Millville field hockey coach Claudia McCarthy thought that career win No. 478 would register last year. But after recording an 8-9-2 record last season, the Thunderbolts had to wait until this fall to be able to present McCarthy with a victory that will tie the South Jersey record for career wins held by Bobbie Schwartz.

Schwartz, a former Shawnee coach, has a record of 478-65-74. McCarthy is 477-151-109. Millville opens the season M onday at West Deptford.

BILL IEZZI

Goodbye, Burlco Olympic American.

Hello, West Jersey Football League.

In a nod to the past, as well as to geography, the new football superconference that will include many teams from South Jersey will be called the West Jersey Football League.

The league debuts in 2010. It will include 66 teams from the Burlco Olympic, Tri-County and Mercer County-based Colonial Valley.

Some of the new division alignments will be familiar. But some will be different: Williamstown and Clearview will be in with Cherry Hill East, Cherry Hill West and Winslow, for instance.

Another interesing division has Triton, Timber Creek and Highland in with Kingsway, Delsea and Cumberland.

Camden and Woodrow Wilson are projected to be in the same division with Deptford, Gloucester Catholic and Bishop Eustace.

Read more about the new superconference in the Inquirer South Jersey High School Football Guide, which will be published Sept. 10.

-- Phil Anastasia

Wayne Murschell II has been named the new wrestling coach at Eastern High School.

Murschell, a Pitman graduate who wrestled under his father Wayne Murschell for the Panthers, replaces Gary Worthington who resigned in June.

Murschell works at Pitman as a health/phys. ed. teacher. He'll join Eastern's faculty in December, according to Vikings AD Phil Smart.

Murschell's first team will be loaded. The Vikings return two-time 140-pound state champ Anthony Baldosaro as well as 2008 135-pound state champ Hank Stinson, who missed most of last season with an injury.

-- Phil Anastasia

The big news in Gloucester: The Lions will play home games under the lights for the first time since they played at old Charles Street Stadium in the 1940s and 1950s.

Gloucester will open the season Friday, Sept. 11 under the lights against Pitman.

"It's a treat for us," senior OG/LB Sonny Bryan said.

Veteran coach Leon Harris liked playing home games on Saturday mornings. He figured it was a bit of an advantage, and he also liked being about to scout on Friday nights.

"The kids are excited but as coaches we're creatures of habit," Harris said.

The Lions went 6-4 last season, making the SJ Group 1 playoffs for the second year in a row. They lost twice to Tri-County Classic and SJ Group 1 champion Glassboro.

Gloucester should be in the mix again this season. Bryan leads a senior-laden offensive line. Most of the playmakers are juniors, including quarterback Dalton Dunn and wideout Brandon Blackiston.

Still, the big change is the move to Friday nights. Saturday games have been the tradition in Gloucester since the high school at Market Street and Rt. 130 was opened in 1962.

"We can't wait," Bryan said.

-- Phil Anastasia

Veteran coach Sal Marchese has one of his best teams this season at Delsea.

The Crusaders went 8-3 last season and won the S.J. Group 2 title. This year's team will be even better.

Delsea has a beefed-up schedule, too. They play Group 4 Absegami in a non-conference game as well as Delaware state power Salesianum. The Crusaders picked up the all-boys Delaware school to replace Woodstown on the schedule.

Delsea has talent and experience all over the roster. Running backs Austin Medley and Sean McPherson are three-year veterans and quarterback Chris Jackson -- a magician in the ball fakes that are a big part of the Wing T offense -- is back for a second season as a starter.

TE/DE Chris Pondo and OG/DT Jon Hickman are just two of several veterans along both front lines.

"We have the ingredients of a great team," Marchese said.

Delsea and Williamstown are the favorites in the Tri-Co Royal. It's conceivable the two teams could each be 10-0 when they meet on Thanksgiving weekend.

And some folks think that game, which is at Williamstown this year, should be moved to Friday night. That event could draw 5,000 people.

In Group 2, Delsea will be challenged by West Deptford and Haddonfield, with Bridgeton and Willingboro also in the mix as well as a likely contender from the Shore Conference.

But the road to the Group 2 sectional title runs through Franklinville.

-- Phil Anastasia

New coach Clinton Tabb is the first Pennsauken graduate to serve as the Pennsauken coach.

The 30-year-old Tabb, who was a star for the Indians in the mid 1990s and also was a two-time All-American defensive back at Rowan, knows the tradition of Pennsauken football.

"This is all I know," Tabb said. "It's like family to me. All my friends are guys I grew up and played Pennsauken football with. They're like, 'We're going to win, right?'"

Tabb's first team has a trio of dangerous running backs in seniors Talir Satterfield-Rowe, Harry Williams and Jamir King.

"I think all three could start for any team in the conference," Tabb said.

The Indians also have one of South Jersey's most talented juniors in WR Marcus Jones.

Tabb said he doesn't mind playing "bad-cop" and demanding the best from his players.

"It's all about tempo and hustle," Tabb said. "We know we have the talent. We've just got to get everybody on the same page."

-- Phil Anastasia

With a veteran offensive line in front of him, Glassboro tailback P.J. James is going to get a running start on most plays this season.

In other words, watch out.

Glassboro coach Herb Neilio said James, a 6-0, 190-pound junior, recently ran the 40-yard dash in 4.37 seconds on the track. That's 4.37 seconds.

Neilio said James' athletic ability at combine-like testing sessions has been "off the charts."

James can play, too. Last season the sophomore fullback took a screen pass 62 yards for a touchdown in a Group 1 playoffs against Paulsboro, barrelling through a would-be tackle by Red Raiders' star Gerald Hodges along the way.

That's the Gerald Hodges that's currently at Penn State.

Glassboro returns four of five starting offensive linemen from last year's 12-0 team, including senior guard Gary Scruggs.

The Bulldogs enter the season with a 24-game winning streak. They should roll against Tri-County Classic competition -- although Penns Grove will be tough, and Gloucester always is right there -- but the revamped schedule includes games against Group 3 Cumberland in week 3 and Group 3 Kingsway in week 8.

Asked about James, Scruggs smiled and said, "He's going to run for a lot of yards."

-- Phil Anastasia

Few teams run the Wing T as well as West Deptford.

The Eagles will be tough to stop this season, with four returning running backs led by senior Jimmy Owens.

Owens is down to 195 pounds after playing last season at 205. West Deptford coach Clyde Folsom said Owens is "like a different person" this season -- more focused and mature after struggling a bit with injuries and conditioning issues as a sophomore and junior.

Owens isn't the Eagles' only back. In Owens, senior Ken Tamasitis and junior speedster Robbie Fearon, West Deptford returns three backs who combined for more than 2,000 yards last season.

Plus, junior Vaughn Scott might be an emerging star. Folsom is toying with the idea of running some "Wildcat" formations this season with Scott receiving the snap.

Defense will be a bit of an issue, at least early, as West Deptford returns just three starters on that side of the football. But one of them is top linebacker Dan Short.

West Deptford will be challenged by Haddonfield in the Colonial Liberty. In Group 2, the top contenders should be those two, plus defending champion Delsea and darkhorse Willingboro -- a team with Group 4 size and an accomplished new coach in Reggie Lawrence.

"It's always our goal to be playing in December," Folsom said.

-- Phil Anastasia

Veteran coach Glenn Howard has high hopes for Paulsboro, thanks to a sturdy defense and a potential star in inexperienced quarterback Kevin Johnson.

Senior LB Zach Greenwald leads the defense. Greenwald is a Division I recruit who says he's narrowed his college choices to Rutgers, Boston College, Virginia and James Madison.

Most intriguing is the potential of senior quarterback Kevin Johnson. The starting point guard on the basketball team, the cat-quick Johnson was projected as the starting quarterback last season. He was tearing up last summer.

But he suffered a deep thigh bruise the day before the season opener, played sparingly in that one game and sat out the rest of the season. Howard said Johnson is "primed" for a break-out senior season.

Paulsboro is the Colonial Patriot favorite, although Woodbury could challenge the Red Raiders. In Group 1, Paulsboro is gunning for a shot at two-time defending champion Glassboro.

The Bulldogs, who own a 24-game winning streak, knocked the Red Raiders out of the playoffs in 2007 and 2008.

"We want to prove a point," Greenwald said.

-- Phil Anastasia