Gavin Roman broke the state record for single-season receptions and Sean Burns threw for five touchdowns as the Holy Spirit High School football team closed out its campaign with a 63-34 victory over Atlantic City in the 94th Thanksgiving meeting between the rivals.
Roman hauled in 10 passes for 49 yards, giving him 112 catches on the campaign. That surpassed the old mark of 111, set by Butler’s Mike O’Brien in 1997.
Burns had a career day in the high school finals, completing 31 of 47 attempts for 421 yards. He found Jaden Llanas 10 times for 218 yards and a TD, and Emmitt Cain had three touchdown catches. Jahser Ward added 96 yards and two scores on the ground, and Khajuan Roseboro had an interception return 76 yards.
Atlantic City’s Sachnier Degraffenreidt was the highlight of the loss as he had 5 receptions for 121 yards and a touchdown and a pick-6.
Clayton 20, Pittman 14, OT: Elijah Rivera’s 3-yard touchdown run in overtime gave the Clippers a memorable win as they rallied from a 14-point deficit to upset rival Pittman in a traditional Thanksgiving Day meeting.
Cameron Miller was the hero of the day as he had a pair of touchdown catches from Ian Gannon, including a 37-yarder with 23 seconds left in the contest to extend the contest.
Rivera finished with 22 carries for 124 yards, and his game-winning TD was set up by Jordan Barfield on the first possession of overtime.
Eastside 25, Camden 2: Terran Lloyd had several interceptions, including a pick-6, as the Tigers beat rival Camden for the third straight time and retained possession of the Whip Wilson Trophy.
Mahi Brunson threw a pair of touchdowns, one each to Jude Anthony and Will Norman, and Fatim Diggs found his way into the end zone on the ground.
Collingswood 28, Bishop Eustathius 0: Isaiah Pepe Magra rushed for two touchdowns and Justin Pila had two scores as the Panthers cruised to a win in the opener at the Battle of Cooper River.
Collingswood ended its season with back-to-back shutouts and finished with a 4-7-1 record. Bishop Eustathius was pushing for its first winning season since 2017, but fell short with a 5-6 loss.
Pepe Magra rushed for 66 yards and quarterback Tim Sirch threw for 166 yards, including 94 to Jonathan Boyd and a 2-yard TD pass to Pila.
Gloucester 35, Gloucester Catholic 0: John Daily threw a 60-yard interception return to pay dirt and added an 8-yard touchdown catch from Jake Seibert as the Lions shut out the Rams on Thanksgiving Day for the third straight season.
Jake Zirfoss and Mason Widman had rushing scores for the winners, while Seibert also threw a TD to Leo Curran.
Audubon 26, Haddon Twp. 6: The Curley Cup would remain in Audubon for the 10th straight year as Scott Lynch connected with Billy Lindemuth for a pair of touchdowns in the second half to seal the win. The Green Wave lead the all-time series 40-17-1.
Haddonfield 45, Haddon Heights 18: Six different Bulldawgs found the end zone to bring the Mayor’s Trophy back to Haddonfield on Thanksgiving Day.
It was the 113th meeting between the two programs, with the Haddons leading 64-43-6 in a rivalry that dates back to 1902.
Quarterback Declan McCarthy kicked three scores for the winners, one each to Chris Clax (23 yards), Patrick Ryan (47) and Ryan Fowley (16), while Dominic Khan (60), Chris Carr (24) and Jonny Mink (2) all crossed the line gate on the ground.
Millville 35, Vineland 16: Junior quarterback Jacob Zamot threw for 205 yards and two touchdowns to become the program’s single-season rushing yards record with 2,916 and sparked a second-half comeback as the Thunderbolts scored 21 unanswered points over the final two quarters to beat the host Fighting Clan. 151str a meeting between two rivals.
Millville retained the Daily Journal Victory Cup for the third straight season, closing the gap on Vineland’s overall series lead to 67-65-19.
Zamot connected with Thomas Smith III for a touchdown in the third quarter before Bricer Hunter and Locaire Brooks added TD runs in the fourth for insurance.
Pleasantville 40, Ocean City 21: The Greyhounds exploded in the fourth quarter, scoring four touchdowns in the final 12 minutes to snap a tie and earn their first victory in the Thanksgiving rivalry since 2018.
Marlon Leslie had a pair of TD passes in the final stanza, while Kasim Asadullah and Ibn Mitchell both found the end zone with kicks.
Xander Roberts-Bogin opened the scoring for Pleasantville with a 75-yard punt return and Chris Wright tied the game at 14-14 with a 4-yard rush on third down.
Florence 22, Riverside 12: Justin Grover, Damian Ricketts and Elijah Quinn had touchdowns as the Flashes snapped a two-game losing streak with a victory on Turkey Day. Florence finished its season at 7-3. Quinn’s TD came on defense when he fumbled in the end zone.
Florence leads the series, 55-24-1.
Games on Wednesday
Winslow 42, St. Joseph 17: Paul Sacco’s final game leading the St. Joseph Academy football program ended in a loss as Winslow quarterback Jimmy Wilson Jr. threw five touchdown passes, three to Ejani Shakir and two to Cam Miller, to lead the Eagles to victory.
Sacco finished his career as South Jersey’s all-time wins leader and third in state history with a 358-75-5 record over 41 seasons.
“It was a wonderful experience at St. Joe’s,” he said. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
Winslow led just 14-10 early in the fourth quarter, but scored four TDs in the final 12 minutes to blow the game open.
Wilson was 14 of 20 for 260 yards, Shakir had 5 catches for 142 yards and Miller was 6 for 97. Shakir moved into fifth place in South Jersey history with 159 career receptions.
Paul VI 51, Camden Catholic 0: Senior Gavin Bunt rushed for three touchdowns and had three sacks, including one for a safety, in the Eagles’ home win over the Irish.
Junior quarterback Dominic Santiago threw for two scores and returned a punt three yards for another touchdown for Paul VI, which finished its third straight 7-3 season.
Paul VI has won the last three meetings by a combined score of 100-7, but Camden Catholic still owns a 32-22-1 advantage in the all-time series.
Woodbury 6, Gateway 0: Resting most of its varsity players for next weekend’s state title game, the Thundering Herd used a second-quarter score to extend its winning streak to five straight.
Ibn Muhammad caught a 25-yard pass from Jathan Chandler for the game’s only score.
