A lot of new

Penns Grove goes through its first scrimmage of camp with a new coaching staff and new systems on offense and defense

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNS GROVE – There’s a whole lot of new about the Penns Grove football program this year and it goes far beyond just having a new head coach.

Whenever there’s a change at the time there’s bound to be some tweaks to the way things get done.

New coach Mark Maccarone has installed new offensive and defensive systems and the Red Devils put them on display against someone in a different colored uniform for the first time Tuesday in a three-team scrimmage with Maple Shade and Gloucester Catholic.

Some other nuances have been applied internally, but the ones most observable are the overhauls on offense and defense.

“I would not say they exceeded my expectations,” Maccarone said assessing the first scrimmage. “I would say they’re about where I expected in some aspects. There’s definitely things I thought we would be a little bit more polished on that we’re not.

“Again, it’s a new offense, a new defense. It’s a whole new style of football this group of kids isn’t used to. As long as we get better, take a step at being better every day, then we’ll take those positive gains. As long as we have more positive days than negative days, I’ll be happy.”

Maccarone called the offense “a radical departure from what they’ve done in the past,” an old-school downhill scheme he has been running as long as he’s been coaching. Defensively, there are “some similarities” to the look the Devils have run in the past that he had a hand in shaping as defensive coordinator here, but some terminology and techniques may be a little different.

The first thing that jumps out is seeing KaRon Ceaser out on the flank. He was a 1,000-yard rusher as a freshman and figured to be the lead back with 1,200-yard rusher Bryce Young’s departure to West Deptford (with former Penns Grove coach John Emel), but there he was Tuesday out at receiver. And there was even a time Knowledge Young, the regular deep threat last year, lined up in the backfield.

“It’s a new staff and they’re trying new things, but I’m loving it now,” Ceaser said. “It didn’t really shock me because they put me there because they know I can play it. I’ll play wherever they want me to play; that’s the type player I am. We’ve got a great running (in Trey Brown). I like the offense right now. I’m going to work so I can be the best.”

You can’t argue the results. Ceaser, who caught nine passes for 109 yards without a score last year, took a pass from Melo Erickson in the Devils’ final 10-play set of the day, shed a tackler at the 35 and continued down the sideline for a 51-yard touchdown that was their only offensive score of the exercise. Young, when he was in the backfield, broke off an 18-yard gain.

“It took us 20 plays and that’s too long,” Ceaser said. “In a real game you’ve got to come out straight from the jump.”

Expect more of that during the season.

“We’re fortunate we do have some weapons offensively,” Maccarone said. “With the system we run it allows us to take players and move them around. You might be at wide out one play, you might be a tailback the next, you might be a slot the next.

“Part of our offense is to be able to utilize the weapons we have on the field and to move our weapons around so you don’t know who’s going to get the ball.” 

Until the offense came to life in the late session it looked like the Red Devils’ defense was going to be the story of the scrimmage.

It was the strength of last year’s 6-6 team, holding half their opponents to two touchdowns or less and shutting out eventual Group I runner-up Glassboro, and is shaping up that way again. Forget defending the goal line, the Red Devils were protecting the 50.

Out of their 32 defensive snaps, the Devils gave up a total of 21 net yards and only two plays were run on the going-in side of midfield – and neither of those from deeper than the 48. 

Makye Murray returned an interception against Maple Shade on seventh play of the opening series 40 yards that until Ceaser’s score was the only touchdown scored in the varsity portion of the scrimmage. Raymond Brown, a transfer from St. Joe (Hammonton), had a big sack on the final play of that 10-play set.

“I like our defense overall,” Brown said. “Our coach is just wonderful. We fly around, play hard, play physical. I’m having fun out here making tackles.”

The Red Devils get a chance to do it again Friday at 10 a.m. in a game-like scrimmage at home against Gateway. They almost didn’t have a second scrimmage after a scheduling snafu with Highland scrapped what they had, but Penns Grove athletics director Anwar Golden worked the phones all Tuesday morning and found a willing participant to help keep the program on schedule.

“It would have been detrimental to us (to miss out),” Maccarone said. “With a game-style scrimmage, especially with a new staff and program, you as coaches need the opportunity to get your learning curve out when it doesn’t count. Those are some invaluable things that without game scrimmage we’d have to address during a game.

“In the same breath, it gives the kids the ability to have a flow to the game, again, where you can do it when it doesn’t count. Especially with a new system it would be very advantageous.”

This story will be updated.

Trautz pleased with effort, results

HAMMONTON – New Woodstown coach Frank Trautz sent his charges into battle for the first time this camp and said he was “happy with our effort and the results.”

The Wolverines scored touchdowns in both of their 10-and-10 segments at St. Joe (Hammonton) and kept the Wildcats out of the end zone in theirs. They also scored a touchdown in the down-and-distance segment.

“I was happy with the work today,” Trautz said. “It’s the first scrimmage. Just being able to hit somebody else and go live for the first time was good for everyone. You can only do so much in practice. It was good to see live action.”

Alex Torres scored on a run and Jack Holladay threw a touchdown pass to Garrett Leyman. Holladay, a senior getting his first chance to be QB1, completed 5-of-8 passes in the 10-play segments.

“Getting Jack out there to live action at quarterback was good to see,” Trautz said. “I thought he played well. He was in control of the huddle. He’s a leader and it was good to see him take control of the offense.”