South Football, 6-0
The test for South’s football program came on October 11, when the Pirates faced Notre Dame, also undefeated. South emerged victorious, 44-23. Most recently the team defeated crosstown rival North, 49-13, on October 18, avoiding a repeat of last year’s 21-7 loss to the Knights — the only game that stood in the way of a perfect regular season last year.##M:[more]##
Next up for South: an away game against Nottingham on Saturday, October 25, at 1 p.m.
North Soccer, 13-0
After last year’s rollercoaster of a season, the Knights do not look like they will be facing any slumps as they make their way through the toughest part of their schedule.
Last year’s Group III sectional champions, the Knights are in far better shape this season than last, when they finished 13-8-1 and made it all the way to the state sectional final before losing a heart-wrencher to Ocean City in a game that came down to penalty kicks.
This year’s team pulled off two overtime wins, against Hopewell Valley, 1-0, on October 16, and Notre Dame on October 21, and also has wins against Hightstown and Nottingham.
The team’s final game of the season was scheduled for October 23 (after deadline) against Trenton — an end to a long, tough stretch of the season.
Coach Trevor Warner says the motivation to win has been “contagious” all season, which drove the team to remain undefeated. “Everybody feels our tenacity and our belief that we can get it done,” he said. Referring to the games against Hopewell and Notre Dame, he says, “we had numerous changes to either take the lead and score multiple goals, and things didn’t work in our favor. Players can put their heads down and start to second guess themselves, and posture changes a little bit. But our guys continue to push forward and know there’s going to be another chance.”
If North is successful against Trenton, it will head into the state tournament at 14-0 and with the likelihood that it will receive the first seed, meaning it gets to play all its games at home — a huge advantage since the team has only lost one game on its turf field in the past two years. The team also begins the Mercer County tournament on Saturday, October 25, against Robbinsville. The tournament ends Friday, October 31, after which comes the state tournament.
