Back on track

Woodstown wins OT thriller over defending state champs in Trautz’ first game as head coach; Schalick, Penns Grove get back in win column

WJFL DIAMOND DIVISION
Penns Grove 34, Deptford 0
Schalick 23, Cumberland 0
Woodstown 14, Delsea 13
SATURDAY’S GAME
Glassboro at Haddon Heights, 11 a.m.
Haddonfield at Woodbury, 11 a.m.
Collingswood at Salem, noon

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – No matter how long Frank Trautz stays in the coaching game or how many games he wins along the way, he’ll never forget his first one.

Bryce Belinfanti and Jake Ware hand-delivered their new coach his first win in his first game in overtime, running for a touchdown and nailing the extra point, respectively, to lift Woodstown over defending Group 3 state champion Delsea 14-13.

“I’ll remember this for the rest of my life, that’s for sure,” said Trautz, promoted from quarterbacks coach in the offseason to succeed John Adams who retired from coaching after 14 seasons. “It’s been a very emotional day; I just wanted to get to the game. I was just so proud of the kids, proud of my staff, all the work that they put in; that’s what made this win possible.

“To be able to celebrate that with all them was such a cool moment.”

The Wolverines led from the moment Jack Holladay threw his first career touchdown pass with his second career completion in the second quarter. Delsea forced overtime with a touchdown with 3:21 left in regulation and missed a game-winning field goal with 46 seconds left.

The Crusaders got the ball first in overtime and Dan Russo scored on a 22-yard run on the second snap. But they barely missed the extra point to the left, opening the door for Woodstown to win on the ensuing possession.

The Wolverines didn’t waste any time. Belinfanti took the first snap and went 25 yards to tie the game and Ware drilled the extra point for the win. Belinfanti, a 1,700-yard rusher a year ago, ran for 97 yards in the game.

Holladay had waited his entire life to be the Wolverines’ starting quarterback and seized the opportunity when presented to him. He hadn’t thrown a pass in a varsity game, but connected with Garrett Leyman for his first career touchdown. He was 3-for-5 for 43 yards.

“It was huge for him, huge for his confidence,” Trautz said. “I told him I have confidence in you to open the playbook and we’re going to let it rip, and he did a great job. I know getting that first touchdown pass out of the way is a big deal for a quarterback, so I was very happy for him.”

Carter Orlandini preserved the 7-0 halftime lead when he intercepted a pass at the 2 and the Wolverines stopped Delsea’s seven-minute opening drive of the second half.

“Our defense came up huge all night in a game that was an incredibly physical game and obviously Delsea is such a great team,” Trautz said. “To come up with that interception right there at the end of the half was huge.”

The new coach won’t have a lot of time to enjoy his first win. The Wolverines open their WJFL Diamond Division schedule next week.

“I’m going to go enjoy it with my wife tonight and we’ll celebrate the win,” he said, “and tomorrow it’s back to work and we’re going to get ready for Schalick.”

Woodstown 14, Delsea 13 (OT)

DEL (13)		WTN (14)
40-143	Rush-yards	23-102
2-14-0	Passing (C-A-I)	3-5-1
121	Passing yds	43

Delsea (0-1)	0	0	0	7	6-	13
Woodstown (1-0)	0	7	0	0	7-	14

SCORING SUMMARY
W-Garrett Leyman 19 pass from Jack Holladay (Jake Ware kick), 6:28 2Q
D-Luke VanAuken 12 pass from Jimmy Reardon (Zack Greer kick), 3:21 4Q
D-Dan Russo 22 run (kick failed), OT
W-Bryce Belinfanti 25 run (Jake Ware kick), OT

Simmons returns in Schalick win

PITTSGROVE – Senior quarterback Kenai Simmons returned to the Schalick lineup Friday night and helped the Cougars exorcise the demons of last week’s dud in the Battle at the Beach, 23-0 over Cumberland.

“This week was all about getting a win, that’s all that mattered,” Cougars coach Mike Wilson said. “It didn’t matter how we won or how we looked, it was just about getting our mojo back and getting a W.”

It’s the first time in two years the Cougars faced that kind of adversity and the resiliency of bouncing back from an in-season setback. They haven’t lost back-to-back games since mid-October 2021. Since then, they have gone 22-5.

“It says a lot about the kids’ fortitude, a lot about them being mentally strong, a lot about their work ethic and bouncing back and being honest about what they had to do,” Wilson said.

Simmons returned after a full week of practice and ran for a pair of short-field touchdowns. Reggie Allen scored on a 20-yard run early in the third quarter. Allen rushed for 135 yards.

The defense recorded the Cougars’ first shutout in the series since 2016. They held the Colts to 86 net yards, had four interceptions (two by game MVP David Stewart) and a safety. Riley Papiano led the unit with eight tackles and was in on the safety with Thomas Hymer. Alec Bramell had six tackles.

“In my (five) years here that’s probably the best we played defensively overall,” he said.

It’s the first time either team has won back-to-back games in the Battle for the Hars-Lake Trophy since Schalick won in 2018-19. The Cougars have won 11 of the last 15 meetings.

CUMB (0)		SCHAL (23)
6	1st Downs	10
23-79	Rush-yards	41-123
3-16-4	Passes (C-A-I)	2-4-0
7	Passing	14
0-0	Fum-lost	1-1
12-95	Penalties	6-74

A convincing first win

DEPTFORD – Penns Grove needed a win and got it in convincing fashion.

The Red Devils bounced back from their season-opening loss with a convincing 34-0 win on the road over Deptford Twp. for head coach Mark Maccarone’s first win at the head of the program.

Melo Erickson threw a career-high three touchdown passes – to Knowledge Young, Kylee Goodson and Karon Ceaser – and a two-point conversion to Tre Brown. Ceaser played tailback most of the game and ran for two scores and the defense kept the Spartans out of the end zone.

“I’m happy for the kids,” Maccarone said. “It gives them a confidence build. They start to see the system works. When we say to do X, Y and Z and they do X, Y and Z, it results in good things. You saw when they don’t do what they’re being asked to do, the outcome is not good.

“It was a good win, a good team effort by everybody. It’s a good one for the program … a good win to build confidence in what the system is and how I run a program, how my brother runs an offense and how I run a defense.”

The Red Devils open their WJFL Diamond Division gauntlet next week against Glassboro, where Maccarone was the head coach for seven seasons (2011-17).

“Coming back as a head coach for the first time against Glassboro, not an assistant coach, it’s definitely going to be different for me,” he said. “The current head coach at Glassboro was a player under my brother when I was an assistant coach in 2008.

“It’s going to be different. I don’t really know how to describe it. I really haven’t given much thought to it other than it’s another game on the schedule. I probably would feel different if we were playing them there. It’s been seven years since I’ve been around Glassboro.

“It is going to be different for my brother (Gary). It’s the first time he’s coaching against the guys he coached last year, the kids that he has in class. It’s going to be more (nostalgic) for him than me.”

Penns Grove (1-1)	14	7	0	13-	34
Deptford (0-2)	0	0	0	0-	0

DIAMOND DIVISION	DIV	ALL
Glassboro	0-0	0-0
Penns Grove	0-0	1-1
Salem	0-0	0-1
Schalick	0-0	1-1
Woodbury	0-0	0-0
Woodstown	0-0	1-0