West Jersey Football League
The West Jersey Football League is a superconference comprising 95 teams from public and private high schools in New Jersey, United States. Created in 2010, the WJFL reached its current size in 2016 covering most of South Jersey, with the addition of the football programs that had participated in the Cape-Atlantic League and the Colonial Conference to the teams already participating from the Burlington County Scholastic League, Colonial Valley Conference, Olympic Conference and the Tri-County Conference.[1][2] The teams are grouped into 16 six-team divisions (one has five teams) grouped by geography, size, competitive balance, strength of program and other factors.[3] The WJFL operates under the auspices of the Leagues and Conferences Committee of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.
History
The league was created in 2010 as a way to better balance teams that had faced imbalances in the size and quality of teams within conferences. While some regretted the loss of old rivalries, the conference made an effort to establish crossover games between teams that had traditions under which they had played each other regularly in the past.[2]
With a decline in the number of student athletes playing football at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North that would be inadequate for the school to field a team of its own, the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District attempted to combine the teams from the two schools to have them operate as a single co-operative football team for the 2017-18 school year based at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South. Given that the size of the schools is larger than the threshold established by the state for co-op programs (North is classified as Group III and South as Group IV, based on the size of the enrollment of each school), the proposal was rejected in a 76-16 vote by the West Jersey Football League and by the Leagues and Conferences Committee of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, before an appeal of the decision was rejected by the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Education.[4] In August 2017, the district announced that WW-P North would cancel its program. The members of the canceled program will be eligible to play for the North junior varsity football team, but will not be able to play for the South team.[5]
Divisions
The league is divided into the following 16 divisions:[6] (teams are listed with their 2017-18 NJSIAA football classification and number of students in grades 10-12)[7]
- American Division
- Cherokee Chiefs (South Jersey Group V; 1,642)
- Hammonton Blue Devils (South Jersey Group IV; 1,042)
- Kingsway Dragons (South Jersey Group V; 1,323)
- Shawnee Renegades (South Jersey Group IV; 1,182)
- Washington Township Minutemen (South Jersey Group IV; 1,182)
- Williamstown Braves (South Jersey Group V; 1,430)
- Capitol Division
- Burlington Township Falcons (South Jersey Group IV; 946)
- Hopewell Valley Bulldogs (Central Jersey Group III; 865)
- Lenape Indians (South Jersey Group V; 1,366)
- Notre Dame Irish (Non-Public Group IV; 887)
- Rancocas Valley Red Devils (South Jersey Group V; 1,600)
- Trenton Tornadoes (Central Jersey Group V; 2,291)
- Classic Division
- Clayton Clippers (South Jersey Group I; 328)
- Gloucester Catholic Rams (Non-Public Group II; 369)
- Gloucester City Lions (South Jersey Group I; 413)
- Pitman Panthers (NA)
- Schalick Cougars (South Jersey Group I; 409)
- Wildwood Warriors (South Jersey Group I; 173)
- Colonial Division
- Audubon Green Wave (South Jersey Group I; 473)
- Collingswood Panthers (South Jersey Group II; 508)
- Haddonfield Bulldawgs (South Jersey Group II; 624)
- Overbrook Rams (South Jersey Group II; 526)
- Sterling Silver Knights (South Jersey Group II; 716)
- West Deptford Eagles (South Jersey Group II; 661)
- Constitution Division
- Camden Catholic Fighting Irish (Non-Public Group III; 588)
- Camden Golden Panthers (South Jersey Group II; 674)
- Cherry Hill West Lions (South Jersey Group IV; 970)
- Pennsauken Indians (South Jersey Group IV; 982)
- Seneca Eagles (South Jersey Group III; 866)
- Winslow Eagles (South Jersey Group IV; 1,017)
- Continental Division
- Atlantic City Vikings (South Jersey Group V; 1,482)
- Bridgeton Bulldogs (South Jersey Group V; 1,070)
- Egg Harbor Township Eagles (South Jersey Group V; 1,799)
- Millville Thunderbolts (South Jersey Group V; 1,304)
- St. Augustine Hermits (Non-Public Group IV; 1,084)
- Vineland Fighting Clan (South Jersey Group V; 1,983)
- Diamond Division
- Deptford Spartans (South Jersey Group III; 822)
- Glassboro Bulldogs (South Jersey Group I; 395)
- Pennsville Eagles (South Jersey Group I; 347)
- Penns Grove Red Devils (South Jersey Group I; 362)
- Salem Rams (South Jersey Group I; 259)
- Woodstown Wolverines (South Jersey Group I; 444)
- Freedom Division
- Burlington City Blue Devils (Central Jersey Group I; 371)
- Florence Flashes (Central Jersey Group I; 313)
- Maple Shade Wildcats (Central Jersey Group I; 419)
- New Egypt Warriors (Central Jersey Group I; 355)
- Palmyra Panthers (Central Jersey Group I; 213)
- Riverside Rams (Central Jersey Group I; 304)
- Independence Division
- Absegami Braves (South Jersey Group IV; 967)
- Cedar Creek Pirates (South Jersey Group II; 678)
- Mainland Mustangs (South Jersey Group IV; 929)
- Oakcrest Falcons (South Jersey Group III; 760)
- Ocean City Red Raiders (South Jersey Group III; 916)
- St. Joseph Wildcats (Non-Public Group II; 214)
- Liberty Division
- Bordentown Scotties (Central Jersey Group II; 556)
- Cinnaminson Pirates (South Jersey Group II; 584)
- Delran Bears (South Jersey Group II; 672)
- Holy Cross Lancers (Non-Public Group II; 268)
- Robbinsville Ravens (Central Jersey Group III; 751)
- Willingboro Chimeras (South Jersey Group II; 519)
- Memorial Division
- Gateway Gators (South Jersey Group I; 460)
- Haddon Heights Garnets (South Jersey Group II; 500)
- Haddon Township Hawks (South Jersey Group I; 448)
- Lindenwold Lions (South Jersey Group I; 471)
- Paulsboro Red Raiders (South Jersey Group I; 236)
- Woodbury Thundering Herd (South Jersey Group I; 328)
- National Division
- Cherry Hill East Cougars (South Jersey Group V; 1,644)
- Clearview Pioneers (South Jersey Group IV; 1,112)
- Delsea Crusaders (South Jersey Group III; 851)
- Eastern Vikings (South Jersey Group V; 1,490)
- Paul VI Eagles (Non-Public Group IV; 837)
- Timber Creek Chargers (South Jersey Group III; 904)
- Patriot Division
- Allentown Red Birds (Central Jersey Group IV; 929)
- Northern Burlington Greyhounds (Central Jersey Group IV; 1,009)
- Pemberton Hornets (South Jersey Group IV; 781)
- Princeton Little Tigers (Central Jersey Group IV; 1,193)
- Steinert Spartans (Central Jersey Group III; 918)
- West Windsor-Plainsboro North Knights (program cancelled for 2017-18 school year)
- Royal Division
- Bishop Eustace Crusaders (Non-Public Group III; 472)
- Cumberland Colts (South Jersey Group III; 894)
- Highland Tartans (South Jersey Group IV; 956)
- Moorestown Quakers (South Jersey Group IV; 988)
- Triton Mustangs (South Jersey Group III; 849)
- Woodrow Wilson Mighty Tigers (South Jersey Group III; 852)
- United Division
- Buena Chiefs (South Jersey Group I; 455)
- Holy Spirit Spartans (Non-Public Group II; 300)
- Lower Cape May Tigers (South Jersey Group II; 680)
- Middle Township Panthers (South Jersey Group II; 583)
- Pleasantville Greyhounds (South Jersey Group II; 571)
- Valley Division
- Ewing Blue Devils (Central Jersey Group III; 812)
- Hamilton West Hornets (Central Jersey Group III; 896)
- Hightstown Rams (Central Jersey Group IV; 1,124)
- Lawrence Cardinals (Central Jersey Group III; 872)
- Nottingham Northstars (Central Jersey Group IV; 918)
- West Windsor-Plainsboro South Pirates (Central Jersey Group IV; 1,185)
References
- Home Page, West Jersey Football league. Accessed September 25, 2017.
- Anastasia, Phil. "West Jersey Football League realigned South Jersey teams", The Philadelphia Inquirer, August 31, 2016. "'I remember when we [Overbrook] were in the Olympic Conference, then we were in the Tri-County Conference, then the Colonial," said Wilczynski, whose team will see nontraditional foes such as Woodstown, Oakcrest, and Holy Cross in crossover games while maintaining its Thanksgiving rivalry with Lindenwold."
- Rules, West Jersey Football League, revised June 14, 2016. Accessed September 25, 2017.
- Miller, Sean. "State denies West Windsor-Plainsboro's appeal in football merger", The Times (Trenton), July 12, 2017. Accessed September 25, 2017. "The New Jersey Commissioner of Education's office on Wednesday rejected an appeal by the West Windsor-Plainsboro school district for emergent action in its plan to merge the North and South High School football teams.... The district wanted the two school football teams, WW-P North and WW-P South, to combine into a 'co-op' for the upcoming 2017 season. But the NJSIAA denied the action, because North is classified as a Group 3 school and South as a Group 4."
- Kahn, Lea. "West Windsor-Plainsboro North varsity football season canceled", CentralJersey.com, August 10, 2017. Accessed September 25, 2017. "West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North will not field a varsity football team this season because of a lack of players, according to West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District officials. The varsity football program at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South will continue but players from West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North will not be allowed to play for that team."
- Divisions, West Jersey Football League. Accessed September 25, 2017.
- NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2017-2018, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, finalized August 2, 2017. Accessed September 25, 2017.