Area football notes: Carr-Wing’s record season, dynamic ground attack fuels Middle, Wildwood’s injury issues

Posted: November 15th 2023

By BRIAN CUNNIFF

CapeAtlanticLive.com

There is a banner commemorating the Lower Cape May Regional High School football players who’ve rushed for 1,000 yards in a season hanging in the school’s gymnasium. It’s a who’s-who in terms of some of the more prolific athletes to come out of the school.

Matt Dicken had three straight 1,000-yard seasons (1999-2001). He went on to a very good career at Villanova, running for nearly 1,500 career yards there. 

Matt Szczur rushed for over 1,000 yards as a quarterback in 2005. He went on to become a national championship game MVP and multi-year all-star football player at Villanova and later became a Major League baseball player.

Three-sport standout Mike Wilson (who later returned to Lower as a coach and is still a teacher there), Mike Wing and Frankie Zeigler are the other 1,000-yard rushers at Lower.

Now, there is another. And he has posted the highest total of them all.

ISIAH CARR-WING: Record-breaking 2023 season

Senior Isiah Carr-Wing exploded for 262 yards on 23 carries in Lower’s season-ending loss to Delran in an NJSIAA consolation game, bringing his season total to an even 1,800 yards on 166 carries (10.8 per carry). That eclipses the previous single-season rushing record of 1,787 yards set by Dicken in 2001.

Carr-Wing also scored a whopping 24 touchdowns, also a school record. Dicken, the previous record holder, had scored 17 in 2001.

“I don’t know if I can put it into words,” Carr-Wing said. “I’m shocked, honestly. It’s amazing to know I did something like that like those guys before me.

“It’s good to know I have the record. But I couldn’t have done it without all my teammates. They really kept me going. And a big thanks to all my coaches, too.”

Carr-Wing, who goes 5-9, 205 pounds, mixed above-average speed with power and vision to become a very effective back.

“He’s on par with those guys before him,” Lower coach Lance Bailey said. “He has an innate football IQ that you can’t teach and he has shiftiness and an ability to see the whole field. Then you top it off with his power and you have the whole package.”

Carr-Wing said he has committed to attend Division III Averett University for wrestling but may also try to play football at the Virginia school.

Two of the six players who’ve rushed for 1,000 yards at Lower come from the same extended family. Mike Wing, who became the school’s first 1,000-yard rusher in 1985, is Carr-Wing’s uncle.

OTHER LOWER CAPE MAY NOTES

Lower, which finished 8-2, won eight games in a season for just the fourth time in program history. The school record of nine was set in 1980. The 1952 and 1953 teams also won eight. … In addition to Carr-Wing, quarterback Hunter Ray also enjoyed a fine senior season. He completed 70 of 114 passes for 1,055 yards and six touchdowns against three interceptions and also ran 57 times for 473 yards and 13 scores. … Junior Dennis Sera enjoyed one of the finest seasons for a kicker in Lower Cape May history. He made 4 of 5 field goal attempts, with a long of 43 yards, and was 44 for 55 on PAT tries. The 44 made PATs are a single-season program record. He also had two interceptions on defense. … Senior A.J. King led Lower with 70 tackles, including 10 ½ for loss. Senior Logan Haggerty followed with 67 tackles, including a team-best 18 for loss. Senior Amir Clarke had a team-high 10 sacks. … Junior Braswell Thomas posted three interceptions on defense. … Senior Jackson Brown averaged 42 yards per punt and also had two interceptions on defense. …Ray, Carr-Wing, Serra, Clark, Brown, Haggerty, King, Quinten Hagan and Oguer Nunez were each named first team WJFL Royal Division all-stars. Zach Castellano (DB) and Will Garoh (OL/DL) were honorable mention selections.

REMI RODRIGUEZ: Back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons for Middle 

GROUND ATTACK FUELS MIDDLE TO 7-WIN SEASON

Middle Township had a pair of running backs combine for more than 2,000 yards rushing this fall. Remi Rodriguez eclipsed 1,000 yards for the second straight season, finishing with 1,232 yards on just 156 carries (7.9 per carry average). He scored 13 touchdowns. Shaun Watkins was also extremely effective for the Panthers, running 92 times for 790 yards (8.6 per carry average) and eight scores. He also caught three TD passes. Rodriguez and Watkins are both juniors, giving Middle two outstanding, experienced returning skill-position players next fall. … Michael Zarfati was the team’s top receiver, catching 27 passes for 453 yards and eight TDs. The senior also had five interceptions on defense, one of which he returned for the only score in a 7-0 win over Oakcrest. … QB Mark Oliver enjoyed a nice senior season, completing 43 of 79 passes for 615 yards and 11 TDs against just three interceptions. He also ran for two TDs. … Senior Jeremiah Jones led the Panthers in tackles with 55. Junior Micah McAnaney was next with 45, to go along with two interceptions. … Kicker Justin Verity, a junior, made 24 of 28 PAT boots. … Middle, which lost a gut-wrenching 35-34 game to Gloucester in the first round of the South Jersey Group II playoffs, finished at 7-3. All three of its losses came to playoff qualifiers. And one of its victories came over a Glassboro team that just won the Central Jersey Group I championship. All told, the team went 3-3 in games against playoff qualifiers in 2023. … Rodriguez, Watkins, Zarfati and linemen Nick Cruz and Marco Salgado were each named first team WJFL Patriot Division all-stars. Jerry White (LB), Micah McAnaney (DB) and Maurice Matthews (OL/DL) were honorable mention selections. … Middle just completed a three-season run with a 21-9 record that included three straight playoff appearances and one division title.

JAMES WYERS: Led Wildwood in tackles and interceptions

INJURIES TAKE TOLL AT WILDWOOD

Injuries are a major part of football at any level. But at a school like Wildwood, which has very little depth on an annual basis, they become crucial. And the Warriors felt the impact of them this fall, helping turn what was supposed to be a promising season into a frustrating one. At various stages of the season, Wildwood lost three two-way starters to injury, one of which came to one of its top players in senior WR/DB Ryan Troiano, who suffered a knee injury shortly after returning a punt for a touchdown against Bishop Eustace in the team’s third game of the season. A pair of two-way linemen, senior Lance Lillo and junior Nate Wolf, were also lost to the season due to leg injuries. Lillo never played a snap this fall. You wonder how Wildwood might have fared had those players been healthy, considering the Warriors lost three games by six points or less. The team officially finished at 2-7, although one of the victories was by forfeit over Lindenwold. … Senior James Wyers led all Cape May County players with 35 receptions. Defensively, he also topped the Warriors in tackles with 59, interceptions with three and safeties recorded with two. Thomas Rios added 52 ½ tackles. … Senior Junior Hans and junior Jordan Dozier combined to pass for 936 yards, but Wildwood was able to rush for just 262 yards for the season as a team. … Hans, Wyers and senior Gabe Rosett (LB) were each named first team WJFL Horizon Division all-stars. Niko Kalogeris (OL) and Justice Santiago (DB) were honorable mention selections.