Keeping it together

Schalick girls soccer overcoming a rash of injuries that would have decimated a lesser team, projecting a No. 2 seed in South Jersey Group I tournament

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – Way back in 1987, the University of Georgia had a basketball team that lost three of its top six players to a multitude of misfortune and played the second half of the season with only eight players.

A friendly wager with another SEC coach in the preseason that the Bulldogs wouldn’t go .500 was all of a sudden looking pretty good. But somehow they managed to not only survive but thrive, making a run in the SEC Tournament and eventually earning a spot in the NCAAs where they lost in the first round in overtime.

That special team has since been known as “The Miracle Workers.”

If the Schalick girls soccer team goes on to have the kind of success coach Will Kemp says it’s capable of if it keeps its head down and focuses on the task of the day, they might be calling the Cougars the same thing.

The Cougars’ season has been beset with a cascade of injuries that would have crushed a less committed team. Instead, they have made due with what they have, got some inspired play from players way ahead of their developmental schedule and maintained a standard that has them looking at a solid No. 2 seed in the upcoming South Jersey Group I girls soccer tournament.

“We’ve had major injuries,” Kemp said Tuesday after the Cougars handled Pennsville 4-0. “We’re missing several starters throughout this entire season. We went almost three weeks without an experienced goalkeeper. But the girls continue to push forward and do their jobs.

“We’re not winning matches the way we have the past few years, but at the same time we’re still getting the job done and that’s all that matters the most right now to me.”

The Cougars’ 11-4 record that is minor miracle in itself considering they currently have seven players out with injuries (for 72 total matches missed), many of them starters or players projected to play major minutes. They had 14 players available for the game with the Eagles, leaving them only three reserves for substitutions.

They haven’t had their full complement one day this season. They hope the walking wounded with the “best chance” of returning can make it back before the playoffs start.

“It’s a big number,” Kemp agreed. “We’re pretty much playing with 13 players, some matches only 12. We play against the big schools – Cherry Hill (West), Cinnaminson, Cherokee – we see their bench and they have 30 players. We’re trying to stick up with those girls when they’re making subs every 10 minutes.

“Our players have actually done a really good job overcoming a lot of adversity. But at the same time, you wonder what we could have been if we were actually at 100 percent.”

When the wave of injuries first hit, the players’ confidence started to shake, but they rallied around each other and fought through any shortcomings. The older players took the ones now given expanded roles under their wing. Kemp continued to put his faith in the players he did have available and made sure every one understood her role and responsibility.

The only games the Cougars have lost were to the biggest schools they played and Audubon, the projected No. 1 seed in South Jersey Group I.

“It was definitely hard,” junior midfielder Quinn Berger said. “When you lose people you think you’re going to lose more games because they’re starters and important players, but you keep fighting through it because we know deep down it doesn’t matter because you still have to play. It was very important to keep that mentality and not break.”

“I think we stepped up very well,” junior captain Cali Fisler said. “We were able to push through and play together as a team and keep our standard of play.”

The Cougars haven’t lost back-to-back games this season. They’ve had winning streaks of four and five games. They’re looking to maintain their position in the upcoming bracket with their final two regular season games against Penns Grove Thursday and at Williamstown Saturday.

“These girls have already worked miracles,” Kemp said, “pulling out wins when we were completely down, getting back into matches after letting up the first goal, continuing to be competitive, especially inside of our division with some of the rivals we currently have the way certain teams play against us, getting wins when it really mattes the most.

“This squad is special; this squad is very special. I think we can do something big if they continue to keep their head down and work for each other. The more they become a collective the more consistent they’re going to be on the field.”

Schalick 4, Pennsville 0

Schalick (11-4)	2	2-	4
Pennsville (6-10)	0	0-	0

GOALS — S: Quinn Berger, 6:48; S; Abby Willoughby (Olivia Bergholz), 17:50; S: Cali Fisler (Liv Vanaker), 46:25; S: Jael Winnberg, 58:35.

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I
Girls Soccer Power Points
(Top 16)
1. Audubon (14-2) 23.944, 2. Schalick (11-4) 19.124, 3. Woodstown (11-4-1) 16.556, 4. Haddon Twp. (9-6-1) 16.345, 5. Riverside (9-6) 15.200, 6. Palmyra (11-4) 14.609, 7. Gateway (11-3) 14.297, 8. Glassboro (7-4-2) 12.924, 9. Clayton (9-5-1) 12.872, 10. Pitman (8-8) 9.558, 11. Maple Shade (5-9-1) 8.578, 12. Pennsville (6-10) 8.413, 13. Buena (7-8) 7.026, 14, Wildwood (4-10) 6.590, 15. Penns Grove (2-11-1) 6.190, 16. Woodbury (2-11-1) 5.862.
Others: Cape May Tech (1-14), Salem (0-14), Paulsboro (0-13).

Cover photo: Schalick girls soccer coach Will Kemp talks to his team prior to sending it out to face Pennsville Tuesday.

Closing on a milestone

Woodstown gives coach Darren Huck his 299th career coaching victory in 4-0 shutout of Glassboro; also includes Tuesday’s Salem County sports results

BOYS SOCCER
Overbrook 2, Penns Grove 1 (OT)
Pennsville 5, Clayton 1
Salem Tech 4, Gloucester Catholic 3
Schalick 2, Pitman 0
Wildwood 9, Salem 0
Woodstown 4, Glassboro 0

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – The milestone has been on the horizon since the start of the season, but now it’s right there on the doorstep.

Adrian Ibarra scored twice and Ben Stengel came up with another shutout as Woodstown blanked Glassboro Tuesday 4-0 to give coach Darren Huck his 299th career coaching victory.

Huck, in his 26th season at the Wolverines’ helm, can become the second Salem County soccer coach to reach 300 wins as early as Thursday in the regular-season finale against Pitman at Alcyon Park.

Schalick’s boys coach Joe Mannella, Huck’s good friend and neighbor, became the first Salem County soccer coach to reach the milestone on Oct. 2.

“People would bring it up and I kept saying I’ve got a ways to go, I’ve got a ways to go, and here we are at 13-4,” Huck said. “It’s definitely a weird feeling because I’m a numbers guy, I love numbers in sports, I’m always looking at different statistics and stuff like that.

“You know how I am about the history of our soccer program, but when it came to me I never really thought about ever being in this situation. Whether I played it off as I don’t know if I’ll be coaching that long or maybe I won’t win as much as I did. As a coach I always downplayed that a little bit, but in all honesty for a while it was like that will be a while before I get to that.”

Ibarra gave the Wolverines (13-4) a 1-0 halftime lead, then scored the first goal of the second half and 46th of his career. Bryce Ayars made it 3-0 and Dante Holmes scored the final goal of the game. Stengel was credited with five saves in the shutout.

“My defense definitely stepped up; they’ve been stepping up all season,” Huck said. “We had a little talk at halftime – we were up 1-0 and were pretty much controlling the game – I looked right at Dante Holmes, my center back, and my two other backs and Ben and I said over the next 40 minutes you guys need to win this game for us. You keep them off the board we win the game.

“Allow the offense to keep working at it and working at it, but you know what you’ve got ahead of yourselves. It’s a 1-0 game and if you can lock ‘em down for 40 minutes than we’ve got ourselves win No. 13. And they did that.”

And it gave their coach win No. 299.

The victory also elevated the Wolverines to No. 2 in the current South Jersey Group I power points standings.

When Mannella joined the 300 Club at Wildwood, the feat was met with a commemorative game ball, balloons spelling out “300” and a healthy dousing from the water bucket. Not that Huck is expecting any of that when his entry into the 300 Club becomes official, but he has never had the water bucket treatment before.

“I always said I’d love to be able to share that (milestone) within the same year of him,” Huck told Riverview Sports News last month. “It also means we’ve been around a long time, too. We’ve had some very good players and, if anything, 300 is just a true testament to staying consistent and doing the right things.”

SALEM TECH 4, GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 3: Clinton Bobo scored the tying and winning goals in the Chargers’ three-goal second-half rally that erased a 3-1 deficit. Aiden Bobo scored in the first half and Bobby Jones got the Chargers’ first goal in the second half.

“We were dragging in the first half,” Chargers coach Rob Polk said. “They were beating us to every ball over the field.

“We talked mainly at halftime about effort and coming out fast in the second half. We’ve been playing pretty well the last couple weeks and I was pretty confident if we came out and found a way to pop a goal in early the momentum would shift and more would follow. We were fortunate enough to finish an early chance and the game kind of opened up for us after that.”

The Chargers (5-10) have their eye on a school-record third straight win Thursday at Salem.

PENNSVILLE 5, CLAYTON 1: Shane Puckett scored the Eagles’ first three goals — his first career hat trick — and Ugur Elmali and J.P. Laughrey extended the lead with goals in the final three minutes.

SCHALICK 2, PITMAN 0: Oscar Hernandez and Luke Price scored first-half goals in the Cougars’ ninth straight victory. The Cougars (14-1) remain the No. 1 team in the South Jersey Group I power points standings.

WILDWOOD 9, SALEM 0: NuNu Bedderi and Gavin Burns both scored hat tricks for the Warriors. For Bedderi it was his second straight three-goal game. He now has 30 goals in his first season playing high school soccer in the United States.

OVERBROOK 2, PENNS GROVE 1 (OT)

GIRLS SOCCER
Wildwood at Salem

SCHALICK 4, PENNSVILLE 0: The Cougars outshot their hosts 24-6, scored two goals in each half and had four players light the lamp. Quinn Berger and Abby Willoughby scored in the first half, while Cali Fisler and Jael Winnberg scored in the second. (Related story posting soon)

WOODSTOWN 1, GLASSBORO 0: Sophie Wells scored the game’s only goal in the first half and goalie Ellie Wygand kept the Bulldogs out of the net to make it stand.

GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 6, SALEM TECH 0: Six players scored goals for the Rams.

OVERBROOK 7, PENNS GROVE 0: Gianna Simon scored four goals and Victoria Bupp had three.

GIRLS TENNIS
OVERBROOK 5, PENNS GROVE 0
Keira Riess (O) def. Alease Stewart, 6-0, 6-0
Nesrine Fosso (O) def. Andrea Restrepo, 6-0, 6-1
Sophia Burgos (O) def. Zeven Akkaya, 6-0, 6-1
Hillary Cho-Jennifer Giovanni (O) def. Janiyah Cummings-Makala Washington, 6-1, 6-2
Madison Rikard-Gianna Hardy (O) def. Elif Sagir-Gabriela Roman, 6-0, 6-0.
Records: Overbrook 6-14, Penns Grove 0-12

WOODSTOWN 4, WILDWOOD 1
Gabby Kurpis (Wo) def. Charlie Cunningham-Hackney, 6-0, 6-0
Camille Osborn (Wo) def. Cydnee Kilian, 6-1, 6-0
Angela Wilber (Wi) def. Aubrie Rennie, 6-2, 6-2
Alyssa Berry-Julianna Lindenmuth (Wo) def. Kiana D’Antuano-Estella Robinson, 6-1, 6-0
Leah Waterman-Nathalie Neron (Wo) def. Selin Ogden-Emma Contreras, 6-0, 6-1
Records: Woodstown 14-5, Wildwood 7-8

FIELD HOCKEY
Woodstown at St. Joe (Hamm.)

PENNSVILLE 1, OVERBROOK 1: Izzy Saulin scored in the fourth quarter to earn the Eagles (5-8-2) a tie.

VOLLEYBALL
Washington Twp. 2, Salem Tech 0 (25-11, 25-18)

Red Devils rising

Penns Grove soccer gets ‘biggest win of the season’ shutting out Group 4 Bridgeton behind keeper Guzman’s acrobatic saves

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNS GROVE – The Penns Grove soccer team couldn’t have been more disappointed after losing its last match after a big win last week. The good thing about playing a lot of matches is the big turnaround could be as near as the next line on the schedule.

The Red Devils scored what coach Mano Massari called “our biggest win of the season so far” Monday night when it blanked Group 4 Bridgeton 2-0.

They scored a goal in each half and junior keeper Dwayne Guzman made 12 saves to preserve the shutout.

“It was awesome,” Massari said. “It’s a big win for us. Very big win for us. Biggest game of the year for us when we came out flat against Pitman last week, so we needed this one tonight. This was a big momentum switch for us.”

The Red Devils are playing this week to secure a first-round home game in the South Jersey Group I playoffs and have won three of their last four games. They went into the match in the power points standings. They lost to current No. 8 Wildwood and split with No. 7 Pitman during the season.

They play Overbrook at home Tuesday and No. 1 Schalick at home Thursday, two days before the qualifying cutoff date.

“It’s hard figuring this math out; we tried,” Massari said. “We’ll see tomorrow what happened. That team was good. We played hard today and came out on top.”

Recently placed center mid Mario Fuentes scored his second goal of the season in the first half and freshman Juan Ortiz volleyed a ball coming outside the box and buried it for his fifth in the second half.

Guzman made several big saves to keep the Bulldogs out of the net. He stoned a breakaway in the first half shortly after the Red Devils took the lead and made several acrobatic saves in the second half.

“He stood on his head again today,” Massari said. “He made saves he had no business making again. He stopped some lasers from inside the box. Diving. Jumping. It was nuts. Kept the ball out of the net. Just absolutely dominated. By far the best keeper I’ve coached and been around in a very long time. Dwayne Guzman, put him on the map.”

Cover photo: Penns Grove soccer coach Mano Massari walks off the pitch with goalie Dwayne Guzman after a recent match at Pennsville.

Repeat performance

Rich, VanHorn repeat as NJTAC cross country champions; Passaic Tech boys, Morris County girls win team titles; also, Monday’s Salem County results

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN — Julian Rich of Camden County Tech and Morris Tech’s Maya VanHorn repeated as individual champions at the NJTAC Cross Country Championships Monday and did it in the same fashion they won here at Salem Tech a year ago.

Rich won the boys race with a sprint to the finish, hitting the tape in a PR of 16:40.79 – six-tenths of a second ahead of Victor Mielnik of Passaic Tech. Rich won last year’s race by an even closer margin – 0.32.

VanHorn won her third straight tech school state title, going wire-to-wire and finishing in 18:46.20, 11 seconds faster than last year’s winning time and more than 90 second better than runner-up Micah Dilello of Sussex Tech. She beat Dilello by more than two minutes last year.

Rich, Mielnik and GCIT’s Connor Auge broke out of the pack early and stayed out front the whole race. Rich had given some thought to ripping it off the start and hoping the other contenders wouldn’t follow, but when they stayed together through the first half mile he decided to hang back and let the race play out.

It came down to Rich and Mielnik down the stretch. Mielnik pulled slightly ahead just as they got to the final rise and Rich picked it up to stay with him. Well aware of Mielnik’s strong finishing kick, Rich sprinted down in the finishing chute to pull it out at the end, putting him in a good place for Thursday’s Olympic Conference meet at Dream Park

“I was coming into this race for a confidence booster,” Rich said. “I’ve been a little down on the last races, but after today I feel so much better. My confidence in high again.

“I’ve had quite a few races like that, more in track than cross country because I’m a better 3200 runner than a 5K runner. I’ve done that quite a lot of times. I’ve been doing that since like fourth grade. It’s definitely fun doing that. It puts on a show for everyone. I love doing what I do. I’ve figured out how to run these finishes.”

There was no such drama in the girls race. VanHorn quickly moved to the front of the pack at the start and steadily stretched the lead. It was her seventh win in eight races this year.

The high heat and low humidity made the run a little more difficult but she tried to build momentum in the shady portion of the Salem Tech course. With the Morris County Championships the next day, she was trying her best to run hard and smart.

**Morris County Tech’s Maya VanHorn shows off her medal after winning a third straight NJTAC cross country title.**

“It feels awesome to win it for a third time,” she said. “I wanted a three-peat. I wanted my three trophies. I already have two in my room. Three is my lucky number.”

She was especially happy about the win because it got her team off to a good start. The Devils won the girls teams title, placing three runners in the top five and four in the top 10. Passaic Tech won the boys title, putting three runners in the top 10.

Salem Tech’s Sarah Seiden was the top finisher among local runners. The senior maneuvered around a pack early in her race and finished fifth (22:27.53), three spots better than her finish here last year. She runs again Wednesday in the Tri-County Conference Showcase at Cumberland.

“I won’t ever take it easy; you should go all out no matter what,” she said. “Tomorrow is for rest and then I’ve got to bring it again Wednesday. Today’s time was definitely not my best – I like to be in the teens – but, again, I race on Wednesday and that one is very important to me.”

Salem Tech finished seventh in the boys standings; Dominic Militti was their top finisher (19:17.41, 29th). The Chargers girls didn’t have enough runners to post a team score.

Cover photo: Camden Tech’s Julian Rich (L) sprints past Passaic’s Victor Mielnik down the stretch to win the NJTAC boys race.

NJTAC Championship

BOYS TEAM SCORES: Passaic Tech 47, GCIT 56, Morris Tech 70, Camden Tech 114, Sussex Tech 124, Medford Tech 148, Salem Tech 185, West Tech 234, Cape May Tech 266, West Caldwell 268, Warren Tech 288, ACIT 296, Newark Tech 357, East Brunswick Magnet 389.
GIRLS TEAM SCORES: Morris Tech 37, GCIT 58, Passaic Tech 109, ACIT 123, Camden Tech 131, Sussex Tech 142, Warren Tech 147, Cape May Tech 168.

BOYS TOP 10	TIME	GIRLS TOP 10	TIME
Julian Rich, Camden	16:40.79	Maya VanHorn, Morris	18:46.20
Victor Mielnik, Passaic	16:41.39	Micah Dilello, Sussex	20:25.86
Connor Auge, GCIT	16:53:27	Aditi Mukundhan, Morris	21:05.19
David Cunha, Sussex	17:32.96	Jordan Moczydlowski, GCIT	21:43.41
Tejas Panwar, Morris	17:35.08	Sarah Seiden, Salem	22:27.53
Michael DeCarlo, Passaic	17:37.28	Grace Corcoran, Morris	22:30.23
Owen DeLuca, GCIT	17:39.15	Grace Napoli, Passaic	22:45.66
Vansh Patel, Morris	17:40.96	Natalie Pandolfo, GCIT	22:52.75
John Swaney, Passaic	17:44.76	Janelle Sanabria, West	22:56.63
Kevin Feaster, W. Caldwell	17:55.87	Olivia Davis, Warren	23:08.14

Monday’s sports report

Here are the scores and highlights from Monday’s high school action involving Salem County teams

FIELD HOCKEY
Woodstown 6, Overbrook 0: Brae DiGregorio scored two goals and assisted on three others as the Cougars’ offense came back to life, snapping a four-game winless and goal-less slump.

Schalick 10, Deptford 0: Ava Scurry and Phoebe Alward both scored hat tricks as the Cougars (15-0-1) hit double digits for the second time this season and clinched the Tri-County Diamond Division title. Scurry’s hat trick gave her a single-season school record 34 goals. Addi Shimp, Carlen Taylor, Luci Virga and Alexa Shimp also scored goals.

Salem 3, Gloucester Catholic 0: Kashira Patterson scored two goals and freshman Samiyah Moore scored the first goal of her career to lead the Rams (7-4-1). Ava Rogers faced just one shot in posting her sixth shutout.

GIRLS TENNIS
WOODSTOWN 4, SCHALICK 1
Ally Green (S) def. Gabby Kurds, 6-0, 6-4
Camille Osborn (Wo) def. Miya Watkins, 6-3, 7-5
Aubrie Rennie (Wo) def. Macy Clow, 6-1, 6-0
Julianna Lindenmuth-Alyssa Berry (Wo) def. Julia Langley-Helana Tyers, 7-5, 6-1
Noelle Neron-Nathalie Neron (Wo) def. Kayleigh Veach-Annie Podehl, 6-1, 6-1
Records: Woodstown 13-5, Schalick 9-7

PENNSVILLE 5, OVERBROOK 0
Megan Morris (P) def. Keira Riess, 6-2, 6-3
Regan Witt (P) def. Nesrine Fosso, 6-2, 6-2
Lily Edwards (P) def. Sophia Burgos, 6-2, 6-0
Emma Cornette-Morgan Holt (P) def. Jennifer Giovanni-Gianna Hardy, 6-2, 6-0
Naomi Hess-Izzy Schrenker (P) def. Madison Rikard-Gianna Hardy, 6-1, 6-0
Records: Pennsville 19-1, Overbrook 5-14

PITMAN 5, SALEM 0
Anna Fisicaro (P) def. Cassidy Werkheiser, 6-0, 6-0
Colette Rollins (P) def. Tytiana Miller, 6-0, 6-0
Ava Mollehhauer (P) def. Angelina Fothergill, 6-0, 6-1
Kendall Bennett-Amanda Bradley (P) def. Tahirah Davenport White-Heaven Jones McCullough, 6-1, 6-0
Megan Mazzola-Ella Ralph (P) def. Destiny Carr-Bianca Gibson, 6-2, 6-2
Records: Pitman 20-4, Salem 2-10

BOYS SOCCER
Penns Grove 2, Bridgeton 0: The Red Devils scored a goal in each half and junior keeper Dwayne Guzman made 12 saves to preserve the shutout in what coach Mano Massari called “our biggest win of the season.” The Red Devils (7-7) moved into ninth place in the South Jersey Group I power points standings with the victory over the Group 4 Bulldogs. (See related story)

VOLLEYBALL
Cape May Tech 2, Salem Tech 0 (25-21, 25-20)

So you say there’s a chance

Unofficial (but generally pretty accurate) UPR rankings has Penns Grove holding the final spot in the South Jersey Group I playoffs heading into final regular-season game; official list has Red Devils 20th

By Riverview Sports News

Penns Grove’s hopes for a spot in the Group I football playoffs may not be as far off as the final nine minutes of its game Saturday at Woodbury might have led one to believe.

In the South Jersey Group I power ratings updated Sunday by Gridiron New Jersey, the official supplier of the state’s UPR rankings that determine the 16-team playoff brackets, the Red Devils were No. 20, one full UPR point behind current No. 16 Audubon. The outlet noted its rankings would change “slightly” when it finalizes Strength Index Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Central Jersey Sports Radio index, which has been one of the most accurate unofficial UPR sources, has the Red Devils in a more favorable position. It lists them at No. 16, four-tenths of a point ahead of No. 17 Highland Park.

The Red Devils (1-7) wrap up their regular season Saturday at winless Salem (0-8) and will have to win the game to at least meet the minimum wins qualification for playoff consideration.

Their position looked strong early in the second half Saturday. They grabbed a nine-point lead early in the third quarter and carried it into the fourth. They held a two-point lead with less than six minutes to play, then misplayed a punt and fumbled a pitch that led to Woodbury touchdowns.

Woodstown, Schalick and Pennsville all seem safely in the field. If Pennsville gets in, it will be the Eagles’ first playoff appearance since 2019.

Here are the rankings according to the two groups:

SJ Group I power ratings

TOP 16	(as of Oct. 20)
SCHOOL	RECORD	POWER PTS	OSI	UPR
Glassboro	7-0	12.00	57.08	2.4
Woodstown	7-0	11.57	61.83	3.0
Shore	7-0	13.71	45.61	3.4
Paulsboro	6-2	11.81	48.65	4.0
Schalick	5-3	10.13	49.7	5.4
Haddon Twp.	5-1	11.58	41.19	6.2
Riverside	6-2	12.13	38.32	8.0
Middlesex	6-2	11.38	40.13	8.2
Burlington City	5-3	10.50	39.67	9-2
Pennsville	4-4	8.44	40.94	10.4
Woodbury	3-4	7.71	42.88	10.8
New Egypt	5-2	8.86	38.67	11.0
Manville	6-2	9.25	37.35	11.8
Clayton	4-2-1	8.00	34.00	16.8
Pt. Pleasant Beach	4-3	7.71	35.68	16.8
Audubon	2-4	7.83	34.78	17.0

20. Penns Grove (1-7) 18.0, 21. Salem (0-8) 19.4. Source: Gridiron New Jersey

PROJECTED PLAYOFF MATCHUPS
(Based on current standings)
SOUTH JERSEY
Glassboro vs. Audubon
Middlesex vs. Burlington City
x-Paulsboro vs. New Egypt
x-Schalick vs. Manville
CENTRAL JERSEY
Shore vs. Clayton
Haddon Twp. vs. Woodbury
Riverside vs. Pennsville
Woodstown vs. Point Pleasant Beach
x-Schalick jumps Paulsboro based on head-to-head

CENTRAL JERSEY RADIO RANKINGS
South Jersey Group I Top 16
1. Glassboro, 2. Woodstown, 3. Shore, 4. Paulsboro, 5. Schalick, 6. Middlesex, 7. Haddon Twp., 8. Riverside, 9. Burlington City, 10. Woodbury, 11. Pennsville, 12. New Egypt, 13. Manville, 14. Clayton, 15. Audubon, 16. Penns Grove.

If this scenario remains, Penns Grove would play Glassboro or Woodstown in the first round of the playoffs, depending on who wins that game Friday night.

This week’s schedule

Here is this week’s Salem County sports schedule for the week of Oct. 21-26

OCT. 21
FIELD HOCKEY
Salem at Gloucester Catholic
Schalick at Deptford
Woodstown at Overbrook
GIRLS TENNIS
Pennsville at Overbrook, 3:45 p.m.
Pitman at Salem
Woodstown at Schalick
BOYS SOCCER
Bridgeton at Penns Grove
Salem at Camden County Tech
CROSS COUNTRY
State Tech Championship at Salem Tech
VOLLEYBALL
Cape May County Tech at Salem Tech

OCT. 22
BOYS SOCCER
Glassboro at Woodstown
Gloucester Catholic at Salem Tech
Overbrook at Penns Grove
Pennsville at Clayton
Pitman at Schalick, 6 p.m.
Salem at Wildwood
GIRLS SOCCER
Penns Grove at Overbrook
Salem Tech at Gloucester Catholic
Schalick at Pennsville
Wildwood at Salem
Woodstown at Glassboro
GIRLS TENNIS
Overbrook at Penns Grove
Woodstown at Wildwood
FIELD HOCKEY
Pennsville at Overbrook
Woodstown at St. Joe (Hamm.)
VOLLEYBALL
Washington Twp. at Salem Tech
WOMENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Cecil College at Salem CC, 6 p.m.

OCT. 23
FIELD HOCKEY
Salem at Schalick
GIRLS TENNIS
Glassboro at Woodstown
Salem at Overbrook
Wildwood at Penns Grove
CROSS COUNTRY
Tri-County Showcase at Cumberland

OCT. 24
FIELD HOCKEY
Woodstown at Hammonton
BOYS SOCCER
Gloucester Catholic at Pennsville
Woodstown at Pitman
Salem Tech at Salem
Schalick at Penns Grove
GIRLS SOCCER
Penns Grove at Schalick
Salem at Salem Tech
Pennsville at Woodstown
GIRLS TENNIS
Schalick at Pennsville (conclusion of susp. match), 3:45 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL
Timber Creek at Salem Tech

OCT. 25
FOOTBALL
Woodstown at Glassboro, 6 p.m.
Audubon at Camden Catholic
Paulsboro at Clayton, TBA
Collingswood at Pennsville
Overbrook at West Deptford
Woodbury at Schalick, 6 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Pennsville at Overbrook
Salem Tech at Wildwood Catholic
GIRLS SOCCER
Salem at Paulsboro
GIRLS TENNIS
Woodstown at Pennsville
FIELD HOCKEY
Gloucester Catholic at Salem
VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Gloucester Catholic

OCT. 26
FOOTBALL
Salem at Penns Grove, noon
GIRLS SOCCER
Schalick at Williamstown, 10 a.m.
MENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Baltimore JUCO Jamboree
Salem CC vs. Anne Arundel, noon
Salem CC vs. Southern Maryland, 6 p.m.

Garrett goes off

Leyman has game of his life, plugged in at quarterback, throws 4 TD passes, picks two, returns one for TD, in Woodstown rout of Salem; Woodbury dulls Penns Grove’s playoff hopes with late rally

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

SALEM — Garrett Leyman has played a lot of games in a Woodstown uniform over the years, but he’s never had a game like he did Saturday.

The senior was responsible for five touchdowns on both sides of the ball as the Wolverines took it to Salem 42-13 to remain unbeaten and set up a WJFL Diamond Division title game at Glassboro next week.

Pressed into action as the Wolverines’ third quarterback this season Leyman threw four touchdown passes on the only varsity passes he’s ever thrown in his life. Then on defense he intercepted two passes and returned one of them for a touchdown.

Leyman threw two touchdown passes to M.J. Hall (55 and 48 yards) and one each to Bobby Donahue (49) and Rocco String (5). The first two completions gave him a passer rating of 866.80 and curiously it dropped with each successive completion. His 4-for-4 for 157 yards and four TDs total netted him a passer rating of 759.70 for the game.

If he isn’t somebody’s dot-com Player of the Week either the voting is flawed or nobody’s paying attention.

“After last week we faced a lot of adversity, I knew I needed to step up,” said Leyman, who was more of a run threat when he last played quarterback in eighth grade. “Coach chose me to play in Jack’s (Holladay) position, so I knew I had to go out and perform and I did.

“I wasn’t expecting it to go how it did, but I was confident going into today. It felt amazing.”

The Wolverines were into their third quarterback after losing starter Holladay to a sprained left shoulder in the first half of last week’s game at Haddon Heights. JV quarterback Lucas Fulmer played the rest of the game and completed the 17-8 victory.

It was the Fulmer’s first varsity action and while the backup checked all the boxes in his relief appearance it was Leyman’s experience and familiarity with the offense that led Trautz to start him against the Rams. Leyman was told he’d be playing quarterback Monday and had all week to prepare himself.

“He’s played a million football games for us; he’s just football smart, he’s got great football IQ and we can trust him in these situations,” Trautz said. “We know that he’s going to make the right decisions and you saw today. He commanded this offense, he was able to run it fully and he shined. It was nice to see him spin it.

“I’m not the least surprised with what he did today. He’s just a great player and he doesn’t back down from the moment. He elevates his game when the lights start shining the brightest.”

The Wolverines used a sanitized version of the playbook for Fulmer last week, but Leyman had full reign of it this week.

“We were going to run our offense the way we run it and take what they give us and we did a good job executing it,” Trautz said.

Salem moved the ball through the air, too. They immediately answered Woodstown’s first touchdown, working the ball downfield through a series of possession passes.

Rams quarterback Troy Carey was 12-of-15 in the first quarter and finished the game 25-for-35 for 241 yards and touchdowns to Kaden Robinson (5) and Terrance Smith (16). Robinson caught seven passes for 53 yards. Smith caught four for 103.

“It was just trusting our receivers, trusting them to make plays, putting the ball in their hands,” Carey said. “We work on certain plays every week just working to get better at things that affect our craft and just finding open men reading the defense.”

The win sets up a titanic battle of unbeatens between Woodstown and Glassboro Friday night. Whether Leyman gets the call again at quarterback depends on Holladay’s status during the week. Both Trautz and Holladay are hopeful of a return at some point this season.

Players on the Glassboro roster believe the Wolverines will be treating the showdown as “their Super Bowl” because of the recent history in the series; the Bulldogs beat them twice last year, once in overtime and once in the Group I state semifinals. The Wolverines, however, are approaching it, as usual, as any other game.

“It’s Week 8 for us,” the usually understated Trautz understated. “We’re going to attack it like we attack every week and we’re looking forward to the challenge next Friday.”

NOTES: Woodstown’s other touchdown was Bryce Belinfanti’s weekly long run, this one going for 94 yards … String’s TD catch was the first of his career … Salem had thrown only 78 passes in their first seven games. The 35 passes and 241 yards Cater threw for Saturday were the most by a Rams quarterback since 2022 when Jahki Coates threw 29 passes against Woodbury in 2022 and for 245 yards against Pleasantville. His game passer rating was 136.70 … The Rams will be looking to avoid their first winless season since 2012 (0-10) next week against Penns Grove.

Cover photo: Woodstown senior Garrett Leyman (10) rolls out in his first career start at quarterback. Leyman threw four passes – all for touchdowns.

Woodstown 42, Salem 13

WOOD (42)		SAL (13)
7	1st Downs	19
15-203	Rushing	17-31
4-4-0	C-A-I	24-35-2
157	Passing	241
1-1	Fum-lost	1-1
1-58.0	Punts	1-38.0
6-58	Penalties	3-35

Woodstown (7-0)	14	21	7	0-	42
Salem (0-8)	7	0	0	6-	13

SCORING SUMMARY
WO-M.J. Hall 55 pass from Garrett Leyman (Jake Ware kick), 9:26 1Q
S-Kaden Robinson 5 pass from Troy Cater (Andrew May kick), 2:21 1Q
WO-Bobby Donahue 49 pass from Garrett Leyman (Jake Ware kick), 2:01 1Q
WO-M.J. Hall 48 pass from Garrett Leyman (Jake Ware kick), 9:29 2Q
WO-Garrett Leyman 33 interception return (Jake Ware kick)
WO-Bryce Belinfanti 94 run (Jake Ware kick), 35.6 2Q
WO-Rocco String 5 pass from Garrett Leyman (Jake Ware kick), 9:32 3Q
S-Terrance Smith 16 pass from Troy Cater (kick failed), 9:12 4Q

**Woodstown receiver M.J. Hall races towards the end zone with one of his two touchdowns catches Saturday. (Photo by Ellen Sickler)**

Late miscues spoil PG upset bid

WOODBURY — KaRon Caesar’s 68-yard touchdown run on Penns Grove’s first play of the third quarter gave the Red Devils a nine-point lead and hopes for playoff contention. They carried that lead carried into the fourth quarter, but Woodbury took advantage of late Penns Grove mistakes to score three touchdowns in the final nine minutes to hand the Red Devils their sixth straight loss, 37-23.

Tim Holmes’ 34-yard touchdown pass to Jason Solomon cut Penns Grove’s lead to 23-21 with 9:06 left and then the mistakes set in for the Red Devils.

Penns Grove had Woodbury stopped later in the quarter but mishandled a punt and the Herd recovered at the 30. Holmes ran for 20 yards, then Marquis Taylor ultimately scored from 2 yards out to give the Herd their first lead since the game’s opening drive, 29-23 with 2:49 left.

Solomon iced the game with a 10-yard scoop and score with a fumbled pitch.

Caesar rushed for a career-high 228 yards with touchdown runs of 73, 14 and 68 yards.

Had the Red Devils held on, they would have earned their second win of the season with a shot for a third and possibly a playoff spot against struggling Salem next week. They currently hold the 20th spot in the South Jersey Group I power rankings that should be updated Sunday.

Woodbury 37, Penns Grove 23

Penns Grove (1-7)	7	9	7	0-	23
Woodbury (3-4)	7	7	0	23-	37

SCORING SUMMARY
WO-Marquis Taylor 4 run (Fabian Gonzalez kick)
PG-KaRon Ceaser 73 run (Tre Brown kick)
PG-KaRon Caesar 14 run (Tre Brown kick)
WO-Marquis Taylor 30 pass from Tim Holmes (Fabian Gonzalez kick)
PG-Safety, QB tackled in end zone
PG-KaRon Ceaser 68 run (Tre Brown kick)
WO-Jasuan Solomon 34 pass from Tim Holmes (Fabian Gonzalez kick), 9:06 4Q
WO-Marquis Taylor 2 run (Marquis Taylor run), 2:49 4Q
WO-Jasuan Solomon 10 fumble return (Elijah Young pass from Marquis Taylor)

WJFL Standings

DIAMOND DIVISION	DIV	ALL
Glassboro (1)	4-0	7-0
Woodstown (2)	4-0	7-0
Schalick (5)	2-2	5-3
Woodbury (11)	2-2	3-4
Penns Grove (20)	0-4	1-7
Salem (21)	0-4	0-8

NOTE: Number in parenthesis is South Jersey Group I UPR power ranking through Oct. 19

FRIDAY’S GAMES
Glassboro 20, Schalick 10
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Woodbury 37, Penns Grove 23
Woodstown 42, Salem 13
NEXT WEEK’S GAMES
FRIDAY
Woodstown at Glassboro, 6 p.m.
Woodbury at Schalick, 6 p.m.
SATURDAY
Salem at Penns Grove, noon

PATRIOT DIVISION	DIV	ALL
Camden Catholic (NPB-3)	5-0	7-0
Paulsboro (4)	5-1	6-2
West Deptford (G2-14)	3-2	4-4
Pennsville (10)	2-3	4-4
Audubon (16)	1-4	2-4
Collingswood (G2-18)	1-4	3-5
Overbrook (G2-23)	1-4	3-4-1

NOTE: Number in parenthesis is South Jersey Group I UPR power rankings through Oct. 19 (G2-Group 2, NPB-Non Public B)

FRIDAY’S GAMES
Pennsville 35, Lawrence 8
Camden Catholic 55, Collingswood 0
Paulsboro 18, West Deptford 12
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Overbrook 34, Audubon 6
NEXT WEEK’S GAMES
THURSDAY
Paulsboro at Clayton, 6 p.m.
FRIDAY
Collingswood at Pennsville, 7 p.m.
Overbrook at West Deptford, 7 p.m.
Camden Catholic at Audubon, 7 p.m.

SJ Group I power ratings

TOP 16	(as of Oct. 20)
SCHOOL	RECORD	POWER PTS	OSI	UPR
Glassboro	7-0	12.00	57.08	2.4
Woodstown	7-0	11.57	61.83	3.0
Shore	7-0	13.71	45.61	3.4
Paulsboro	6-2	11.81	48.65	4.0
Schalick	5-3	10.13	49.7	5.4
Haddon Twp.	5-1	11.58	41.19	6.2
Riverside	6-2	12.13	38.32	8.0
Middlesex	6-2	11.38	40.13	8.2
Burlington City	5-3	10.50	39.67	9-2
Pennsville	4-4	8.44	40.94	10.4
Woodbury	3-4	7.71	42.88	10.8
New Egypt	5-2	8.86	38.67	11.0
Manville	6-2	9.25	37.35	11.8
Clayton	4-2-1	8.00	34.00	16.8
Pt. Pleasant Beach	4-3	7.71	35.68	16.8
Audubon	2-4	7.83	34.78	17.0

20. Penns Grove (1-7) 18.0, 21. Salem (0-8) 19.4

Friday sports report

Here are the scores from Friday’s high school sports action involving teams from Salem County

FRIDAY, OCT. 18
FIELD HOCKEY
Egg Harbor Twp. 0, Woodstown 0

BOYS SOCCER
Salem Tech 2, Clayton 1
Salem at Gloucester Catholic
Schalick 4, Glassboro 1
Woodstown 3, Overbrook 1

GIRLS SOCCER
Clayton 5, Salem Tech 0
Gloucester Catholic at Salem
Pennsville 3, Penns Grove 0
Woodstown 3, Overbrook 1

GIRLS TENNIS
Pennsville 5, Salem 0
Pitman 5, Penns Grove 0
Schalick at Glassboro

VOLLEYBALL
Triton 2, Salem Tech 0 (25-4, 25-5)

Big plays bite Cougars

Glassboro uses three big pass plays early to seize control, then shuts down Schalick in second half to remain undefeated; Pennsville crushes Lawrence to enhance playoff hopes

FRIDAY SALEM COUNTY FOOTBALL
Pennsville 35, Lawrence 7
Glassboro 20, Schalick 10

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE – Every season when the West Jersey Football League schedule comes out the history buffs on the Schalick coaching staff, of which head coach Mike Wilson is a big one, start looking for that one game the Cougars call their “Stalingrad game.”

It’s the kind of game the Cougars look to play in close quarters and wait for their opponent who likes to play in the open field to become impatient.

Sometimes, though, the best laid plans just aren’t enough against superior forces. Instead of getting caught up in the Cougars’ “Rattenkrieg,” Glassboro played “Bombs Away” Friday night.

The Bulldogs hit their hosts with three big pass plays in the first half to either set up or score touchdowns to seize control of the scoreboard in an eventual 20-10 victory that kept them undefeated and sets up a presumptive WJFL Diamond Division title game next week with Woodstown.

“That was 100 percent the game plan, to shorten the game, the only thing we didn’t do, we gave up three big plays – again,” Wilson said. “We didn’t change anything. We stayed patient the entire game. No unnecessary risks. It came down to three big plays, which we coached all week. We just didn’t execute.”

In hopes of frustrating the Bulldogs (7-0) into making a mistake, the Cougars (5-3) wanted to play a ball-control style of offense, picking up three and four yards at a time, to chew up a lot of game clock and play field position. It’s the same approach they took when they played in Bulldogs in last year’s 20-0 Central Jersey Group I title game.

Glassboro beat the strategy Friday by holding the Cougars to a three-and-out on the opening possession and then connecting on a 52-yard pass from Kristopher Foster to Mekhi Parker on its first offensive play of the game. The bomb set up Kenny Smith’s 4-yard touchdown run seven plays later to open the scoring.

Later in the half, Foster connected on a 70-yard touchdown pass to Amari Sabb on the first play of the second quarter and a 63-yard scoring strike to Xavier Sabb 3:41 before halftime to make 20-3. Foster was 4-of-7 for 187 yards passing in the first half and threw for 206 yards in the game.

“We trust the players we’ve got,” Glassboro coach Timmy Breaker said. “We knew they were going to load the box. On film they blitz, blitz, blitz, blitz, blitz, so we came out to take a shot first play of the game.”

Xavier Sabb’s touchdown catch was a thing of beauty. He turned in one direction on the pattern to counter the cornerback, Foster put the ball on his other shoulder and Sabb twisted back in midair to catch it and go.

“I really closed my eyes, honestly,” he said. “I just trusted my hands. I knew he was going to dive at me so I picked my legs up and it was over after that.”

“Special kid, special talent and you’ll see a lot of that from him,” Breaker said. “He’s a gamer. Explosive. At any point in time in the game he can take over the game.”

Schalick scored 10 points in the second quarter on Hunter Dragotta’s 32-yard field goal and Kenai Simmons’ 18-yard touchdown pass to Dylan Sheehan.

The Cougars shut out Glassboro in the second half – even made a goal line stand after the Bulldogs returned the second half kickoff 67 yards to the 19 – but they couldn’t generate any offense as the Bulldogs cranked up the defense.

Glassboro held Schalick to just nine yards of net offense in the second half.

“Take those three plays out it’s 10-0,” Wilson said. “That’s the kind of game we wanted to play. We moved the ball decently here and there. Defensively I thought we played well outside of those plays. In a game like that it just came down to a couple plays and we lost them again.”

Glassboro 20, Schalick 10

GLASS (20)		SCHAL (10)
9	1st Downs	10
33-143	Rushing	27-34
8-13-1	C-A-I	7-16-1
206	Passing	121
2-1	Fum-lost	4-0
0-0	Punts	4-27.5
15-118	Penalties	4-20

Glassboro (7-0)	6	14	0	0-	20
Schalick (5-3)	0	10	0	0-	10

SCORING SUMMARY
G-Kenny Smith 4 run (kick failed), 5:45 1Q
G-Amari Sabb 70 pass from Kristopher Foster (Sal Esgro kick), 11:47 2Q
S-Hunter Dragotta 32 FG, 6:46 2Q
G-Xavier Sabb 63 pass from Kristopher Foster (Sal Esgro kick), 3:41 2Q
S-Dylan Sheehan 18 pass from Kenai Simmons (Hunter Dragotta kick), 2:21 2Q

Cover photo: Glassboro’s Xavier Sabb (0) had a 63-yard touchdown catch against Schalick. (Photo by Heather Papiano)

Pennsville bounces back

LAWRENCE – Moments after his team lost to Paulsboro last Saturday, Pennsville coach Mike Healy told his players there was still plenty in the season to play for, but now there was no room for error.

The Eagles bounced back on a long road trip to Mercer County Friday night. They played as if their playoff lives depended on it, jumped out to a big halftime lead and eventually put away Group IV Lawrence 35-7.

“We were very honest with the kids that we didn’t have any more wiggle room, we had to get the job done,” Eagles coach Mike Healy said. “The big thing for us is from the opening kickoff we showed up.

“I told them before the game we need to be physical the entire game and we need to be aggressive all game, we need to play with effort the entire game. I thought for the first half today we really showed up and did those things. We’ve had some games where we’re lacking one of those things, but I thought today we played up to our potential.”

Quarterback Robbie McDade ran for one touchdown and threw a pair of touchdown passes to Luke Wood and Rylan Hardy rushed for two scores. Hardy remains on track to become the Eagles’ first 1,000-yard rusher since Nick Bard in 2017 (1,657 yards).

The Eagles were up 22-0 with 2:03 left in the first half. They made it 28-0 with 14 seconds left and after the Cardinals fumbled the first play after the kickoff McDade threw his second TD pass to Wood with five second left in the half to make it 35-0.

“It was a pretty cool end to the half,” Healy said

WJFL Standings

DIAMOND DIVISION	DIV	ALL
Glassboro (4)	4-0	7-0
Woodstown (1)	3-0	6-0
Schalick (6)	2-2	5-3
Woodbury (11)	1-2	2-4
Penns Grove (20)	0-3	1-6
Salem (23)	0-3	0-7

NOTE: Number in parenthesis is South Jersey Group I UPR power ranking through Oct. 12

FRIDAY’S GAMES
Glassboro 20, Schalick 10
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Penns Grove at Woodbury
Woodstown at Salem

PATRIOT DIVISION	DIV	ALL
Camden Catholic (NPB-3)	5-0	7-0
Paulsboro (5)	5-1	6-2
West Deptford (G2-13)	3-2	4-4
Pennsville (12)	2-3	4-4
Audubon (13)	1-3	2-3
Collingswood (G2-16)	1-4	3-5
Overbrook (G2-25)	0-4	2-4-1

NOTE: Number in parenthesis is South Jersey Group I UPR power rankings through Oct. 12 (G2-Group 2, NPB-Non Public B)

FRIDAY’S GAMES
Pennsville 35, Lawrence 8
Camden Catholic 55, Collingswood 0
Paulsboro 18, West Deptford 12
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Audubon at Overbrook

Salem CC taps Hughes

Former Rosemont basketball coach, assistant AD hired to become Salem CC’s next athletics director

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

Salem Community College has tapped former Rosemont College basketball coach and assistant AD Bob Hughes as its new athletics director to succeed retiring Bob Bunnell.

He is expected to officially start the position Nov. 4, but will be on campus next week to start the transition. Bunnell retires at the end of the year.

Salem CC president Dr. Mike Gorman was authorized to make the hire by the college’s board of trustees at its last meeting. Hughes will be ratified at the upcoming board meeting.

“He has a sense of enthusiasm and his coaching experience gives him perspective that I think is important,” Gorman said. “He’s anxious to start this stage of his career.”

Hughes, 43, was the Ravens’ men’s basketball coach from 2012 to this past spring when he stepped down “to pursue other opportunities.”

He left as the program’s all-time leader in wins, which included nine straight playoff appearances from 2014-22 and the program’s first NCAA Division III Tournament appearance in 2019. But he had reached a crossroad whether to remain in coaching or pursue a future as an administrator.

“My family and I had a tremendous 12-year run leading this program,” Hughes wrote on his farewell post to Rosemont on X in April. “I am enterally grateful to the faculty, staff, administration and most importantly the student-athletes for making this now middle-aged man’s childhood dreams come true … Next play.”

While basketball will always be part of his life, he said Friday the move to Salem is about “focusing 100 percent on the administration and trying to grow the athletic department.”

“As you know, coaching is a huge time commitment,” he said. “At this time of year I’d be starting to be giving up every single Saturday for the next 20-some weeks, and that doesn’t include recruiting.

“I have an young family and this was an opportunity to move into an administrative role, really, to focus more on my family and have more time with my family. I have no interest in giving up any more Saturdays at this point than I have to.”

As an administrator, he served as Rosemont’s interim athletic director in 2021 and 2022, where he oversaw a $400,000 departmental budget and supervised a staff of four full-time and 37 part-time employees.

He also implemented Rosemont’s first DEI and sexual awareness programs from student-athletes in 2019 and worked with the AD to create a new athletics strategic plan, which was adopted by the board of trustees in June 2017.

Bunnell came aboard at Salem in 2018 to restart the Mighty Oaks’ athletics program that had been dormant for the previous five years. The resumption of athletics it was believed would increase enrollment and raise the profile of the school.

It was a complete rebuild, from starting several sports, hiring coaches, buying uniforms, finding players to fill those uniforms, securing playing venues and turning what basically was a multi-purpose venue for the county into a collegiate arena. “There wasn’t even an S on the floor of the gym,” he said.

Then once they got up and running they had a COVID pandemic to deal with.

But through the “extremely supportive” Gorman and a campus community that “really embraced athletics,” it “made this rather challenging effort easier to accomplish.”

The Mighty Oaks now offer baseball, softball, men’s and women’s basketball, and look to get men’s soccer back up and running next year.

“Tremendously proud to (go from) not even having a basketball to having teams that are competing at the regional level and successfully and having All-American and great academic athletes and a very strong coaching staff,” Bunnell said. “To go from no athletes to about 90 is pretty good.

“Obviously we didn’t do everything I wanted to do. I wanted to have both men’s and women’s soccer and, at the time when we started, cross country going. I’m really hard on myself. I wish that I had finished the job I set out to do, but it’s time for me to move on.”

And at the end of the year it lands in Hughes’ hands.

“What Bob Bunnell has done there has been terrific … it really tees up the next person to grow and stabilize some of the programs. There’s no reason with the foundation from an administrative perspective, with a foundation from an operational perspective Bob has put in place, that it can’t grow, that it can’t improve and that it can’t be a consistent source of excellence for the college moving forward.

“I’m excited to dig in and find out what we can do. The question isn’t what do they want to do as much as what can we do.

“One of the things that drew me to Rosemont 12 years ago, it was a program that was three years old when I took it over. I look at this the same way. You have someone who came before you and laid that foundation and now you can say let’s take this thing out and test it, let’s see what it can do and how far we can take it.”