Salem CC uses robust second half, all three phases to win first game in football program history, beating Thaddeus Stevens 18-13
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT — Jay Accorsi was soaked to the bone. He was a little cold, but he was happy. And proud. And maybe even a little relieved.
It was an historic day for the Salem Community College athletics. The football program Accorsi has been building since he brought the idea to the college president some 18 months ago scored its first win in school history Saturday, an 18-13 come-from-behind victory over Thaddeus Stevens at Penns Grove High School.
The Mighty Oaks used a robust second half fueled by the disappointment of an empty red-zone possession at the end of the first half to rally from deficits of 7-0 (halftime) 10-6 and 13-12 (fourth quarter). They scored on the first play of the third quarter, took the lead on Malakhai McKenzie’s determined 3-yard fourth-down run with 5:15 to play and secured the win with a fourth-down stop with 1:24 to go and driving to run out the clock.
“That group is the first group that ever got the first Mighty Oaks football win, so their legacy is etched forever and I think they understand at,” Accorsi said. “It’s a lot of responsibility but I think they get that. That’s why they were dancing at the end and enjoying it.”
The win brought Accorsi the traditional water bucket bath. He saw spur-of-the-moment perpetrators Mark Moore and Gio Parente coming around the corner with the cooler in tow. There was no escape.
“At 62, soon to be 63, I ain’t outrunning those dudes, so as long as they don’t hit me in the head – because that happened once before – it’s all fun,” Accorsi said. “It’s good to see. That’s what college football is all about.
“I think it happened a couple times at Rowan and it’s usually for big wins and special moments. It’s good to see them excited, starting to play as a team, pull for one another. It’s always fun when you have that stuff. It doesn’t bother me at all. I actually feel pretty cool right now.”
“We really looking for the Gatorade, but the water was first thing we saw,” Parente said.
The Mighty Oaks felt they were getting closer to a win each week, but could never put together a complete game to pull it off. They put it together in this last of three straight local dates to open the season. And all three phases made major contributions.
They ran the ball effectively, rushing for a season-high 147 yards. The defense didn’t allow much, giving up a season-low 259 yards and holding the Bulldogs to 5-of-19 on third or fourth down with 10 tackles for loss and two sacks. And they got many happy returns from the special teams, the element that made the biggest difference between Saturday and their previous two games.
“It was a good blend,” Accorsi said. “I think for the most part we played pretty much mistake-free football. We played four good quarters and at times we were dominating with a lot of the return game.”
The offense came alive in the second half, and it started right from the jump. On their first play of the third quarter Aidan Hill unloaded a 68-yard touchdown bomb to Jeremiah Russell for the Mighty Oaks’ first touchdown. They didn’t get the tying extra point, but they let it be known this half was going to be different.
They had only 91 yards at halftime. They nearly doubled that in the second half.
“They said the go ball was there and we were going to go to it,” said Hill, one of three quarterbacks Salem used in the game. “They said the DBs when they think you’re going to run are looking you; you gotta throw it up. Trust your receiver. I got the ball. I trusted my receiver. I threw it up. He caught it and scored.”
It brought the Mighty Oaks such an emotional lift after the way the first half ended. Hill had them knocking on the door for the tying touchdown right before halftime, getting to the Bulldogs 5 with 41 seconds left. They ran five plays and even got a defensive holding penalty on an incomplete fourth-down pass to give them one more chance from the 4 with two seconds left but came away empty.
“They were adjusting to what we were doing, they were predicting what we were doing,” Hill said. “It was too much me. Coach told me to take my time, but I kept rushing, not giving it time to execute.”
It could have been the kind of thing that sent the Mighty Oaks into a second-half tailspin. Instead, with the intermission to talk about it, they turned it into something positive.
“I think they started to believe in themselves,” Accorsi said. “You can only preach and talk to somebody for so long about them and what they’re doing and then it’s got to kind of change. It’s got to be them and they have to believe. As disappointing as it was just before the half, I think they realized they’re that close.
“That heartbreaking stuff that happens, but that’s what creates a team and makes them believe in themselves and each other, and I think that’s really what happened. I think they realized we’re really close, like we can win this, we need to do all these things.
“It’s one of those things you want something and it doesn’t happen and it’s so disappointing and so heartbreaking, but you have to turn that into a positive, and that’s what they did. They started to believe in themselves and they started to believe we can actually win this game. Telling them but having them believe in doing it are completely two different things and I think that’s what occurred today.”
Stevens extended its lead to 10-6 with the first of two Jeremiah Moncreff field goals, but the Mighty Oaks answered with the help of one of those big special teams returns. Demetris Williams brought the ensuing kickoff back 68 yards to get Salem on the edge of the red zone. Two plays later Jamar Smith went 21 yards up the middle to put the Mighty Oaks back in front.
The visitors took a 13-12 lead into the fourth quarter after Moncreff kicked a 32-yard field goal in the final minute of the third.
The Mighty Oaks used another big special teams play to set up their go-ahead touchdown. DJ Binck picked up a punt on the run and returned 46 yards to the Stevens 30. Smith got them inside the 10 with a 23-yard run. They needed all four downs to get in the end zone, but on fourth down from the 3 McKenzie saw open space in front of him and bolted for the end zone.
“It was a wide open hole,” McKenzie said. “I just stepped up in the pocket. I felt a little grab on my jersey, but the touchdown was wide open. I had to dive in there.”
The Mighty Oaks still had to keep the Bulldogs from answering and the defense did that. Linebacker Charlie Shute wrapped up David Akpuru on third down for force a fourth-and-long and when quarterback Thomas McGinnis’ fourth-down pass fell incomplete Shute knew the game was theirs.
The offense took over with 3:51 left and they weren’t letting it get away.
“Before that drive I told the offense you guys have had to overcome a lot of adversity,” Accorsi said. “The defense has carried us a lot, you’ve really had to find your way. You now have an opportunity to pay the defense back and win the game – and that’s what they did.”
When Brian Pritchett picked up the last first down with less than 30 seconds left, the Mighty Oaks knew they had it won. That’s when Moore and Parente starting going for the water bucket. And that’s when the celebration began.
“I’m very excited because yesterday was my birthday as well,” Moore said. “The past couple years we’ve lost before my birthday or after, so this is the first time doing it. I’m really excited for the team.”
Salem CC 18, Thaddeus Stevens 13
| TSTEV | SCC | |
| 12 | First Downs | 13 |
| 34-87 | Rushing | 35-147 |
| 12-28-1 | Passing | 8-20-1 |
| 172 | Passing Yards | 123 |
| 1-1 | Fumbles-Lost | 1-1 |
| 69 | Return Yards | 214 |
| 5-30.4 | Punts-Avg. | 5-34.4 |
| 10-76 | Penalties-Yards | 7-74 |
| 4-16 | Third Down | 2-13 |
| 1-3 | Fourth Down | 3-5 |
| 33:07 | Time of Possession | 26:53 |
| Thaddeus Stevens | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0- | 13 |
| Salem CC | 0 | 0 | 12 | 6- | 18 |
SCORING SUMMARY
TS-Kahyear Whaley 27 run (Jeremiah Moncreff kick), 2:17 1Q
SCC-Jeremiah Russell 68 pass from Aidan Hill (run failed), 12:53 3Q
TS-Jeremiah Moncreff 28 FG, 6:41 3Q
SCC-Jamar Smith 21 run (run failed), 5:57 3Q
TS-Jeremiah Moncreff 32 FG, 0:52 3Q
SCC-Malakhai McKenzie 3 run (pass failed), 5:15 4Q
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Thaddeus Stevens: Kahyear Whaley 13-69-1, David Akpuru 11=3, Tariq Thorton-Trice 3-5, Thomas McGinnis 7-0; Salem CC: Jamar Smith 8-55-1, Aidan Hill 5-40, Jahfarri Payne 1-27, Kahmaj Kearney 9-22, Brian Pritchett 2-5; Demere White 2-5; Malakhai McKenzie 1-3-1, Demetris Williams 3-0, Cam Wright 4-(-10).
PASSING — Thaddeus Stevens: Thomas McGinnis 12-28-1-172-0; Salem CC: Aidan Hill 4-11-0-68-1; Malakhai McKenzie 2-5-0-11-0, Cam Wright 2-4-1-5-0.
RECEIVING — Thaddeus Stevens: Damoj Gray 5-105, Kahyear Whaley 3-44, Victor Schlosser 3-21, David Akpuru 1-2; Salem CC: Jeremiah Russell 2-74-1, Darion Joyner 1-20, Lamar McCoy 1-13, Kahmaj Kearney 1-9, Darrell Baldon 1-3, Jahfarri Payne 1-2, Terrin Walker 1-2.
TACKLES — Thaddeus Stevens: Samuel Kelley 4, Andre Gordon 3, Abubakarr Tholley 3, Victor Toliver 3; Salem CC: Ezriah Poutre 5 (2 TFL), Zaahir McNair 5 (2 TFL), Aidan Alexander 4, Quardell Richards 4 (1 TFL), Noah Shields 4 (1 sack).
