Schalick falls hard to top-seeded Glassboro in SJ Group I title game, but game was closer than final score indicated; Sabb rushes for 4 TDs
GROUP 1 FINALS
South: Glassboro 47, Schalick 14
Central: Burlington City 28, Shore 20
North I: Butler 28, Kinnelon 14
North II: Cedar Grove 37, New Providence 17
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
GLASSBORO — When Kevin Leamy looked at the scoreboard at the end of the game Friday night, the lights he saw burning into the night showed Schalick on the short end of a 47-14 loss to Glassboro in the South Jersey Group I championship game.
But in the Cougars coach’s heart of hearts, and in the hearts of his players, he knew it wasn’t that kind of game.
The Cougars actually held a lead late in the second quarter — only the second time Glassboro has trailed all year — and seemed headed for a halftime lead until the No. 1 seed did No. 1 seed things and scored two touchdowns in the final 30 seconds of the half. And it was still a one-score game midway through the third quarter.
“The scoreboard is misleading to say the least,” Leamy said.
“One hundred percent the score does not reflect this game whatsoever,” chimed in linebacker Gary Simonini.
The Cougars came into the game with an aggressive mindset, but sometime In the second quarter they turned it up a notch with Leamy making the call that defined the game.
He turned to one of his assistants and said the Cougars could play it safe the rest of the game and try to keep it close or they could go for it and live with the consequences.
He conveyed the message to his players and they let it all hang out. They threw it deep, they took their shots, they went for it on fourth down. They already played a little mind game with their undefeated hosts, warming up at school and then arriving shortly before kickoff, and they figured a little physicality piled on top might just do the trick.
The Cougars didn’t lay down, but eventually got worn down and the Bulldogs scored three more touchdowns in the fourth quarter to set off the running clock.
“We weren’t going to give up, we were going to keep fighting regardless what the score is,” Leamy said. “There was a lot of shock from the other side. They weren’t expecting for this to be a game at any point. They thought it was going to be a blowout from the first quarter on. I think the kids made a statement that Schalick isn’t just a pushover.
“I couldn’t be more proud of this group of kids. For them to come out and give that kind of effort, I think everyone in attendance tonight saw the true story that isn’t on that scoreboard: This team has a lot of guts, we just don’t have as many dudes as they do.”
Among the dudes at Glassboro’s disposal , Amari Sabb rushed for 242 yards and scored four touchdowns on runs of 49, 24, 31 and 32 yards. Quarterback Jack O’Connell threw two touchdown passes to break the school record for passing touchdowns. He put up a 32-yarder to Mekhi Parker on the final play of the second quarter and a 27-yarder to Xavier Sabb in the fourth quarter to break the record.
“He’s a gamer,” Glassboro coach Timmy Breaker said. “Amari, when the lights are on, he’s gonna perform. He doesn’t mind it, he loves it. He’s one of those kids like when you’re looking to count on him he can give you, No. 1, everything he’s got and, No. 2, he loves to be the guy who makes the play that change the game. Every moment to shine he’s going to step in that light, for sure.”
Schalick quarterback Kenny Bartee was a certified dude as well. He played the whole game on a bad ankle that made walking difficult as late as Tuesday. He courageously ran it 18 times, rushed for one touchdown and threw a touchdown pass to Simonini for their first score. Leamy said he was “phenomenal.”
“It was a group effort (to get back on the field),” Bartee said, even more eager to play having missed the regular season game with Glassboro because of a concussion. “I told them Saturday after the (Paulsboro) game when it happened that no matter how much pain I’m in I’m going to play Friday. No matter how much therapy I’ve got to do, no matter how much icing and heating I’ve got to do, I’m playing Friday just to be here with my boys one last time.”
The teams battled to a scoreless first quarter thanks in part to Schalick defensive back Gio Alicea’s interception in the end zone –one of three picks the Cougars had in the game – but Glassboro broke the ice with Sabb’s first touchdown early in the second.
The Bulldogs missed the extra point, opening the door for the Cougars to take the lead if they could execute. They were handed a short field after making a fourth-down stop deep in Glassboro’s end and three plays later Bartee escaped traffic in the backfield and flipped a pass to a wide open Simonini at the 2 and he easily stepped into the end zone. Hunter Dragotta’s PAT gave the Cougars a 7-6 lead with 1:07 left in the half.
All that did was enflame the Bulldogs. They regained the lead when Sabb went up the middle for a 24-yard touchdown with less than 30 seconds left in the half and then after a Sabb interception Mekhi Parker pulled in a jump ball from O’Connell on the final play of the half to make it 20-7.
“Adversity is the best teacher,” Breaker said. “You always find out who your kids are, you always find out who your staff is when you hit adversity.
“I think we were down maybe one time this year, against Woodbury, and the kids they enjoy that part. I think Schalick was hooting and hollering and the kids saw that. We were down and they said now we know we’re not playing Glassboro football. They were able to bind together off that adversity. They did a great job of responding off of that.”
The Cougars, though, let everyone know they came to play.
“We all wanted it, we all wanted it for our seniors, we all wanted it for ourselves, we all wanted it for Schalick,” Bartee said. “We all wanted it because Schalick gets slept on. We wanted to make a name for ourselves. Although we didn’t win, as bad as the score looked, that’s not how the game turned out. Glassboro hasn’t played anybody as hard as they played us, so I feel like everybody gave their all today.”
“We all put our hearts on the field and that’s really it,” safety Dylan Sheehan said. “No matter what the score shows, that was a tight game. If you were watching the game I was watching we put our hearts out on the field and that’s the best we could do.”
Top photo: Glassboro’s Amari Sabb (3) rushed for 242 yards and four touchdowns in Friday’s South Jersey Group I championship game against Schalick. (Photo by Heather Papiano)
Glassboro 47, Schalick 14
| SCHAL | GLASS | |
| 7 | 1st Downs | 16 |
| 29-34 | Rushing | 31-371 |
| 5-16-2 | Passing | 6-14-3 |
| 75 | Passing yds | 99 |
| 0-0 | Fum-lost | 0-0 |
| 5-31.0 | Punts-avg | 0-0 |
| 4-45 | Penalties | 13-110 |
| Schalick | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0- | 14 |
| Paulsboro | 0 | 20 | 7 | 20- | 47 |
SCORING SUMMARY
G – Amari Sapp 49 run (pass failed), 9:40 2Q
S – Gary Simonini 14 pass from Kenny Bartee (Hunter Dragotta kick), 1:07 2Q
G – Amari Sabb 24 run (Amari Sabb run), 29.8 2Q
G – Mekhi Parker 32 pass from Jack O’Connell (kick failed), 0:00 2Q
S – Kenny Bartee 1 run (Hunter Dragotta kick), 6:44 3Q
G – Amari Sabb 31 run (Sal Esgro kick), 4:24 3Q
G – Amari Sabb 32 run (run failed), 9:51 4Q
G – Xavier Sabb 27 pass from Jack O’Connell (Sal Esgro kick), 7:09 4Q
G – Davon Barr 12 run (Sal Esgro kick), 3:04 4Q
Riverview Sports News 