How Winslow Township captured the first state football crown in program history

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — The past two days have been a whirlwind for Cameron Miller. The highly touted receiver signed with Kentucky on Wednesday, the same day his Winslow Township team played for its first state crown.

It was a combination of excitement and nerves, because from May to 24 hours before the national signing period beginning, Miller, who’s ranked 12th in the state, had been committed to Wisconsin.

“It’s stressful,” he said. “The recruiting process is lovely, but when it comes down to the wire, it gets stressful.”

He mentally felt “all over the place,” but when Wednesday morning came, Miller put pen to paper to become a Wildcat beside teammate Marcus Upton, who signed with Boston College, in the school’s library. The decision was official, and now it was time to home in on their final game of the season.

Under the lights at Rutgers’ SHI Stadium, the Eagles (14-0) trounced Phillipsburg High School, 35-0, in the NJSIAA Group 4 state championship. It was cold, even flurrying at times, but Winslow was locked in, especially Miller, who caught two touchdowns and finished with 67 yards.

“It’s just a feeling second to none,” Miller said postgame. “Being able to sign, go to school for free, and then come out here and do it one last time for your senior year, going undefeated and doing something that’s never been done in the program before, I can honestly say that it’s a blessing.”

Third-year coach Bill Belton, who graduated from Winslow in 2011 and was a standout running back at Penn State, has put his alma mater on the map as one of the best public school teams in the Garden State.

Since taking over after serving as the school’s offensive coordinator, Belton led the Eagles to a 6-4 finish his first year, then 10-3 and the school’s first regional title in 2023 before breaking further ground this season.

“This is everything,” Belton said. “I feel like it was something that was preordained for this team, preordained for this program, this community, and to be a part of it, I’m extremely grateful. I’m thankful. It’s not a me thing, honestly. This is all God’s doing, and I’m appreciative that he chose me to be the vehicle to help this community get something that’s never happened before.”

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His team dominated Wednesday night.

Sophomore quarterback Jalen Parker completed 17 of 22 passes and threw for 238 yards and two touchdowns. The Eagles also scored twice on the ground, while their defense recorded two interceptions — one of which was a 67-yard pick-six by Nyqir Helton — and sacked Phillipsburg quarterback Jett Genovese seven times.

Most of the Eagles play all three phases of the game; After Nakeem Powell scored a 2-yard rushing touchdown, he ran over to hold the ball for kicker Rashad Emanuel’s extra point.

Part of it is because of roster size, but it also “just makes us more versatile,” said Upton, who transferred from Timber Creek this year.

“Bill always says when you get to college, you’re going to play special teams,” he said. “That’s what I like to do, and it just motivates you more, gets you more excited. It sets the tone a little bit for offense or defense.”

Upton and Miller have forged a friendship, calling themselves “Salt and Pepper.” Miller’s been part of the team since his freshman year, and Belton referred to him as “the face of the program.” When Upton joined the school, he knew it was Miller’s team.

“I let him be the man. I just come here, do my job, and just make us clash together and just be one,” Upton said. “Me and Cam have a great connection, and that’s my guy.”

The senior leaders also shared a similar recruiting experience. In March, Upton announced his commitment to Syracuse, but after speaking to Belton and his family, he decided to reopen his recruitment. Boston College then came into the picture, and he pledged in July.

When Miller was going through the process, he asked Upton for advice. They sat next to each other in trigonometry and would list pros and cons of what schools had to offer and what Miller wanted from a program.

“We had a whole rundown. We talked about it a lot,” Upton said. “Like, how our family feels, what our parents think, how we feel about the situation, and the position that we’ll be put in when we get there.”

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Upton and Miller didn’t want Wednesday to be about them; it was about the team. After the group fell to Mainland in the semifinal last season, it was itching to get to Rutgers and hoist the gold trophy. Now, the job is done, and even though some stars will graduate, the expectations for next season remain the same.

“Winslow is going to be a dynasty,” Upton said. “No one’s going to be able to stop us. They have great coaches, great players, and we have young guys that no one has seen. The team’s going to go on a complete run for the next three, four, five years. Man, I just can’t wait to see what the team does.”

Belton added: “We’re going to celebrate, we’re going to enjoy this, and then we’ll get back to work.”