By TOM WILLIAMS

So, Mainland had a pretty good football team this year.

But, how good?

Let’s take a look.

Chuck Smith’s Mustangs were the first South Jersey team to win 14 games, the No. 1 ranked public school in the state (#4 overall) and they outscored their 14 opponents, 603-99.

They had a McCaffrey-like running back in Stephen Ordille, who ran for more than 1,800 yards and 30 touchdowns. Ordille ran for over 850 yards and 11 TDs just in the playoffs, including four TDs against a Millville defense that had allowed only three the rest of the season. He was backed up by Cohen Cook (750+ and 13 TDs) and Rocco DeBiaso (625+ and 7 touchdowns).

They had a quarterback – sophomore John Franchini – who only threw the ball an average of nine times a game (13 CAL QBs threw more often) but accumulated 1,242 yards, 20 touchdowns and only two interceptions. And his pass efficiency rating was 192.3. Just for comparison, LSU’s Jayden Daniels rating was 208.0, the only NCAA QB with a better rating than Franchini.

His favorite target was Jamie Tyson, who caught 26 passes for more than 21 yards per catch and 11 TDs. In addition, DeBiaso caught 14 for 6 TDs and Cook grabbed 13 for two more scores.

Then there was the defense.

Led by Tyson, whose 12 interceptions led the state and is the most in South Jersey history (four of them returned for TDs), Mainland shut out six teams. That includes Ramapo, 56-0, in the state final at Rutgers. Linebackers Cook, DeBiaso, J.J. Sinclair and Hunter Watson combined for 413 tackles, 112 for losses, and 31 sacks.

There were some who questioned the rather soft schedule Mainland received from the West Jersey Football League but the Mustangs left little doubt with their post-season effort that they were South Jersey’s best.

Now, here are some of the top Cape-Atlantic League football teams from the past, focusing mostly on undefeated teams.

Lets begin with the team that started all this playoff success – Millville 1975, coached by the legendary Tony Surace. These Thunderbolts were 11-0 and led by running back Calvin Murray and two-way lineman Bubba Green, who both went on successful college careers and were drafted by NFL teams. This team, which also featured Jim McCormick and Rich Andres, defeated Brick Township in the South Jersey final, ending Brick’s 47-game win streak.

Mainland 1980 was a champion team, known generally as The Strang Gang because of talented quarterback Doug Strang. He was joined by star running back Calvin Robinson on this 10-1 team, coached by Jim Schafer, that outscored opponents by an average of 30-6.

How about Buena 1988 (11-0), coached by Chuck Donohue. The Chiefs were led on the field by Shawn Smith and held opponents to six points per game.

That same year, Holy Spirit 1988 was a powerhouse. Coached by Ed Byrnes, the Spartans had all stars in QB Al Mallen, WR Kevin Hallman and TE Chris Stoll. Some of the same players on this team were also part of the 1987 and 1990 teams as Byrnes won three South Jersey titles in four years and his teams were 35-5-1 over that stretch.

There were three pretty good teams eight years later. Ocean City 1996, coached by Gary Degenhardt, featured all stars Kevin Sinclair, Scott Lipford, Matt and Greg LeFever, and Ray Rogers. They outscored their opponents by more than 300 points. That included wins over highly-rated Washington Township and Shawnee in the South Jersey semis and final by a combined 58 points.

That same year, Ron Dorsey led Pete Lancetta’s Hammonton team to a championship season after also winning in 1993 and 1994. And the Mainland lineup of John Stone, Dave Klemic, Jeff Boyd, Jason Feinberg and Brad Eissler were champions, though they lost twice in the regular season.

St. Joseph 1997 outscored its opponents by an average of 31-3. Paul Sacco’s 11-0 team was led by Aaron Steinhauer, Carmine Avellino, Jim Hockel and Jason Bendig.

In 1999 there were three great teams. Bob Weiss’ Atlantic City was 11-1, had Doug Hiltner at QB and won Group 4, knocking off Adam Taliaferro’s Eastern team in the final. Degenhardt’s Group 3 champs at Ocean City upset Mainland in the final. And Dave Ellen’s Bridgeton team won Group 2 with an 11-1 record.

Holy Spirit 2007 was an undefeated powerhouse, coached by Bill Walsh and led by William Washington (2,001 yards, 37 TDs), Nick Hall (1,279, 17 TDs) and QB A.J. Holland (156.5 rating).

Mainland 2008 outscored opponents, 39-7 per game. Bob Coffey’s team was led by Brent Caprio, who scored 21 touchdowns and threw for 27 more. Kyle Davis, Troy Brennan and Dan Boudreau were also key players.

Don’t forget Holy Spirit 2010. These Spartans, coached by Charlie Roman, had a great one-two rushing duos. Donte Pollock and Nigel Jones combined for over 2,600 yards with QB Joe Callahan and WR Joe Sarnese adding to the attack.

Seven years later there was another great combo – St. Joseph 2017. Quasin Townsel and sophomore Jada Byers combined for over 3,100 yards and 51 TDs on this undefeated championship team.

Cedar Creek 2021 held the South Jersey record for wins before this season. Jim Melody’s team was 13-0 and outscored opponents by an average of 34-8, starting the season with four straight shutouts. Running back Jaquan Howard (1,500+ yards), QB J.C. Landicini (3,200+ and 36 TD passes) and the remarkable JoJo Bermudez (90 catches, 1,600+ yards) led the way.

There are more.

Prior to NJSIAA playoffs, there was undefeated Wildwood 1961, coached by Ed Gallagher and led by future Super Bowl hero Randy Beverly.

And there was Oakcrest 1968, 9-0 coached by Joe Murphy and featuring the very talented Bill Blann and highly versatile Larry Gustafson. They went on to win 17 straight until Mainland, led by Steve Parker, upset them on Thanksgiving 1969.

How about Egg Harbor Township 1993? Coached by Garry Schultz and quarterbacked by Scott Parker, the Eagles won the second of two straight South Jersey titles.

Don’t forget Absegami 2006, coached by Doug Colman. They were quarterbacked by Mark Schenauer and Steve Hevalow was the leading rusher (1,450+ yards and 17 TDs).

Mark Reardon had some very good teams from 2012-16 at St. Augustine Prep, winning 42 games in those five years. Especially good were the 2015 and 2016 teams, a combined 18-2. The players included Calvin Cass, Kyle Dobbins, Josh Zamot, Zeke Ennis, Austin Johnson, .Jose Tabora, Lamont Harris and Austin Francisco. But the powerhouses they faced from North Jersey were always a little too much.

Recent Millville teams – Dennis Thomas’ 2021 South Jersey champs and the 2022 state champs coached by Bert Ayala, both had great records and scored a whole lot of points. LeQuint Allen, Lotzeir Brooks, Nate Robbins, Jacob Zamot, Calem Bowman and Ta’ron Haile were the big names.

And there was Cedar Creek 2015, coached by Tim Watson. Led by Bo Melton, Jesse Milza and Ahmir Mitchell, this team defeated West Deptford in the South Jersey final. (Do you understand the irony? Watson and 2015 West Deptford coach Clyde Folsom were both assistants on this year’s Mainland staff!)

There are surely other very good teams, but we only have so much space. It would be great if we could put together a tournament between all of them. Maybe using Artificial Intelligence.

If AI would work, we could select a six-team field for the tournament. My six would be Mainland 2023, St. Joseph 2017, St. Augustine 2015, Ocean City 1996, Holy Spirit 1988 and Millville 1975. Mainland and Ocean City would get the byes.

Which six teams would you pick?