Winslow football survives valiant effort by Brick Memorial, advances to Group 4 state championship

Winslow Township's Julian Peterson (2) snares a one-handed interception as Brick Memorial's Trey Tallmadge (9) attempts a catch in the New Jersey Group 4 state semifinal football game played at Winslow Township High School in Atco, New Jersey on Saturday, November 22, 2025. Collin Conway/D2 Sports Network

ATCO - The Winslow Township High School football team has not lost a game to a public school since November 17, 2023.

The Eagles had not scored less than 26 points against a public school opponent this season prior to Saturday.

The South Jersey Group 4 champions faced adversity, but ultimately stood their ground.

Winslow edged Central Jersey Group 4 champion Brick Memorial, 14-12, in the Group 4 state semifinals on Saturday afternoon.

"They were resilient today," Winslow coach Bill Belton said. "The defense played a great game from start to finish. We got to do a better job as an offense and scoring points. I think we did that for the most part this whole year, but today we just didn't have our best game. It is what it is. We still have another week."

The Eagles (11-2 record) advanced to their second straight Group 4 state championship with the triumph. Winslow will play Ramapo in the Group 4 state final at Rutgers University on Sunday, November 30 at 3 pm.

The Mustangs trailed 14-0 until the 8:41 mark of the third quarter. Brick Memorial quarterback Jason Lajara located Nyzier Matthews for a 24-yard touchdown to trim the deficit to eight points. A second TD pass to Shawn Fowler brought the Mustangs to within two points with 11:53 left in regulation.

The momentum shifted into Brick Memorial's favor for a majority of the fourth quarter until Winslow Township's Benji Carter seized the energy with a defensive play along the sideline.

The junior defensive lineman sacked Lajara with 4:11 left in the fourth quarter to force 4th-and-goal from the 11-yard line. The play set up a field goal attempt by the Mustangs. The kick sailed wide left with 4:05 left.

"It's my job to go get the quarterback and make big plays like that," Carter said.

Carter finished with 2.5 sacks. Rob Carstarphen added 3.0 sacks.

The Mustangs forced Winslow to punt on the next drive. Brick Memorial began its final drive at its own 25-yard line. A few plays later, former Penn State commit Julian Peterson snared a one-handed interception to set up victory formation for the Eagles. The play sent Winslow's sideline and fan section into as a frenzy.

The Eagles had punched their ticket to another state championship.

"Only a couple seconds left, I saw everyone running deep," Peterson said. "I kind of tried to play in-between both of the receivers. I saw the ball in the air and made a play like I had to. It feels great. I had to do it for the team. That was all that was on my mind."

Peterson also intercepted a pass on a two-point conversion attempt to preserve Winslow's two-point lead early in the fourth quarter.

"They went in motion, I knew I had help on the inside," Peterson said, "so I just stayed outside. Play inside out. I was just at the right place at the right time and made a play."

Winslow quarterback Jalen Parker tied the New Jersey record for most career touchdown passes (105) in the triumph with a 20-yard pass to T.J. Maddox. Parker shares the record with former Timber Creek standout and former Baltimore Ravens quarterback Devin Leary. The junior finished 16-for-20 passing with 174 yards, 2 TDs and an INT.

Delaware commit Na'Keem Powell led the Eagles with 64 yards on the ground. Maddox caught 4 passes for a game-high 56 yards. Minnesota commit Quayd Hendryx reeled in 2 catches for 48 yards. The Burlington Township transfer flipped his commitment from UConn to Minnesota following Saturday's win. North Carolina commit Nyqir "Boomer" Helton charted 4 receptions for 48 yards and a TD. Ausar Heard forced a fumble that was recovered by Ka'ron Ceasar.

Brick Memorial concluded its campaign with a 10-3 record. The Ocean County program won its first sectional title since 2008 and reeled off seven straight victories before the loss on Saturday.

Lajara finished 14-for-17 passing with 163 yards and 2 TDs. The senior set school records for career passing TDs and passing yards. Na'zeer Whittaker rushed for a team-high 73 yards in the loss. Colin Schoellkopf recorded an INT on defense in the second quarter.

"I'm proud of the people they are," Brick Memorial coach Walt Currie said. "They're champions. They're championship people. I know the scoreboard says otherwise, but these guys are championship human beings. They're championship football players, but they're championship people and that's going to go a lot further than that scoreboard when that scoreboard turns off."

The Mustangs became the first public school to lose by less than six points to Winslow Township since Millville in last year's Group 4 state semifinals. Brick Memorial effectively utilized quarters and cover 3 coverages on defense to minimize the amount of yards surrendered through the air.

"The defensive side did a really great job of mixing up coverages," Currie said. "Mixing up variations of the same coverage. We tried to not give their quarterback the same look every time. We also know they're really good play callers and can kind of pick you apart if you stay in the same version of the same coverage. We tried to mix up variations of the same coverage to try and keep them guessing a little bit."

Saturday proved the Eagles are capable of winning close games.

The resilience exhibited earned them an opportunity to compete for a second consecutive Group 4 state championship.

"We left some plays out there," Belton said. "We'll get it corrected. We needed a day like today."