Football: Colonial shoots down alliance with Cape-Atlantic

By Phil Anastasia

The Colonial Conference has voted down a projected alliance with the Cape-Atlantic League for football, The Inquirer has learned.

The vote was 7-5 against the alliance. A vote of 8-4 in favor was needed to approve an arrangement that would have created cross-over games between the two leagues in the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

Cape-Atlantic League president Mike Gatley, the Mainland athletic director, said he understood the decision.

"We thought we had something that was mutally beneficial to both leagues but at this time it wasn't," Gatley said. "This was done very professionally with the best interests of the student athletes in mind."

The projected alliance came about as both league sought to solve some of their scheduling issues with cross-over games.

Among the projected cross-overs were games between West Deptford and Mainland, Haddonfield and Bridgeton and Paulsboro and Pleasantville, among many others.

Gatley said the Colonial's decision means that the Cape Atlantic League is likely to return to the same format for the next two seasons, with an American Division and a National Division.

Before discussions with the Colonial, the CAL had tentatively approved a format for 2014 and 2-15 that would have moved St. Augustine and Vineland up to the American Division and Holy Spirit down to the National Division.

Gatley said CAL officials would work to finalize the format in the near future.

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