Phil's Picks: Saturday games

Here's a closer look at three South Jersey football games on Saturday, with predictions.

Woodbury (3-3) at Paulsboro (5-2), 11 a.m. As usual, the winner of this rivalry game will emerge as the likely champion of the Colonial Conference Patriot Division.

Woodbury bounced back from losses to Sterling and West Deptford with a win last weekend over Haddon Township. The Thundering Herd have a top junior in Darius Triplett.

Paulsboro will look to rebound from a tough loss to Haddonfield last Friday. The Red Raiders have a dual-threat quarterback, junior Carlton Aiken, and a top receiver, junior John Pellegrini.

Pick: Paulsboro, 33-19.

No. 10 Holy Cross (7-0) at No. 18 Burlington Township (5-1), 1:30 p.m. There will be lots of power points on the line in this battle between longtime rivals.

Holy Cross has a chance to move ahead of DePaul for the No. 1 seed in the Non-Public 2 tournament. The Lancers have a top running back in senior Chris Liggio.

Burlington Township has won five in a row behind senior quarterback Aaron Rogers and senior all-purpose player Ken Alexander. The Falcons are angling for a high seed in a loaded Central Jersey Group 4 field.

Pick: Holy Cross, 23-20.

No. 15 Cherokee (3-3) at No. 9 Rancocas Valley (6-0), 2 p.m. The visiting Chiefs' three losses have been to teams that entered Friday night's games with a combined record of 18-0.

Cherokee, the defending South Jersey Group 5 champion, could be in danger of missing the playoffs with another loss, although the Chiefs could qualify with a 4-4 record.

Rancocas Valley will play its first home game of the season after the refurbishing of Coach Bill Gordon Field, which now features an artificial surface. Senior linebacker Chris Bright has led a sturdy Red Devils defense.

Pick: Rancocas Valley, 20-14.