Hills, Vogelei make college choices official

Written by Brian Cunniff Wednesday, February 06, 2013 07:09 pm

Zack Vogelei and Wesley Hills never played against one another in high school, even though their respective schools are only a 15-minute car ride from one another. There’s a good chance they’ll play against one another in college, however.

Vogelei, of Middle Township High School, and Hills, of Wildwood, each signed National Letters of Intent to play college football at Towson and Delaware, respectively, during ceremonies at their respective schools Wednesday afternoon. Both schools’ football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision and are members of the Colonial Athletic Association.

A four-year starter at Middle, Vogelei (6-2, 215) led the Panthers to a South Jersey Group II playoff berth and a 6-4 record last fall. He ran 93 times for 693 yards (7.5 yards per carry) and scored 10 touchdowns as a fullback. On defense, the middle linebacker led the team in tackles with 103 and also recorded four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, three sacks and an interception.

Towson went 7-4 overall, 6-2 in the CAA last fall.

“This is an unbelievable experience,” Vogelei said. “It’s a great feeling to have everyone supporting me. (Choosing Towson) was the best decision I could have made.”

Hills produced one of the greatest offensive seasons in county history for Wildwood. The tailback ran for a Cape May County record 2,106 yards, becoming only the 13^th running back in South Jersey history to rush for more than 2,000 in a season. He scored a county record 35 touchdowns and also added five two-point conversion scores to register a county record 220 points. Hills also played special teams and, occasionally, outside linebacker for the Warriors.

Hills (6-3, 220) led Wildwood, which finished at 6-4, to its first-ever South Jersey playoff berth.

Delaware was 5-6 overall, 2-6 in the CAA in 2012.

“It feels great to be a part of the Blue Hen family,” Hills said while surrounded by a group of about 40 that included family, coaches, friends, teammates, teachers and school administrators. “It’s awesome to have such great family and friends behind me 100 percent. For them to put this together, it means a lot to me.”