandemarti displayed as a captain of the football team. The number is all over the football team's facilities in the weight room, locker room, and number decals on each helmet are just some places you'll find the number 44. After Friday night, no athlete will ever wear the number 44 again for West Deptford as the number will not only be retired for the football team, but across all  West Deptford sports. 

After the statue unveiling, the attention was directed to the scoreboard, where the field would be going under a major change. The West Deptford High School football team will now play all of their games at the newly minted Clyde Folsom Field, named after Clyde Folsom, who turned the Eagles into one of the best teams in South Jersey year in and year out after what seemed like eons of losing seasons. 

"Clyde's like a father to me," West Deptford coach John Emel said. "We've worked together for so long, and we're so close, we talk every day. He's one of the biggest reasons I am where I am today." 

"Retiring Nick's number and reminding the kids of legacy is important. They weren't alive for 9/11, and they weren't alive to see Nick play, so their understanding of how serious the number and statue are come through the stories we tell" Emel added in regard to the 9/11 attacks and helping his players understand the reasoning behind retiring the number 44 and the bronze eagle statue. 

Another special occasion celebrated before the game was the annual "Youth Appreciation Night" that many schools with local youth programs have each year. 

Finally, after all of the pre-game festivities pushed kickoff back about half an hour, West Deptford got to work early against one of its most heated rivals, Paulsboro. The Eagles defense started a party in the backfield that lasted all night long resulting in a 22-0 shutout.

Al Dayrell controlled the line of scrimmage on defense, setting the edge and tallying a pair of sacks and coming oh-so-close to a third sack late in the fourth quarter. The senior edge rusher has three and a half sacks through the first three games of the season, paired with almost double digit tackles for a loss in that time frame. 

"I wish I could've gotten that last sack at the end," Dayrell said. "I'll make up for it next game. This defensive unit is as good as anyone's, I believe. We return so many guys, and I feel like we're always on the same page, which has helped us the most this season. It's early, so I'm excited to see what we can bring throughout the season." 

The offensive engine for West Deptford, Zamir Davis, picked up where he left off a week ago. A third-straight game with over 100 yards rushing, Davis also found the end zone twice on the ground and picked off a pass on defense. Davis has now scored in his last six games dating back to last season as well as ran for 100 or more yards in four of his last five games in that same timeframe. 

"We just gotta clean some little things up," Davis said. "We had some touchdowns called back, and we could've broken the game open early and scored more, but we held ourselves back. If we want to put games away earlier or capitalize more on drives, then we have to cut back on the penalties. It's nothing we can't work on in practice. We just have to clean it up and keep our momentum rolling."