Newark Charter Unified flag football wins to secure state tournament berth

Newark Charter celebrated a pair of milestones on Monday night, honoring its 2016 state championship team at halftime while the current Unified flag football squad punched its ticket to another state tournament with a 48-24 victory over the regular-season finale.

The home crowd on senior night watched five players and a manager recognized before kickoff, setting the stage for a game that secured the Patriots’ postseason berth. For Jon Tressler, who played on that breakthrough 2016 team that delivered the school’s first-ever state title in any sport, returning to the sideline alongside his sister Hannah carried deep personal resonance.

“It was a meaningful thing for my sister Hannah and I to be on the same team because that was the first experience we had being part of the same team and making history,” Tressler said.

Tressler noted that the experience eventually steered him toward his current profession as a special education speech pathologist. On the field Monday, senior Luke Heseltine opened the scoring with a reception from Josh Perey, pushing his team-leading touchdown total to 11 for the season. Head coach Jake Schneider, guiding the team in his tenth season, emphasized that discipline in all three phases of the game will dictate how deep the Patriots go in the upcoming tournament.

“It’s just about complete football, playing defense and offense, and conversions are going to matter a ton,” Schneider said.

Across local high school football fields, district matchups shook up regional standings. Newark Charter’s traditional varsity football team improved to 8-0 with a 63-0 shutout against Williams Early College School, powered by Alex Burrows’ rushing and fumble-recovery touchdowns, alongside two passing scores from Chase Kennedy. Meanwhile, Glasgow picked up its first district win in a tight 14-13 battle against The Charter School of Wilmington, courtesy of Kam Swinney’s 13-tackles and game-winning two-point conversion.

Attention now turns to Saturday at 11 a.m., when Newark hosts Glasgow in an annual crosstown rivalry game. With both teams holding identical one-district-win records, a third loss could effectively eliminate either side from state tournament contention.

Fall tournaments are also expanding into the weekend. In girls volleyball, Caravel Academy advanced to face Newark Charter on Thursday following a match against Concord, while Saint Mark’s awaits the winner of St. Georges versus Delmarva Christian on Friday. In Division II field hockey, top seeds Newark Charter and Caravel Academy earned first-round byes and will host tournament matches on Saturday at 11:30 a.m., with Newark Charter awaiting the winner between Concord and Sussex Academy.

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