Living the dream

Woodstown’s Bump Carter lives a lineman’s dream, returning a fumble for a touchdown in Wolverines’ road win

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PAULSBORO – When Bump Carter saw the football fly into his hands and saw all that green grass in front of him, he thought exactly what you’d expect of a lineman who had the dream of a lifetime laid out in front of him.

“I was just thinking about trying to get in there for a touchdown, and try not to get tackled,” he said. “I tried not to fall over when it fell into me. I couldn’t really believe it at all.”

The 5-foot-6, 200-pound junior reached lineman nirvana Saturday when he chugged 12 yards with a fumble in the closing seconds of the first half to score the first touchdown of his high school career in Woodstown’s 28-7 win over Paulsboro.

It couldn’t have unfolded more perfectly. The Red Raiders had just turned the Wolverines away on an end zone interception, but defensive end Corbin Walz broke in and stripped Paulsboro quarterback Roman Onorato. The ball never hit the ground. It landed right in Carter’s hands and the defensive tackle took off for the goal line.

Carter would often joke with his linemates about scoring a touchdown, but in reality he thought the only way he’d ever get close to scoring in a high school game was by getting in on a safety, but he checked all the boxes on the elements that concerned him once the ball landed in his hands. He did have a front-row seat when senior DL Shawn Gerrity returned a fumble for a touchdown in a scrimmage last year against Camden.

“Earlier in the game Bump almost picked off a screen and would’ve had a touchdown there, too,” Woodstown coach John Adams said. “He just tipped it and couldn’t come down with it and we were like ‘aw, he’s so close to scoring a defensive touchdown’ and then he comes away with one at the end of the half.

“It’s huge for the whole defensive line unit. I tell those guys from Day One we have to be the hardest workers on the field and we have to set the tone every game. We literally did that drill two days ago and it was textbook execution that came to life today on the field. It was pretty neat to see that and for Bump to get that, he’s just a great kid for that ball to bounce the right way into his hands.”

Covering the 12 yards to the end zone he said felt “like I was running on air.” Once he got in to extend the Wolverines’ lead to 21-0, he was mobbed by his teammates. As he passed Adams coming off the field there might have been a side-eye suggestion about having him help out the running backs until James Hill returns to that side of the ball in a couple weeks.

“It was great,” Wolverines running back Bryce Belinfanti said. “I’ve been waiting for it all year, really, and I watched it happen right in front of my eyes (from his outside linebacker spot). We were all hyped.”

A lot of Wolverines were having fun. Quarterback Max Webb ran for 45 yards and a 1-yard touchdown that capped a 96-yard drive and passed for 57 yards. Belinfanti rushed for 180 yards and two touchdowns, including a 67-yard burst in the fourth quarter with moves that had folks comparing him to Hill, a 3,000-yard career rusher due to return from knee surgery next week.

“I came down and James gave me a high-five and I was like ‘I looked like No. 22 out there,’” Belanfanti said.

It was the second game in a row Belinfanti proved to be reliable option in the running game as the Wolverines wait for the return of Hill. He had 132 yards and two touchdown in the season opener against Haddon Heights.

“I know we only have two running backs right now, me and Alex Torres,” Belinfanti said. “We knew we had to step up and we knew that we could and we were the guys to do it. A lot of the fans and people were nervous about not having James but the team knew what we had to do the first couple weeks and we did it and continue to do it.”

Woodstown 28, Paulsboro 7

Woodstown (2-0)	7	14	7	0 –	28
Paulsboro (0-2)	0	0	0	7 –	7

Scoring plays
W – Bryce Belinfanti 6 run (Jake Ware kick)
W – Max Webb 1 run (Jake Ware kick)
W – Walter Carter 12 fumble recovery (Jake Ware kick)
W – Bryce Belinfanti 67 run (Jake Ware kick)
P – Sharif Green 43 pass from Roman Onorato (PAT kick)