For the second year in a row, the Glassboro Bulldogs seal off an undefeated season with a NJSIAA Group 1 Championship, beating the Cedar Grove Panthers 29-14 in a rematch from last year’s finals.
The last time Glassboro lost a football game was over two years ago on November 26, 2023 when Mountain lakes won the Group 1 title 24-6. Since then, they’ve scored 1,129 points and have only allowed 153 in 27 games. Talk about bully ball.
There’s no shock Glassboro’s football roster is filled with stars and studs. Today’s saviors were the running back duo of Amari Sabb and JoJo DeLecce, who combined for 298 all-purpose yards and four total touchdowns. “It’s always been the plan from the start of his season,” Sabb said. “We got one last year and we knew what the goal in mind was and we did it here today.”
While DeLecce will be back for one more year as a senior, today was Sabb’s final game as a Bulldog. Ranked 19th in 247 Sports’ New Jersey 2025 class, the do-it-all WR/RB/DB wrapped up his high school career with 86 receiving yards and two touchdowns along with 75 yards rushing. “He’s one of those kids who does everything you ask him to do,” Glassboro head coach Timmy Breaker said. Tallying over 2,000 rushing and 2,000 receiving yards in his time at Glassboro, Sabb is yet to fully commit to a school but is highly likely to go to a top Power 4 program in college after visiting dozens of universities and receiving offers from institutions like Alabama and Boston College. “When these lights come on, for him it’s time to perform,” Breaker said.
You’d expect the game to be a blow out based on Glassboro’s dominance the last two seasons and their 52-14 victory against Cedar Grove in the finals last year. However, a handful of penalties and a Panther defense that held their ground pretty well prevented the Bulldogs from their usual non-stop scoring, only holding them to 14 points in the first half.
The other side of Cedar Grove was a different story. The dark and rainy weather reflected on the Panther offense that struggled profusely against a tough Glassboro defense. Cedar Grove quarterback Pierce Asfalg did everything he could to exit his final high school game with a win, but his offensive line was no match for the Bulldogs and he was sacked 11 times. Asfalg finished with 13 completions for 148 yards and a touchdown as well as two interceptions with one caught by Sabb.
“I love how the guys stepped up,” Senior Glassboro DL Brandon Simmons Jr. said. The Eastern Michigan commit had 1.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for a loss (TFL) on the day. “We came out here knowing I was going to get double teamed triple teamed and the other D lineman stepped up.”
Down 14-0 in the third quarter, The Panthers would finally make it on the board when Michael Cantarelli scored on a 17-yard touchdown pass thrown by Asfalg. It didn’t mean much though, as DeLecce responded with 69 and 44-yard touchdowns.
“This is one of the best feelings of my life,” DeLecce said. The transfer from Philadelphia’s Roman Catholic ran for 137 yards to go along with his two touchdowns. “You don’t get this many times and being able to do this in this situation, the only day that might be better is my wedding day.”
Chaos would erupt halfway through the fourth quarter when Asfalg threw an interception to Glassboro’s All-American and brother of Amari, Junior WR/DB Xavier Sabb. During the return, Sabb was hit from behind, fumbled the ball, and nobody could pick it up until Cedar Grove’s Jerry Targia recovered the ball in the end zone, making it a Panther touchdown and a 29-14 score. The late-game touchdown wouldn’t be enough as the Bulldogs would make stop after stop to protect their lead and Group 1 title.
While the Bulldogs were chasing another undefeated season and championship, they were also chasing a record. Their 29 points scored made it 621 on the year, tying the 2017 Penn’s Grove Red Devils for the most points in a season in South Jersey football history. Coach Breaker and his team looked to break the record by desperately trying to score more points despite having a 15-point lead with under two minutes left. The calls for passes and trick plays enraged everyone in the building who was associated with Cedar Grove. While parents and fans were going ballistic in the stands, Panthers head coach Rob Gogerty and some members of his team had words of their own from the sideline and during the post-game handshake.
“They get number 1 for CLASSLESS TEAM sportsmanship,” A Facebook user said voicing their displeasure of the late game shenanigans. “What a shame some Glassboro players were so disrespectful and classless!” said another.
