Gloucester's Mason Widman (3) rushes against Woodbury in the football game played at Woodbury High School in Woodbury, New Jersey on Saturday, September 30, 2023. Collin Conway/D2 Sports Network
WOODBURY (N.J.) - The Gloucester City High School football team was in need of a statement win and felt confident after an extra week of preparation for its latest opponent.
The Lions returned fresh of their bye week to stun defending Group 1 state champion Woodbury, 14-8, on Saturday afternoon.
Gloucester also upset the Thundering Herd in the first round of the South Jersey Group 1 playoffs with a 14-6 victory in 2014.
The Lions remained true to their identity and ran the football 42 times.
The result?
Over 200 rushing yards.
Mason Widman and Jake Zearfoss led Gloucester's ground attack. Widman finished with 109 rushing yards, a score and a successful two-point conversion run. Zearfoss added a team-High 111 yards.
The two-headed monster of Zearfoss and Widman have combined for 1,198 yards in only five games for the Lions.
"Having two very talented running backs is a breath of fresh air," Gloucester coach Rob Bryan said. "When both are hot at the same time, it's very difficult for teams to stop and we saw that today."
Gloucester's Jake Zearfoss rushed for 111 yards and snared a late interception on defense to seal a 14-8 win against Woodbury in the football game played at Woodbury High School in Woodbury, New Jersey on Saturday, September 30, 2023. Chris Baker/D2 Sports Network
Zearfoss also picked off Woodbury's Jayden Johnson with under a minute left in regulation. Each team threw three interceptions. Johnson finished 14-for-27 passing for 147 yards and a touchdown pass to Campbell commit Wilson Torres.
"Anytime you beat Woodbury, it's almost stunning," Bryan said. "The name alone holds so much weight to their program and Coach Reagan does a great job over there. There's a reason they're defending state champs."
Mental and physical preparation was the key factor in practice leading up to the matinee in Woodbury.
"We had a bye week so for about two straight weeks we were just hitting and practicing each other," Zearfoss said. "We got sick of hitting each other in practice so we took it out on Woodbury today."
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