Salem has another touchdown brought back by penalty and it was a big moment in Homecoming loss to West Deptford
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
SALEM — Penalties are the bane of every football coach’s existence. Penalties that take points off the board have a special place in … well … let’s just say, the place that would melt the treat West Deptford’s football team stopped for on the way out of town.
Salem had another touchdown called back by a penalty Saturday and it proved a quite significant turn in their 25-7 Homecoming Day loss to West Deptford and returning son John Emel.
The Rams had a 3-yard short-side pass to Torryn Ransome out of the backfield on what would have been the final play of the first half for what would have been a halftime lead. Coach Kemp Carr said he “can’t call a better play” for the situation. But instead of having the lead, they were flagged for holding and the go-ahead points came off the board.
They did get to run a play with no time on the clock and Desmund Thomas’ threw up a jump ball for KaiSiere Muhammad on the left side that was broken up by Cole Paskiewicz. The half ended not with Salem leading perhaps 15-12, but the Eagles leading 12-7.
It was a mind-numbing tenth time this season the Rams (3-4) have had a touchdown called back by a penalty. It happened three times last week at Middle Township, but they still won that game 44-0.
“I don’t know if some of them are penalties,” Carr said. “They’re question marks. After the ball crosses the goal line then we get a penalty. It’s hard to digest that. Why is that happening.
“Some of them are inevitable, but some of them are in the gray. The kid just put the kid in the ground, wasn’t even a hold. We went back and looked at it; he just got in his number and drove him into the ground. The guy called holding, like that was what made the play work.
“We score, the crowd all went crazy and then he throws his flag. They’re momentum killers. They’re drive killers. They mess with you mentally; they mess with your psyche. We’ve got to cut that stuff out.”
The Rams got in the position to score when Kyvion Parsons intercepted a Brady Cobb pass at the 10 and returned it all the way to 3 before being downed with a half-second left in the half.
What made the sequence even more demoralizing for Salem is the Eagles took the second-half kickoff and drove 70 yards in 12 plays over nearly six minutes to extend their lead. Zamir Davis capped it off with a 1-yard touchdown plunge.
Davis rushed for 137 yards and two touchdowns. Paskiewicz rushed for 146 yards and a score.
“If they go into the lead, it’s obviously a lot of juice for them,” Emel said. “I thought it was big (sequence) for their guys, but at the end of the day it came down to that first drive of the second half.
“Obviously, it was nice to get the stop there and nice to get the drive to start the second half, but we focused on the next play. I think the drive to start the third quarter on top of that (holding penalty) for them was really physically and mentally exhausting because then they’re down two scores and now our defense can play loose and aggressive when they can do that it’s good for us.”
Emel said his team played what he called “championship defense” from the second quarter on as they kept the Rams out of the end zone after Thomas’ 40-yard touchdown pass to Muhammad on the game’s opening drive.
The holding call on the Ransome’s touchdown wasn’t the only one the Rams found questionable. There a defensive pass interference call on a Salem receiver in front of the Rams’ bench that wasn’t called. There was an offensive pass interference call that went overlooked on a 34-yard West Deptford completion. Carr vehemently protested an apparent fumble into the end zone by Davis that teammate Michael Joseph fell on for West Deptford’s final touchdown.
And in the fourth quarter with the Rams trying to cut into West Deptford’s lead there was a facemask penalty that took them inside the 5, but didn’t give them a new set of downs. They eventually turned it over on downs without scoring.
After questioning the motivations for such backbreaking calls or non-calls happening, Carr eventually gave Saturday’s officiating crew a failing grade for the game.
While the loss spoiled Salem’s Homecoming celebration, it was a happy homecoming for Emel.
He went to Salem, but was playing in the new football stadium there for the first time. He had been in the stands as a fan or scout a number of times before, but as a player and later Penns Grove’s head coach all of his Salem games were on the old Walnut Street field.
He almost got on the new field during his last season at Penns Grove, the year they opened the stadium, but it wasn’t quite ready for occupancy so their rivalry game was at Walnut Street one last time.
Emel said before Saturday’s game and after his team rushed for 306 yards he liked the playing surface. The venue that is now the football stadium was the school’s soccer field when he was a student there.
After the game, after praising his players for the effort they gave in the victory, Emel promised to take them all for ice cream on the way out of town at one of his old haunts — Hudock’s Custard Stand on the Salem-Quinton road.
“When you get a big road win the players get rewarded,” Emel said. “I used to work there in high school. It’s a place we look forward to every off season. “
He reported half the players opted for food over the frozen treat.
West Deptford 25, Salem 7
| WD (25) | SAL (7) | |
| 18 | 1st Downs | 10 |
| 50-306 | Rushing | 23-69 |
| 2-4-1 | Passing | 13-22-0 |
| 35 | Passing yds | 117 |
| 1-0 | Fumbles-lost | 1-1 |
| 2-30.0 | Punts-avg | 2-42.0 |
| 2-7 | Penalties | 7-55 |
| West Deptford (6-1) | 6 | 6 | 13 | 0- | 25 |
| Salem (3-4) | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0- | 7 |
SCORING SUMMARY
S-KaiSiere Muhammad 40 pass from Desmund Thomas (John Bower kick), 7:52 1Q
WD-Zamir Davis 2 run (pass failed), 35.8 1Q
WD-Cole Paskiewicz 60 run (run failed), 3:04 2Q
WD-Zamir Davis 1 run (pass failed), 6:22 3Q
WD-Michael Joseph fumble recovery in end zone (Brady Cobb kick), 12.0 3Q
WJFL Standings
| DIAMOND | ALL | DIV |
| Glassboro | 7-0 | 3-0 |
| Salem | 3-4 | 2-1 |
| Schalick | 2-5 | 2-1 |
| Woodbury | 2-4 | 1-2 |
| Woodstown | 2-5 | 1-2 |
| Penns Grove | 0-7 | 0-3 |
| PATRIOT | ALL | DIV |
| Paulsboro | 7-0 | 5-0 |
| West Deptford | 6-1 | 4-0 |
| Overbrook | 5-2 | 2-2 |
| Pennsville | 3-4 | 2-3 |
| Collingswood | 4-3 | 1-3 |
| Audubon | 2-4 | 1-3 |
| Camden Catholic | 0-7 | 0-4 |
FRIDAY’S GAMES
Audubon 31, Collingswood 12
Delran 49, Penns Grove 0
Gloucester City 34, Schalick 6
Overbrook 34, Camden Catholic 20
Glassboro 42, Cinnaminson 0
SATURDAY’S GAME
West Deptford 25, Salem 7
MONDAY’S GAME
Woodbury at Willingboro
Riverview Sports News 