All five teams in Salem County will be playing for special trophies this week; includes Salem County football leaders through games of Sept. 28
THIS WEEK’S GAMES
Tonight: Schalick at Cumberland, 6 p.m.
Friday: Penns Grove at Pennsville, 7 p.m.
Saturday: Woodstown at Salem, noon
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
It’s Trophy Week in Salem County.
There’s a rivalry game of some kind somewhere every week, and all three games involving teams from Salem County are this week.
Tonight, Schalick, the No. 1 team in the South Jersey Group 1 power points standings, travels the six miles up Centerton Road to take on Cumberland for the Hars-Lake Trophy. Surprising Penns Grove plays at Pennsville Friday for the Wildman Willey Boot. And Saturday, surging Salem hosts Woodstown for the Rivalry Week Trophy that used to be the Thanksgiving Day Classic.
“I think it means more to the kids from the simple fact you get to engrave your name on something and say you won something that particular year,” said Salem coach Kemp Carr, who has coached for and held high both The Boot and the Rivalry Week trophies in his career. “Anytime you get an opportunity to play for something no matter what it is you want to play your hardest and your best.”
The Salem-Woodstown series began in 1911 and has been played continuously since 1924; Salem leads it 64-40-10. Since they don’t play it on Thanksgiving Day anymore it has been decreed to be the home team’s homecoming game every year, and since they’re not in the same WJFL division at this time they’ve been designated opponents. Salem wrestled the trophy back last year – and had it hand delivered to the school — after it had been in Woodstown’s hands since 2021.
The trophy they’re playing for in Pennsville is named in honor of Norm “Wildman” Willey, the three-time Philadelphia Eagles All-Pro defensive lineman of the ’50s who taught PE and drivers ed at Pennsville for 30 years. He still holds the NFL record for sacks in a game – 17 against the New York Giants – at a time before sacks were an officially recognized league stat. He passed away in 2011.
It’s called The Boot because one of Willey’s football cleats is part of the trophy.
Penns Grove leads the series 37-29-4 and is 11-6 since 2010, but Pennsville has won the last two in a row.
“It’s always one of the most anticipated games of the season, especially when it’s our homecoming,” Eagles coach Mike Healy said. “The school and the community get really into this game and can’t wait for Friday night.”
The Schalick-Cumberland series began in 1977 with the first varsity football games in both schools’ history and then broke until 2002 when the Colts joined the Tri-County Conference when the Hars-Lake Memorial Trophy was established. It is named in the memories of longtime Cumberland coach Tom Lake, who oversaw the most successful stretch in Colts history, and former Schalick history teacher Mike Hars, who served as an assistant coach at both schools. Each team names an MVP when it’s over.
Schalick leads the series 16-9, but Cumberland won last year and will be looking to win back-to-back for the first time since 2008. Adding to the intrigue is the fact it will be played for the first time on a Thursday night.
They don’t call this one “The Neighborhood Game” for nothing. The players know each other, they’ve played with and against each other for years. The coaches and administrators overlap. Current Schalick athletics director Doug Volovar’s last game as Cumberland’s head football coach was in this game in 2002.
The Gloucester City game might be the Cougars’ longest-standing football rivalry, but this one is personal.
“It definitely has that kind of taste to it,” former Schalick head coach Mike Wilson said back in 2023. “I’ve been on staffs where the people in town only care about one game; this game has that same type of level. Whether both teams are 7-0, 0-7 or whatever it doesn’t matter.
“This one checks all the boxes. It used to be Schalick and Cumberland’s Super Bowl when Thanksgiving kind of ended your season. I still think it’s a mid-year Super Bowl. It’s a big deal. These kids are going to come out ready to play and you’re going to see the best effort on both sides.”
Salem County leaders
Rushing
| PLAYER | CAR. | YARDS | TD |
| Kenny Bartee, Schalick | 65 | 632 | 9 |
| Jaivon Thomas, Penns Grove | 44 | 614 | 9 |
| Cole Ware, Woodstown | 64 | 431 | 2 |
| Cashmir Parsley, Salem | 58 | 411 | 4 |
| Terrell Thomas, Penns Grove | 46 | 357 | 8 |
| David Stewart, Schalick | 35 | 289 | 4 |
| Ayden Jenkins, Schalick | 44 | 229 | 1 |
| Aidan Collazo, Pennsville | 18 | 181 | 2 |
| Mason Middlemiss, Woodstown | 29 | 160 | 5 |
| Tristan Horner, Pennsville | 37 | 142 | 4 |
| TyRell West, Woodstown | 20 | 86 | 3 |
| Kyvion Parsons, Salem | 14 | 81 | 2 |
| Adrian Alleyne, Salem | 11 | 81 | 0 |
| Savior Allah, Penns Grove | 6 | 79 | 1 |
| Zavier Reeder, Penns Grove | 4 | 71 | 0 |
| Desmund Thomas, Salem | 9 | 63 | 1 |
| Freddie Allen, Schalick | 12 | 60 | 1 |
| Isiah Santiago, Salem | 18 | 59 | 0 |
| DezYon Purnell, Schalick | 8 | 49 | 0 |
Passing
| PLAYER | C-A-I | YARDS | TD |
| Jake Layfield, Pennsville | 100-158-4 | 1156 | 10 |
| Desmund Thomas, Salem | 7-7-0 | 141 | 2 |
| Mason Middlemiss, Woodstown | 15-26-3 | 274 | 4 |
| Kenny Bartee, Schalick | 6-21-0 | 125 | 1 |
| Owen McDonald, Salem | 10-22-2 | 105 | 1 |
| Damien Robinson, Penns Grove | 13-17-0 | 105 | 2 |
| Gabriel McFarland, Schalick | 3-4-0 | 49 | 1 |
| Kyvion Parsons, Salem | 3-11-2 | 41 | 1 |
Receiving
| PLAYER | NO. | YARDS | TD |
| Chase Johnson, Pennsville | 38 | 539 | 5 |
| Lucas Thomas, Pennsville | 16 | 138 | 2 |
| Aidan Collazo, Pennsville | 11 | 144 | 0 |
| Jacob Kimani, Pennsville | 10 | 126 | 1 |
| Tristan Horner, Pennsville | 10 | 126 | 1 |
| Danny Knight, Pennsville | 8 | 118 | 0 |
| Jerry Wooton, Penns Grove | 7 | 128 | 2 |
| KaiSiere Muhammad, Salem | 6 | 98 | 0 |
| Andrew White, Woodstown | 5 | 157 | 4 |
| Ahmad Tucker, Salem | 4 | 51 | 1 |
| Cole Ware, Woodstown | 4 | 35 | 0 |
| Quemere Bergen, Salem | 3 | 59 | 2 |
| Gio Alicea, Schalick | 3 | 56 | 1 |
| Nehemiah Carter, Woodstown | 3 | 53 | 0 |
| Isiah Santiago, Salem | 3 | 29 | 0 |
| Savior Allah, Penns Grove | 3 | 25 | 0 |
| Dante Cummings, Pennsville | 3 | 13 | 1 |
| Noah Chiu, Woodstown | 2 | 31 | 0 |
| Omari Robinson, Penns Grove | 2 | 26 | 1 |
| Evan Elliott, Schalick | 2 | 10 | 1 |
Defense
SACKS — 6.5: JaKai Ingram, Penns Grove; Omari Robinson, Penns Grove; 6: Omari Robinson, Penns Grove; 5.5: Myshion Barnes, Salem; 4.5: Tony Merendino, Salem; 4: Mahkye Murray, Salem; Bradley Snitcher, Woodstown; 3: Evan Elliott, Schalick; Nick Lopergolo, Schalick; 2.5: Rex Hannah, Woodstown; 2: Kamal Chatum, Salem; Xavier Csaszar, Woodstown; Dillon Garrity, Woodstown; Maliq Reddick, Penns Grove; Terrell Thomas, Penns Grove; Jerry Wooton, Penns Grove
INTERCEPTIONS — 4: Jacob Kimani, Pennsville; 3: Grady Sanders, Pennsville; David Stewart, Schalick; 2: Gio Alicea, Schalick; Jaivon Thomas, Penns Grove; Danny Knight, Pennsville
Team Leaders
| TEAM | RUSH | C-A-I | PASS | PF | PA |
| PENNS GROVE (4-0) | 1243 | 14-19-0 | 170 | 157 | 38 |
| PENNSVILLE (2-3) | 288 | 100-158-4 | 1156 | 117 | 85 |
| SALEM (2-3) | 750 | 20-40-4 | 287 | 98 | 98 |
| SCHALICK (5-0) | 1126 | 12-30-0 | 208 | 163 | 34 |
| WOODSTOWN (3-2) | 721 | 15-26-3 | 274 | 104 | 91 |
