Cherry Hill West is one of three teams in the traditional seven-county South Jersey region that have never made the playoffs since the creation of the tournament in 1974. Two-year-old Cedar Creek (which is 6-0 and bound for the South Jersey Group 2 tournament) and Wildwood (which is 4-3 and alive in the South Jersey Group 1 race) are the others.
"We talked before the [Moorestown] game [about] playing for our playoff lives," Wright said. "The kids understand. This is a great opportunity."
Cherry Hill West played sturdy defense against Moorestown. The Lions got a pair of touchdown passes from junior quarterback Rodney Williams.
Cherry Hill West has games against Bishop Eustace (2-4) and Camden Catholic (4-2) before the playoff cutoff. The Lions look to be in a scramble with Seneca (3-3) and Toms River South (3-3) for the No. 8 spot in the South Jersey Group 4 field.
Seneca's big upset. Seneca shocked then-No. 4 Camden Catholic by a 14-13 score on Friday night.
"It was just a great win for the program," Golden Eagles coach Bill Fisher said. "We've been working so hard at practice, but the kids needed to see a result. We've been telling them, 'Keep doing the right things and good things are going to happen.' "
The difference in Friday's game was a blocked extra point. Fisher said Tim Will and Chase Vena both got a piece of the kick after a Camden Catholic touchdown in the third quarter.
Seneca faces a tough road for a playoff berth with No. 10 Washington Township (5-1) and No. 3 Timber Creek (5-2) scheduled before the cutoff.
"We needed this to get some confidence going with the teams we have to face the next two weeks," Fisher said.
Creek rising. Timber Creek (5-2) has won three in a row and four of five.
The third-ranked Chargers have been finishing games with authority in recent weeks. They outscored Paul VI, 14-0, in the fourth quarter on Friday in a 27-6 victory.
"We're not running out of energy," Timber Creek coach Rob Hinson said. "We're keeping the pressure on people."
This and that. Glassboro's Corey Clement and Woodbury's Anthony Averett, who are best friends, have committed to play in the Semper Fidelis Bowl Jan. 4 in Carson City, Calif. . . . With four touchdown passes in a 49-18 victory over Clayton on Saturday, Pennsville junior Dylan Cummings set the Salem County record for career touchdown passes with 50. Penns Grove senior Nick Elmer is right behind with 49. The old mark of 48 was set by Salem's Jay Venuto in 1975 and tied by Pennsville's Ken Emmons in 2010.
Contact Phil Anastasia at panastasia@phillynews.com, or follow on Twitter @PhilAnastasia.
