Tough ruling on an onside kick saps Pennsville’s growing momentum in Homecoming loss to Paulsboro; Woodstown falls at home to Haddon Heights
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – Mike Healy isn’t the type to dwell on what-might-have-beens, so he didn’t spend a lot of energy going over what did or didn’t happen on a particular onsides kick early in the fourth quarter Thursday night that didn’t go his Pennsville team’s way.
Still, it was a big play, maybe even the turning point, in the game. The Eagles had just scored to cut their deficit with Paulsboro to 16 points with plenty of time to mount a comeback. They appeared to recover the ensuing onsides kick at midfield, but after spotting it once the officials conferred and it was decided the ball hadn’t traveled the requisite 10 yards before Pennsville touched it.
Possession was awarded to Paulsboro on the Pennsville side of the 50 and instead of the Eagles getting a chance to make it a one-score game, the Red Raiders went down and scored to regain a three-touchdown lead and eventually won 44-32 to spoil Pennsville’s Homecoming and remain undefeated.
“In any game some things are going to go your way and some things are not,” Healy said. “Obviously, the onsides kick we were very frustrated about the outcome of that. Not that we would have won the game, but that definitely changes where the game is at that point.
“Yeah, it’s frustrating, but there were also other chances where we had opportunities to get the ball and get stuff done and didn’t do it. So it’s all across the board.”
Rylan Hardy’s 6-yard touchdown run and the two-point conversion brought the Eagles (3-4) to 38-22 with 9:59 and all of its timeouts left.
Of course, they were going to attempt an onsides kick. They hit it to their right side and senior receiver Hayden Sherman appeared to recover it in Paulsboro territory.
The Eagles had the momentum and now they were convinced they had the ball, too. Initially, the officials spotted it on the Paulsboro 49 for the Eagles, talked about it some more and then placed it on the Pennsville 49 for the Red Raiders.
Paulsboro covered the distance in eight plays, with McKenzie pushing in from the 1 for the score. So, instead of it possibly being 38-30, the Red Raiders were back on top 44-24 with 6:15 to play.
“I jumped up in the air and I landed five yards after where the ball would’ve been live, so I think I recovered it,” Sherman said. “You can’t argue with the refs; it’s their game, not mine.
“If we would’ve got the ball I think we could have gone down and scored and maybe even went for another onsides and got it again. It killed our momentum. It killed everything. It made everybody all upset and killed it.”
Paulsboro coach Kevin Harvey said the play was “kind of huge. We didn’t want to give them the ball back right there. That was a close one there.”
Of course, one play didn’t cause the Eagles to lose. They got the ball to open the third quarter, but didn’t score, losing three yards on a fourth-and-1 from the Paulsboro 31. The Red Raiders took over, used two big plays to get to the 1 and scored. They also turned over their next possession on downs (at the Paulsboro 40) and Red Raiders scored again to take a 38-16 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Red Raiders (7-0), meanwhile, were efficient in their offense. Running back KyAire Harvey rushed for 180 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Malakah McKenzie passed for 210 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score. He was 12-of-20 through the air and completed his last seven passes in a row, two for touchdowns.
“We did a good job today, we did a good job,” Coach Harvey said. “The line’s gotta get all the credit. That’s what they’re (Harvey and McKenzie) supposed to do. That’s why they’re out there.”
Harvey the RB scored twice in the first half and Pennsville quarterback Robbie McDade matched it each time. It was a 14-14 game until McKenzie threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Kahlil Streeter with 28 seconds left in the first half to give the Red Raiders the lead for good.
Hardy rushed for 85 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns for Pennsville. McDade rushed for 97 yards and the two first-half scores. Aiden Collazo also gave the Eagles some good yards, especially in the early return game.
Paulsboro 44, Pennsville 32
| PBORO (44) | PVILLE (32) | |
| 22 | 1st Downs | 16 |
| 26-248 | Rushing | 38-200 |
| 13-20-1 | Passing | 10-14-1 |
| 210 | Passing yds | 102 |
| 0-0 | Fumbles-lost | 1-1 |
| 1-23.0 | Punts-avg | 0-0 |
| 5-55 | Penalties | 1-10 |
| Paulsboro | 8 | 14 | 16 | 6- | 44 |
| Pennsville | 8 | 8 | 0 | 16- | 32 |
SCORING SUMMARY
PB-KyAire Harvey 42 run (Kayden Weber pass from Malakah McKenzie), 8:20 1Q
PV-Robbie McDade 12 run (Rylan Hardy run), 4:52 1Q
PB-KyAire Harvey 28 run (May Mears run), 8:36 2Q
PV-Robbie McDade 1 run (Rylan Hardy run), 2:54 2Q
PB-Khalil Streeter 24 pass from Malakah McKenzie (run failed), 0:28 2Q
PB-KyAire Harvey 1 run (Malakah McKenzie run), 7:07 3Q
PB-Jeremiah Carr 47 pass from Malakah McKenzie), 2:39 3Q
PV-Rylan Hardy 6 run (Aiden Collazo pass from Robbie McDade), 9:59 4Q
PB-Malakah McKenzie 1 run (run failed), 6:15 4Q
PV-Rylan Hardy 9 run (Rylan Hardy run), 3:10 4Q
Haddon Heights 27, Woodstown 6
WOODSTOWN — Kevin Clark ran for one touchdown and threw for another and kicker Jake Dillon booted a pair of field goals as Haddon Heights handed Woodstown a 27-6 loss.
Clark opened the scoring with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Lanont Robinson. Dillon kicked the extra point to make it 7-0.
The Wolverines answered with Frankie Hoerst’s 42-yard touchdown pass to Andrew White, but they missed the game-tying extra point. The Garnets scored the next 20 points to secure the win.
Haddon Heights 27, Woodstown 6
| Haddon Heights | 7 | 3 | 7 | 10- | 27 |
| Woodstown | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0- | 6 |
SCORING SUMMARY
HH-Lamont Robinson 17 pass from Kevin Clark (Jake Dillon kick)
W-Andrew White 42 pass from Frankie Hoerst (kick failed)
HH-Jake Dillon 23 FG
HH-Kevin Clark 1 run (Jake Dillon kick), 7:15 3Q
HH-Jake Dillon 23 FG, 9:24 4Q
HH-Amare Ridley 4 run (Jake Dillon kick)
WJFL Standings
| DIAMOND | ALL | DIV |
| Glassboro | 6-0 | 3-0 |
| Salem | 3-3 | 2-1 |
| Schalick | 2-4 | 2-1 |
| Woodbury | 2-4 | 1-2 |
| Woodstown | 2-5 | 1-2 |
| Penns Grove | 0-6 | 0-3 |
| PATRIOT | ALL | DIV |
| West Deptford | 5-1 | 4-0 |
| Paulsboro | 7-0 | 5-0 |
| Pennsville | 3-4 | 2-3 |
| Overbrook | 4-2 | 1-2 |
| Collingswood | 4-2 | 1-2 |
| Camden Catholic | 0-6 | 0-3 |
| Audubon | 1-4 | 0-3 |
THURSDAY’S GAMES
Paulsboro 44, Pennsville 32
Haddon Heights 27, Woodstown 6
OTHER WJFL GAMES
Cedar Creek 42, Lower Cape May 0
Cherry Hill East 49, Cherry Hill West 7
Florence 42, Pemberton 36
Haddon Twp. 28, Mastery Camden 14
Maple Shade 32, Pitman 9
Pleasantville 42, Oakcrest 0
FRIDAY’S GAMES
Penns Grove at Delran
Gloucester City at Schalick
Collingswood at Audubon
Overbrook at Camden Catholic
Cinnaminson at Glassboro
Woodbury at Willingboro
SATURDAY’S GAME
West Deptford at Salem
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