Football: Training camp confidential: Delsea

By Phil Anastasia

Training camp confidential: Delsea

Coach Sal Marchese Jr.

Last season: 10-2, second in WJFL Royal, won South Jersey Group 3 title

Schedule: Clearview, at Camden, at Timber Creek, Paul VI, Pennsauken, at Eastern, at Hammonton, Triton, Kingsway (no bye, no Thanksgiving game)

Player to watch: Senior running back Isaiah Spencer (pictured). The 5-foot-10, 183-pound Spencer ran for 1,423 yards and scored 21 TDs last season. This season, he is expected to see some action at fullback, where he's likely to get more carries than he did as a wingback last season. "I like it," Spencer said of playing fullback. "I like running in the middle, hitting people. Whereever the team wants me to play, I'll play." Spencer also is a top defensive back who teams with highly-touted junior James Chukwurah to give the Crusaders some serious speed and range in the secondary. Spencer is undecided about college. He could attend a junior college before moving to a four-year school.

Outlook: The WJFL alignment and schedule committee must think very highly of Delsea. The Crusaders were bumped up two divisions from the Royal to the National. They will be the only Group 3 team in the National, which now includes Group 4 powers Timber Creek and Hammonton as well as holdovers Kingsway, Clearview and Pennsauken. Delsea also got out-of-division games with Paul VI and Group 5 Eastern. Delsea should be able to compete with a strong OL that features senior Vic DeFrance (5-11, 205) and juniors Miles Lindsay (5-11, 270) and Mark Chaney (6-0, 295). Senior TE/LB Phil Sampson (6-2, 230) is a top player who has a scholarship offer from Pitt, among other programs. Senior LB Ameer Banks (6-0, 200) is another top defender. Chukwurah (6-3, 180) looks like a future Division I defensive back. Delsea has a top kicker in senior Bronson Deckert, who made 49 of 52 PATs. The new QB is junior Quinn Collins (5-11, 180), a dual-threat. The Crusaders could play 4-5 sophomores at times, and one 10th-grader to watch is FB Rashaad Washington (5-9, 210).

Fast fact: Delsea is 56-13 with four sectional titles in the last six seasons.

Quote: "We're going to be playing some young kids and that's tough with the schedule we have now," Marchese said. "We're going to challenged every week with this schedule. It's good. But it's going to be tough for some of these young kids."

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