The long-tenured and highly successful football coach and teacher at Delsea Regional High School has been suspended and school officials are tight-lipped on accusations of academic irregularities to benefit football players, according to sources who declined to be identified.

Delsea’s Sal Marchese just completed his 21st season as head football coach for the Crusaders and has posted a career record of 166-56-1. Sources say accusations of falsified grades to keep students eligible to play football are at the center of the allegations.

Superintendent Piera Gravenor, contacted Friday, would not talk about Marchese. Gravenor acknowledged that the Delsea board held a meeting behind closed doors on Saturday and later voted unanimously in public to extend the leave of an unnamed employee. Sources claim the employee is Marchese, who coaches football and teaches health and physical education at the school in Franklinville.

Marchese did not return a message left Friday on his cell phone.

Delsea has won 11

titles in New Jersey’s playoff era with four coming in the past six seasons, including last year’s victory over Barnegat to wrap up a 10-2 season and second straight Group III championship. Marchese’s 166 wins ranks eighth in the Gloucester County area in all-time victories.

Marchese is the second head football coach for the Crusaders in school history following John Oberg’s 33 seasons at the helm.

Numerous elected and appointed officials in the district failed to return messages Friday or declined comment.

A person who answered the phone for board solicitor Frank Cavallo sent the call to voice mail and a message was not returned.

Business administrator Joe Collins, board president Mario Christina and board member John “Jake” Bruno could not be reached for comment.

Board member Tom Tobin declined comment.

The Delsea board does not typically meet on Saturdays.

News of board action leaked through the rural South Jersey community after the board activity and a report of the board vote appeared in the weekly Sentinel of Gloucester County and elsewhere.

The Philadelphia Inquirer

reported Marchese has been placed on administrative leave pending a board of education investigation into possible academic misconduct.

At least one letter writer claiming to be a Delsea parent questioned the alleged testing impropriety and the district’s lack of transparency. News of the suspension swept through the school district and South Jersey football community, according to numerous sources.

NJSIAA, the state’s athletic governing body for scholastic sports, had not been informed of any issues at Delsea, according to Larry White, assistant director.

“This is the first I’m hearing of these allegations,” White said. “I’d imagine none of the other directors have or we would have spoken about it. If it’s a violation of our credit rules, if the allegations prove it happened, then obviously we would have to get involved in terms of investigating. Our controversies committee would likely get involved at that point.”

“It could be an internal eligibility situation, and then it would stay within the school,” he said.

Delsea’s football program has an all-time record of 397-123-16.

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