From The Press of Atlantic City — Beware the Pirates of Cedar Creek High School.

That – or something like it – is the battle cry that ultimately will emanate from what is now a construction site off Philadelphia Avenue and Moss Mill Road.

The Greater Egg Harbor Regional School District ran a contest to choose the name, mascot and colors for its third high school and spent the past five months narrowing down 2,318 entries. Superintendent Adam Pfeffer announced the winners at the Board of Education meeting Monday night.

Local history and the surrounding natural environment inspired the winning submissions. The district awarded $50 savings bonds to two winners in each category based on their accompanying essays.

Oakcrest senior Meghan Brennan, of Mays Landing, and Absegami junior Erica Mendillo, of Galloway Township, referenced the American privateers who looted British ships along the Mullica River during the Revolutionary War, culminating in the Battle of Chestnut Neck, as the inspiration for their mascot pick.

The Mullica River prompted more than 100 entries with the word “Cedar” in it, including 20 for Cedar Creek High School; Richard and Mary Dovey claimed the prize. The maroon, forest green and cream color combination stems from the river’s tannin-tinged waters and pine trees that flank it, according to essays written by winners Oakcrest junior Brittany Eggie, of Mays Landing, and eighth-grader Zach Zachowski, of the Sweetwater section of Mullica Township.

The Doveys, of Egg Harbor City, highlighted the regional importance of the Mullica River and its cedar creeks in their winning piece:

“Cedar Creek High School builds on a common past, honors the importance of our special environment to the people of the region, and the significance of our shared identity in the future,” it read.

The district expects the school to open in September 2010. Egg Harbor City was home to a high school from 1923 to 1959 in what is now Fannie D. Rittenberg Middle School, Pfeffer said.

Students living in Galloway, Mullica, Port Republic, Egg Harbor City, and Washington and Hamilton townships attend Absegami High School in Galloway and Oakcrest High School in Mays Landing.