Penns Grove plays ‘good, complementary football,’ goes on the road to shut out current SJ No. 1 Glassboro
WJFL DIAMOND DIVISION SCORES Penns Grove 6, Glassboro 0 Woodstown 27, Woodbury 21 (OT) Paulsboro at Salem, Saturday
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
GLASSBORO — Given the circumstances, Penns Grove coach John Emel called it his program’s biggest win in four years.
The Red Devils went on the road as an underdog against the current No. 1 team in the South Jersey Group I playoff picture and played perhaps its best game of the year in shutting out Glassboro 6-0.
PENNS GROVE 6, GLASSBORO 0 NEXT: vs. Pennsville, Friday, 6:30 p.m.
Bryce Wright scored the game’s only touchdown on a 1-yard run on fourth down early in the second quarter and Knowledge Young sealed the victory with an interception late in the fourth quarter. The offense had no turnovers for the first time this season and the defense yielded little extending its string of shutout football to six straight quarters.
“We played really well as a team; good, complementary football,” Emel said. “It’s the biggest win we’ve had in four years. Big win for our program.”
The Red Devils (3-4) now have as many wins as they had all of last season. They have now won back-to-back games for the first time since 2021, when they beat West Deptford and Asbury Park (in the quarterfinals of the South Jersey playoffs).
They entered the weekend No. 13 in the SJ Group I UPR ratings.
With Woodstown knocking off Woodbury in overtime, the Red Devils are now in a position to play for the WJFL Diamond Division title in two weeks. But first they have to get past rival Pennsville next week in the “Battle for the Boot.” They haven’t lost in the series since 2016.
“Our focus has to be on Pennsville; we’re not looking past anybody,” Emel said. “Our kids go one week at a time. We’re getting on the bus and they’re asking who we’ve got next week.”
Penns Grove 6, Glassboro 0
Penns Grove (3-4)
0
6
0
0 –
6
Glassboro (3-3)
0
0
0
0 –
0
Scoring plays: PG – Bryce Wright 1 run (PAT failed)
Belinfanti’s walk-off touchdown in overtime gives Woodstown some payback on nemesis Woodbury, overtaking sole possession of first place in the Diamond Division
SALEM COUNTY FOOTBALL Friday’s Games Pennsville 42, Overbrook 18 Penns Grove 6, Glassboro 0 Schalick 1, Bishop Eustace 0 (forfeit) Woodstown 27, Woodbury 21 (OT) Saturday’s Game Paulsboro at Salem, noon (Walnut Street)
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN — When Woodbury broke Woodstown’s heart in the 2021 South Jersey Group I title game, nobody took it harder than Wolverines quarterback Max Webb.
The pain of that loss has been churning in his gut ever since and he’s spent the rest of his career trying to set things right. He finally got his revenge Friday night.
The Wolverines ended two and a half years of frustration under the hoofs of the Thundering Herd when Bryce Belinfanti fulfilled a life-long dream by scoring a walk-off touchdown in overtime for a 27-21 win and sole possession of first place in the WJFL Diamond Division.
“This is awesome,” Webb said. “We’ve been circling this on our schedule every year since we lost to them in the championship game. There’s no better feeling than beating them finally.”
“It’s amazing,” added Belinfanti. “We came out gunnin’. We knew we had to win at home. We couldn’t get beat three years in a row, once at home, so we knew what we had to do and we did it.”
Belinfanti got the game-winning score on a leg-driving 5-yard run with the hammer of overtime. It put the finishing touch on a 203-yard rushing effort, 159 of which came in the second half and overtime. He and Webb both scored two touchdowns in the game.
“He’s a beast, man,” Webb said. “I don’t know what I’d do without him. He’s been amazing since James (Hill) has gone down. I couldn’t have asked even more from him.”
The Wolverines (5-1) had a chance to win in regulation, but missed a 26-yard field goal (low kick) on the final play of regulation after eating up the final 5:16 after the Herd tied the game.
Woodbury got the ball first in overtime, but failed to score with Gerrett Leyman squashing their last hope with an interception on fourth down. Earlier in the drive, it had a touchdown called back for an ineligible man downfield one play after they reset the chains on a pass interference on a pass to the end zone Stretch Armstrong couldn’t catch.
It took the Wolverines six plays to get the game winner. Webb kept the drive alive with a 4-yard pickup on third down that didn’t quite move the chains, but they got a boost from a facemask penalty.
Woodstown coach John Adams admitted on the game-winning play he was about to call time because he didn’t like the look, but he let it go and Belinfanti did his thing. The running back was stopped on the play at first contact, but kept churning his legs to keep the pile moving until he finally saw the goal line beneath him.
“A huge game like that against a team like this is definitely special,” Belinfanti said. “A walk-off touchdown in an overtime win is something I’ve dreamed of. I’ve always wanted to be in these situations and I made it happen.”
Woodstown’s Bryce Belinfanti looks to get outside after taking a handoff from quarterback Max Webb Friday night. (Photo by Ellen Sickler)
The Wolverines had an eerily quiet demeanor about them in pregame warmups, prompting Hill to comment to Adams it was like the calm before storm to which Adams replied he hoped they would be the lightning.
It took a little while for the storm to roll in. The Wolverines didn’t have a lot of opportunities to make something happen in the first half and trailed 13-7 at the break. They had only three possessions and one was with 30 seconds left after Woodbury retook the lead. The Herd only had it three times in the half themselves, but scored on two of the possessions.
Woodstown turned it around after halftime. Adams implored his team to put together some long drives in the second half and they answered the call. They had 206 yards in the second half and overtime – all on the ground to chew up the clock. They had the ball four times, scored on three and missed the potential game-winning field goal on the final play of regulation on the other.
With Woodstown controlling the clock, Woodbury had the ball for only three of the first 13 and a half minutes of the second half – all of six plays. The Herd had only 95 yards of net offense in the second half and overtime, and 52 of that came on a run by Wilson Torres on their game-tying drive.
“That’s classic Woodstown football right there,” Webb said. “Ground and pound, making sure they don’t get the ball as much as we do and taking all the time off the clock.”
Woodbury (3-3) has now lost three in a row with injured quarterback Donte Viccharelli out of the lineup, and that hasn’t happened since 2020. Viccharelli is expected to be out another two weeks.
Jayden Johnson stepped up and moved the Herd’s offense, running for one touchdowns, throwing 79 yards for another and connecting on the game-tying two-point conversion. He was 7-of-8 for 127 yards passing in the first half, but the Wolverines clamped down in the second half and harassed him into one completion and two interceptions.
The Wolverines may have exorcized some demons with Friday’s win, but there’s a little more carrot left before they can be completely satisfied in this series.
“It’s not completely gone yet,” Webb said. “This is only the regular season, a big game in the regular season, but it’s only regular season. So if we see them in the playoffs again that’s the one I’m circling.”
Woodstown 27, Woodbury 21 (OT)
WBURY (21)
WTOWN (27)
14
1st Downs
21
25-156
Rushing
47-286
9-16-2
Passes
5-8-1
153
Passing
56
2-0
Fumb-lost
0-0
0-0
Punts-avg
0-0
3-20
Penalties
5-42
Woodbury (3-3)
7
6
0
8
0 –
21
Woodstown (5-1)
0
7
7
7
6 –
27
Scoring plays: WB – Anthony Reagan Jr. 11 run (Jayden Johnson kick), 5:15 1Q WD – Bryce Belinfanti 7 run (Jake Ware kick), 0:57 2Q WB – Marquis Taylor 79 pass from Jayden Johnson (kick failed), 0:26 2Q WD – Max Webb 3 run (Jake Ware kick), 8:14 3Q WD – Max Webb 4 run (Jake Ware kick), 10:28 4Q WB – Jayden Johnson 8 run (Ibn Muhammad pass from Jayden Johnson), 5:19 4Q WD – Bryce Belinfanti 5 run (no attempt), OT
Jack Knorr and the Woodstown offensive line gave quarterback Max Webb and running back Bryce Belinfanti plenty of protection against Woodbury Friday. Top photo: Max Webb celebrates a touchdown. (Photos by Ellen Sickler)
Pennsville inducts eight luminaries with strong ties to the community into the high school’s Athletic Hall of Fame
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – Dawn Curry never was the kind of player who’d get all excited about personal records. She was more into winning the championships and the winning experiences with her teammates than any numbers that went on the scoreboard.
CURRY
Even now, 15 years after finishing a brilliant high school playing career with one of the most unique statistical lines you’ll find in sports, she’s unfazed by it all.
But the record is clear. The former Pennsville High School multi-sport star, Class of 2008, is a card-carrying member of the exclusive 100-1000-100 Club.
That would be more than 100 career goals in soccer, 1,000 points in basketball and 100 hits in softball. She was only three soccer assists shy of adding that jewel to the crown.
“When I playing in high school you took it game-by-game,” Curry said Thursday night prior to being inducted into the PMHS Athletic Hall of Fame. “Coming in my freshman year I didn’t expect that, that wasn’t my goal at all. And even when I got close to the milestones I would tell people just don’t tell me because it’s just more pressure.
“I’m a very modest person. I don’t really like talking about it too much. People would talk to me about it and I used to joke with them saying, ‘that’s my twin sister, Fawn, not me.’ I just didn’t like all the spotlight even though a lot of people do say stuff to me about that.
“I’m not saying I take these milestones for granted or anything, but it’s just my work ethic in high school and even prior to that is kind of reflected in my accomplishments.”
Curry had the spotlight shown on her one more time Thursday night as one of five former Pennsville players, two former coaches and a team for the ages in the fifth class of Hall inductees.
She was joined on stage by Lou Berge Jr. (Class of ’82), Judy Cafaro Bradford (’74), John Doran Jr. (’88), Mike Wariwanchik (’95), former coaches Horace Carl and John Maniglia, and the undefeated 1993 softball team. The unique aspect of this year’s induction class is all of the honorees still have active connections to the community.
“It’s just an honor and privilege to be sitting on stage with this group of people here,” said coach Herb Bacon, who accepted the induction on behalf of “Team of the Century” softball team and an inaugural member of the Hall. “And I have kind relationships with everybody seated here. Great memories.”
For the record, Curry scored 113 goals in her soccer career, 1,288 points in her basketball career and 117 hits in his softball career. Bacon called her “the Cal Ripken of Pennsville softball,” because she never missed a day of work in the four years she played.
She remembers getting her 100th goal at Salem, her 1,000th career point on a free throw at Salem in a Christmas tournament (and was confused why they stopped the game to recognize it) and believes her 100th hit came against Clayton. .
When she allows herself to think about it, the milestone that gives her the most pride is the one in soccer because that was “my baby” in high school and the hardest one to achieve. She went on to play college soccer at Holy Family in Northeast Philly.
“You see people score 1,000 points in basketball, 100 hits in softball (of which her team had four), which is great as well, but I just don’t think you see (100 goals) as much and I definitely put more work into the soccer than I did any other sport,” she said. “But it wasn’t just about what I did or how I performed during my games. It was a joint effort. I was surrounded by greatness.
“It takes a village in sports, like it takes a village in life, and even though I would trade in my individual accolades for more state championships, I hope that my hard work along my journey inspires some little girl like those before me inspired me when I was just a little girl.”
Here are the 2023 inductees
Lou Berge Jr.
Whether it was on the football field, as a manager for the boys basketball team or on the baseball field, Berge gave his all to his teammates and coaches. During the course of his four years in high school he earned nine varsity letters.
He was an all-county, all-conference and all-South Jersey Group II offensive tackle as a junior on an 8-1 football team. His senior year the football team was undefeated, conference champs and SJ Group II champs and he was all-county, all-SJ and all-state. He also was named the Brooks-Irvine Club’s SJ Offensive Lineman of the Year and at that time his No. 72 jersey was retired at PMHS.
If not for an eagle-eyed assistant coach, his legacy as a standout lineman might never have been materialized.
“The first day of practice my sophomore year (the coaches) said I want all the backs there, all the receivers over here and all the linemen over there by the blocking sleds,” Berge said. “I started my job over to the ends and receivers, I get about halfway there and I hear coach say “Berge, where the hell you going? Get over here, you’re a lineman.
“I was an offensive tackle for three years and played linebacker. I spent a lot of time blocking and tackling that seven-man sled instead of catching passes.”
His 1980 baseball team went 20-3 and was conference champs and he was named to the All-Delaware Valley Team by the Philadelphia Inquirer after batting .419 as the team’s catcher. The next year the team went 25-0 and swept all the titles.
Baseball went 20-3 again in 1982. Louie batted .614 and he made all the “all” teams. He also was named the Salem County Player of the Year.
Judy Cafaro Bradford
While many would consider her to be a “natural-born athlete” Judy used her time in school to develop many skills. She played tennis as well as lettering in three sports.
She played three years of varsity field hockey. She was a co-captain for two years, team MVP for two years and three times all-conference first team. As a basketball senior she was team MVP, second team all-conference, second team all-county and honorable mention all-state. Then, she was the MVP of the school’s first varsity softball team.
At the 1974 Win or Lose Dinner, she was awarded the Girls PTA Sportsmanship Award in addition to three MVP honors.
She went on to make an immediate impact at Cumberland County College, earning MVP honors in field hockey and basketball and was a starter on the softball team.
In her professional life she devoted more than 40 years before her passing in February 2022 to the Pennsville Recreation Department, making sure the department served many children and families in many ways. She also helped take care of Riverview Beach Park to make sure it remained the “Jewel of the Township.”
“First of all, I’d like to say thank you, they recognized her character and her heart,” husband Skip Bradford said. “It always stood out to other people as well as her humility. Even now I smile just thinking of how she would respond to achieve such an award today.
“She never wanted to be in the spotlight no matter how much she deserved it and I know she would be so humbled but honored to be acknowledged for her achievements today.”
Dawn Curry
Curry was an outstanding athlete in a career that spanned four years in three varsity sports. Among her most impressive feats is joining the unique 100-1000-100 Club.
Inspired by the players who came before her, she scored 113 goals in soccer and assisted on 97 others (almost a 100-100). She scored 1,288 points in basketball. She completed the unique trifecta with 117 hits in softball.
Her 2007 soccer team was declared South Jersey Group I champs. To cap off her senior year she was named Salem County Female Athlete of the Year and was a Wendy’s High School Heisman State Finalist.
John Doran Jr.
A wrestler through and through, John used his first year in high school to start making his name. He was undefeated as a freshman on the sub-varsity and that was the springboard to another undefeated year and state title in 1986. In 1988, wrestling at 119, he was runner-up in the district and region tournament and finished sixth at the state. His high school record was 89-6.
He went on to post a 32-3 record at Gloucester County College.
Doran cites his successes with the Pennsville Youth Program and Seagull Wrestling Club as highlights of his career and adds that winning the state title in 1986 was his most memorable moment. He went on to coach at the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Wrestling Academy for three years.
He was inducted into the South Jersey Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2022.
Mike Wariwanchik
A bear of a man, Wariwanchik starred in football and wrestled for the Eagles and threw the discus and shot in track until his senior year.
On the football field he was an all-conference offensive tackle in 1993 and an all-conference offensive and defensive tackle and the all-South Jersey defensive tackle in 1994.
He was just as dominating on the mat as a wrestler. As a heavyweight you wouldn’t think this would be an issue, but he often found himself having to shed pounds to go from 300-pound lineman to make the weight limit.
No problem. As a junior he was the district runner-up and third-place finisher at regionals. He was a state champion as a senior, going 28-0 (with 21 pins) to move his career record to 68-18, and was South Jersey Wrestler of the Year. He will inducted into the South Jersey Wrestling Hall of Fame next month.
Coach Horace Carl
Carl came to Pennsville in 1962 from Spring City, Pa. Three years after his arrival he was offered a position as assistant football coach under Lou D’Angelo. At the same time he was an NJSIAA registered high school basketball official and on the IABBO board until 1980.
He was the Eagles’ head football coach from 1979 through 1984. His 1981 team won the South Jersey Group II championship. He was named Coach of the Year by the Philadelphia Inquirer and South Jersey Football Club. Carl retired from teaching in 1992 and now lives near Baltimore.
Coach John Maniglia
Maniglia was a “Penns Grove guy” who came to Pennsville in 1979 and influenced a lot of students and athletes in his 35 years teaching and coaching in the district.
He was the head track coach from 1980-2014, then transitioned to assistant coach through 2021. He also coached basketball, cross country and winter track. He helped coach the cross country team when it won the 2006 Group I state title.
The spring track program won a combined three Salem County Championships and five conference crowns. During that time, the program produced 98 individual county champions, 69 conference champions, 33 South Jersey champions and eight state titleists. The school named its track in his honor in 2022.
“I know there are a lot of people out there who probably should be in before I got in, but I think it’s quite an honor to be inducted in 2023 with all these other people,” Maniglia said. “When I first started teaching here I’d always come over from the middle school and hang out in the high school faculty room with … all the Mount Rushmore people here at the school and I learned a lot just by sitting there and listening. It was quite an experience.
”When you start coaching, you don’t think about getting these kinds of awards. You think about the love of the sport, you think about trying to teach the kids about the love that you have you want to work hard out there every day. That’s what we tried to do out here for 40-some years, trying to instill the love of track in these kids out there. Our program was successful because of the student-athletes that we had, a bunch of great kids, that’s for sure. You couldn’t be successful without them.”
1993 Softball Team
The team is being inducted on the 30th anniversary of one of the greatest seasons in state history. The record says it went 26-0, but it was revealed Thursday night it actually was 27-0 after Woodstown wanted to make up a rain-out after the state tournament and it swept through their division, conference, sectional, the prestigious Hammonton Tournament, and, ultimately, the Final Four. Bridgett McCaffery O’Brien was the state Pitcher of the Year.
“I think I can speak for everyone up here, we expected to win every game that year,” O’Brien, a 2021 PMHS Hall of Famer, said. “That season was truly special. We so wanted to make Pennsville proud that year.”
The team was a consensus No. 1 by the state softball media and later was voted “Team of the Century” by the Courier Post. Ten players from that team were at the induction ceremony and they presented Bacon with two pieces of coach-themed wall art each player signed before heading into the auditorium.
“Everybody asks me, ‘Who was your greatest team?’ and I say I’m not answering that,” Bacon said. “(Emcee) Liz Pappas just read comment I tell people: If they’re voted the ‘Team of the Century,’ I guess they’re pretty good.”
PMHS Athletic Hall of Fame
2018: Lou D’Angelo, Ed Rieger, Herb Bacon, David Salberg, Betsey Salberg, 1982 Field Hockey team. 2019: Olaf “Butch” Drozdov, Carrie Foster McIntosh, Irvine Eugene “Gene” Foster, Robert “Bob” Gallagher, Leigh Garrison, Kimberly Griffin Hudson, John “Jack” Harford, John “Jack” Meyers Sr., Howard Wilbraham Sparks, Sophia Stavru, Gregzie L. White, Michael Jon Widger. 2021: Patricia Chance, David Hall, Bill Hyatt, Chris Widger, Bridgett McCaffery-O’Brien, Jeff Litherland (special recognition), Coach Greg Greenzwieg, 1960 Football team. 2022: Donna Martin Duber, Mark Freed, Ron “Boo” Bennet, Mark T. Jones, Kelli Griffith, Katie Kline. 2023: Lou Berge Jr., Judy Cafaro Bradford, Dawn Curry, John Doran Jr., Mike Wariwanchik, Horace Carl , John Maniglia, 1993 softball team.
Ten members of the undefeated 1993 Pennsville “Team of the Century” softball team joined coach Herb Bacon (R) for the team’s induction into the PMHS Athletic Hall of Fame. The top photo is the 2023 induction class. (Photos by Lorraine Jenkins)
Thursday roundup: Louis Sepers scores a goal in his first game eligible with Schalick soccer team; Schalick’s Romano scores 200th coaching win, and more UPDATED
THURSDAY’S SCORES BOYS SOCCER Schalick 3, Pennsville 0 Salem Tech 1, Salem 1 GIRLS SOCCER Schalick 6, Pennsville 0 Salem 9, Salem Tech 0 Woodstown 4, Penns Grove 0 FIELD HOCKEY Schalick 7, Cumberland 0 GIRLS TENNIS South Jersey Group I Tournament No. 2 Schalick 5, No. 15 Salem 0 No. 3 Woodstown 5, No. 14 Lindenwold 0 No. 4 Middle Twp. vs. No. 13 Penns Grove No. 8 Pennsville 4, No. 9 Overbrook 1
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – Louis Sepers has been chomping at the bit to get on the pitch for the Schalick boys soccer team and when he finally did, he made it count.
Sepers scored his first goal in his first game with the Cougars Thursday, a 3-0 Diamond Division road shutout of Pennsville.
The junior center midfielder transferred from Kingsway to play with his brother and cousin and had to sit out the last 31 days to restore his eligibility. He scored the last goal of the game with 5:15 to play.
“Definitely not,” Sepers said when asked if his debut could’ve gone any better. “It was a great game. We played really well. We knew coming in we need commitment, we need more leaders, so I came in here as a leader and started off.
“I’ve been going crazy. Just getting to go on the field and score a goal, just unbelievable. I never could have thought of it being any better.”
Sepers, who didn’t score in his two years with the Dragons, actually started the play that eventually led to his first Schalick goal. He sent a pass in to Luke Price, but Price got it caught on his foot in the box and fed it back to the trailing Sepers who fired point blank into the upper left corner.
“We had a feeling he would get one,” Cougars coach Joe Mannella said. “He’s been chomping at the bit to get out there. He’s a good player. He should have had one in the first half. He’s going to get his chances.”
Louis was one of three Sepers on the field for the Cougars Brother Anthony was in the game and cousin Evan posted the shutout.
Louis played his first two years at Kingsway. His brother and cousin were already at Schalick when he decided to join them, but enrolled after the Cougars had already started practicing, hence the delay.
He had been practicing with them since his arrival but was relegated to the sidelines while they went 7-3 in their first 10 games. The embargo ended just in time for him to get in a game before the Cougars’ showdown with rival Woodstown on the Wolverines’ football field Saturday night.
He brings them experience, composure and depth, all of which the Cougars will need Saturday already knowing they’ll go into the game without two starters. He spent 18 days this summer with the Spanish fourth tier club CD Numancia in Soria, and decided upon his return to The States he wanted to play with his sophomore siblings.
“They’ve been bugging me for years,” he said. “Since freshman year I was thinking about it, and I just ended up going to Kingsway, but they’ve been bugging me, especially my uncle.”
Steve Chomo scored the Cougars’ first two goals, both assisted by Oscar Hernandez. The first one was a partial breakaway with 22:01 left in the first half and the second came with 22:35 to play.
SALEM TECH 1, SALEM 1: Clinton Bobo’s goal in the second half earned the Crusaders (3-6-1) their tie. The Rams remain winless in 10 games (0-9-1)
GIRLS SOCCER SCHALICK 6, PENNSVILLE 0: Emily Miller peppered her 25th and 26th goals of the season in between Quinn Berger’s hat trick — all in the first half — as the Cougars (8-2) overran the undermanned Eagles (3-7-2). Jael Winnberg scored the Cougars’ final goal in the the second half. All but one of the Cougars’ wins have been by shutout.
WOODSTOWN 4, PENNS GROVE 0: Talia Battavio scored two goals and Delaney Walker and Sophie Wells each had one for the Wolverines (5-6). Calista Hunt and Emma Perry each had two assists.
SALEM 9, SALEM TECH 0: Karima Davenport-White scored four goals as the Rams (3-6-1) won for the second time in their last three games. Ryann Foote had a goal and two assists, Xin Shen had two assists, and Carlysia Pierce, Lyric Hayes, Ameriyona Hunter and Jayla Turner each scored a goal.
FIELD HOCKEY SCHALICK 7, CUMBERLAND 0: Ava Scurry scored three goals and dished two assists. Scurry now has six goals on the season. Phoebe Alward scored her 11th goal, while Lucianna Virga, Caylen Taylor and Casey Widdifield also scored. Lydia Gilligan stopped the only shot she faced for the shutout.
GIRLS TENNIS Schalick and Woodstown postponed their regularly scheduled showdown Thursday in order to help the opening round of the South Jersey Group 1 Tournament avoid projected bad weather on Friday and both made easy work of their opponents.
Schalick, the No. 2 seed, swept No. 15 Salem 5-0, while Woodstown, the No. 3 seed, swept No. 14 Lindenwold, 5-0. No. 8 Pennsville was the third Salem County team advancing, beating No. 9 Overbrook, 4-1.
Schalick (14-2) won all five of its matches in straight sets, losing only two games in the second set of No. 1 singles, and gave coach John Romano his 200th coaching victory. Undefeated Woodstown (13-0) also won all five matches in straight sets.
“Girls, to say ‘thank you’ would be a disservice,” Romano wrote in appreciation of his milestone on the school’s athletics Facebook page. “I cannot begin to tell you how lucky I am to coach such an unbelievable group of young ladies. You’re the true reason why I come back year after year.
“Years from now when I’m old(er) and have (more) white hairs, I will reminisce on the wins and losses, but ultimately I will think about all of the lives I’ve been able to touch and the friendships and relationships I’ve formed with all of you. A true testament of a coach isn’t wins and losses on the court, it’s the success you young ladies have in life.”
Pennsville now travels to top-seeded Haddon Twp. Tuesday for its second-round match. Woodstown will host Gateway and Schalick will host Audubon. Wins by Woodstown and Schalick in Round 2 would set up a sectional semifinals battle between the two county rivals in Pittsgrove.
Every team in Salem County, undefeated or winless, has something to play for; story will be updated
SALEM COUNTY FOOTBALL Friday’s games Bishop Eustace at Schalick, forfeit Overbrook at Pennsville, 7 p.m. Penns Grove at Glassboro, 7 p.m. Woodbury at Woodstown, 7 p.m. Saturday’s game Paulsboro at Salem, noon (Walnut Street)
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – From the first day the Woodstown football team showed up for summer workouts one game has been on its radar.
Ever since the Wolverines put Woodbury on the schedule as a last-minute pick-up during the COVID season, the teams have had a spirited rivalry, whether it be in games, scrimmages of 7-on-7 camp. The intensity took a big turn two years ago when the Thundering Herd scored late in the South Jersey Group I final to dash the Wolverines’ hopes of winning a state championship and it’s been driving them ever since.
Last year, with Woodstown 5-0 and Woodbury 5-1, the Herd took advantage of several Wolverine turnovers and took it to them pretty good on the way to winning the state title.
Friday night the stakes will be high again with the winner taking over first place in the WJFL Diamond Division. But for all that’s on the line, Woodstown coach John Adams is going about business like any other week because, in their division, it’s like playing in the SEC of Group I where one could put even the weakest team somewhere else and they’d be undefeated.
“We approach every week the same way whether it’s a game people have circled on their schedule or not,” Adams said. “We always make sure we prepare for everybody the same way. We had a good day of practice on Monday with the varsity. We had a good day Tuesday with everybody. We’re just looking to keep having good practices.”
Both teams come into the game with a loss or two on their record. Woodstown (4-1) lost to Glassboro in overtime. Woodbury (3-2) has lost two in a row without injured quarterback Dante Viccharelli. That hasn’t happened since 2020 when the Herd lost three straight in a stretch that included the game picked up by Woodstown.
The Wolverines are preparing as if Viccharelli will play.
“I’m preparing as if he’s playing, but I have no idea,” Adams said. “And I don’t believe anything kids say because last week people were saying Salem had some kids who weren’t playing and then they showed up and played.
“It seems always to be that way. Usually we get everybody’s best shot, so usually it’s a game where if somebody’s out they’re trying to get back for a game like this, so we’re full head of steam preparing for their quarterback to be back there.”
Whether Viccharelli is in there or not, the Herd also has a dynamic running back in Anthony Reagan Jr. The coach’s son, a Howard commitment, has rushed for 794 yards and 13 touchdowns this season, but maybe because opposing defenses know he is the best remaining threat he’s been held to less than 100 rushing in each of their last two losses. PENNS GROVE (2-4) at GLASSBORO (3-2): The Red Devils certainly will have their eyes on that game. Depending on the outcome, they could be right back in the hunt for a share of the division title even after starting the season 0-3.
For that to happen, they’d need Woodstown to win Friday and then beat the Wolverines in their final regular-season game in two weeks forcing a potential three-way tie. Woodbury holds the head-to-head tiebreaker on them.
“I didn’t even look at that until yesterday and I said the same thing to myself,” Penns Grove coach John Emel said. “In the big picture, the first thing you always tell yourself you want to win your division because that will get you high in the playoffs and I know that’s a couple weeks out but an opportunity to beat Woodstown would go a long way to getting a couple home games in the playoffs.
“At the end of the day you only have opportunities to win so many things and winning the division is part of having a special season. Last year in the division we were winless, so to go into the last game of the season and have an opportunity to win the division, that to me would be a big step in the right direction.”
First, though, they have to get past the Bulldogs, a traditional opponent who beat Woodstown in overtime two weeks ago and are the current No. 1 in the South Jersey Group I UPR ratings. The Red Devils should have a little more pep in their step after playing their best half of the season last week and coming from 19 down at halftime to beat Paulsboro last week for their second win in three games.
Take out the season opener when they were bedeviled by turnovers, the Red Devils have outscored their opponents in the second half 37-29. It was the first quarter that doomed them in the Woodbury game; they were only outscored 8-6 in the second half of that one.
“Sometimes I feel like our team and our younger guys lack a little confidence so hopefully this will be an example we can use not just the rest of this season but next year that when things aren’t going well there’s always an opportunity to turn it around,” Emel said. “I think every game this year except for Woodbury has come down to the second half. We feel we’re competitive and we’re a good enough program that every game will be decided the second half.
“You say that to your guys as a coach and you practice to reinforce that, but until they have success in that type of situation those words probably sometimes ring hollow. Hopefully this will give our young players confidence not just the rest of this season but in the future that the game is never over good or bad. Football’s a long game and things can change really quickly. We’ve got to just keep playing, play hard in the second half and we’ve got to finish games, and we did that last week.”
OVERBROOK (3-2) at PENNSVILLE (3-2): It’s an out-of-division game against a bigger opponent, but it’s another chance for the Eagles to get better, avenge another of last year’s losses and enhance their position for a playoff spot. And it all comes on Homecoming, to boot.
The Eagles remain at No. 17 in the South Jersey Group I UPR ratings, two-tenths of a point out of the last qualifying spot, but stand to pick up a lot of points if they can knock off a Group II team with a winning record and a dynamic quarterback.
Overbrook took it to them pretty good last year and has won three of the last four games in the series, but the Eagles are in a different place this season. They’ve already beaten two teams that took them down last year (Gateway and Cumberland).
“It’s similar to the whole theme of our year, just trying to get back respect,” Eagles coach Mike Healy said. “It’s a situation where we want to go in and show we are a different team this year and we believe we could do it.
“And just like every game right now this is another huge one in terms of playoffs. Right now we’re still stuck at 17, so we’ve got to do some work still. Regardless of that, we’ve got to just keep winning anyway. We’re still fighting and just want a shot in the playoffs.” A win would give them as many wins as the last two seasons combined and four in a season for the first time 2017 (4-6). They won their fourth game that year in the eighth game.
“We’ve played better in every game this year compared to last year,” Healy said. “In that sense it’s all been positive, but we’re still trying to learn and we have not reached our full potential yet, so we have to keep getting after it and getting better every week, but we’re seeing constant improvement. There’s a ton of positives this year already.”
Signs of that improvement can be found in sophomore quarterback Robbie McDade, who took a big step towards turning into the quarterback the Eagles need him to be with last week’s 300-yard game against Cumberland. McDade threw for 205 yards on 16-of-29 passing – all career highs – and rushed for 102 yards. He accounted for three touchdowns in the 25-12 victory.
“He’s even said he feels a lot more comfortable now,” Healy said. “You can see him taking command of the offense. He’s fixing kids when they make mistakes instead of the coaches having to do it. He’s really taken a leadership role and developed a much better understanding of the offense as a whole.
“As a sophomore that’s really want to see from him. He’s still a young player and he’s going to make mistakes and we expect that, but to see these steps in terms of leadership and just understanding what we’re trying to do is huge and going to pay big dividends for him. Like everyone else he’s getting better, but I definitely think he’s starting to kind of get in a groove.” SCHALICK vs. BISHOP EUSTACE: http://rb.gy/e58jq
Saturday’s game
PAULSBORO (0-5) at SALEM (0-6): In a game between two storied programs, strangely, somebody’s going to get their first win this week. Paulsboro, which hasn’t been winless this long since 1970, has come close the last two weeks. Last week the Red Raiders blew a 19-0 halftime lead at Penns Grove and scored all three of their touchdowns on big plays
Salem has shown signs of turning the corner, but needs to put four quarters together. The Rams were one big play from being tied with Camden at halftime, threatened Cedar Creek in the second half until a late turnover ended their comeback, and stopped Woodstown at the goal line at the end of a time-consuming opening drive last week.
The game will be played at the Walnut Street Field as the Rams’ on-campus stadium isn’t quite ready for game day. School officials are hopeful it will be ready in time for next week’s Homecoming Game.
Schalick off for second week in a row after Bishop Eustace forfeits Friday’s game, gives Cougars share of Horizon Division title UPDATED By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PITTSGROVE – The undefeated Schalick football team finds itself with an unexpected open date for the second week in a row after athletics department officials were informed Monday of Bishop Eustace’s intention to forfeit Friday night’s WJFL Horizon Division game due to a lack of players to safely field a competitive varsity team.
The Cougars also received a forfeit win from division opponent Lindenwold last week for the same reason. They have not played on the field since Sept. 22 when they beat Pennsville 38-20.
Eustace was said to have 16 players available for the game against a Schalick program with more than 60.
With the forfeit, the Cougars, now 7-0 for the first time since 2006 after the forfeit, clinch a share of their second straight Horizon Division title. They can claim the crown outright Friday if Riverside beats Gloucester Catholic since they own the head-to-head tiebreaker over Riverside and everyone else in the league will have at least two losses.
The Cougars were No. 1 in the UPR power ratings that determine playoff seedings before the first forfeit and fell to No. 2 afterwards. While they will collect ratings and power points from the game – Eustace is 3-2 and No. 8 in NJSIAA Non-Public Group B – it was uncertain what this latest forfeit would do to their position.
They could have found a replacement opponent for last week’s forfeit but “in the best interest of the team” that had been going without a break since the first day of practice they decided to take the forfeit. They did seek a replacement opponent this week, but no team in the WJFL had an open date and the unnamed Shore Conference team in North Jersey they found that did have a corresponding open date declined the game.
Both forfeits were winnable games for the Cougars, but head coach Mike Wilson would prefer to play on the field.
“They’re claiming they don’t have enough kids and they’ve got injuries, but they’ve had low numbers all year,” Wilson said. “The league cannot allow this to happen. If you’re committed to varsity, you play varsity football, they should not allow them to play varsity the rest of the year. It’s not fair.
“Yes, they’re wins on paper, but these kids need to play football. It’s not going to hurt us on playoff seeding, it’s not going to hurt us winning our division … but it kind of loses its luster when you don’t actually play the games.
“It’s not fair. You’re taking games away from these kids, and especially my seniors – and I don’t have a lot of them. These were the COVID kids. They lost games their freshmen year because of COVID. It’s not fair. The league has to do something about it. It’s frustrating because the kids have worked so hard.”
Wilson and Schalick athletics director Doug Volovar have reached out to various West Jersey Football League officials to express their concerns. Volovar was told by WJFL president Joe McColgan, the Moorestown AD, there was no recourse in place at this time either for relief or sanctions for a situation that impacts a wide range of institutional constituencies. Riverview Sports News sent an email to McColgan seeking comment and is awaiting a reply.
“We just have to accept it and move on, that’s really all we’re allowed to do,” Volovar said. “It’s just unfortunate for us that it’s happened to us twice.”
Penns Grove head coach John Emel, president of the WJFL coaches association, doesn’t like seeing the forfeits but his group doesn’t have power to make changes. He feels for the Cougars.
“I don’t like it,” he said. “It’s not good for the sport; the forfeits aren’t good for the competitiveness of the league and the competition and things like that. My position is I want to try to avoid them at all costs. I feel bad for Schalick in terms of their kids and the seniors and things like that. It stinks. I don’t think there’s a solution for it short term.”
In a sense, Shalick is a victim of its own success. After some down seasons, the Cougars were relegated to a weaker division in the last WJFL reshuffle and Wilson has been building them back for inclusion in a stronger grouping that’s expected to occur in the realignment after this season.
It wasn’t immediately known if the Eustace position would be just for this week or longer, but Schalick officials would be “really disappointed” if either forfeiting team would drop down to play a JV schedule in their current state and then return to varsity play during the same season when convenient. The Crusaders are scheduled to play Florence, currently No. 3 in the SJ-I UPR, at home next week
“To me that’s one of the more disturbing issues,” Volovar said. “The feeling is if you have players and you say that you’re going to commit to a varsity schedule, but then you’re dropping down to a JV schedule, that’s concerning to me because if you have enough players to play a game of football you should be playing a game because that’s what you committed to at the beginning.
“Maybe some schools aren’t as fortunate as we are, but at the same time, because we’ve done what we’re supposed to do and we’re trying to do what’s better for our kids and our programs we’re unfortunately getting penalized.”
As for the Cougars, they reduced their practice week schedule last week, but they’re going through this one just as if they were playing a game Friday.
“When you look at the grand scheme of things we’re going to be OK, that’s what I told the kids,” Wilson said. “If you came out to practice yesterday you would’ve never even known we didn’t have a game; we had a great practice. I think the kids get the importance of what we still have to accomplish this season.
“And I think there’s maturity there. They’ve finally learned to control what you can control.”
Schalick is scheduled to play Cumberland next week. There’s close to 100 percent chance that game will be played .
It’s the trophy game between the two schools — the Tom Lake & Mike Hars Memorial Game, formerly known as The Neighborhood Game.
Wolverines’ girls tennis team edges Pennsville as part of a big week of matches that could be impacted by weather TUESDAY’S SALEM COUNTY SCORES GIRLS TENNIS Schalick 5, Salem 0 Woodstown 3, Pennsville 2 BOYS SOCCER Overbrook 4, Pennsville 1 Pitman 5, Salem 0 GIRLS SOCCER Glassboro 7, Penns Grove 1 Gloucester Catholic 10, Salem Tech 0 Pennsville 3, Overbrook 1Pitman 6, Salem 0 Schalick 4, Woodstown 0
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – Between the county rivals already on the schedule and state tournament opener added just today, this was shaping up to be a big week for the Woodstown girls tennis team.
Then a phone call to Wolverines coach Jesse Stemberger towards the end of Tuesday’s match with Pennsville informing him of possible inclement weather late in the week threatens to put a (pun intended) damper on it all. But it also has the potential to make for an even bigger week later in the season.
First things first. As for the day’s activities, the Wolverines edged Pennsville 3-2 to remain undefeated. About two hours before the match, the Wolverines were installed as the No. 3 seed in the South Jersey Group I girls tennis tournament that starts Friday.
Because of the predicted bad weather Friday, host teams have been encouraged to move their opening-round tournament games to Thursday, a move towards which both Woodstown and Pennsville are leaning. Woodstown hosts Lindenwold and Pennsville, the No. 8 seed, hosts Overbrook.
Here’s where it gets interesting. The Wolverines have a showdown with Schalick for the Diamond Division lead Thursday and since state tournament games supercede all else, they’d have to move the regular-season match to later in the season, setting up the possibility of playing the Cougars three times in a span of about 10 days.
Why three? Schalick is the No. 2 seed in the SJ-I tournament, setting up the possibility the two county rivals could meet in the sectional semifinals. Schalick opens the tournament against Salem, a team it beat Tuesday 5-0.
“When you look at how the whole schedule’s played out,” Stemberger began, “there are certain weeks where things were a little bit lighter, but when you look at this week you think, wow, this is kind of a tough week.
“You have to live in a cave to not know what’s going on. This is a big match. John (Romano, Schalick’s coach) knows it, we both know what’s going on. And I don’t think either one of us is prolonging it; it’s a series of unfortunate events, but it does make it interesting because if things go according to plan we’ll play them three times in the last two weeks. We’re going to be intimately familiar with them.”
The only match Stemberger had on his mind Tuesday, though, was the one in front of him. The Wolverines (11-0) took control of it by sweeping the doubles points, keeping their doubles teams of Vivian Ward-Camille Osborn and Molly Curtis-Julianna Lindenmuth undefeated on the season.
They clinched their 14th straight regular-season victory – or “secure the bag,” as No. 1 singles Abigail Melle says – when Melle outlasted Regan Witt through two competitive sets.
“She was a consistent player, so it was hard,” Melle said of her match. “She didn’t make any mistakes and I had to be the first not to make a mistake, so we had a lot of good rallies and I struggled to put one in on the court because she got to every ball,. I had to stay out of my head and get the point, stay focused.”
The Eagles (7-5) made it close with junior Megan Morris and sophomore Lily Edwards winning in straight sets at Nos. 2 and 3 singles. Morris’ consistent and calculated victory kept her undefeated (12-0) in her first year in the singles spotlight. She has not lost a set.
“I’m really surprised,” Morris said. “I never thought I’d be able to do it,. When I went against Kingsway and Pitman and Woodstown, they’re just all great schools and I never thought I could do it, but I was able to prove myself that I can do it.”
She didn’t realize she had an undefeated string going until her dad mentioned it at around 9-0. “I had no clue and I’ve been counting from there,” she said.
NOTES: In addition to Schalick, Woodstown, Pennsville and Salem, Penns Grove also made the tournament field – as the No. 13 seed. The Red Devils will travel to Middle Twp. for their tournament opener. “I told the guys in a group chat with coaches I thought the seeds were fair across the board,” Stemberger said. WOODSTOWN 3, PENNSVILLE 2 Singles Abigail Melle def. Regan Witt, 6-4, 6-2 Megan Morris (P) def. Gabby Kurpis, 6-1, 6-3 Lily Edwards (P) def. Cara Delia, 6-1, 6-4 Doubles Vivian Ward-Camilla Osborn def. Fanta Kone-Emma Cornette, 6-3, 6-1 Molly Curtis-Julianna Lindenmuth def. Gabi Forino-Isabell Schrenker, 6-1, 6-1 SCHALICK 5, SALEM 0: The Cougars (12-2) dropped only three games in sweeping the Rams. The teams meet again in the first round of the state tournament later this week. The No. 1 doubles team of Katelyn Little and Emma Adams remained undefeated.
Girls soccer
PENNSVILLE 3, OVERBROOK 1: Karsen Cooksey scored a pair of goals and Anikka Macalino extended the Eagles’ lead to 3-0. Cooksey has a team-leading seven goals.
WOODSTOWN 4, SCHALICK 0: Each of the Wolverines’ last five victories have been by shutout. Keeper Carly Hayman may have been called to make only four saves in the game, but coach Will Kemp said, she’s “still a general on the field to help the squad.” Emily Miller scored two goals, giving her 24 for the season.
GLASSBORO 7, PENNS GROVE 1: Alana Figueroa and Marianna Dempster scored two goals apiece for Glassboro. A’Mani Taylor scored Penns Grove’s goal.
GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 10, SALEM TECH 0: Ten players scored goals for the Rams (5-3).
PITMAN 6, SALEM 0: Audrey Duffield scored the first of her two goals less than two minutes into the game to open a four-goal first half. Pitman extended its 3-0 halftime lead with a pair of goals three minutes part in the second half.
Boys soccer
OVERBROOK 4, PENNSVILLE 1: Angel Mejia-Castro had two goals and an assist and David Ayala-Rivas scored his team-leading 13th goal to lead Overbrook to its third straight win. The Rams (7-4) won only four games last year. Stone Mumink scored Pennsville’s goal, his fifth in the last four games.
PITMAN 5, SALEM 0: Logan Williams scored the first two goals of the game two minutes apart in the first 15 minutes.
Monday roundup: DiGregorio goal lifts Woodstown over Schalick in key Diamond Division field hockey game, also includes boys soccer, girls tennis
MONDAY’S SALEM COUNTY SCORES FIELD HOCKEY Gloucester Catholic 4, Pennsville 0 Salem 8, Clayton 0 Woodstown 1, Schalick 0 BOYS SOCCER Penns Grove 6, Clayton 0 Salem Tech 1, Wildwood Catholic 0 Woodstown 2, Pennsville 0 GIRLS SOCCER Wildwood Catholic 8, Salem Tech 1 Woodstown 6, Pennsville 1 GIRLS TENNIS Washington Twp. 3, Pennsville 2 Woodstown 4, Kingsway 1
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PITTSGROVE – Whenever a new coach comes to town there are bound to be changes within the organization. One of the first decisions Bryanna Roberts made when she got the Woodstown field hockey job – after looking at the personnel, of course – was move Braeley DiGregorio to wing and it dramatically changed the Wolverines’ offense.
DiGREGORIO
DiGregorio banged home her ninth goal of the season – and 10th of her career – with just under three minutes left in the third quarter Monday and it carried Woodstown to a 1-0 victory of Schalick in the first of their Tri-County Diamond Division showdowns. The win gave the Wolverines (6-1) sole possession of first place in the division.
“We’ve been anticipating this game for a while,” Roberts said. “To finally get to this game and win it just shows all the hard work and effort the girls have been putting forth this whole season.”
For the first two years of her varsity field hockey career DiGregorio was assigned to a more defensive posture as a reserve outside mid. But Roberts was impressed with the way she moved on the outside and pulled her up to forward wing.
There was uncertainty at first, but once the junior figured it out “I really took off running with it.” Now she leads the team in goals and is second in Salem County in goals and points. The Wolverines have outscored their seven opponents. 32-6.
“Braeley has really worked hard to get to where she’s at,” Roberts said. “She’s really shown all the hard work she’s been doing in the off-season.
“We bumped her up to that wing spot because she has that big ball from the side and she finds a way around the goalie and gets her stick on it, so this is new for this season. During the preseason I talked with the coaches and we all agreed that with the way she was moving down the field and moving inside the circle it was the best move for her and she’s shone through it. It’s awesome to see it work. It was a great move all around.”
DiGregorio’s latest goal came as the Wolverines amped up their attack in the second half. The Cougars dominated the first half outshooting Woodstown 7-2 and collecting six penalty corners, but they couldn’t find the back of the net.
Woodstown turned up the heat after a spirited halftime talk shook the players from their doldrums and the momentum shifted. The Wolverines outshot their hosts 7-1 in the second half and had four penalty corners.
Megan Donelson almost got them on the board five minutes into the second half, but Emma Cheesman was there to turn her away with a defensive save.
“We definitely dominated the first half and then the second half we were flat on our feet,” Schalick coach Heather Cheesman said. “We looked like we were tired, which gave them a lot of opportunities.”
“I always tell them that you have to find that will inside and they did,” Roberts said. “This win truly shows that the girls want it and they’re out here to play.”
The Wolverines finally broke the stalemate with 2:59 left in the third quarter. Kayla Brown’s initial shot was blocked by Schalick goalie Lydia Gilligan, but the rebound came right to DiGregorio, who squeezed her shot through a six-inch space between the keeper and the left post. They almost got a second goal in the closing seconds of the quarter but Gilligan came off her line to make a sliding save on Hannah Hitchner.
“I just happened to be there to finish it,” DiGregorio said of her goal. “It’s always very hit or miss with that (rebound) and you’re just lucky when you get a chance and it’s always exciting.”
But not totally surprising. The Wolverines have scored 20 of their goals this season in the second half.
SALEM 8, CLAYTON 0: Autumn Foote and Rhionna Timmons each scored a pair of goals as the Rams (6-1) bounced back from their first loss of the season in a big way.
GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 4, PENNSVILLE 0: The Rams took control of the game with three goals in the first quarter. Bridget Taney scored twice in the game.
Boys soccer
WOODSTOWN 2, PENNSVILLE 0: Kaleb Gerace scored his first goal of the season and Blake Biaklecki scored his second goal in as many games – both in the second half — to extend the Wolverines’ winning streak to seven games and snap the Eagles’ three-game streak.
Freshman Ayden Ellis got his first career assist (on Bialecki’s goal) and Ben Stengel posted the Wolverines’ third shutout.
The game opens a three-game week of county opponents for the Wolverines. They play at Penns Grove Thursday and host Schalick in a 7 p.m. game Saturday in the football stadium in a rematch of their season-opener and Woodstown’s only loss. They are 4-1 against in-county competition this season.
PENNS GROVE 6, CLAYTON 0: Sebastian Hernandez scored the first of his two goals in the opening two minutes of the match and Ashton Harris scored twice in a three-minute stretch later in the half as the Red Devils scored their second win of the season to snap a five-game winless streak. Theus Berrios and Frankie Juarez Reynoso scored their other goals.
SALEM TECH 1, WILDWOOD CATHOLIC 0: In one of their gutsiest performances of the season, the Chargers (3-6) overcame playing most of the second half one man down and won in overtime. Graham Fields buried a penalty kick in overtime for the game’s only goal. Joshua Trinidad and Cody Messina combined for the shutout. All three of the Chargers’ victories this season have been by shutout.
Girls soccer
WOODSTOWN 6, PENNSVILLE 1: Talia Batavia had two goals and two assists as the Wolverines (4-5) snapped a two-game shutout slide. Emma Morgan, Lia Covely, Delaney Walker and Bailey Arnold Peters scored their other goals. Molly Gratz found the back of the net for Pennsville (2-6-2), which had been unbeaten in its last three.
Girls tennis
WOODSTOWN 4, KINGSWAY 1: The Wolverines go into Tuesday’s state tournament seeding meeting 10-0 after this latest victory and the projected fourth seed in South Jersey Group I.
Their No. 2 doubles team of Molly Curtis and Julianna Lindenmuth won a second-set tiebreaker to keep their match alive and then won the third set 10-6 to give the Wolverines a sweep in doubles. No. 1 doubles team of Vivian Ward and Camille Osborn won a first-set tiebreaker to set up their straight-set win.
Abigail Melle and Cara Delia won singles points in straight sets.
WASHINGTON TWP. 3, PENNSVILLE 2: Megan Morris and Lily Edwards won straight set matches for Pennsville, the projected 8 seed in SJ Group I.
Cover photo: Woodstown’s Braeley DiGregorio (R) and Schalick’s Sophia Longo battle for a ball near midfield in their field hockey game Monday afternoon.
PMHS to induct eight into its Athletic Hall of Fame Thursday who have strong ties to the community in addition to their sports success
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – It’s Hall of Fame season in South Jersey and, appropriately given what he does for a living, Mike Wariwanchik has his plate full.
Wariwanchik, a chef and culinary professional by trade, is in line for induction into a couple Halls of Fame in the region in the next five weeks.
WARIWANCHIK
The first course on his menu comes Thursday when he joins seven other luminaries from his high school as part of the fifth induction class of the Pennsville Memorial High School Athletic Hall of Fame. In November, he’ll be enshrined in the South Jersey Wrestling Hall of Fame.
That’s a lot of thank you’s and chicken dinners.
“It’s definitely a huge honor, “ Wariwanchik said. “For all of it happening at one time is a lot, but it is kind of neat. There’s a lot going on, so I’m trying to make sure I’m prepared for all of them because we have to give a couple speeches, not necessarily my strong point.
“To be inducted into those is a huge honor. I’m excited about all of them, but the one I’m probably most excited for is the Pennsville one just because it’s a small town and you know everybody in town so it’s a kind of a little more personal.”
Community connection is a big element of this year’s induction class. The group includes fellow wrestler John Doran Jr. (Class of ’88), Lou Berge Jr. (Class of ’82), Judy Cafaro Bradford (’74), Dawn Curry (’08), coaches Horace Carl and John Maniglia, and the 1993 softball team, considered one of the state’s greatest teams.
They bring the roster of Hall of Fame members to 40 players, coaches and teams.
“It’s a great group and it happens to be a great group with lots and lots of roots generationally to Pennsville,” Eagles athletics director Jamy Thomas said. “That’s the one thing that resonates to me, how attached to Pennsville this group is. This is a group that spans generations of Pennsville athletics … and all of them live or lived or worked here in the community.”
Wariwanchik personafies that. He may work in Delaware these days, but he still lives in Pennsville and has a daughter in the high school and a nephew playing for the football team (wearing his uncle’s number).
A bear of a man, Big Mike starred in football and wrestling for the Eagles. He also threw the shot and discus in track until his senior year.
On the football field he was an all-conference offensive tackle in 1993 and an all-conference offensive and defensive tackle and an all-South Jersey defensive tackle in 1994.
He was just as dominating on the mat. As a heavyweight you wouldn’t think this would be an issue, but he often found himself having to shed pounds to go from 300-pound lineman to making the weight limit.
No problem. As a junior he was the district runner-up and third-place finisher at regionals. He was a state champion as a senior, going 28-0 (with 21 pins) to move his career record to 68-18, and was the South Jersey Wrestler of the Year.
“The wrestling (speech) will be a little different; I’ll probably gear it more towards wrestling and how wrestling has molded me,” he said. “I believe wrestling just makes you mentally tough. Any individual sport where you go out there and you get beat in front of everybody and you don’t have anybody else to blame … is kind of unique.
“When you have success in them it makes you tough mentally because you’ve been through it. But when you get beat it makes you even tougher because you’ve got to deal with everybody staring at you when you get whupped up on in front of everybody.”
Admission to the induction ceremony is free. Donations will be accepted at the door.
Here are the other Pennsville Athletic Hall of Fame inductees:
Lou Berge Jr. (Class of 1982)
Whether it was on the football field, as a manager for the boys basketball team or on the baseball field, Berge gave his all to his teammates and coaches. During his four years in high school he earned nine varsity letters.
He was an all-county, all-conference and all-South Jersey Group II offensive tackle as a junior on an 8-1 football team. His senior year the football team was undefeated, conference champs and SJ Group II champs and he was all-county, all-SJ and all-state. He also was named the Brooks-Irvine Club’s SJ Offensive Lineman of the Year and at that time his No. 72 jersey was retired at PMHS.
His 1980 baseball team went 20-3 and was conference champs and he was named to the All-Delaware Valley Team by the Philadelphia Inquirer after batting .419 as the team’s catcher. The next year the team went 25-0 and swept all the titles.
Baseball went 20-3 again in 1982. Louie batted .614 and he made all the “all” teams. He also was named the Salem County Player of the Year.
Judy Cafaro Bradford (Class of ’74)
While many would consider her to be a “natural-born athlete” Judy used her time in school to develop many skills. She played tennis as well as lettering in three sports.
She played three years of varsity field hockey. She was a co-captain for two years, team MVP for two years and three times all-conference first team. As a basketball senior she was team MVP, second team all-conference, second team all-county and honorable mention all-state. Then, she was the MVP of the school’s first varsity softball team.
At the 1974 Win or Lose Dinner, she was awarded the Girls PTA Sportsmanship Award in addition to three MVP honors.
She went on to make an immediate impact at Cumberland County College, earning MVP honors in field hockey and basketball and was a starter on the softball team.
In her professional life she devoted more than 40 years to the Pennsville Recreation Department, making sure the department served many children and families in many ways. She also helped take care of Riverview Beach Park to make sure it remained the “Jewel of the Township.”
Dawn Curry (Class of ’08)
Curry was an outstanding athlete in a career that spanned four years in three varsity sports. Among her most impressive feats is joining the unique 100-1000-100 Club, hitting milestone numbers is soccer, basketball and softball.
She scored 113 goals in soccer and assisted on 97 others (almost a 100-100). She scored 1,288 points in basketball. She completed the unique trifecta with 117 hits in softball.
Her 2007 soccer team was declared South Jersey Group I champs. To cap off her senior year she was named Salem County Female Athlete of the Year and was a Wendy’s High School Heisman State Finalist.
John Doran Jr. (Class of ’88)
A wrestler through and through, John used his first year in high school to start making his name. He was undefeated as a freshman on the sub-varsity and that was the springboard to another undefeated year and state title in 1986. In 1988, wrestling at 119, he was runner-up in the district and region tournament and finished sixth at the state. His high school record was 89-6.
He went on to post a 32-3 record at Gloucester County College
Doran cites his successes with the Pennsville Youth Program and Seagull Wrestling Club as highlights of his career and adds that winning the state title in 1986 was his most memorable moment. He went on to coach at the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Wrestling Academy for three years.
He was inducted into the South Jersey Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2022.
Coach Horace Carl
Carl came to Pennsville in 1962 from Spring City, Pa. Three years after his arrival he was offered a position as assistant football coach under Lou D’Angelo. At the same time he was an NJSIAA registered high school basketball official and on the IABBO board until 1980.
He was the Eagles’ head football coach from 1979 through 1984. His 1981 team won the South Jersey Group II championship. He was named Coach of the Year by the Philadelphia Inquirer and South Jersey Football Club. Carl retired from teaching in 1992 and now lives near Baltimore.
Coach John Maniglia
Maniglia came to Pennsville in 1979 and influenced a lot of students and athletes in his 35 years teaching and coaching in the district.
He was the head track coach from 1980-2014, then transitioned to assistant coach through 2021. He also coached basketball, cross country and winter track. He helped coach the cross country team when it won the 2006 Group I state title.
The spring track program won a combined three Salem County Championships and five conference crowns. During that time, the program produced 98 individual county champions, 69 conference champions, 33 South Jersey champions and eight state titleists. The school named its track in his honor in 2022.
1993 Softball Team
The team is being inducted on the 30th anniversary of one of the best seasons in state history. It went 26-0 and swept through their division, conference, sectional and, ultimately, the Final Four. Bridgett McCaffery was the state Pitcher of the Year.
The team was a consensus No. 1 by the state softball media and later was voted “Team of the Century” by the Courier Post.
PMHS Athletic HOF Classes
2018: Lou D’Angelo, Ed Rieger, Herb Bacon, David Salberg, Betsey Salberg, 1982 Field Hockey team. 2019: Olaf “Butch” Drozdov, Carrie Foster McIntosh, Irvine Eugene “Gene” Foster, Robert “Bob” Gallagher, Leigh Garrison, Kimberly Griffin Hudson, John “Jack” Harford, John “Jack” Meyers Sr., Howard Wilbraham Sparks, Sophia Stavru, Gregzie L. White, Michael Jon Widger. 2021: Patricia Chance, David Hall, Bill Hyatt, Chris Widger, Bridgett McCaffery-O’Brien, Jeff Litherland (special recognition), Coach Greg Greenzwieg, 1960 Football team. 2022: Donna Martin Duber, Mark Freed, Ron “Boo” Bennet, Mark T. Jones, Kelli Griffith, Katie Kline.
def. Shanik Leiva, 6-1, 6-1; Gabby Kurds 
Riverview Sports News 