H.S. football: Kingsway's season ends with learning experience at Rutgers
PISCATAWAY – On its journey to the season’s final weekend, the Kingsway Regional High School football team discovered plenty about itself.
Competing in South/Central Group 5 regional championship on Saturday, the Dragons learned where they need to be in the future.
Kingsway held its own against mighty and heavily favored Hillsborough but watched its season ultimately end on a sour note with a 28-7 loss at SHI Stadium at Rutgers University.
Only minutes after the clock ran out on the game as well as the season, Kingsway head coach Mark Hendricks and his players were eager to talk about what is ahead for a team (8-5) that will return 19 of 22 starters in 2022, including the entire defensive unit.
“This was a learning experience,” junior linebacker/running back DJ DiPietro said. “We’ve got to get in the weight room and come back stronger, faster and better than before. I think we were the underdog in every game we played this year. It goes to show you what hard work can do, but we’ve got to be even better."
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Junior quarterback/defensive back Nate Maiers added, “(Hillsborough’s) big, they’re strong. That’s where we need to be.”
Few outside Woolwich Township would have given Kingsway a chance of playing December football back during the dog days of August practice. Those odds became even longer when the squad started the season at 3-4.
However, the Dragons caught fire, winning five straight games, including the program’s first sectional title in two decades leading the squad into its first-ever regional championship game.
“We were counted out,” Hendricks said. “As a coaching staff, we’re looking at what games we can legitimately win and get in the playoffs. We got in and made a run. It was a great season and this experience is going to help us build moment for the future. I’m super proud of these guys. We’re just a young football team."
Kingsway was a big underdog in the regional championship, going up against Hillsborough (13-0), which is ranked No. 4 in the Garden State by the Gannett New Jersey.
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The Dragons had an opportunity to make a huge statement early. After forcing the Raiders into a three-and-out on the opening series, the Dragons drove inside the Hillsborough 8-yard line but couldn’t punch the ball into the end zone with four tries.
“A lot things didn’t go our way (Saturday),” Maiers aid. “We’ve had a lot of things go our way to get to this game, but that didn’t happen here. It stinks, but it happens. We were going in, feeling good, but we couldn’t score. The energy just transferred, you could feel it.”
Hillsborough didn’t waste any energy taking the game over in the second quarter posting 21 unanswered points, including a pair of back-breaking touchdown catches in the final five minutes of the half.
“We didn’t have our best stuff (Saturday),” Hendricks said. “We will look back and say we had our chances to get back into the game. We battled, but we’ve got to make a play or two. Give that team over there credit, they were ready to win a championship today.”
The Raiders’ Thomas Amankwaa, a Rutgers commit, showed why he is considered among the best players in the state, rushing for 111 yards while making five catches for 129 yards and two touchdowns. His TD receptions of 42 and 53 yards came within two minutes of each other at the end of the first half.
“There were some plays we could have made, but you deal with it, move forward and play football,” DiPietro said.
Despite the rough end to the half, Kingsway didn’t roll over as it scored its only touchdown on its opening drive of the second half. Maiers found the end zone on a 25-yard scamper, cutting the deficit to 21-7, but the Dragons wouldn’t get any closer.
The sting of the loss will lessen in time for these Dragons. Hendricks hopes the feeling is replaced by the burn of work in the weight room.
“We’ll see what the offseason brings,” the coach said.
Maiers believes this team can make a return to Rutgers next season.
“There’s nothing better than playing here,” Maiers said. “It was awesome, but we’ve got to get better. It was great to play here, but it would have been even better if we won.”
Tom McGurk is a regional sports reporter for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and Burlington County Times, covering South Jersey sports for over 30 years. If you have a sports story that needs to be told, contact him at (856) 486-2420 or email tmcgurk@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @McGurkSports. Help support local journalism with a digital subscription.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: H.S. football: Kingsway's season ends with learning experience at Rutgers
