On the MAPS

Accorsi putting Salem CC football ‘on the MAPS’ with Friday’s game with Army Prep at West Point

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – Every game means something to someone, but this week’s game has special meaning to Salem CC football coach Jay Accorsi.

Not only are the Mighty Oaks coming off their first win in program history, Accorsi is preparing his players to enter “a whole different world.”

The Mighty Oaks hit the road in the regular season for the first time as a program, but that’s not exactly what makes it special. It’s the venue. They take on Army Prep at Michie Stadium on the grounds of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point Friday at 6:30 p.m.

Actually, it’s the first of two games the fledgling program will play against the service academy prep schools. They play Navy Prep at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis on Oct. 23, giving them the distinction of being the only junior college team in the country playing both Army and Navy prep schools

“That’s why I did it in my previous experience coaching, for the players to understand there’s other student-athletes who do a lot of other things,” Accorsi said. “To go to a service academy and play a service academy team is pretty special. If you look at all the other JUCOs, nobody else is playing Army and Navy Prep. It’s something I wanted to do and it kind of worked out.

“Don’t get me wrong, they’re really good. They beat Nassau 39-19 and it probably could’ve been 60-7, but that wasn’t part of what I wanted to create. I wanted to create an experience where they could go and be exposed to others who are doing a lot more than the normal student-athlete.

“It’s a pretty special place. It’s a historic place. So to be able to be there and be on that campus I think is pretty special. It’s just a different atmosphere, so that’s really what I wanted to bring – and legitimacy to our program. If you’re playing two service academy teams that’s really special, no other JUCO program in the country is doing that, so that’s the part I wanted to legitimize our program early on, we’re doing something nobody else is doing.”

Accorsi, whose brother-in-law, a retired Army colonel, is a West Point grad, had played the Army JV team at Fort Monmouth when he was at Rowan and been to West Point before. When the academy decided to build a prep campus at the north end of West Point, he put it on the bucket list to play there. MAPS already has agreed to play in Salem County next season.

Unlike the trip to Annapolis where the stadium is located outside of the U.S. Naval Academy gates, Michie Stadium is on the U.S. Military Academy campus and as such the travel party has been filling out paperwork for access to the grounds. Accorsi said most of the 60-65 players expected to make the trip have obtained the proper documentation. Player parents and others not part of the official travel party must report to the USMA Visitor Control Center at the opposite end of the campus for clearance..

Of course, there are other internal logistical considerations that go with taking such a large group of the road regardless of the game site. That’s the reason Accorsi scheduled the Mighty Oaks’ preseason scrimmage at Montclair and he said he was “very happy” with how they traveled that day.

Friday’s opponent will be different than any team the Mighty Oaks will play this season, with the exception, of course, of Navy Prep. They’re extremely disciplined, as you might expect, and play a style of football that has the Mighty Oaks installing a new defensive scheme in this short work week. Accorsi expects there will be some players the Mighty Oaks will be seeing on TV suiting up for the Black Knights in the next couple years.

“I told the team you’re excited about (last week’s) win, happy for everybody, everything’s great … but now we’re entering a whole different world and they are so opposite of the junior college programs,” Accorsi said. “That’s why I scheduled these games, so they could understand there are teams that are completely opposite of what junior college football is like but still very successful.”

Speaking of special, the special teams played a big part in the Mighty Oaks’ win over Thaddeus Stevens. They had over 200 yards in returns and both of their go-ahead touchdowns in the second half were set up by huge returns by Demetris Williams (68 yards on a kickoff) and DJ Binck (46 yards on a punt). Three quarterbacks moved the offense fluidly in the second half and won the game with the ball in their hands. The defense held Stevens to less than 90 yards rushing, allowed just one touchdown and came up big several times on third and fourth down.

“The advantage we have is our athletic ability and speed,” Accorsi said. “We’re going to have to use that to our advantage in certain areas and try to create some mismatches and things we’re going to have to do.

“We didn’t have a lot of personal fouls, (in the win), we didn’t have a lot of real bad penalties. I told them we need to do that and even more against this type of team to put ourselves in a position to stay in the game so hopefully at the end of the game we have a chance. That’s what our goal is.”

Salem CC Leaders

PASSING: Aidan Hill 9-28-2, 205 yards, 2 TDs; Malakhai McKenzie 7-16-0, 52 yards; Cam Wright 3-7-1, 19 yards.

RUSHING: Aidan Hill 20-106, Kahmaj Kearney 20-66, Jamar Smith 12-59-1, Jon Pettigrew7-47, Tre McLeod 6-42.

RECEIVING: Jeremiah Russell 3-92-1, Darion Joyner 3-41, Kahmaj Kearney 3-31, Jahfarri Payne 2-46-1, Lamar McCoy 2-29, Jon Pettigrew 2-12

TACKLES: Charlie Shute 13, Zariah Poutre 11, Mark Moore 8, Aidan Alexander 7.

INTERCEPTIONS: Mark Moore 2, Jarrell Burks 2.