A long layoff for St. Joseph

St. Joseph probably has the best football team in South Jersey.

The Wildcats certainly are about to be the most rested.

St. Joseph (8-0), the No. 1 team in The Inquirer Top 10, has 22 days off because of the noncompetitive nature of its playoff classification, Non-Public Group 1.

"It's extremely disappointing," St. Joseph's coach Paul Sacco said Sunday. "I feel for our kids. It just doesn't seem right."

St. Joseph's last game was a 37-0 victory over Egg Harbor Township on Friday. The Wildcats won't play again until hosting crosstown rival Hammonton in the annual Thanksgiving weekend game on Nov. 26.

Because there were only three teams that qualified for the Non-Public 1 tournament, St. Joseph has a bye to the state title game on the weekend of Dec. 2-4. The Wildcats will face the Immaculate Conception-St. Mary winner in a game that, on paper, could be a 40-point blowout.

"Many of our seniors have played a quarter or a half in many of our games," said Sacco, whose team has outscored opponents by a combined 391-16. "I really thought they would get more of a chance to play in the tournament this year."

Last year, the NJSIAA combined Non-Public 1 and Non-Public 2. St. Joseph won that title, beating St. Mary in the championship game at Rutgers by 40-0.

Sacco was hoping the NJSIAA would realign the Non-Public teams into three groups this season. That would have created much more competition - or at least given St. Joseph the opportunity to play two or three tournament games, like other championship teams.

But the NJSIAA split the Non-Public teams back into four groups before this season.

"We've never had an opportunity to play 12 games," Sacco said. "This team, with all the work these kids have put in, will only play 10 games. It's just not fair."

Home sweet home. Pennsauken (7-1) earned the No. 1 seed in South Jersey Group 4, and the Indians will host a playoff game for the first time since 2005 when eighth-seeded Atlantic City visits on Saturday.

"It's a big thing for us," Pennsauken coach Clint Tabb said. "We're not getting out of our routine. We're not getting on a bus. We're not playing on a Friday night when the weather could be bad."

Tabb knows Atlantic City is a dangerous No. 8 seed.

"If they beat Millville [which defeated Atlantic City by 27-19 on Friday night], they could be a No. 2 or No. 3," Tabb said of the Vikings. "We look at them as one of the upper-echelon teams."

Rested Charger. Timber Creek coach Rob Hinson was able to rest senior quarterback Calvin Lowe, who has been battling a turf-toe injury, as the Chargers beat winless Highland by a 41-8 score on Friday.

Timber Creek (8-0), the No. 1 seed in South Jersey 3, was led by reserve quarterback Myles Nash, a junior who threw five touchdown passes.

"It was an opportunity to let Calvin rest and look forward to Myles playing quarterback next year," Hinson said. "Plus, if something happens to Calvin in the playoffs, now Myles has a little playing time under his belt."

Dangerous Spartans. Preseason No. 1 Holy Spirit is just 5-3, with one loss by forfeit, but the Spartans are the No. 2 seed in Non-Public 2 and will have a bye before facing the Queen of Peace-Montclair Kimberley winner on Nov. 18.

"It's been a crazy year, but I think we're starting to get back on track," coach Chalie Roman said. "We're gaining some confidence."

The bye comes at a good time for senior running back Donta Pollock, who is nursing a knee injury.

Little big man. Millville running back Alquann Jones, who is just 5-foot-8 and 165 pounds, leads South Jersey with 1,533 yards. He went for 267 yards Friday against Atlantic City.

Jones, who has 18 touchdowns, is 3 yards shy of the program's 11-game rushing record of 1,536 yards set by Terrance Williams in 1997.

Millville (8-0), the No. 2 seed in South Jersey 4, will host No. 7 Rancocas Valley (6-2) on Friday night in the Thunderbolts' first home playoff game since 1978. Millville is 8-0 for the first time since the 1975 team went 11-0.

Central sectionals. Northern Burlington (7-1) earned the No. 1 seed in Central Jersey 3 and will host Steinert, while Burlington Township (6-2) earned the No. 3 seed and will host Wodbridge.

Florence (7-1) is the No. 3 seed in Central Jersey 1 and will host Shore Regional.

Good cause. Camden Catholic senior defensive back Darien Bouzakis is spearheading a fund-raising campaign along with the school's Christian Leadership Group for injured Rutgers football player Eric LeGrand.

The group will have a booth at home games and will be giving away Eric LeGrand Believe CDs, while soliciting donations.

Bouzakis said he hopes to convince LeGrand to visit Camden Catholic, "hopefully after we win states."

Camden Catholic is 8-0 and the No. 1 seed in Non-Public 2.