Cherokee had growing pains.
Shawnee had pains, period - thanks to a run of injuries.
But it's a measure of the strength of both programs that the Chiefs and Renegades each finished 7-3 with late-season surges against quality competition.
"If 7-3 is a bad year, we're doing OK," Shawnee coach Tim Gushue said. "And I don't think this was a bad year. I think our kids played pretty well."
The big disappointment for both programs, which are among the best in the state, was exclusion from the Group 4 state tournament. Both teams were 5-3 at the cutoff but weren't among the top eight teams in power points among South Jersey Group 4 squads.
"Some years 5-3 gets you in," Cherokee coach P.J. Mehigan said. "This wasn't one of those years. But we don't have anything to complain about. Our kids did the best they could."
Cherokee, which had won back-to-back South Jersey Group 4 titles and gone a combined 23-1 in 2009-10, was in a bit of a rebuilding phase this season.
Mehigan said the Chiefs started eight sophomores and a freshman in different games. And the team's top player was junior running back Zaire Williams, who found his stride about a month into the season.
"If they take that next step, it helps," Mehigan said of the experience gained by his younger players.
Cherokee won five of its last six, beating Absegami in a playoff consolation and Seneca on Thanksgiving Day. Williams fueled that surge as the running back gained 1,561 of his 1,655 yards in the final seven games.
"Things changed for him in the fourth game," Mehigan said. "Part of it was that we had some inexperience on the offensive line. But the other part was that he started running downhill, hitting the hole full speed, and making one cut.
"We told him, 'Get us four yards before trying to get us 40.' Before he was trying to get 40 instead of four."
Shawnee finished strong, too, winning three of four down the stretch. The Renegades beat Egg Harbor Township in a playoff consolation and beat Lenape on Thanksgiving Day.
The Renegades' whole season was a battle to overcome injuries.
Standout senior offensive lineman Tom Smith was lost in August with a back ailment and standout senior running back/defensive back Kyle Wigley was lost in Week 3 with a torn ligament in his knee.
Junior running back Robbie DiOrio was lost with a shoulder injury Nov. 5 and junior Evan Wayns suffered a broken leg in the victory over Lenape.
