Thanks to a perfect 8-0 regular season record, the road through the South Jersey Group 2 football playoffs goes through West Deptford.
The Eagles were granted the No. 1 seed in the sectional playoffs, which will begin on Friday. West Deptford will host Colonial Conference rival Sterling in the quarterfinals. The game is Friday night at 7 p.m.
Sterling (4-4) managed to sneak into the playoffs ahead of Haddonfield (5-3), who were eliminated with a loss to West Deptford on Friday night. Sterling had just four more power points than the Bulldawgs, despite finishing behind them in the standings.
Friday night's game will be a rematch of the two teams' meeting from Sept. 28, when the Eagles defeated the Silver Knights 35-20 in Somerdale. Gerald Owens ran for 86 yards and two touchdowns in the victory. Shai Mumford added five catches, including a touchdown reception.
The winner of Friday night's game will move on to the semifinals on Nov. 30 or Dec. 1. They will play the winner of the game between No. 4 Haddon Heights and No. 5 Woodstown. Those two teams will battle on Saturday afternoon.
The other side of the sectional bracket is unfamiliar to the Eagles, as it features two Burlington County schools and two Cape-Atlantic schools. Undefeated No. 2 seed Cedar Creek is the favorite to come out of the lower end of the bracket. They will host No. 7 Cinnaminson in their first round game. The other quarterfinal will feature No. 3 Willingboro hosting No. 6 Middle Township.
The South Jersey Group 2 title game will be held on Dec. 7 at Rowan University.
Final Group 2 power points through Nov. 11:
- West Deptford (8-0)—151
- Cedar Creek (8-0)—125
- Willingboro (5-3)—102
- Haddon Heights (6-2)—102
- Woodstown (5-3)—99
- Middle Township (5-3)—98
- Cinnaminson (5-3)—88
- Sterling (4-4)—84
- Haddonfield (5-3)—80
- Buena (4-4)—72
- Collingswood (2-6)—49
- Pemberton (1-7)—38
- Overbrook (1-7)—33
- Lower Cape May (1-7)—33
- Pleasantville (0-8)—25
