The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 1

A i I I I II I I I I I Hi I- ri-l I l-l-B-l I III I- 12 FJ Sunday. Dec. 3, 1978 Philadelphia Inquirer Deptford captures Group 3 crown Cos for 11-0 year By Sam Carchidi Special to The Inquirer A beaming coach Joe Corbi looked like an over-inflated basketball, bouncing up and down atop the shoulders of his joyous Deptford football players, as they danced off the Sterling High field yesterday after finally securing the South Jersey Group 3 football championship before 3,500 spectators The Spartans (11-0), The Inquirer's No. 1 South Jersey football team for every week this season, had just worn down a stubborn Collingswood squad (9-2), 14-0, to capture their first sectional title after three unsuccessful attempts. "Two years ago (when Sterling beat Deptford in the Group 3 finals), every senior who's on this football team now said, "We'll get it for you, coach, when we're said an emotionally drained Corbi after his feet were back on the ground.

"And they sure did." "What can I say I never expected us to shut them out," he went on. "I told the kids that if we hold them to two (touchdowns), we should win. Hold them to one, there's no doubt about it." Led by middle guard Justin Frank, a 5-foot 6-inch, 195-pound senior, the Colls' defense broke just once during an evenly played first half. That one time proved pivotal, however, as Deptford, which went into the game averaging 33 points a game, took the lead when senior quarterback Dan Greene fired a short pass to wide-open end Joe Wilson, who cut across the middle and down the right sidelines for a 44-yard touchdown connection midway through the opening quarter. "It was a delay and when they blitz (which they did), there's no way to stop it," said Wilson, who scored his second touchdown of the season.

"I held for a count of two to give the linebackers a chance to do what they have to do drop back or blitz. Quarterback Dan Green finds a gaping hole in the Collingswood line in fourth quarter Philadelphia Inquirer EDWARD J. FREEMAN and scores Deptford's second touchdown that sealed title win I irfr i 'y Palmyra turns back Florence Special fo The Inquirer Derek Holloway broke the South Jersey career scoring mark and Keith Myers set the South Jersey season record for extra points yesterday when Palmyra (10-1) blanked Florence, 38-0, and won the South Jersey Group 1 sectional football championship on its home field. Holloway rushed for 323 yards and scored three touchdowns. His 18 points enabled him to eclipse record of 176 points, set by Florence's Roger Morton in nine games during the 1950 campaign.

Holloway finished with 188 points in 1 1 games. Myers' three extra points gave him 35 for the season, one more than another Palmyra performer, Duane Cherry, who kicked 34 in 1975. Cherry is now at Rutgers. Palmyra, which rushed for 433 yards and limited Florence to 33, blew to a 22-0 halftime lead on Butch Birkhead's three-yard run, a safety and two touchdowns by Holloway. The 38 points enabled Palmyra to increase its seasonal total to 432, breaking its own sectional mark.

Florence ended its campaign at 8-3, including two losses to Palmyra. Florenct 0 0 0 0 0 Shaders fall by 21-16 in title game Special to The Inquirer Senior halfback Mike Koehl went over the rushing mark for the season yesterday, but his Maple Shade team lost the South Jersey Group 2 footballchampionship game to host Point Pleasant Boro, 21-16. Koehl, who gained 93 yards on 11 carries to lift his season total to 1,023 yards, scored on a 23-yard run in the second quarter to help the Burlco Freedom League champions earn a 7-7halftimetie. Randy Read gave the Wildcats (9-2) their only lead of the game by drilling a 26-yard field goal in the third quarter. The Panthers' (10-1) Dino DeLisa scored on two fourth-quarter runs to secure the hosts' second consecutive sectional crown.

DeLisa, a 5-foot 10-inch junior halfback who helped his team accumulate 184 rushing yards on the day, scored on jaunts of one and eight yards. The Shaders' Mike Mullen capped the scoring on a seven-yard touchdown pass from Rich Moule (11-for-26 126 yards) in the game's closing Maple Shade 0 7 Pt. Pleasant Boro 0 7 P-Smith 1 run (Taooart kick) M-Koehl 23 run (Read kick) M-Read 26 field goal P-DeLisa run (Tagaart kick) P-DeLisa 1 run M-Mullen 7 pass from Moult (run failed) 6 le 14 21 i ill: 1 it i i i i pass and went 44 yards for a Grundhauser and Morris spark Toms River to 16-6 Group 4 win "All I was looking for really was the first down," he said, rehashing what proved to be the game-winning play. "Then I looked over and saw they were blitzing and said, 'Don't drop the ball. Don't drop the Collingswood, meanwhile, had a pair of time-consuming first-half drives its best opportunities of the afternoon halted by a pair of costly turnovers.

On the first one, Spartan linebacker Tim Wolbert ended a 14-play march when he picked off a Jeff Pedano aerial at his 15-yard line. The Panthers reached the Spar- tans' nine-yard line on their next possession before Wolbert, Glenn Morrow and John Walters threw Pedano for an eight-yard loss. On the next play, defensive back Billy Sims recovered a fumbled inside-reverse handoff to stop the threat. "That was the key in the game, when we got down there close twice and didn't score," said a dejected Tom Reim, Collingswood's third-year coach. The second half belonged to the Spartan defense, which yielded just two first downs and would not allow the Colls to penetrate past the Deptford 45 in the final 24 minutes.

Still, Collingswood, thanks to an interception and a 17-yard return by linebacker Chris Law, was in a strong position to take the lead. Law's theft put the Colonial Conference champs in business at the Collingswood 47 with 9 minutes 30 seconds remaining. But four uneventful plays followed, including a fourth-down pass from punter Mark Mannel to Pedano that fell one-yard shy of a first down at the Deptford 45. From there, the Spartans, behind the explosive running of junior back Glenn Moore, (11 carries, 70 yards,) and an offensive line anchored by Tony Orio, moved on their game-icing 11-play, 55-yard march that was capped when Greene faked a hand-off and went into the end zone from three yards out with 2:58 left. "Rick Anthony asked me on the rjHin if thi wa! thp hp5t tparrt I'vp ever coached, said Corbi, a 17-year veteran.

"I think they're one of the finest teams I've ever SEEN, not only coached." Deptford 1 0 (7-14 Codmgsweod 0 0 0 0 O-Wifson 44 past from Greene (McCofligan kick) D-Greene run (McCeMisan kick) r3Ti-n U' JMf Jj Deptford's Joe Wilson took this "Mutual trust is needed if a conference is to function," said Wert, "and they (Deptford) have shown total disregard by their actions." Following Deptford's Group 3 championship win over Collingswood yesterday. Spartan coach Joe Corbi talked with his players about the controversy. "I told them that with everything that's been thrown at Deptford since they've been in our program, that they have handled it better than many adults," Corbi said. "And that's a tribute to the players themselves and their parents. They handled it with pride, poise and class." Deptford finished the season with an 11-0 record.

first period touchdown yesterday Grundhauser, who dislocated a finger of his left hand in the first playoff game against Millville, and missed the team's Thanksgiving Day contest, misfired for the first time after eight straight completions, throwing an interception to East's Doug Cook. Cook went high in the air for the ball, and ran 37 yards untouched down the right sideline for the touchdown with 8:15 left in the half. To that point, East's offense had managed only 33 total yards, including a 15-yard run by Mark DeVone. "We stopped ourselves the whole first half," said Toms River coach Ron Signorino. "Drive, then penalty.

Drive, then interception. We had no field position. If we ever got the ball on the 40, they would have been in trouble. Fortunately, we played the best third quarter we've played all year." South used all but the last 2:40 of the third quarter for its second Holy Spirit Special (o The inquirer Holy Spirit defeated defending champion Holy Cross, 37-17, yesterday to capture the South Jersey Parochial A football championship at Delran. Spirit put 22 points on the scoreboard during a span covering parts of the second and third quarters without permitting Holy Cross to run an offensive play.

Trailing 7-6, the Spartans put together a four-play, 67-yard drive and quarterback Steve Bell punched across for his second of three touchdowns with just over a minute remaining. Holy Spirit's Jim Coffey then recovered an onsides kick at the Holy Cross 43. Two plays later. Pete Dal-zell kicked the first field goal of his scholastic career, a 30-yarder, and the first half ended with the South Jersey South Conference entry leading, 15-7. The Spartans took the second half Palmyra 8 14 1 13-30 P-Birkhead 3 run (kick failed) P-Safetv.

P-Hoilowav run (Keith Mvers kick) P-Hdloway 37 run (Myers kick) P-Myers 40 field ooal P-Birkhead run (kick failed) P-HoHoway 75 run (Myers kick) touchdown drive, which ended with Morris' two-yard blast through left guard. The march featured Morris gaining 63 of the 76 yards, and running the ball 13 times of the 18 plays, manly between the tackles. "Carl Morris is a Trojan on offense and defense," added Signorino. He had a new holder today (on kick attempts), and he missed his first extra point of the year, and that's the way they scored, but we were able to think positive, keep our chin up and come back and make a big play." East quarterback Paul Donato was sidelined early in the fourth quarter when he was slammed to the ground on Morris' second sack of the game, and Donato's replacements, Laurence Price and Jack Byrne, completed just one of nine passes in a futile attempt to catch up. Toms River South 7 0 4 Cherry Hid East 0 0 T-Morris 3 run (Morris kick) C-Cook 37 interception return (run failed) T-Morris 2 run (run failed) T-Morris 26 field goal wins, 37-17 kickoff, covered 69 yards in 11 play-sand sent Bell into the end zone from the one.

A two-point conversion by Burns gave Holy Spirit a 23-7 lead. Spirit's Chris Krally recovered a fumble on the following kickoff at the Holy Cross 23. Five plays later, Jim Dalzell circled the flank from the three to make it 29-7. Holy Cross, which drove 64 yards for its first touchdown (a four-yard run by quarterback Joe Swiderek), scored in the fourth period on a 58-yard pass play, Tom Colangelo to Steve Fekete. Spirit ended the scoring on Tim Burns (24 carries, 179 yards) eight-yard run in the final minute of game.

Holy Spirit 4 14 I Holy Cms 1 HS-Betl I run (pass fated) HO Swiderek 4 run (Tamlaison kick) HS-Bea I run (pass faeed) HS-P Dalzell 30 field ooal HS-Bea I run (Burns run) HS-J. Damn 3 run (run taited) HC-Pekete Si pass from Colangete (pan Is ted) HS-Bums 0 ran (J. Daliel pass trom Bel) a aJjbyBmt)mw By Doug Hadden Special to The Inquirer Toms River South used a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde game plan to perfection yesterday to defeat host Cherry Hill East, 16-6, in the NJSIAA South Jersey Group 4 championship football game.

In the first half, South quarterback Ed Grundhauser completed 13 of 15 passes for 142 yards and the team ran just 15 running plays. But in the second half, fullback Carl Morris took control of the game with 82 of his 111 rushing yards, and Grundhauser put the ball in the air twice while going to his ground game 29 times. Morris, a 6-foot 195-pound junior, accounted for all of the Indians' (9-2) 16 points with two touchdowns, a conversion kick, and a game-clinching 26-yard field goal with 1 minute 15 seconds left in the game. "We started the season as a passing ssid who had more than 800 yards for the season, "but as the season progressed, we started running more and more. In this game, we decided at halftime that we had to get back to the running game, and we started pounding away at them." Before the pounding started, however, came the stunning aerial bombing and strafing of the Cougar defense by Grundhauser and a group of excellent receivers.

South scored on its first possession, going 76 yards in nine plays. Morris' three-yard plunge over left guard from a power-1 formation ended the drive had included four first downs on four consecutive plays. Grundhauser's sprint-out passing and the ability of Morris and Jim Aull Xn turn the corner on sweeps made appear that East was in for a long afternoon. South's next drive ended at East's 31-yard line when Jeff Thomas separated the ball from Ault, and Alex Gonzalez recovered the fumble. East failed to move, giving the ball back to the Indians on a punt, and the stage was set for what proved to be the only points Cherry Hill would score.

Deptford fans swarm field to celebrate team's championship Discipline sought for Deptford Education would be given "a reasonable amount of time, probably a few weeks," to respond to the letter. The resignation request was made because of Deptford's refusal to obey a conference "gentlemen's agreement" hot to start football practice before Sept. 1. Earlier this year, the Olympic Conference put Deptford on probation with a one-year suspension, making the school ineligible for conference championships. Deptford, however, appealed the decision a move that drew severe criticism from several Olympic officials and was subsequently awarded the Olympic American Conference football title by an NJSIAA decision on Nov.

16. By Sam Carchidi Special lo The Inquirer Olympic Conference officials have voted to send a letter to the Deptford Township Board of Education requesting that Deptford High School resign from the league effective Dec. 31. The vote was 6-4, with two abstentions. According to Eastern High School Principal William Wert, who serves as the Olympic Conference's commissioner, the letter doesn't force Deptford out of the 12-team conference.

"It is their (the school board's) choice, as of right now," he said. Wert said the Deptford Board of lahiliiwipj ilfcwQajiajMllii fPi iIBi i ftiulO) a aQfc ifri ati ik, ap, fpj ftn 0.