Millville football has grand re-opening of Wheaton Field, takes down Lenape

MILLVILLE – Lotzeir Brooks called them his “Rolexes.”

The grand re-opening of John Barbose Stadium at Wheaton Field in Millville called for a special cleat, which is why the star junior receiver debuted his custom-designed jeweled white cleats for the Thunderbolts’ home opener on their brand-new turf.

“We’ve been waiting for this,” Brooks said in his glistening shoes.

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The multi-million-dollar makeover – which included the new playing surface, scoreboard, track, lights and more – took about five months to complete, and Millville High School players seemingly counted down the days as they’d drive by the construction waiting for their moment to charge onto the field.

That was Friday night, and like Brooks’ shoes, the top-ranked Thunderbolts sparkled as they downed Lenape 26-3 in front of a throng of blue-and-orange supporters.

“We couldn’t let nobody come in here and just run our house,” senior safety Kyon Conyers said. “This is our new field.”

Millville introduced its championship football teams prior to kickoff, had numerous speakers discuss what the new field meant and had a special ribbon cutting.

Reverend Gerritt W. Kenyon was one of those that took the microphone. The 92-year-old has spent 65 years in the city. His four children and two great grandchildren graduated from the school.

“It makes you cry,” the longtime Millville supporter said of the refurbished stadium. “It makes you rejoice.”

“With the tradition and the commitment of the athletic programs at the high school, the kids deserve something like this,” added Thunderbolt Club president Craig Atkinson. “It’s just fantastic.”

Both Kenyon and Atkinson joked about Wheaton Field’s muddy past.

With the recent weather, Friday’s matchup with Lenape would’ve been a messy one in previous years.

“Millville used to be called the mudders,” Atkinson said.

The Thunderbolts had a long history of success on their beat-up field, but now there’s no concerns.

“It just feels better,” junior lineman Darian Blachewicz said. “You feel more smooth, you get off the ball faster. … You just feel faster, better.”

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That speed was on full display against Lenape, particularly on defense, which registered seven sacks on the night.

“We definitely had a lot of pressure to open it up in style,” senior receiver and Syracuse commit Ta’Ron Haile said. “We said before the game we not letting nobody touch that orange (end zone) and we ain’t let nobody touch that orange today.”

It was a beautiful scene for Millville fans and for the team as well as the build up matched the experience.

“Even on the short bus ride over from the high school here, we were on the bus and they were cheering and clapping,” head coach Humberto Ayala said. “They’re seeing it, they’re excited. This is new and they got to experience something new. … They get to enjoy this. It was a long time coming. We’ve been asking for it and our district supports it and they support athletics and we’re excited and happy for that.”

Play of the Game

Millville held a narrow 7-3 advantage when it got the ball back with 1:53 left in the second quarter.

Na’eem Sharp ran for 14 yards on the opening play of the drive to get the Thunderbolts moving, then the team went into its bag of tricks.

Quarterback Jacob Zamot tossed a pitch to Haile, who stopped and uncorked a bomb to Brooks, who snagged it over the outstretched arm of a Lenape defender and strolled into the end zone for a 45-yard score an a 13-3 advantage.

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“I was really excited (when the play was called),” Haile said. “I was thinking I’m going to throw a touchdown pass.”

Brooks, who finished with 5 catches for 89 yards and the score, was equally confident.

“He used to be a quarterback so I knew it was going to be on the money,” he said.

By the numbers

4 – Sacks by Millville defensive end Tayshun Newman, including three in the third quarter. Blachewicz, Joseph Zamot and Jayden Jones each had one.

“He a dog,” Conyers said of Newman. “Him and Jayden on them edges, you can’t run from ’em.”

Added Newman, “This is the best (defensive) line in the state.”

23 – Yards on Conyers interception return for a score in the fourth quarter to go ahead 19-3.

“Soon as I woke up this morning, I went to school, my first block on my teacher’s board (he wrote) I’m going to get a pick-6 or two picks and it happened,” Conyers said.

6 – First downs allowed by Millville’s defense, and four of those were because of penalties.

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193 – Combined rushing yards for Millville running backs Demere White (10-110, TD), Sharp (13-73), Shemar Collins (2-23, TD) and Jamal Wallace Jr. (2-16).

“We can run the rock,” Ayala said. “Yeah, we got two great receivers, but now respect the run game as well.”

They said it

“It was to the roof. Everybody in the locker room hyped up, everybody locked in, nobody’s laughing around, playing around, joking. Everybody’s just serious and ready to go.”

– Millville junior Tayshun Newman on the team’s excitement for playing at refurbished John Barbose Stadium at Wheaton Field.

“It’s gorgeous. They didn’t cut any corners here. I like the tidbit with the scoreboard on the back of the scoreboard. A nice little touch.”

– Lenape head coach Joe Wojceichowski on Wheaton Field

“Frankly, I don’t know we played with much effort. A lot of guys would’ve liked to win the game, but I don’t know if they truly played with what they needed to in order to win. I thought we were timid tonight. … It’s a look in the mirror on Monday and it’s a matter of what do you want to do the rest of the year. Do you want to cash it in?”

– Wojceichowski on Lenape’s performance

Josh Friedman has produced award-winning South Jersey sports coverage for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and the Burlington County Times for more than a decade. If you have or know of an interesting story to tell, reach out on Twitter at @JFriedman57 or via email at jfriedman2@gannettnj.com. You can also contact him at 856-486-2431. Help support local journalism with a subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Millville football celebrates Wheaton Field remodel, win over Lenape