Saturday football: Pennsville’s loss at Paulsboro turns on three big miscues in second half; Woodstown hits 6-0 for first time since 2013, but facing adversity
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PAULSBORO – Pennsville came out for the second half Saturday brimming with confidence. After a flat first half and long halftime, they were convinced things were going to be different.
And they did start fast, getting two long touchdown bursts from Rylan Hardy to take their first lead of the game. Sure, it was only a two-point lead, but momentum was building on their side. Even their sideline sounded louder after the first score tied the game.
But then things went south. In a hurry. Like a Jenga tower when the wrong block gets pulled.
The Eagles gave up a big play and a touchdown on the next possession to lose the lead and then made three huge mistakes over the next five minutes of game clock they couldn’t recover from and lost to Paulsboro 36-24.
They gave up a 48-yard run to Sawyer Cabanas on the first play after Hardy’s 65-yard touchdown run and Robbie McDade’s conversion pass to Malik Rehmer gave the Eagles a 16-14 lead with 4:39 left in the third quarter. That eventually led to Aundre Hill’s second touchdown of the quarter to put the Red Raiders back on top.
But it got worse. It was still only a six-point game, but the Eagles mishandled a bouncing ball on the ensuing kickoff and Paulsboro recovered. They made the Red Raiders work for it, but Jahsir Johnson tossed a 2-yard TD pass to Jeremiah Carr on fourth-and-goal to stretch the lead.
On the next possession Hardy had a for-sure 47-yard touchdown run, but it was called back by a holding penalty. The Eagles started going backwards after that and then on fourth down they snapped a ball over the punter’s head for a 23-yard loss.
Paulsboro took over in the red zone and Cabanas eventually scored on a 1-yard run.
“You can call it bad luck, but you’ve got to make your own luck also in football, and we just didn’t do some things right today,” Pennsville coach Mike Healy said. “It kind of started compounding and we weren’t able to settle down and get control of the game again. We just kept making mistakes one on top of the other and that’s what happens.
“It’s frustrating but at the same time we put ourselves in that position by not playing well in the first half.”
The first half was kind of a snoozefest with very little action, but that changed in the second half. The teams traded touchdowns on the first four possessions and then it broke on the mishandled kickoff.
The play happened on the far side of the field and Healy didn’t get a clear look at it so he deferred comment except to chalk it up to cascade of mistakes that was to come.
“We’ve got to coach that up better,” Healy said.
The loss spoiled a big game from Hardy. The junior running back came to life in the second half and picked up 127 of his 145 yards rushing in the third quarter with runs of 28, 29 and 65 yards. And he was denied another 47 yards in the fourth.
Paulsboro, meanwhile, spread the wealth. KyAire Harvey rushed for 113 yards in the first half, including a 64-yard touchdown for the only points of the half. He finished with 193 yards rushing. Cabanas had 73 yards and Hill had 70.
The Eagles did salvage a bit of pride when they drove 45 and scored on Robbie McDade’s 9-yard touchdown pass to Malik Rehmer with just under a minute to play.
“I was glad to us playing there til the end,” Healy said. “Defensively we were still trying to get after kids. It’s frustrating all around, but it’s always good to see kids are still trying to move the ball and do what they’re supposed to do. You’re still to coach ‘em the whole time even when it’s in a situation like that.”
Paulsboro 36, Pennsville 24
| PENN | PAUL | |
| 8 | 1st Downs | 12 |
| 22-161 | Rushing | 40-343 |
| 6-11-0 | Passes | 5-8-0 |
| 67 | Passing | 29 |
| 2-1 | Fum-Lost | 2-1 |
| 3-28.7 | Punts | 1-25.0 |
| 7-45 | Penalties | 7-50 |
| Pennsville (3-4) | 0 | 0 | 16 | 8- | 24 |
| Paulsboro (5-2) | 8 | 0 | 14 | 14- | 36 |
SCORING SUMMARY
PB-KyAire Harvey 64 run (Jeremiah Carr pass from Jahsir Johnson), 6:36 1Q
PV-Rylan Hardy 29 run (Malik Rehmer pass from Robbie McDade), 7:18 3Q
PB-Aundre Hill 30 run (pass failed), 5:36 3Q
PV-Rylan Hardy 65 run (Malik Rehmer pass from Robbie McDade), 4:30 3Q
PB-Aundre Hill 9 run (Jeremiah Carr pass from Jahsir Johnson), 1:10 3Q
PB-Jeremiah Carr 2 pass from Jahsir Johnson), 10:21 4Q
PB-Sawyer Cabanas 1 run (kick failed), 4:14 4Q
PV-Malik Rehmer 9 pass from Robbie McDade (Robbie McDade run), 58.1 4Q
Wolverines win, but face adversity
HADDON HEIGHTS – Throughout his first season as Woodstown’s head coach, Frank Trautz has preferred to focus on the progress of his players and their team above any buzz their season-opening winning streak is creating.
The Wolverines won again Saturday, beating Haddon Heights 17-8 to reach 6-0 for the first time since 2013, but they’re about to face the first real challenge to that all-for-one mindset they’ve embraced.
Senior quarterback Jack Holladay suffered an upper body injury in the collarbone/shoulder area late in the second quarter and didn’t play the second half. The extent of his injury won’t be known until further evaluation Monday.
The Wolverines are currently tied with Glassboro for the WJFL Diamond Division lead and are the No. 1 team in the latest South Jersey Group I power points standings, meaning they would be a No. 1 South or Central Jersey seed for the third year in a row if the playoffs started today.
Holladay was in his first year as the Wolverines’ starter, stepping into the role following the graduation of his four-year starter cousin, Max Webb. In the first five games of the season he completed 17 of 35 passes for 325 yards and four touchdowns. He was 3-for-3 for 53 yards, including a 42-yard pass to Garrett Leyman shortly before getting hurt.
“I think you know what I’m going to say about (the winning streak) – we’ll enjoy the win, let’s get ready for next week,” Trautz said. “We’re just a complete team. We can do it in a lot of different ways. The kids just pick each other up and it doesn’t matter really who’s doing it. We find a way to get it done.”
With Holladay on the sidelines, the Wolverines turned to backup quarterback Lucas Fulmer to run the offense in the second half. The junior has been the Wolverines’ JV quarterback and his appearance in the second half was his first varsity action.
“In my opinion in sports that’s one of the toughest spots to go in as a backup quarterback,” Trautz said. “He handled the offense well. He got us in and out of the huddle, controlled everything. I was very proud of the way he handled himself out there today.”
Of course, the playbook shrunk “a lot” with Fulmer in the game and the second half became more about “grind it out and get the win any way necessary,.”
“Football is all about facing adversity,” running back Bryce Belinfanti told Brian Tortella of South Jersey Glory Days after the game. “That’s what we had to do is face adversity. It’s a football game and at the end of the day we still had to go out and win the second half.”
The Wolverines were leading 10-0 at the time Holladay got hurt. Belinfanti capped their first possession with a 2-yard touchdown run and Jake Ware kicked a 25-yard second-quarter field goal. Belinfanti rushed for 98 yards in the game.
It stayed that way until the final minute of the game when Bobby Donahue scored from two yards out. The Garnets returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown to avoid the shutout.
“That was huge to get that extra touchdown there at the end,” Trautz said.
If Holladay can’t go next Saturday at Salem Trautz has “complete faith” in Fulmer stepping up and doing the job. The 2013 team whose start this year’s team matched started 11-0.
“These guys play for one another and they pick each other up,” Trautz said. “I have no doubt if Jack can’t go next week then these guys will be ready to go.”
Woodstown 17, Haddon Heights 8
| WOOD | HH | |
| 8 | 1st Downs | 7 |
| 43-138 | Rushing | 25-35 |
| 3-3-0 | Passes | 5-8-1 |
| 53 | Passing | 11 |
| 4-20 | Penalties | NA |
| Woodstown (6-0) | 7 | 3 | 0 | 7- | 7 |
| Haddon Heights (1-5) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8- | 8 |
SCORING SUMMARY
WO-Bryce Belinfanti 2 run (Jake Ware kick)
WO-Jake Ware 25 FG
WO-Bobby Donahue 2 run (Jake Ware kick)
HH-Camaj Matthews 75 kickoff return (Damier Outterbridge-Ali pass from Amare Ridley)
WJFL Standings
| DIAMOND DIVISION | DIV | ALL |
|---|---|---|
| Woodstown (1) | 3-0 | 6-0 |
| Glassboro (4) | 3-0 | 6-0 |
| Schalick (6) | 2-1 | 5-2 |
| Woodbury (11) | 1-2 | 2-4 |
| Penns Grove (20) | 0-3 | 1-6 |
| Salem (23) | 0-3 | 0-7 |
NOTE: Number in parenthesis is South Jersey Group I UPR power ranking through Oct. 12
THURSDAY’S GAME
Glassboro 40, Cinnaminson 10
Delran 38, Penns Grove 8
FRIDAY’S GAMES
Schalick 28, Gloucester City 21
West Deptford 58, Salem 19
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Willingboro 43, Woodbury 30
Woodstown 17, Haddon Heights 8
| PATRIOT DIVISION | DIV | ALL |
|---|---|---|
| Camden Catholic (NPB-3) | 4-0 | 6-0 |
| Paulsboro (5) | 4-1 | 5-2 |
| West Deptford (G2-13) | 3-1 | 4-3 |
| Pennsville (12) | 2-3 | 3-4 |
| Audubon (13) | 1-3 | 2-3 |
| Collingswood (G2-16) | 1-3 | 3-4 |
| Overbrook (G2-25) | 0-4 | 2-4-1 |
NOTE: Number in parenthesis is South Jersey Group I UPR power rankings through Oct. 7 (G2-Group 2, NPB-Non Public B)
FRIDAY’S GAMES
Audubon 7, Collingswood 0
West Deptford 58, Salem 19
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Camden Catholic 41, Overbrook 6
Paulsboro 36, Pennsville 24
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