Absegami, Oakcrest Rivalry Still Intense

The series between the and Oakcrest high school football teams began 34 years ago and is among the best rivalries in the Cape-Atlantic League.

It's the only rivalry in the league that involves the same school district.

When the two teams meet at 10 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day, they will be battling for not only for the Joe Mohr Trophy, but also the edge in the all-time series.

Last season, the Falcons, who made it to the Group III South title game, beat the Braves, a Group IV South playoff qualifier last season, 14-13 to tie the series at 17-17.

"I think this year it may be worth a little more because there is a trophy involved," Absegami senior Nate Ross said. "Everybody wants to be the first one to claim it. There may be more intensity to claim it."

"We definitely don't like them and they don't like us (on the football field)," Absegami junior Tyler Bing said. "It's definitely going to be a battle. It's definitely a big rivalry."

The rivalry started in the 1970s when Absegami was first built, becoming the second high school in the Greater Egg Harbor School Regional School District.

The students shared a school for a year with one group going in the morning and the other attending in the afternoon.

"It's great. It brings a lot of the community spirit out," Galloway Township Mayor Don Purdy said. "The guys keep it clean out on the field and it's a friendly rivalry."

"We have only played three times since I've been here, but I think of the first year. We were fighting for .500 and we went in there and got the win in convincing fashion," Absegami coach Dennis Scuderi Jr. said. "That took the pressure off of me heading into the holiday."

The rivalry may have been fiercer decades ago as more years pass by since the district split into two schools, and eventually three with Cedar Creek opening up last year in Egg Harbor City. 

However, the tradition continues. There are still plenty of Oakcrest alumni that live in Galloway Township with family members who attended Absegami.

The players still feel the intensity of the rivalry.

"My sophomore year I definitely realized how much the rivalry meant," Ross said. "It was pretty intense. We won it and that was a pretty good moment. It was the first time I felt the intensity of the rivalry and it made me want to be a better player."