2022-2023 Scholar-Athlete Awards
Selected from South Jersey Chapter member schools within the competitive West Jersey Football League, these Scholar-Athletes have been chosen by their coaches and peers for their achievements academically and athletically
List of Services
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Absegami - Shawn O'Brien K/QB/LBList Item 1
Shawn is the definition of a program player, he loved being at practice and worked his tail off everyday to make the team better.
- 2 year Varsity Letter Winner
- Colleges Interested - Fairleigh Dickinson University
- Clubs and Activities - Lacrosse
Coach: Chris Sacco
Athletic Director: Steve Fortis
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Atlantic City - Nasir Turner SLT WR/LB/SSList Item 3
One of the most coachable players I've been around. Skilled and capable of competing at multiple positions.
- 3 year Varsity Letter Winner
- Colleges Interested - Undecided at the moment
- Clubs and Activities - Basketball Team
Coach: Keenan Wright
Athletic Director: Chris Ford
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Arthur P. Schalick - Quinn Cardona QB/SList Item 2
Leadership, Hard worker, Will always place the team above anybody else.
- 4 year Varsity Letter Winner
- Colleges Interested - Rowan University
- Clubs and Activities - Football
Coach:
Athletic Director:
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Bridgeton - Nevaeh Morris OL/DLList Item 4
Navaeh has been a 4 year starter for BHS. Nevaeh, more than any other player deserves this accolade considering what he has had to overcome. Just before the season, a siblings life was taken, family destroyed, and he found the strength to still find love for the game and finish out his senior year. He is a presence on the field, a leader on and off of the field, and maintains a 3.0 GPA. He is a wonderful human being and exemplifies exactly the type of scholar athlete candidates this scholarship fund wants to recognize.
- 4 year Varsity Letter Winner
- Colleges Interested - Wilmington University or Delaware State
- Clubs and Activities - Winter Track, Spring Track, African American Club, Interact Club
Coach: Steve Lane
Athletic Director: Cyndy Wilks
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Buena Regional - Kevin Sack OL/DL
Kevin missed his Junior year due to injury. He spent the entire season and off season getting himself healthy to play his senior year. He started every game at Right Tackle and maintained a GPA of 4.1 throughout the season.
- 2 year Varsity Letter Winner
- Colleges Interested - TCNJ, FDU, Kean
- Clubs and Activities - Spring and winter Track and Field, Stand up and rebel, interact club, golf, incorruptible us, student counsel, ffa, theater, natural helpers, peer leadership, honor society
Coach: Dennis Conti
Athletic Director: Mark Prince
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Cedar Creek - Mekhi Harvey RB/LB
Mekhi is an excellent representative of not only the football team but the entire Cedar Creek community. He is a positive role model in the classroom while his toughness and determination as an athlete provided leadership for him team on the field. Mekhi is the type of student-athlete any successful program would want to build their identity around.
- 3 year Varsity Letter Winner
- Colleges Interested - Misericordia, Millerville, Shippensburg, East Stroudsburg, Kean
- Clubs and Activities - Spring Track
Coach: James Melody
Athletic Director: Karen Cavalieri
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Clearview Regional - Evan Munholland C/DT
Evan always came to practice, the weight room and sprint workouts fully prepared and ready to work. As a two way player for the pioneers he pushed himself to continuously go hard for his teammates. As a student he is well deserving of academic honors. He is a member of the National Honor Society and continues to carry a 3.8 GPA. His parents, the Clearview staff and his teammates are very proud of him and all out commitment to his academics.
- 2 year Varsity Letter Winner
- Colleges Interested - Coastal Carolina University
- Clubs and Activities - National Honors Society/ Student Council
Coach:
Athletic Director:
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Cumberland Regional - David Bennett RB/LB
David is the model student athlete. His season was cut short due to injury, but his presence and leadership played a huge role in the success of our team this season. We wish David nothing but the best as he continues his academic and athletic careers.
- 3 year Varsity Letter Winner
- Colleges Interested - Undecided at the moment
- Clubs and Activities - Football, Baseball
Coach: Dwayne Hendricks
Athletic Director: Todd Jorgenson
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Delsea - Ashton Blose OL/DL
Ashton is not only a great football player, he is a great person. He is a true leader in our building and represents the character we want our students to have.
- 4 year Varsity Letter Winner
- Colleges Interested - East Stroudsburg University
- Clubs and Activities - Varsity Football, Varsity Wrestling, Varsity Track and Field
Coach: Sal Marchese
Athletic Director:
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Egg Harbor Township - Ryan Elyakoubi TE/LB
Ryan is a dedicated student athlete with great character and leadership qualities. He has worked extremely hard both on and off the field to achieve his goals. Ryan leads by doing and is an excellent role model for our younger players. He is highly regarded amongst his peers and coaches. Ryan has a bright future ahead of him and will be successful in whatever endeavors he chooses.
- 4 year Varsity Letter Winner
- Colleges Interested - Committed to University of Pennsylvania(Wharton School of Business and School of Engineering)
- Clubs and Activities - 4 Year Class President (Oversee 700+ Students), Founder and President of EHTHS Software, Co-captain and Lead Programmer FTC Robotics (NJ Robotics Dean's List), Captain of AI Robotics, FTC Robotics Volunteer and Tutor, Founder and President of Stocks Club, Major League Hacking (1st place in NJ's Hackathon), NJ Governor's STEM Scholar, Network Contagion Research Analyst (AI research in NJ), FAA & NASA Engineering Intern (Research submitted to NASA's Minor Planet Center), Future Business Leaders of America (Video Game Development Finalist in NJ), Congressional App Programmer (Finalist in NJ's 2nd district)
Coach: Kevin Stetser
Athletic Director: Mike Pellegrino
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Hammonton - Paul Kalani QB/CB
Paul is a highly respected student athlete who always strives to improve himself on and off the field.
- 3 year Varsity Letter Winner
- Colleges Interested -Rowan,Montclair State
- Clubs and Activities - NHS and BAseball
Coach: Jim Raso
Athletic Director: Marni Parks
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Holy Spirit - Sean Finan LB
Don't let his size fool you, because Sean is one of the toughest kids I've ever met. His effort is unmatched, which is a direct correlation to being a successful football player and student. I've never met anyone who works as hard as Sean, which makes me confident that he will be successful in anything he does in life.
- 4 year Varsity Letter Winner
- Colleges Interested - The Catholic University of America
- Clubs and Activities - Football, Lacrosse, Student Government
Coach:
Athletic Director: Steve Normane
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Lower Cape May Regional - Archie Lawler WR/LB
Archie is the definition of student athlete. He carries a 4.8 gpa 1330 sat score. He is involved in numerous activities within our school. On the field he has led our program the last four years. He has led us in tackles the last 3 years and has been our leading receiver 2 of his 4 varsity seasons. Archie will be attending Carnegie Mellon university to play football.
- 4 year Varsity Letter Winner
- Colleges Interested - Carnegie Mellon university
- Clubs and Activities - peer leaders. National honor Society
Coach: Lance Bailey
Athletic Director: Erik Simonsen
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Mainland Regional - Nathan Wagner TE/LB
Nate is the type of player every coach wishes they had 10 of - Nate does everything with maximum effort in the weight room, on the practice field, and on Friday Nights. Nate was the emotional leader for our team this past season and was a unanimous choice as our Leadership Award Winner. Nate carries a 4.713 grade point average while taking several Advanced Placement and Honors Level courses. We are very proud of Nate's accomplishments at Mainland and he represented our football program to the highest level. It was a pleasure to coach him as a Mustang.
- 3 year Varsity Letter Winner
- Colleges Interested - Undecided at the moment
- Clubs and Activities - Football Leadership Committee; Coaches youth street hockey; member of the football, baseball and track teams.
Coach: Chuck Smith
Athletic Director: Mike Gatley
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Middle Township - Marco Salgado OL/DL
"Marco has been very dedicated to the program, has worked hard to uphold our core values, and we are expecting great things from him next year in his senior season." - Coach Riggitano
- 3 year Varsity Letter Winner
- Colleges Interested - TCNJ, Rowan, Penn State, Salisbury
- Clubs and Activities - Weightlifting and Track & Field
Coach: Frank Riggitano
Athletic Director: Sharon Remeter
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Millville - Keyan German LB
Keyan is the consummate student-athlete. He puts the same amount of effort into his academics as he does with football. Keyan is a 4 year varsity starter for the football team and was a key factor in the team winning the 2021 NJSIAA Group 4 South/Central Regional Championship. This year Keyan was selected as a captain. In addition to being such a great player he is also a great leader for the Thunderbolts.
- 4 year Varsity Letter Winner
- Colleges Interested -Kean, Rowan, Villanova, Sacred Heart, Central Connecticut, Holy Cross, Eastern Michigan, Western New England University, Stevenson University
- Clubs and Activities - Weight Training, Reading Books, Gaming
Coach: Dennis Thomas
Athletic Director: Dave Lagamba
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Oakcrest - Victor M. Irizarry TE/DE
Victor is a great young man and has the highest grades on the team. Great leader and person.
- 4 year Varsity Letter Winner
- Colleges Interested - Undecided at the moment
- Clubs and Activities - Football / Track
Coach: Mike Forrest
Athletic Director: Dave Bennett
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Ocean City - Jack Hoag WR/DB
Jack is an excellent representation of what we try to do in our program -- build young men who are great on and off the field and who are invested in football, academics and their community. Jack is a team leader and a player who served as an inspiration to his teammates with his work ethic and attitude. He played as hard as he could on every snap and never cheated himself. He is a selfless individual and a great ambassador for the game of football.
- 3 year Varsity Letter Winner
- Colleges Interested - Hamilton College (NY), where he will continue his football career
- Clubs and Activities - NHS, Student Ambassador, Italian Club, Leadership Club
Coach: Kevin Smith
Athletic Director: Geoff Haines
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Penns Grove - Janier Armstead T/DL
Janier has a tremendous work ethic, which has helped him excel both in the classroom and in his athletic endeavors. He worked to become a two-way starter, All-Conference Players, and the strongest player we have had at Penns Grove High School. He is humble and responsible, leads by example, and does everything you ask for as a coach.
- 2 year Varsity Letter Winner
- Colleges Interested - Scholarship Offers from Kutztown, Sacred Heart, St Anselm, Lafayette
- Clubs and Activities - Track and Field, Weight Lifting
Coach: John Emel
Athletic Director: Anwar Golden
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Pinelands Regional - Andrew Hoffman OL/DL
Complete team player who is a great leader on and off the field. A complete coaches player.
- 1 year Varsity Letter Winner
- Colleges Interested - Florida and UPenn
- Clubs and Activities - computer club robotics
Coach:
Athletic Director:
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Pleasantville - Christopher Wright OL
He was an outstanding student athlete that has done amazing things. Not only for the athletic program but also for the entire school as a whole.
- 3 year Varsity Letter Winner
- Colleges Interested - Undecided at the moment
- Clubs and Activities - Football, Viaspora, National Honor Society, Math Club, track and field
Coach: James Garcia
Athletic Director: Stephen Townsend
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Southern Regional - Domenick Crisalli RB/DB
Dom Crisalli is an integral part of our football program. He has helped lead our program to back to back NJSIAA State Group V Playoff appearances. A selfless player Dom was a running back and defensive back for the Rams plus contributed on special teams during his career. Dom is an outstanding student with a 104.0796 GPA ranked 12th out of 463. Dom is a multi sport athletes who also competes on our BoysTrack and Field team. Dom was raised by outstanding supportive parents in Michelle and Steve Crisalli.
- 3 year Varsity Letter Winner
- Colleges Interested - Undecided as of now.....will know more at the banquet
- Clubs and Activities - Track & Field
Coach:Seth Brown
Athletic Director: Chuck Donahue
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St. Augustine Prep - Asher Jenkins C/DL
Asher Jenkins is one of the finest young men I have encountered during my 35+ years coaching. He possesses a tremendous work ethic academically and athletically. Asher is a tough kid mentally and physically; in good times and bad. He is a true leader and was selected by his peers as one of the Team Captains this season. He will continue his playing career at the very prestigious Middlebury College.
- 3 year Varsity Letter Winner
- Colleges Interested - Middlebury College
- Clubs and Activities - DECA Club; Mock Trial
Coach: Pete Lancetta
Athletic Director: Mike Rizzo
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St. Joe's Academy - Zachary Cruet TE/LB
Zach was chosen because he has tremendous leadership skills both on and off the field. He is the ideal student athlete who is excellent in the classroom and represents the school, himself and the program to the highest standard!
- 3 year Varsity Letter Winner
- Will Be Attending Washington & Lee University
- Clubs and Activities - National Honor Society, Student Ambassador, Lacrosse and Weight Lifting
Coach: Paul Sacco, Jr.
Athletic Director: Anne Marie Mercado
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Vineland - James Hitchens Jr. WR/DB
"James Hitchens Jr. has been a leader for both the VIneland High School Football and Basketball Programs. He is a positive role model in the Vineland Community and is a dedicated student who has improved academically each year. His electric personality, leadership qualities, and work ethic have been a huge asset during his tenure at VHS. James has earned a spot to play for Stonehill College next year and I'm confident he will continue to achieve greatness!" - Dan Russo HC
- 3 year Varsity Letter Winner
- Colleges Interested - Stonehill College
- Clubs and Activities - Varsity Basketball
Coach: Dan Russo
Athletic Director: Donnie Robbins
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Wildwood - Francisco Cruz Toledo OL/DL
My recommendation for the football scholar/athlete is Francisco Cruz. During his time as a student, Francisco has scored nothing but straight A's throughout his first junior year of high school. He is currently top 10 in his class, and plans on going to college to become a pilot. For athletics, Francisco Cruz has been a three year starter for the Wildwood Warriors football program. While that is the only official sport Francisco participated in, Francisco spent each winter and spring of his freshman, sophomore, and junior years in the weight room after school developing his skills and preparing for the next upcoming season. He did an incredible job taking the younger students/athletes under his wing; motivating them in the weight room while also correcting some of their flawed techniques. All of this hard work has paid off in dividends; Francisco was a team captain and a Second-Team all conference player who never missed a start during his three year career.
- 3 year Varsity Letter Winner
- Colleges Interested - Embry-Riddle University
- Clubs and Activities - Peer Leadership, Youth Resiliency Group, Volunteer for Boardwalk Basketball Classic, Volunteer Local Food Bank, Theater Guild
Coach: Ken Loomis
Athletic Director: Steven Lerch
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Willingboro - Marcus Powell RB/DB
Marcus is an outstanding student and young man of character. Marcus works hard at everything he does and is a model student athlete and citizen.
- 2 year Varsity Letter Winner
- Colleges Interested - Undecided at this moment
- Clubs and Activities - Track and Field and volunteering at his church
Coach: Stephen Everette
Athletic Director Tonda Seals
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Woodstown - Will Haines TE/OLB
Will takes care of business on and off the field. He is a leader throughout the school and community that a lot of people look up to. On the field he was a 3 year starter at Tight end and ended up being a captain his senior year. Will is a tremendous young man that will be greatly missed.
- 3 year Varsity Letter Winner
- Colleges Interested - Rutgers New Brunswick
- Clubs and Activities - FFA, 4-H, President of Class of 2023, Wrestling, track and field, All Honors, NHS
Coach: Reggie Teeamer
Athletic Director: Joe Ursino