Training camp 101: Vineland

Coach: Dan Russo (16-24 entering his fifth season).

Last season: 8-2, second in WJFL Continental Division.

Last five seasons: 8-2, 3-7, 3-7, 2-8, 2-8.

Schedule:

9/8: Bridgeton

9/16: at Cherry Hill East

9/23: at Egg Harbor Twp.

9/29: at Cumberland

10/14: Clearview

10/20: at Atlantic City

10/27: at Mainland

11/3: St. Augustine

11/23: Millville

Outlook: Vineland might be the most physically imposing team in South Jersey. The Clan are big, athletic and deep, with a trio of Division I seniors led by QB/RB/DB Isaih Pacheco (6-0, 200), a Rutgers recruit. Pacheco, who is projected as a running back by the Scarlet Knights, gained 1,107 rushing yards with 13 rushing TDs last season and also passed for 519 yards and 9 TDs. Other top players include RB/TE/LB Nihym Anderson (6-2, 230), a Maryland recruit. Anderson is a top pass rusher and run-stopper on defense. He averaged 24 yards per catch as a TE last season with 8 TDs. He will see some action at RB this season. The team's other top recruit is OL/DL Noah Sansalone (6-3, 250), who has committed to Bucknell. Other key returning players include senior OL/DL Allaattin Ardahan (6-1, 295), senior OL/LB Tim Jones (6-0, 245), senior LB Wyatt Kent (6-0, 180) and senior OL/DL Mike Bokma (6-1, 260). Junior TE/DE Anthony Reyes (6-0, 240) is a player to watch on both sides of the football. The Clan also has a top sophomore in FS/QB Ryan Shelton (6-0, 175), who is expected to start on defense and could see some time under center this season with Pacheco moving to RB. Three transfers are expected to make an impact by the middle of the season: senior RB/DB Taj Rease (6-1, 210) from St. Joseph; senior RB/DB Jamal Brooks (5-10, 175) from Delsea; and junior RB/WR/DB D'Andre Tull-Kennedy (5-10, 175) from St. Joseph.

Playoff prospects: Vineland still is smarting as bit from a 29-27 home loss to Howell in the first round of the SJ 5 tournament last season. That was the only real blemish on the breakthrough 2016 season, since the loss to powerhouse St. Augustine was an impressive performance that legitimized the program as much as any of the team's eight victories. Vineland looms with defending champion Millville, its archrival, and Lenape as the on-paper favorites in SJ 5. But that's always a deep and dangerous field. Playoff success is the next step for this program on the rise. This team has the ability to reach Rowan in December, depending on how well they play — and how healthy they stay — in November.

Schedule analysis: Vineland does not have a daunting schedule by the standards of a Group 5 power, which they have become. That likely will change next season. But for now, this is a team that — again, on paper — might be a two-touchdown-or-more favorite in each of its first seven games. Things will change drastically after that, starting with a Nov. 3 home game with St. Augustine, followed by playoff action, followed by a little event that is merely the oldest Thanksgiving Day series in South Jersey, the Vineland-Millville game. This year's game could have a unique twist in that it's possible that the teams could play in back-to-back weeks — either in the SJ 5 semifinals before Turkey Day, or even in the SJ 5 finals after the annual holiday battle. That would create a fascinating context to the 146th renewal of a rivalry that started in 1893.

Player to watch: Pacheco plans to graduate from Vineland in December and enroll at Rutgers in January to get a start on his college career. He still has some unfinished business. More than any player, Pacheco has been the face of Vineland's resurgence. He's been a starter since his freshman season, took some lumps early in his career and led the Clan to prominence last season. He is a top two-way threat as a QB as well as a dynamic defensive back. He could see some action at running back this season, since that could be his position at Rutgers and the Vineland coaching staff has confidence in sophomore QB Ryan Shelton. "This is his team," Russo said of Pacheco. "He sets the tone for this group."

The last word: "We want to leave a legacy," Anderson said of the goal of this year's senior class. "We want to show people what Vineland football is all about."