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    • Winslow breaks more records en route to third regional final in four years
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    Winslow breaks more records en route to third regional final in four years

    Harry Posted on

    WINSLOW – Nyqir Helton earned the nickname “Boomer” in his youth because of the distance he could throw the football.

    Even though he switched from throwing the football to catching it, the name still applies.

    On Saturday, “Boomer” helped dampen the surge as the Winslow Township High School football team returned to the regional finals with a 49-8 win over Manalapan in a South Jersey Group 4 semifinal game.

    The top-seeded Eagles (11-0) will look to defend their regional championship when they host Shawnee (8-3) next Saturday. Third-seeded Shawnee defeated second-seeded Middletown North 27-17 in the semifinals on Friday.

    More: Football 2024: Check out all our coverage of the South Jersey high school season

    Helton has become one of the most productive in a high-flying offense that features multiple weapons. After catching seven touchdowns last season, the junior boasts a team-best 12 TD catches this season, including four in the postseason.

    Not too shabby for someone who started his football career at QB.

    “I could throw the ball so far, they started calling me that,” Helton said of his nickname “Boomer.”

    Helton made the most of his three catches in the game, finding the end zone on all three catches from 69, 35 and 22 yards. His 126 total receiving yards topped the century mark for the third time this season, and 12 of his 39 total catches went for TDs.

    “Coach Bill (Belton) calls every week for us and we get the job done,” Helton said. “We started a little slow (on Saturday), but once we got going it was all gas, no brakes.”

    And leading this Winslow offense, which has the power and speed of a race car, is sophomore quarterback Jalen Parker.

    “That’s my guy,” Helton said of this QB. “Last year we missed him in the Mainland game (Parker was out due to injury) and that really hurt us. This year shows what he’s all about.”

    Parker threw for 258 yards and five of his eight completions went for touchdowns. He broke the school record with a score of 37.This Hamas Duren’s touchdown pass matching his production in 2021 and his 58 career TD passes broke the state record for a sophomore (Willingboro’s Lamar Best in 2023), according to local football historian Chuck Langerman.

    Belton said Parker continues to improve at the position but would like to see the QB come out of the gate a little quicker. The head coach said this is something he wants to see from all of his players.

    “I feel like our kids, they come out and they see me nervous on the sideline and that’s when they start to feel my energy,” Belton said. “Then you know, they start rolling. I try to tell them that we don’t need to get to this point to be successful. “We need to start faster.”

    Winslow didn’t start off too slow against Manalapan (5-6). The Eagles scored on three of their first four possessions, including a pair of two-play drives that resulted in touchdown passes by Parker.

    The Eagles outscored their opponents 118-14 in their two playoff games this fall.

    Record breaking performance

    Winslow topped both the leaderboards and the record books.

    The Eagles improved to 11-0 – the most wins in program history. The old 10 points were first established in 2000 and were repeated last season.

    Winslow set a program record with 479 points this season, surpassing the 470 points when the school was known as Edgewood. The Eagles have scored 40 or more points in each of their last six games, including a season-high 69 last week.

    Senior Cam Miller opened the scoring with a 6-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. It was his 38thThis The most career TD catches in Camden County history, according to Langerman. Camden’s Brad Hawkins held the old record of 36, set in 2015.

    Young shooting guard Rashad Emanuel has entered the record books. He kicked seven extra points for the third time this season, twice in the last two games, bringing his season total to 52, a program-best.

    familiar enemies

    Belton didn’t need a refresher on the Winslow-Shawnee rivalry. He probably could have evaluated every play in the three meetings he had as a player.

    After a loss to Shawnee as a sophomore, Belton helped the Eagles win the next two seasons with a 48-42 overtime victory in 2009 and a 12-7 win at Medford as a senior.

    The two teams have met each other in the last three seasons, including the Central Jersey Group 4 final in 2021. Winslow won all three games by a score of 34-22, capturing its first regional title in its history.

    What does Belton expect this time?

    “Another classic Winslow-Shawnee matchup,” he said. “I love (Shawnee head coach Tim) Gushue. “We focused on this when I was a player, and now we focus on this when I become a coach.”

    game notes

    Helton made one of Winslow’s two defensive tackles, and NaKeem Powell picked off the other.

    Julian Peterson’s first catch of the season was a big one, a 57-yard TD in the second quarter. He also returned the second half kick-off to score, but play was brought back due to a penalty.

    Senior Malachi Brown recorded his third sack of the season.

    Tom McGurk is the regional sports editor for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and Burlington County Times, covering South Jersey sports for more than 35 years. If you have a sports story that needs telling, contact him via email. [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @McGurkSports. Help support local journalism with a digital subscription.

    Harry
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