South Jersey Group 4 final: Shawnee-Clearview preview
Josh Friedman
South Jersey Group 4 final
(4) Shawnee (4-6) at (3) Clearview (7-2)
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Coaches: Shawnee: Tim Gushue; Clearview: Steve Scanlon
Sectional championships: Shawnee: 7 (2017, 2014, 2013, 2008, 2007, 2004, 2002); Clearview: 0
Last meeting: Nov. 11, 2016 – Shawnee 35, Clearview 34 (OT). Quarterback Colin Wetterau rushed for three touchdowns, including a game-tying score in overtime, and Rich Demko’s extra point sent the Renegades to the South Jersey Group 4 semifinals with the win. Dan Wigley, who ran for 101 yards, got the game to OT with a 13-yard TD run with 33 seconds left in regulation. Ryan Parris added 111 yards rushing for the victors. Clearview had four different players run for scores, most notably quarterback Jarrett Baker, who finished with 173 yards on the ground, and his touchdown with 3:11 remaining gave the Pioneers a late lead.
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Key stat: Shawnee: 4 – Teams the Renegades lost to this season playing for sectional championships this week. Shawnee fell to Williamstown, Rancocas Valley, Woodrow Wilson (South Jersey Group 3) and Union City (North Jersey 2 Group 5). That doesn’t include a loss to St. Augustine, which only lost by eight points to St. Joseph (Montvale), the No. 2 ranked team in the state, in last week’s Non-Public 4 quarterfinals. Clearview: 2 – Third-down conversions allowed by the Pioneers’ defense during the playoffs – one each to Hammonton and Highland.
How they got here: After a winless October, Shawnee snapped a four-game losing streak by downing Mainland 25-7 in the opening round of the playoffs. Freshman quarterback Matt Welsey was an efficient 11-for-15 for 118 yards and a score while Joe Dalsey, the team’s starting signal caller for much of the year, took the reins at running back and galloped for 178 yards and a TD. While the Renegades were favored in that matchup, they were underdogs last week against No. 1 Millville. That didn’t matter though, as they pulled out a stunning 28-26 victory with two touchdowns in the final 66 seconds of the game. Welsey threw a go-ahead, 9-yard touchdown to Tom Rebstock and then Dom Frigiola had a 27-yard pick-6 on Millville’s next play from scrimmage to go up 28-20. However, the Thunderbolts drove down the field for a touchdown in the final 57 seconds, only to see their two-point conversion pass fall incomplete, sealing Shawnee’s win.
Clearview started its trek to the championship game with a 23-7 win over Hammonton in the opening round, its first playoff win since 1986. The Pioneers lived off the big play as Justin Iaccio had a 64-yard touchdown run, Rashan Allen-Hunt returned a punt for a score and Mike Ancona connected with Hunter Lewis for a 46-yard TD. Last week, Clearview’s defense rose to the occasion, holding Highland’s star running back Johnny Martin to just 61 yards in a 20-0 triumph. The Pioneers allowed only 138 yards in the game. Offensively, Justin Iaccio and Ancona had touchdown runs, Troy Bentancur ran for 82 yards and Hunter Logan made a pair of field goals.
The matchup: While many predicted a Millville-Highland final in Group 4, Shawnee and Clearview showed they’ve got plenty of fight with their upsets last week.
The Renegades have been a team in flux all season. With injuries killing Shawnee’s running back depth, coach Gushue decided to move Dalsey to tailback against R.V. three games ago and insert Welsey at quarterback. The plan has worked well, as they’ve averaged more than 24 points per game in those contests after failing to reach 20 in five of their first seven this year.
Dalsey was running the ball plenty when he played quarterback, so the change isn’t severe. He leads the team with 428 yards and nine scores on the ground this year. Welsey has completed 29-52 passes for 389 yards and five touchdowns in his limited action. Maybe more importantly, he’s yet to throw an interception. When he throws it, Jon Searcy, a Bucknell recruit, is his primary target. He’s hauled in 33 passes for 460 yards and four touchdowns this season.
Defensively, Shawnee hasn’t put too much pressure on opposing quarterbacks this year, but that won’t be an issue against a Clearview team focused on running the ball. Patrick O’Hanlon and Matt Suriano are tough on the line for the Renegades while Joey Moore, Dalsey, Matt Papa and Searcy are just a few of the names that get it done at the next two levels.
Clearview will attack Shawnee on the ground out of the Wing-T. Ancona, the Pioneers’ starting quarterback, has only attempted 45 passes this year, so if he’s throwing a lot, it’s clear the game got away from the home team.
If Clearview stays on script, it’ll feature a quartet of players that will carry the ball – Bentancur, Dean Dvorak, Iaccio and Lewis. Bentancur has been the team’s most consistent back with more than 700 yards on the ground while Dvorak leads the Pioneers in touchdowns with seven.
On the other side of the ball, linebacker David McCullough has had a strong campaign with a team-best 80 tackles, including 10 for loss. He and Shawn Dougherty will be crucial to throwing off Welsey’s rhythm in the passing game. While Clearview hasn’t played a team that passes the ball much the past two weeks, they’ve shown they can handle aerial attacks with wins over Winslow and Moorestown over the past month.
Josh Friedman; @JFriedman57; (856) 486-2431; jfriedman2@gannettnj.com
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