Cherry Hill Football Teams May Soon Be WJFL Rivals

CHERRY HILL, NJ — The public high schools in Cherry Hill may soon become division rivals. Last week, the West Jersey Football League began meeting to discuss the divisional alignment for its next two-year cycle. Administrators were studying geography, program strength and school size to determine which teams will be grouped together for the next cycle.

The proposed alignment provided to the Courier Post wasn’t final, as members had until Nov. 16 to appeal any changes. If approved, Cherry Hill East and Cherry Hill West would be in the same division, along with Triton, Cumberland, Pennsauken and Seneca.

The cross-town rivals maintain a Thanksgiving Day rivalry, but are currently in different divisions. Cherry Hill East is currently part of the West Jersey Football League's National Division, along with Timber Creek, Delsea, Clearview, Eastern and Paul VI.

Cherry Hill West is currently grouped with Camden, Camden Catholic, Pennsauken, Seneca and Winslow Township in the West Jersey Football League's Constitution Division.

Cherry Hill East visits Cherry Hill West for their annual rivalry game this year on Wednesday, Nov. 22, 7 p.m.

The proposal may be finalized by Thanksgiving, but schedules wouldn't come out until after the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) votes on a new playoff proposal.

As part of the "NJ United Playoff Proposal,” the regular season could be reduced by one game. Less games means teams will rely less on scheduling games outside their division.

A team in a six-team division, for example, would need to schedule just three games outside the division, as five games would be set for them automatically. Teams in five-team divisions would need to schedule four, as opposed to five.

The proposal would take the top 32 teams overall in a group, as opposed to the top eight in each section, the way it is currently handled. A new round would be added matching champions from different sections within the same group, but the regular season may have to be reduced by one game.

The West Jersey Football League consists of 94 teams divided into 16 divisions. Fourteen divisions currently have six teams, and two have five.

Pitman wasn’t included in the new proposal, as it has suspended its varsity football program.

Patch file photo