McGurk: 'Special' group of seniors lift Vineland to league title

MILLVILLE - With highlight-reel runs, bone-jarring hits and solid line play, there will be plenty of memories surrounding seniors Isaih Pacheco, Nihym Anderson and Noah Sansalone for Vineland High School football fans to remember for a lifetime.

There also will be a banner hanging in the gymnasium as a reminder of how special this group was.

The trio of captains each played major roles in the Fighting Clan’s 28-18 victory over rival Millville at Wheaton Field, a victory that produced a share of the West Jersey Football League Continental Division title.

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“This is a special group,” Vineland coach Dan Russo said. “We won with the right kids.”

It wasn’t long ago that Fighting Clan football was often the punching bag most weeks in the fall.

The program had produced just one winning season in two-plus decades before this group of seniors arrived at Vineland High.

They leave the program in great shape after posting 22 wins, back-to-back postseason appearances along with consecutive eight-win campaigns and the first division title since 1985.

“Trust the process,” Russo said, channeling his inner Sam Hinkie, who used the phrase in the rebuild of the 76ers organization a few years ago. “That’s what I always keep trying to tell people. We are on the right path. We are keeping Vineland kids in Vineland. We are getting great kids from both of our midget football programs. The future is bright for us.”

And this group of seniors helped put Vineland in the spotlight.

Pacheco put together an encore performance in his final game for the Fighting Clan. He rushed for 169 yards and accounted for all four touchdowns, including a nifty somersault into the end zone for one score.

“He’s a stud,” Russo said. “He helped change the course of our program.”

“Pop” was popular after the game, posing for plenty of photos for gleeful Vineland fans, who will follow his every move at Rutgers next season.

“I loved being here with my brothers since Day 1,” Pacheco said. “Always told them practice makes perfect. Keep coming out to practice. Same thing goes for next year, practice hard and you’re going to make things happen in Vineland.”  

Anderson’s final high school game was definitely one of his best.

The Maryland-bound senior, who will enroll at the College Park school in January, rushed 22 times for a career-high 219 yards to go along with his trademark stellar defense at linebacker.

“We did exactly what we wanted to do; we ran it down their throats,” Anderson said.

However, Anderson’s scholastic career ended in a way he never envisioned.

Anderson was in the middle of a scrum on the Millville sideline, which culminated with five players being ejected including Vineland’s star linebacker. He was escorted to the locker room, never seeing the final seconds tick off the clock. As the team celebrated a conference title, Anderson waited on the bus for his teammates for the journey back to Vineland.

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Anderson was deeply dejected, understandably so, but he also showed maturity years beyond his 18th birthday, which he celebrated earlier in the week.

Anderson was always available for comment after games, even when times were difficult. Thursday was no different.

“It feels good to win the championship, but it just didn’t end the way I wanted to,” Anderson said. “I tried to break it up and they grabbed me. That’s how it started. Then, I got thrown out.”

With his skills and drive, Anderson is destined to make Saturdays his showcase at the collegiate level.

Sansalone vowed to show off his “4.7 speed” and make his coaches, who he said created him into the player that is Bucknell bound in the fall, proud. 

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He delivered one of his best performances of the season. His clutch fumble recovery that stopped a pivotal Millville drive and started the clinching scoring series for Vineland.

The trio of seniors will be tough to replace next season, but they have managed to put together the foundation of a successful program.

And that’s something Vineland football fans will never forget.

Tom McGurk; @McGurkSports; (856) 486-2420; tmcgurk@gannett.com