Rancocas Valley finishes regular season 9-0, matches pair of records

MOUNT HOLLY – Even on a sparkling, sunny Saturday afternoon, the Rancocas Valley Regional High School football team wasn’t afraid to crack open the books.

The history books, that is.

On the same day the school honored the undefeated team from 1966, the current Red Devils duplicated the feat with their ninth straight victory to start this season, downing Burlington Township, 42-0.

The win clinched the West Jersey Football League Colonial Division title outright and the shutout was RV’s sixth of the season, matching the program record set back in 1932 when the school was known as Mount Holly High.

Before the game, Rancocas Valley honored coaches Carmen Cella and John Demby along with players Dale Wolfrom, Ben Stoppe, Gregg Mazzucco, Frank Hoke, Jim French, Bob Smith and Bob Sapp in the middle of the field along with mentioning the late, great Franco Harris, who was a star on the '66 team before becoming a Pro Football Hall of Famer in the NFL.

Sapp, an All-Burlington County tackle on the ’66 squad, addressed the team following the victory saying, “We’ve waited 60 years for this to happen again and you guys aren’t done yet either!”

Smith, the All-Burlington County QB for RV six decades ago, said, “Welcome to the club.”

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Rancocas Valley head coach Garrett Lucas, a native of Johnstown, Pa., was a huge Steelers fan growing up. He donned a sharp-looking Franco Harris No. 34 black-and-gold jersey during warmups.

“Out there, instead of having a picture of Jesus on your wall, you had Franco Harris,” Lucas said.

The timing couldn’t have been better to honor the 1966 squad, which capped its 9-0 season with a 35-12 win over Moorestown on Thanksgiving. Plans for this ceremony were made in April, along with the rest of RV’s Hall of Fame Class of 2026 which were being honored.

“It’s really amazing, talking to those guys was probably the coolest moment of my coaching career,” Lucas said. “For those guys to come back and recognize our (current) guys, it’s pretty cool. You hear it from their voices and our guys to see it. Sixty years, that’s a long time.”

The current Red Devils now focus their sights on something the ’66 team didn’t have an opportunity to do – win postseason titles. RV appears to have garnered a second seed in the Group 5 playoffs, the NJSIAA’s official pairings will be released on Sunday. The program hasn’t won a sectional title since 1987.

Rancocas Valley certainly has the momentum heading into the playoffs after outscoring the competition, 326-42, over the nine games.

“(Going 9-0 in the regular season) is the product of our hard work and now we’re ready for the playoffs,” senior defensive lineman David Ogunsola said. “We’ve had a great mindset all season. It’s consistency and trust, toughness and togetherness, those are the things we preach all the time. Going into the postseason, we’re going to do the same thing and that’s what is going to take us all the way.”

Relentless Red Devils’ D

Rancocas Valley’s defense isn’t just stingy when it comes to points, the Red Devils have held opponents to under 170 offensive yards in eight of their nine games. In three contests, the competition amassed fewer than 13 rushing yards.

“We’re a dominant defense,” said Ogunsola, who led the team going into the game with 79 tackles and has 30 career sacks. “It’s a testament to our defensive coordinator Mike Wallace and Coach Lucas. They get us ready.”

Lucas compared RV’s defense to “like watching a car crash.”

“They play with passion,” he continued. “It stems from last year, going through some tough times. … That’s when we came together. The guys said one thing we can’t be is not tough.”

The defense had two takeaways against Burlington Township.

McQueen quickly becoming RV royalty

RV’s Mikey McQueen has become a human highlight-film on a weekly basis.

The senior caught a pair of touchdowns, including a nifty one-handed, juggling catch in the end zone, and returned an interception 65 yards for a third score. He has 15 TD catches and two pick-6s this season.

“I’m biased, obviously, but I think (McQueen) is the best athlete in South Jersey,” Lucas said. “Each week, he’s unlocking a new level.”

Game notes

Burlington Township (4-5), which played against without many of its star players because of injuries, dropped its fourth game in a row. The Falcons have been shut out in three of those four games.

The Falcons’ defense had interceptions by Lamar Karnjay and Jordan Alicea.

Rancocas Valley’s junior quarterback Zach Merhar threw two TD passes, raising his program single-season record to 30.

The Red Devils also had TD runs by Hakim Theresa Jr. and JJ Stewart, while Adris Anderson tossed his first varsity touchdown pass to Logan McArthur.  

Tom McGurk is a regional sports editor for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and Burlington County Times, covering South Jersey sports for over 40 years. If you have a sports story that needs to be told, contact him by email tmcgurk@usatodayco.com. Follow him on Twitter at @McGurkSports. Help support local journalism with a digital subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Rancocas Valley finishes regular season 9-0, matches pair of records