Read more about the sentencing at Brian Mertz Gets 50 Years in Slaying of Jennifer Whipkey.

Read more about the game at Early Lead Evaporates on Eagles on Loss to Cherry Hill East.

Mile-wide smiles and anxious little ones could only mean one thing on Friday night—the RiverWinds Holiday Celebration. The festivities kicked off at 6 p.m. in the community center’s lobby.   With the lobby of the RiverWinds Community Center decked to the max, local families began to pour in, taking part in the celebration and—of course—seeing Santa.  “We keep adding little things every year,” says RiverWinds Recreation Services Specialist Debbi Blaum, who coordinated the event.  Blaum explains that her father was the first Santa Claus in West Deptford, and recalls him visiting schools …

West Deptford's marching band—along with football and boys' soccer, one of the three championship squads for the fall—closed out its field show season Saturday with one last hurrah at the NJSIAA South Jersey, Group 2 football championship at Rowan University. Here's our last look at the 2012 show. For more on the marching band's season, see:  Viewfinder: WD Marching Band's Final Home Show Marching Eagles Win Third-Straight ACC Title Viewfinder: West Deptford High School Marching Band at South Jersey Championships Marching Eagles Put on Successful Show at Home Marching Eagles Best In State …

Make sure you check out all of our coverage of the championship win for the West Deptford football team: Owens Leads Eagles to Group 2 Title Viewfinder: West Deptford Football Repeats as Group 2 Champs Video: 'We Willed This Game' Did you take photos? Add them to the gallery by clicking on "upload photos and videos," above. Don't miss any West Deptford news: sign up for our daily news digest.

Check back Sunday for even more pictures from West Deptford's march to the South Jersey Group 2 championship. Don't forget to read our game coverage at Owens Leads Eagles to Group 2 Title. Did you take photos at the game? Add them to our gallery! Click on "upload photos and videos," above.  Get photo galleries like this delivered to your inbox with our daily news digest. Sign up here. 

So many toys and so many hands to sort them. No, it’s not Santa’s workshop—but it looks pretty close. Members of the National Honor Society (NHS) worked for close to three hours Friday afternoon transforming the West Deptford High School cafeteria into ground zero for Operation Blessing. Rows of tables with every toy imaginable filled the cafeteria as the students busied themselves, sorting the toys into various age categories. “I think the toys were the best part because we got to go toy shopping,” says senior and NHS president Keriana Pfleger. Last Tuesday, members of the NHS gathered at …

The Marching Eagles got in their last home show Friday night, performing their championship-winning halftime show for a packed playoff home crowd. Thanks to a resounding, 28-7 win by the football team, the band will get one more chance to perform at the state championship game this weekend at Rowan University. Kickoff for that game is set for 1 p.m. at Richard Wackar Stadium. Did you take any photos of the marching band this season? Add them to our gallery by clicking on "upload photos and videos." Make sure you're in the know. Sign up for West Deptford Patch's daily news digest. 

A week after racking up 40 points to blow out Cumberland in the semifinals, the West Deptford sophomore Eagles couldn't find any offense at all in a 28-0 loss to Kingsway in the Tri-County Midget Football League championship at West Deptford High School Saturday. The Dragons scored at the 8:53 mark in the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead, and after recovering an onside kick immediately after, drove down for another touchdown 3:16 into the second quarter. The Eagles never had an answer, as they struggled to pick up first downs and never really threatened in the red zone, unlike in their 31-26 …

Read Cornelius Wills Eagles Back to Title Game for coverage of the West Deptford vs. Woodstown game on Nov. 30. 

Get the full game coverage at Gill's Saves, 'Devine' Intervention Key in WD Soccer's South Jersey Title.    Follow West Deptford sports action with the click of a mouse—sign up for Patch's free daily news digest and breaking news alerts.

Read all of West Deptford Patch's election season coverage at our special topic page.

Read more about the game at 'Unsung' Smith Helps Eagles Escape Haddon Heights with Win.

Read more about the high school marching band at West Deptford Marching Band Tunes Up for First Competition.

For a bit more than 44 minutes, it looked like Haddon Heights and West Deptford were locked in a defensive masterpiece destined for overtime. In the space of 87 seconds, that defensive masterpiece blew apart. The Eagles' Brooke Brown found the first chink in the Garnets' armor, scoring a tip-in at the 14:29 mark of the second half, followed less than a minute and a half later by Amanda Hojnowski's goal in what would become a 4-0 win under the lights at West Deptford High School. West Deptford also got goals from Jade Freeberg, who, in shades of her performance against Haddonfield, went flying…

West Deptford bounced back from a loss to Collingswood to beat Haddon Heights, 3-2, to improve to 2-1 on the week and 3-2 on the young season Thursday. Led by Marthalyn Johnson and Katie Schober, who each posted 6-1, 6-0 wins at first and third singles, respectively, the Eagles also got a win from their first doubles team of Eisha Granger and Keriann Pfleger. Earlier in the week, the Eagles also took down Woodbury, 4-1, as Schober and Michelle Bower led the team with wins at singles. Next up is the Gloucester County tournament this weekend, which starts Saturday morning at Clearview and …