Saint Augustine Prep’s Aidan Davis led the Hermits with 14 goals last season. He returns this year as a reigning second team All-State selection. (Mark Zimmaro)
The 2021-22 school year will kick off soon and local high school athletes have already been putting hours of work in to prepare for the upcoming fall season.
In football, Holy Spirit in Absecon has made a habit of playing on the biggest stages after reaching the Non-Public Group 2 championship in both 2018 and 2019, facing Saint Joseph’s Hammonton both times. After falling short in 2018, the Spartans got revenge in a big way in 2019 with a 38-0 victory in the championship game at Rutgers University. Holy Spirit carried that momentum into a shortened 2020 by running the table with an 8-0 record, which included victories over Saint Augustine and against powerhouse Lenape in the West Jersey Football League Pod A Championship, which crowned the unofficial best team in South Jersey. The Spartans were forced to settle for that title as there was no state tournament last year.
Gone is all-state running back Patrick Smith, who is now at Vanderbilt University after racking up 1,719 yards and 16 touchdowns last year in just eight games. The Spartans will surely miss Smith, but have plenty of talent returning to the gridiron this season, led by senior offensive lineman Justin McNulty, who also received all-state honors. Elijah Steward caught 24 balls for 293 yards and returns as the Spartans most consistent offensive threat. On defense, a player to watch is senior linebacker Michael Francisco, who led the team with 51 tackles last season.
Another perennial powerhouse, Saint Augustine Prep, Richland, went 4-3 last year. The Hermits will be relying on senior running back Kanye Udoh, who ran for 648 yards and six touchdowns last season. Senior two-way lineman Brady Small, a third-team All-Non Public selection last year, is a West Point commit.
Haddonfield’s Paul VI, a team that has struggled in recent years, pieced together a 5-2 campaign last season, which included victories over rivals Bishop Eustace, Camden Catholic and Gloucester Catholic.
Camden Catholic went 3-3 last year and will look to take another step in the right direction, as the Irish are just three years removed from a winless season. Junior Marques Hicks ran for 1,074 yards in just six games last year. Pennsauken’s Bishop Eustace (1-7) will look to turn the tide after consecutive one-win seasons.
In boys soccer, Saint Augustine was the cream of the crop last year, going 15-1-1 on the season, capping off an incredible run by capturing the South, West F Non-Public championships. The Hermits allowed just six goals the entire season. Leading scorer Aidan Davis (14 goals in 2020) returns to lead a deep and talented Hermits’ squad as a reigning second-team All-State selection. He’s joined by Brian Skarkey and Shane Clancy, with all three having received Cape Atlantic League All-Star recognition.
Speaking of the Cape Atlantic League, things went south for Holy Spirit (0-9-1) last year after an opening day tie with Cape May Tech, and the Spartans will look to quickly erase a nine-game losing streak.
Further down the shoreline, Wildwood Catholic experienced the start of a rebuild last season as the Crusaders went 2-7. Prior to that, Wildwood Catholic enjoyed five winning seasons in six years. They return a young roster, but junior Jimmy Kane has six career goals to lead the Crusaders back into the fray.
On the western side of the state, Paul VI is coming off an impressive 9-4 season under first-year coach Bob Stocklin, a Paul VI alum. Nick Anselmi returns as the Eagles’ top scorer after netting eight goals last year, and Paul VI has a great young goaltender in junior Jonathan Leary, who stopped 100 shots and recorded six shutouts last year.
Competition should be tight as usual in the Olympic Conference. Bishop Eustace was 4-7-1 last season but gave Paul VI a run in a 4-3 loss in the semifinal round of the playoffs last fall. The Crusaders have junior Liam Higgins (seven goals) leading the charge up front. Camden Catholic’s record was 3-9-1, but five of those losses were by one goal, proving the Irish are no easy target.
Gloucester Catholic didn’t have much of a season last year as the team only competed in four games. The Rams are hoping to begin an ascent to where the program was five years ago, when it enjoyed three straight double-digit win seasons.
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