Going into the Dec. 7 NJSIAA South Jersey Group III football finals, the Barnegat High School Bengals knew they would have their hands full with the Delsea Regional Crusaders. After all, the Crusaders were the defending champions. Their punishing ground game and swarming defense proved a little too much for the upstart Bengals as Delsea rolled to a 31-7 victory at Rowan University.

Both teams ended the season with 10-2 records. It was the 11th state title for the Gloucester County school, which…