Pennsville appeal to WJFL approved, moving into what should be a more competitive division for a team on the rise that went 6-4 last season
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
Pennsville enjoyed its best football season in eight years this fall and were rewarded for it by being moved into a weak division with more travel when the initial West Jersey Football League division reshuffle was announced last month.
The Eagles knew they were going to appeal .
They had that appeal heard and approved 6-0 Friday and now they will play in a division more closely aligned with their upward trend and program goals.
“When you look at what we’re trying to do as a program, the West Jersey Football League was set up to help teams that were at all areas and all levels, whether you were trying to rebuild your program, whether you were trying to maintain your program or whether you were trying to be a competitive program,” Pennsville athletic director Jamy Thomas explained. “We want to be a competitive program. That division we were in was not going to allow us to continue to do that for the next two years.”
Basically, the Eagles changed places with WJFL newcomer Mastery Charter and – pending the outcome of other appeals – are now set to play in a division that includes Audubon (5-5), Camden Catholic (3-7), Collingswood (4-6), Overbrook (6-4), Paulsboro (1-7) and West Deptford (3-8). The other teams in that alignment are a mix of Group I and Group II programs that had a combined record of 22-37 last season.
They initially were assigned a division with Buena (0-8), Clayton (5-5), Gateway (2-8), Gloucester Catholic (2-7), Lindenwold (1-9) and Pitman (6-4). The other teams in that alignment had a combined 16-41 record.
Mastery Charter was 2-5 as an independent this past season, 4-8-1 over the last two years. In terms of the WJFL geographic footprint, Pennsville would only add one-tenth of a mile to its prospective travel had it played all its games in the new division on the road. Mastery Charter, which does not have its own field, would have traveled a total of 58 miles in its initial placement; it now travels 112 miles.
The outcome of other appeals was not immediately known. WJFL member schools now have until Dec. 20 to vote to approve the changes.
“I’m very excited about it,” Pennsville coach Mike Healy said of the change. “I think it’s going to give us more opportunities to get in the playoffs, the big reason we wanted to move up.
“We bring back most of our team and we really want to kind of help our competition level because we believe we’re ready to start handling that.”
Given the relative strength of the division, the initial alignment would have made it difficult to bank power points necessary for playoff consideration. Essentially, the Eagles could have won their new division and not made the playoffs, which teams in stronger divisions could have a lesser record and not even won a division game and made the postseason field.
Pennsville finished tied for second in the Royal Division and was the first team out of this year’s South/Central Jersey Group I playoffs, but won the regional consolation tournament.
“That was the concern we had,” Healy said. “Just looking at how the playoffs have shaken out the last couple years, the number of wins, whether right or wrong, is not the most important thing. It’s who you’re playing, the group of schools you’re playing and their competitiveness.”
The Eagles graduate only four seniors, but they could not use their projection of experience as an argument towards their appeal. There is no guarantee they will have immediate success in their new division, but the alignment will better allow them to pursue those goals.
“I see the trajectory of our team moving up; we need to challenge ourselves,” Thomas said. “We want to be a playoff team and a South Jersey contender and a state contender and we have to do that from a division that provides us those challenges throughout the regular season to get better.”
Pennsville opens its wrestling season with a 58-24 win over Palmyra; Lussi, newcomer Shinn score two of Eagles’ six pins
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – When Elias Lussi walked into the Pennsville wrestling room for the first time three seasons ago he knew absolutely nothing about the sport other than what he might have caught on TV growing up in a tough but loving neighborhood in Miami Gardens.
He was 260 pounds, didn’t know the difference between a take down and back points and the only reason he was there at all was because he tagged along with his only friend in a new school, Ayden Perez.
In the time that has transpired, Lussi dropped 70 pounds, became the leader in the wrestling room and finally stopped throwing up before practices, which had been an everyday occurrence when he first got involved.
Now he has designs on qualifying for the state tournament. He got that goal off to a good start Thursday with a third-period pin in the Eagles’ 58-24 season-opening victory over Palmyra.
“I had no clue, I came into it completely blinded,” Lussi recalled. “I just got lucky with the community and got two amazing coaches who continued following me and were always by my side.”
His first year on the mat was a rough one. He was the backup varsity heavyweight who spent most of his mat time with the JVs and more often than not ended up on his back. But there was this one exhibition match against Overbrook in which he put a cross face on his opponent and turned him and that got his coaches’ attention.
The next year he slimmed down to 190, because the Eagles already had two guys at 215. He went 17-22 with the varsity and qualified next to last for the regionals and lost his opening match. But he was steadily making progress.
“To this day I still can’t believe it,” Lussi said. “I virtually think about this every day and every day I remind myself that I still can’t believe it because it’s an incredible journey. I would never imagine myself to lose 80 pounds and being able to discipline myself any time I want.
“There’s not just one word that can describe it, it’s a whole bunch of words. Getting beat up by my teammates, my life in general, so many things happening. Wrestling is the toughest sport and everybody says if you can get through wrestling you can get through life. It completely shows it now.”
On Thursday he weighed in at 189.2 pounds and had his way with opponent Joe Garrison. He scored the pin with 1:03 left in the third period and was leading 10-0 at the time of the pin.
“From a coaching perspective, there’s no better feeling than to take a kid who knows nothing and turn him into a region qualifier in his first year wrestling varsity,” Pennsville coach John Starcevich said. “He just made this transition as a person. Now he’s our senior captain, he’s the leader in the room, he’s the voice of our room.
“Rewind two years ago he was the most quiet person in the room. So, for him to learn the sport, love the spot and project his knowledge and his love of wrestling onto others right now, there’s no better feeling. That just lets us know we can take kids as freshmen and develop them by the times they’re sophomore, juniors – the earlier the better – to be able to compete.”
Another one of those success stories was looming at the other end of the lineup. Sophomore Gina Shinn was making her varsity debut as a new-to-the-sport wrestler. She won her match at 113 with a second-period pin to give the Eagles their first on-the-mat win of the season.
It was 50-50 whether she was going to get on the mat Thursday. She was listed as an either/or with Lucas Thomas at 106 and 113. When Pennsville sent out Thomas at 106 and Palmyra forfeited, the Panthers moved Gabriella Alves de Sousa to 113 for the matchup with Shinn.
It was a tight match throughout. Shinn fell behind 6-4 in the second period, then “my anxiety kicked in” and she quickly turned the tables on the match. The pin came with 32 seconds left in the period.
“It was really tough, like really tough,” Shinn said. “She definitely put up a really good fight. It was a good match and that win felt like I was in a whole ‘nother world. It was amazing. It’s a once in a lifetime experience. You never forget the first match, the first pin.”
Shinn was never one to shy away from contact. She played football in middle school and was always up for a challenge. Her Pennsville Little League World Series softball teammate Kloi Tighe, who wrestles for Gloucester City, influenced her to give that sport a try.
With the first win under her belt she could retire tomorrow undefeated as a varsity wrestler. But she believes she’ll stick with it.
“The coaches told me I should wait for my first match and depending on the outcome I can choose if I want to quit or I want to stay,” she said. “I never had doubts of quitting, but they told the whole team wait for your first match, so that’s what I did. I waited until my first match.
“Knowing I can do something like that, it definitely gives me the ability to keep going and have more confidence in myself. No quitting. They said they knew they were going to lose people, but I said I’m not a quitter.”
The Eagles won 10 bouts in the match – six by pin, three by forfeit and one major decision. They’re back on the mat this weekend in the two-day Howdy Duncan Classic at William Penn in New Castle.
“That’s a great start.” Starcevich said. “There were a lot of positives, there were some negatives as well, but it’s the first match of the season.
We had a great practice yesterday, we had a great preseason, back it up even further, this was the most active offseason we’ve had … and that’s showing. Guys who might have struggled at the varsity level last year or even wrestle with the varsity, those guys are now our team leaders, the guys we depend on. The offseason for our team right now has made all the difference … tonight.”
PENNSVILLE 58, PALMYRA 24 106: Lucas Thomas (Pv) won by forfeit 113: Gina Shinn (Pv) pinned Gabriella Alves de Sousa, 3:28 120: Chris Daniels (Pv) pinned Chase Moritz, 1:29 126: Kameron Drummond (Pv) maj. dec. over Toaha Sajim, 10-0 132: Trevor Young (Pal) pinned Randy Hall, 1:24 138: Aiden Hines (Pal) pinned Joey Maurer, 2:40 144: Travis Hagan (Pv) pinned Ben Still, 1:46 150: Sky Eppes (Pv) pinned Elliott Jackson, 1:12 157: Robbie McDade (Pv) won by forfeit 165: Cole Campbell (Pv) won by forfeit 175: Pat Daly (Pal) won by forfeit 190: Elias Lussi (Pv) pinned Joe Garrison, 4:57 215: Deakon Haines (Pal) won by forfeit 285: Trevor Waddington (Pv) pinned Stephen Hankey, 1:36
Pennsville’s Gina Shinn has control over Palmyra’s Gabriella Alves deSousa on the way to a pin in her first varsity match Thursday.
Penns Grove boys ready for opener after running past Gloucester Christian in final scrimmage; PG girls come close to shutting out Pleasantville
TUESDAY SCRIMMAGE SCORES Girls Burlington Tech at Salem Penns Grove 72, Pleasantville 2 Woodstown 77, at Kingsway 43 Boys Penns Grove 73, Gloucester Christian 49
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNS GROVE – It was their final scrimmage before a pretty good season opener. The hay is in the barn, so to speak, and Penns Grove coach Damian Ware said his team is ready to go.
The Red Devils went through their final tune-up of the preseason Tuesday and beat a Gloucester County Christian team with three regular-season games under its belt, 73-49. They open their season Friday against Pitman.
“It was the last dress rehearsal,” Ware said. “I saw what I needed to see. We’re tuned up.”
The scrimmage gave Ware one last chance to see a lot of combinations in game-like conditions without consequences to the record. There was a stretch when all the freshmen were on the floor. Another with all the seniors. The Red Devils gave the early minutes to the core group that will get the heaviest minutes during the season and won Monday’s scrimmage and it gave them a lead they never lost.
The Conquerors did pull within one late in the first quarter under a hail of 3-pointers, but then the Red Devils pulled back out and steadily pulled away. Shane Bradway did his best to keep the visitors in it – he led all scorers with 23 points – but Penns Grove was just too deep.
Giomar Conrad and Karon Ceaser led the Red Devils with 14 points apiece. Eleven of their 13 players who got in the game scored.
Freshman point guard Brandon Robbins didn’t score, but he gave them something more valuable from the position – the ability to run the offense, distribute the ball and not turn it over.
Ceaser made an immediate impact on the Red Devils’ football team in the fall as a freshman and Ware is hoping he has the same impact on the basketball floor. He had six points, a couple rebounds and a steal in the first five and a half minutes of the game after forced the Conquerors to take second timeout in less than a minute after his back-to-back buckets put Penns Grove up 13-5.
“He definitely will,” Ware said. “Ever since we started camp he’s shown me his ability to play, and it’s not even his natural skill, it’s his raw talent and athleticism, his quickness, his aggressiveness.
“He’s going to get 10-12 points a game just off run-out layups and steals and transition. I do expect him to make an immediate impact just as he did in football.”
The Red Devils open their season Friday against Pitman. The Panthers return to Penns Grove Saturday to open the Red Devil Classic, a four-game showcase that benefits the high school PTO.
The first session starts at 11 a.m. and features Pitman-Burlington City and Salem-Woodbury boys games. The 4:30 p.m. second session is a Penns Grove doubleheader with the girls playing Bridgeton and the boys playing Lindenwold.
PENNS GROVE 73, GLOUCESTER CHRISTIAN 49 GLOUCESTER CHRISTIAN – Sam Bishop 0 0-0 0, Ben Small 3 0-0 6, Brady Gesuh 4 0-1 10, David Dellarova 1 2-4 4, Andrew Field 0 0-0 0, Mike Perentozi 0 0-0 0, Shane Bradway 8 5-9 23, Jay Craig 0 0-0 0, Matt Pilla 1 4-7 6. Totals 17 11-21 49. PENNS GROVE – Mekhi Ballard 3 1-1 9, Khiry Higgs 0 0-0 0, Giomar Conrad 5 2-3 14, Luis Colon 2 0-0 4, Will Roy 1 0-0 2, Karon Ceaser 6 2-4 14, Camren Thompson 1 2-2 4, Jaden Sorrell 2 0-0 4, Brandon Robbins 0 0-0 0, Roman Gipson 4 1-1 9, Willie Sutton 2 0-2 4, Mr. Peterson 2 0-0 4, Naizan Spence 2 0-0 5. Totals 30 8-13 73.
Gloucester Christian
14
11
10
14 –
49
Penns Grove
17
17
17
22 –
73
3-point goals: Gloucester Christian 4 (Gesuh 2, Bradway 2); Penns Grove 5 (Ballard 2, Conrad 2, Spence). Total fouls: Gloucester Christian 13, Penns Grove 18.
GIRLS
PENNS GROVE 72, PLEASANTVILLE 2: A first-quarter basket was the only thing that stood between the Red Devils and a shutout.
Jameelyonna Horace led Penns Grove with 20 points distributed across the three quarters of the scrimmage. Ariana Dowe scored all 16 of her points in the first quarter and Raniyah Wilson scored all 13 of hers in the second quarter. It was 55-2 at halftime.
Cover photo: Penns Grove freshman Karon Ceaser (12) making as big an impression on the basketball floor as he did on the football field in the fall.
Pennsville’s Ausland makes a smooth transition to new team after transferring from Salem, could be Eagles’ final piece
MONDAY’S SCRIMMAGES Girls Pennsville 63, Palmyra 40 Penns Grove 30, Kingsway 30 (3Q) Boys Penns Grove 49, Kingsway 46 Woodstown 58, Maple Shade 29 Pennsville 50, Palmyra 46 (3Q) Bridgeton 68, Schalick 40
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – Nora Ausland had a lot of time to think about her future after a broken foot prematurely ended her sophomore season last year.
She wanted a basketball team capable of winning that would appreciate the skills she would bring to the table. Pennsville coach Sam Trapp wanted that one piece that would complete her team and make it a contender.
The two wants merged at the intersection of William Penn Avenue and South Broadway, right up the road from where Ausland used to play.
Ausland has merged seamlessly into the Pennsville program after transferring from Salem. On Monday she scored 27 points with five 3-pointers to lead the Eagles past Palmyra 63-40 for their first preseason victory.
“I’m glad it wasn’t difficult (to transition) because I was really scared to come here,” Ausland said. “I didn’t think people were going to accept me having this new girl, she’s going to take over, whatever. I was really scared people weren’t going to like me because I’m just coming in, taking over their stuff, but that’s not the case at all.
“It was really easy coming in here. Everybody was really accepting. I feel like I’ve known them since I was little. They all care for me and want me to do good and succeed, which I’m very thankful for. The first day of school I was just everywhere by myself, but then people were coming up to talk to me. Now I have a bunch of friends.”
The 5-foot-10 junior forward has made an immediate impact on the Eagles, who have designs on challenging Woodstown for the Tri-County Diamond Division title this year. She scored 17 points in her scrimmage debut against Millville and had nine the next time out against West Deptford.
Had Monday been a regular-season game, the 27 she scored against Palmyra would have been the second-best game of her high school career.
Nora Ausland (L) has fit into the Pennsville girls basketball program nicely after transferring from Salem before her junior year.
In two seasons at Salem she had 462 points, 61 3-pointers, 305 rebounds and 101 blocked shots. She had 179 points, 76 rebounds and 33 blocked shots when she broke a bone in her left ankle in late January. The Rams already were in the midst of a losing streak when she got hurt and they lost seven of their next eight without her.
The time away allowed Ausland to think long and hard about what she wanted from the game.
“I didn’t really have a good year because I broke my foot and the team wasn’t the best; they didn’t really give enough effort to care to win,” she said. “I was tired of that because I wanted to play, I want to win.
“I was just looking around at other schools, like what’s close, what’s easy for me to go to and also a good team. Last year they (Pennsville) got fourth seed out of the 16 (in South Jersey Group I) so OK it’s pretty good, it’s pretty easy to come here, so that’s what I did. I came here.”
Her arrival certainly was welcomed by Trapp. Ausland brings a dynamic the Eagles haven’t had since Ryane Wood, their last 1,000-point scorer who graduated in 2022.
She completes a lineup that returned three starters – senior Bella Farina, Taylor Bass and point guard Marley Wood – and includes elevated reserve Isabelle Saulin. Wood had 12 points on four 3-pointers against Palmyra.
“She just really incorporates a lot more offensive threat for us,” Trapp said. “We needed to be able to balance that responsibility between all five players and it helps with another player who can score.
“I like that she brings that competitiveness to practice because now it’s somebody that’ll push other girls and she can get pushed by other people, so I think it’s a real key component that is helping all the way around.”
3-point goals: Palmyra 4 (Anderson 4); Pennsville 10 (N. Ausland 5, Belitsas, Wood 4). Total fouls: Palmyra 13, Pennsville 4.
PENNS GROVE 30, KINGSWAY 30: Penns Grove’s Raniyah Wilson, the other dynamic transfer in the county this year, returned to her old stomping grounds and although she wasn’t as sharp as she might have been for the occasion scored 11 points as the varsities played to a tie in three quarters of action.
Wilson is in her first year with Penns Grove after transferring from Kingsway, where she would have been the Dragons’ top returning scorer and rebounder this season. She had six points in the first half as the Red Devils grabbed an 18-16 lead.
“We started her against her old team and I don’t think she had her best game at all,” Penns Grove coach Jennifer Denby said. “She was a little nervous. I wanted as a player, even as a coach, for her to come in and let them know how much they miss her and tonight just wasn’t her night.”
Jameelyonna Horace led Penns Grove with 12 points, including two 3-pointers. She had half of the Red Devils’ points at halftime.
Kingsway hit a 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter to force the tie.
“In the beginning of the game it was a struggle,” Denby said. “It’s hard to play with one person on the floor and everyone else’s mind is not there. Right now we’re still looking for chemistry.”
The Red Devils scrimmage again Tuesday and then open their season Friday against Clayton.
3-point goals: Penns Grove 2 (Horace 2); Kingsway 2 (Valente, Archer). NOTE: Varsity played three quarters.
Boys
PENNS GROVE 49, KINGSWAY 46: After running through numerous combinations in the first three quarters, Penns Grove coach Damian Ware stuck with his Super Six in the fourth and they went on a 20-2 tear that carried the Red Devils to a come-from-behind victory.
The Red Devils jumped out 19-7 in the first quarter, but were outscored 37-10 over the next two quarters to fall behind 15. Ware got on his team before the fourth quarter began, subbed in his better athletes and off they went.
They started Mehki Ballard, Willie Slocum, Roman Gipson and freshmen KaRon Ceaser and Brandon Robbins and scored the first 10 points of the quarter. Giomar Conrad entered three minutes into the quarter and help the Red Devils close it out.
“We had a lot of good possessions in the third quarter, but a couple guys missed some layups; we make those layups it changes the third quarter,” Ware said. “In the fourth quarter I went with my main six guys. We just played our pressure defense and turned them over a lot with the main guys I feel are going to be the guys going forward.”
Conrad and Ballard led the Red Devils with 15 points apiece and combined for 13 points in the fourth quarter. Ballard, their best 3-point shooter a year ago (59 made), hit two of his three 3-pointers in the rally.
“I got on them in the third quarter and lit a little bit of a fire under them,” Ware said. “The fourth quarter they turned it up and played the type of defense I want to play. If we can bottle up what we did in the fourth quarter today, we’re going to be really good. It’s going to be tough to score on.”
3-point goals: Kingsway 4 (Hart, Tavares, Kuzmick 2); Penns Grove 6 (Conrad 2, Ballard 3, Ceaser). Total fouls: Kingsway 13, Penns Grove 9.
BRIDGETON 68, SCHALICK 40: Jameel Purnell led three Bridgeton scorers in double figures with 29 points and the Bulldogs were just too much for the Cougars on the glass.
Zikown Anderson (14) and Zamir Chance (10) also scored in double figures for the Bulldogs. Purnell and Anderson combined for 18 points in the first quarter. Nasir Sutton led Schalick with 10 points.
PENNSVILLE 50, PALMYRA 46: Luke Wood poured in 17 points and drew several charges and the Eagles moved a step closer to their Opening Night lineup, beating flu-ridden Palmyra in a scrimmage reduced to three quarters.
With a limited time to get something accomplished, the Eagles got off to a slow start, but they picked up the pace in their final two quarters to squeeze out the win. Wood and Cohen Petrutz both hit 3-pointers in the third quarter when Pennsville finally took the lead.
“Everything is coming together,” Eagles coach Joe Mecholsky said. “We’re starting to get the hang of it. I think last week I said defense is always ahead of the offense and now, T-minus four days (to the opener), we’re rounding into form.”
Regular season for basketball, wrestling gets underway for teams in Salem County for the week of Dec. 11-16; x-indicates scrimmages
MONDAY BASKETBALL Girls x-Palmyra at Pennsville, 4 p.m. x-Penns Grove at Kingsway, 4 p.m. Boys x-Kingsway at Penns Grove, 4 p.m. x-Maple Shade at Woodstown, 4 p.m. x-Pennsville at Palmyra, 4 p.m. x-Schalick at Bridgeton, 4 p.m.
TUESDAY BASKETBALL Girls x-Burlington Tech at Salem, 3:45 p.m. x-Penns Grove at Pleasantville, 4 p.m. x-Woodstown at Kingsway, 4 p.m. Boys x-Gloucester Christian at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
SWIMMING Schalick vs. Millville at YMCA of Vineland, 3 p.m.
INDOOR TRACK Pennsville, Salem in SJTCA Meet, Toms River
BOWLING Salem vs. Salem Tech, Wood Lanes, 4 p.m.
WEDNESDAY BOWLING Salem Tech at Washington Twp., 4 p.m.
THURSDAY WRESTLING Palmyra at Pennsville, 5 p.m.
SWIMMING Salem vs. Pitman at GCIT, 6 p.m.
BOWLING Salem vs. Clayton, Bolero Lanes, 4 p.m.
FRIDAY BASKETBALL Girls Glassboro at Salem, 5:30 p.m. Overbrook at Salem Tech, 5:30 p.m. Penns Grove at Clayton, 5:30 p.m. Pennsville at Wildwood, 5:30 p.m. Schalick at Pitman, 5:30 p.m. Woodstown at Gloucester Catholic, 5:30 p.m. Boys Clayton at Pennsville, 5:30 p.m. Pitman at Penns Grove, 5:30 p.m. Salem Tech at Schalick, 5:30 p.m.
WRESTLING Pennsville in Howdy Duncan Invitational at William Penn, 4:15 p.m. Woodstown at West Deptford, 5 p.m.
SWIMMING Schalick at Camden Co. Tech, 3:30 p.m.
SATURDAY BASKETBALL Girls Audubon at Pennsville, noon Red Devil Classic Bridgeton at Penns Grove, 4:30 p.m.
Boys Pennsville at Deptford, noon Red Devil Classic At Penns Grove Pitman vs. Burlington City, 11 a.m. Woodbury vs. Salem, 1 p.m. Lindenwold at Penns Grove, 6:30 p.m.
WRESTLING Pennsville in Howdy Duncan Invitational at William Penn, 10 a.m. Penns Grove in Schalick Tournament (with Haddon Heights, Mainland, Oakcrest, Pt. Pleasant Beach, WW-P North, WW-P South) Woodstown in Delaware Valley (Pa.) Tournament
INDOOR TRACK Woodstown at Bennett Center, Toms River
Woodstown’s boys come up short on the scoreboard, but everything about the scrimmage left the feeling of a win
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – It’s a good thing preseason scrimmages aren’t about winning or losing – they’re about getting better – or Woodstown coach Phil Campbell might not have been as upbeat when Saturday’s exercise was over.
The Wolverines lost to Brandywine (Del.) both ways – on the scoreboard (55-49) and in the scorebook (47-46) – but Campbell considered the day a win because of what his team got out of it.
The difference in the results reflects the way game was scored. The scoreboard reflected the scoring system used to award points on free throws to reduce delays at the line while the scorebook indicated the points that actually went through the basket.
Regardless how it was counted, the Wolverines got more out of it than not.
“I was just telling them this was a great learning experience for us,” Campbell said. “We’ll see some teams that are similar – they’re fast, they’re athletic, they have a really good point guard – so it’s a good learning experience.
“I thought our offensive execution at times was fantastic. To be able to do that against a team that’s fast defensively, has long arms, and be able to compete really well with teams that are so athletic I think is a really good learning experience for us. I feel like (it’s) a win as far as we’re learning how to play our game and how our execution can affect other teams.”
Brandywine big Shamar Samuel (R) making sure Woodstown’s Rocco String doesn’t get too far away.
Campbell was quite familiar with the team Woodstown played. He used to be the Bulldogs’ head coach and their current head coach, Lorenzo Gales, was his assistant. Gales bragged on his point guard, Dadrien Howell in their conversation and Campbell believed it when he saw him.
Howell had 11 points in the scrimmage. Sincere Miller led all scorers with 16.
“He said No. 50 (Howell) had better court vision than anybody we ever had play for us (there), and now I agree after watching him,” Campbell said. “I was pretty amazed at some of the passing that he did. And he’s good getting to the rim.”
The Wolverines, meanwhile, came out with a hot hand and hit four 3-pointers among their first six baskets – two by Eli Caesar – and jumped out 16-5. Then Howell got involved and the Bulldogs rallied.
Alejandro Vazquez hit a couple 3s and the Wolverines went back up by nine, but the Bulldogs rallied again and wound up winning the first half.
Rocco String got the best of Brandywine big man Shamar Samuel and finished with eight points and 11 rebounds. Garrett Leyman gave the Wolverines seven points and seven boards and Blake Bialecki gave them his usual consistent effort at the point.
Defensively, they’re tweaking their approach and learning to be more aggressive in the half court. If there was any shortcoming it was handling the endgame, but if it were a regular-season game Campbell would have been a lot more strategic.
“I feel good about what we saw today,” Campbell said. “It was a good learning experience for us because our scrimmage against Gateway on Tuesday was a little sloppy.”
The Wolverines are back at it Monday against Maple Shade.
BRANDYWINE 47, WOODSTOWN 46 BRANDYWINE – Jahzier Penn 2 1-2 6, Crisdon Wright 1 2-2 4, Zion Charles 4 0-0 8, Sincere Miller 8 0-2 16, Mohamed Sankoh 0 0-0 0, Shamar Samuel 1 0-0 2, Dadrien Howell 5 1-3 11. Totals 21 4-9 47. WOODSTOWN – Blake Bialecki 2 0-0 5, Alejandro Vazquez 3 0-0 8, M.J. Hall 1 0-0 3, Garrett Leyman 3 1-2 7, Max Webb 3 0-1 7, Rocco String 4 0-1 8, Zyaire Caesar 0 0-0 0, Eli Caesar 3 0-0 8, Anthony Bokolas 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 1-4 46.
Brandywine
11
15
12
9 –
47
Woodstown
18
12
10
6 –
46
3-point goals: Brandywine (Penn); Woodstown 7 (Bialecki, Vazquez 2, Hall, Webb, E. Caesar 2).
Woodstown guard Max Webb drives to the basket in Saturday’s scrimmage against Brandywine. (Photo by Ellen Sickler)
Salem County products Harris, Husser have traveled a long road to reach today’s Division II national semifinals
TODAY: Division II semifinals: Kutztown (12-2) at Colorado School of Mines (13-0), 3:30 p.m.
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
Justin Harris has waited a long time to play in a game like the one he’ll be in today. When the former Salem defensive back was recruited to Kutztown out of high school way back in 2018, he was told he would play in big games, in front of big crowds and play for championships.
All of that has happened, but none will have been as big as what these Golden Bears will experience two time zones from home today.
Harris is part of a special group of Kutztown players who have come through the COVID era of college sports and accepted the extra years for the chance to play in the Division II national semifinals at top-seeded Colorado School of Mines.
“It’s just a great moment, a great feeling to be here,” Harris said. “We feel like we belong here.”
Harris has been through a lot in his career. He arrived in 2018 and spent the year getting accustomed to the speed of the college game and learning the playbook. He got on the field as the starting nickel in 2019 as a redshirt freshman and even though the Bears lost in the PSAC championship game they did make the playoffs. COVID turned the world upside down the next year and he was off the field again.
Things started getting back to normal in 2021 and the Golden Bears reached the D-II Elite 8, getting their hearts broken by Shepherd on a walk-off Hail Mary. Last season didn’t go the way any of them wanted, but they returned in 2023 more determined than ever and raised the bar for Kutztown teams in the future.
The Golden Bears (12-2) have won 12 in a row and beaten a ranked opponent each of the last four weeks. They’re in the national semifinals for the first time in school history.
“It‘s definitely been worth it,” Harris said. “Coming back for this last year, I felt like I left a lot on the table as a player (last season). I knew we had the talent to get back into that playoff spot and compete for championships again and that’s exactly what we’re doing right now.”
Any of the half-dozen players who came in together in 2018 and are still on the roster could have packed it at any point along the way, but it was important to them to finish it out together.
Tight end Tyreek Husser is another one of those “old heads.” The former Woodstown quarterback hasn’t been in the program as long as Harris, but he’s gone through all the post-COVID ups and downs.
His first year was actually the COVID year, but he couldn’t afford to let that slow him down. He was in the middle of a position change. He credited the players who were already in place with helping him on his journey.
“We all took that as a chance to get better, get bigger, learn the playbook,” he said. “Even the guys who were here before us they all used that as a way to refine themselves and become better.
“We’re a little younger this year, but some people have been through that COVID year. We understand what the system is, how things should run, what we want to get out of certain plays. I think that’s what’s starting to come to fruition now, that understanding of what our system and our scheme is and how we operate in our scheme.”
He called this season “nothing short of amazing.”
The key to keeping it going is staying grounded, focused on the game they’re playing this week and not get ahead of themselves. The deeper you go in the playoffs, the harder that gets.
It’s not lost on anyone that the winner of today’s game will play either Harding or Lenoir-Rhyne for the national championship next Saturday in McKinney, Texas..
“It’s hard not to think about that,” Harris said. “Those are just conversations we have with our roommates when we’re just chilling. That’s also what makes the moment so much greater because these are actually conversations that we’ve had before and we’re living in it now.
“We don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves, but we’re definitely confident in ourselves on Saturday that we can pull out this W and get back on another flight and go to Texas and take it on to whoever that opponent might be.”
Baber back in Wolverines’ backcourt after missing junior season, comfort level growing with each game
FRIDAY’S SCRIMMAGES Girls Woodstown 55, Camden Tech 12 West Deptford 43, Pennsville 32 Boys Salem def. Bridgeton
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – In the overall scheme of a 33-point blowout in a preseason scrimmage it was a rather insignificant basket, but it sure meant a lot to Alyssa Baber.
When the Woodstown senior guard broke in on a 2-on-1 with Talia Battavio off the tip and scored the layup to open the second half scoring against Camden Tech, it wasn’t just another basket.
It was the first basket she has scored against somebody not wearing a Woodstown uniform in 21 months.
“She needed that confidence,” Wolverines coach Kara Straughn said. “She hasn’t played a full game or a natural game in years. She’s a good shooter. I think she just kind of needs a little confidence and kick start herself again.”
Baber missed her entire junior season following twice-delayed surgery on the ACL she tore in her right knee in one of her team’s last AAU games the May of her sophomore year.
The layup Friday was her first points in a game since a 3-pointer against Pennsville on March 3, 2022. You can look it up. (We did in the gym, and the result surprised her).
“I don’t remember that,” she said. “I didn’t get to shoot a lot my sophomore year, now I can have that feeling of what it’s like to make a basket and I’ve been wanting that. Unfortunately, at Gateway I didn’t get to make anything, but I was just happy being out there and today I made my shot and I was really happy.”
Baber was so excited to get back into it, she couldn’t wait to text Straughn to remind her she had been cleared by her doctors to start practicing. Straughn eased her back into the action in the first scrimmage at Gateway Tuesday playing her only two quarters, but she played all four quarters Friday against the Warriors.
She didn’t score in the first scrimmage or in the first half Friday. But she had two buckets in the third quarter against the Warriors, finished with four points, grabbed four rebounds, dealt three assists and collected five steals before retiring for the day with 2:56 left in the scrimmage.
“Recently I’ve been really anxious about the games so I have a lot of jitters,” she said. “But every time I play it just all comes back to me, even if I’d played two years ago. It just comes back to me and I just love being out here with all the girls again.”
Sitting out while her teammates played made for one of the hardest years of her life. She tried to put on a brave face, but admitted it was tough watching while others play while she couldn’t. Now that she’s back, she’s pushing hard to get back where she was before the injury as a facilitator.
Her return strengthens an already deep array of Woodstown guards and gives Straughn even more options on how to attack an opponent.
“It makes us that much harder to defend,” Straughn said. “Because now I have not just two phenomenal guards, I have three, and then I have two girls underneath who can score 8 to 10 to 12 points. You’re going to overplay Megan or Talia, I have Alyssa Baber who will score. You’re going to overplay my forwards, I have three girls over the top who can score. I have five who can play pretty much any position.”
But scoring isn’t Baber’s game. She’d rather do the things that gets her teammates involved.
The Wolverines won big (55-12) even without top returning scorer Megan Donelson, who didn’t play due to illness. Her absence gave sixth-man Lauren Hengel a chance to shine and she responded with 16 points, four rebounds and four steals.
Battavio led all scorers with 24 points, Shannon Pierman had nine points and eight rebounds, and Gia Maiorini grabbed 10 rebounds.
3-point goals: Camden Tech 1 (K. Miller); Woodstown 6 (Battavio 5, Hengel). Total fouls: Camden Tech 9, Woodstown 6.
WEST DEPTFORD 43, PENNSVILLE 32: The teams were locked in a tight battle in the first half, but West Deptford held the Eagles to one field goal in the third quarter and pulled away. Reyanna Jamison (12) and Alivia Arena (10) combined for 15 points in the second half for West Deptford.
Taylor Bass led Pennsville with 10 points. Marley Wood and Nora Ausland had nine each.
“We lost, but everything came together a lot better and I’m excited for Monday (when they host Palmyra),” Pennsville coach Sam Trapp said. “We’ve got to keep improving on defense, finding ways to create opportunities to finish and knowing our personnel.”
3-point goals: Pennsville 2 (M. Ausland, Wood); West Deptford 2 (Jamison, Diaz). Total fouls: Pennsville 8, West Deptford 16.
Boys
Salem went to Bridgeton for its final preseason scrimmage and came back with a win.
The biggest takeaway was the Rams being able to pull it back together after losing the lead. They led by six to eight points most of the game, fell behind 45-44 in the third quarter and then went on a run to pull away.
“That was good,” Rams coach Anthony Farmer said. “We have upperclassmen, so that’s my expectation. You have to stay poised. They’ve been around. I’m not looking for those guys to get rattled. We were sloppy at times, but later in the game we got it back together.”
Freshman Tymier Lecator showed poise beyond his years, hitting two big 3-pointers and taking two charges.
The Rams now start working towards their opener next Saturday against Woodbury in Penns Grove’s Red Devil Classic.
Schalick boys basketball team getting the chance to play at Wells Fargo Center before Sixers’ game
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PITTSGROVE – In any other year, a late January basketball game against a non-division opponent wouldn’t draw any special attention, but this isn’t any other game.
When Schalick and Clayton play Jan. 22, it won’t be just another Saturday afternoon matinee. The teams will play under the bright lights of the Wells Fargo Center as part of a high school tripleheader before the Sixers play San Antonio that evening.
“I remember Schalick used to do it even before I even went to Schalick High School, but they stopped doing it I remember when I got to high school, so I never got to experience it,” Cougars coach James Turner said. “Then they picked it up again, but the girls did it a couple times a handful of years ago.
“I’m just glad the kids are going to be able to have that opportunity to be there, be on the floor; hopefully they’ll have some time to take some pictures. They don’t give us a whole lot of time to do all that kind of stuff because it has to be in and out, but we’ll do the best we can to try to make it a memorable night for them.”
The Schalick girls played Clayton in the Wells Fargo Center back in 2016. The Clayton girls beat Overbrook there last season.
The Cougars plan to make a day of it. After playing the Clippers in the afternoon, they’ll head to Dave & Busters for a couple hours of dinner and team bonding, and then head back to watch the Sixers play.
Just the thought of playing on an NBA floor has the players excited. It’ll be a normal high school game with a five-minute halftime, but if the game is running long the fourth quarter will play with a running clock. As part of the deal the schools are required to sell 55 tickets at $35 each.
“Coming into the season we heard rumors of a surprise and we tried to get our coach to budge and tell us, but that didn’t work,” senior forward Jake Siedlecki said. “We ended up finding out a few weeks before the season and we are super excited.
“It’s going to be a really fun day, not only playing there, but watching the Sixers play at night also. It’s really a unique experience and it’s given our team a lot of excitement for this upcoming season.”
It was a no-brainer for Schalick athletics director Doug Volovar. He reached out to Clayton AD Dan Antonelli about the availability of the game and the Schalick board approved the Cougars’ participation in it in November. Officials broke the news to the team at the parents meeting Monday.
“I think it’s awesome,” Volovar said. “To me, as an athletics director, that’s what you’re supposed to do – try to provide opportunities out of the norm for your kids to enhance your programs. That just seems like it’d be a great opportunity as an athletics director to give your kids a chance to do something different, to being a part of something special.”
The Wells Fargo date isn’t the only special event on the Cougars’ radar. The football team is in the mix for a game in next season’s Battle at the Beach in Ocean City and Volovar has entertained the idea of playing a soccer game at the Philadelphia Union’s stadium if that opportunity resurfaces.
“We’ve done it before and I’m trying to do it again,” he said. “Our kids are good enough to play, why wouldn’t you want to give them an experience like that?”
Penns Grove boys look for answers against one of Group IV’s best, girls enhance Fab Five with dynamic freshmen, transfer
THURSDAY SCRIMMAGES Girls Penns Grove 67, Paulsboro 15 Salem at Bridgeton West Deptford at Schalick Camden Co. Tech at Salem Tech Boys Clearview 61, Schalick 30 Egg Harbor Twp. 78, Penns Grove 34 Paulsboro 50, Pennsville 40 Salem Tech at Camden Co. Tech
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNS GROVE – Even if he does have a young team and is still looking for a permanent point guard, Penns Grove coach Damian Ware will never pass up a chance to scrimmage a team like Egg Harbor Twp.
The Red Devils opened their scrimmage schedule against the reigning South Jersey Group IV champions and 2023 state runner-up and lost 78-34 in a game that got away in the fourth quarter, but there’s a reason they play every year in the preseason.
“We were supposed to have one under our belt before today and that was against a Group I school, it just didn’t work out,” Ware said. “We scrimmage Egg Harbor every year. We’ve been doing this for the last six years because they are that level we want to attain.
“It’s like I told the kids just now, that’s the level we want to get to, to the point where everything is moving like clockwork. One thing they didn’t do out there, they didn’t miss their layups. We missed a gag of layups. If we make at least 10 of the ones we missed the score’s not that bad, but we’ve got to make our layups and we’ve got to not turn the ball over.”
The Red Devils faced the juggernaut with three returning players who have any appreciable varsity experience – Mekhi Ballard, Gio Conrad and Willie Slocum – and at times had four freshmen on the floor at the same time. They fell behind in each of the first three quarters, but rallied to get within three in the first and second quarters and five in the third before the Eagles pulled away.
“It totally showed me that the guys I put in the game were fighting back,” Ware said. “They played better than Egg Harbor’s second unit; that’s when we came back into the game. Those guys came off the bench and showed me something.”
The fourth quarter it was all Egg Harbor. The Eagles scored the first 19 points of the fourth quarter behind a barrage of 3-pointers.
Jalen Bell hit four 3-pointers in the game and led all scorers with 21 points. Jake Karp (15), Jayden Dixon (12) and C.J. Ford III (10) also scored in double figures.
But fortunately for the Red Devils they won’t see that on a regular basis when they get back into Group I.
“In Group I, we’ll be right there,” Ware said. “We’ll be one of the top teams in Group I. Just from what I saw today, I know we have the potential to be one of the top teams in Group I.”
The Red Devils could solve their turnover troubles by finding a point guard. Khiry Higgs, a senior playing his first year of basketball, could turn into the guy, or it could be a freshman who’ll need to develop on the fly.
The brightest spot of the entire exercise for Penns Grove was the play of Roman Gipson. Mostly a JV player last year, the sophomore led the Red Devils in scoring Thursday night with 12 points. He was their only scorer in double figures.
“I left him out on the floor a lot because he was one of the guys who showed me he wasn’t scared,” Ware said. “I’m looking for guys who are going to be dogs right now. Guys who aren’t scared, guys who are going to play well and play hard, and he was one of the main guys as a sophomore.”
3-point goals: Egg Harbor Twp. 11 (Bell 4, Karp, Reyes, Salsberry 2, Dixon 2, Ford); Penns Grove 1 (Gipson). Total fouls: Egg Harbor Twp. 20, Penns Grove 19.
PAULSBORO 50, PENNSVILLE 40: The Eagles moved a step closer to determining a starting five and rotation among their top seven players, but they’ve “still got to get it together” after dropping their second scrimmage of the preseason.
They did open an early lead for the second straight scrimmage, but were outscored 17-3 in the second quarter and played catch up the rest of the night.
Point guard Luke Wood returned to the floor after missing the first scrimmage and scored seven points in the first quarter, but had only two the rest of the game. Brooklyn-born transfer Jayden Thomas also had nine points. Payton O’Brien had eight.
“I was happy with our defense, which is always farther along than offense at this point,” Eagles coach Joe Mecholsky said. “Guys who had a rough start on Tuesday (against Triton) played much better.”
CLEARVIEW 61, SCHALICK 30: The Cougars haven’t won many games the past couple years, but they’re hoping the success and momentum of an historic football season can carry over to the hardwood.
The majority of players on the basketball roster were part of the football team’s undefeated run to the Central Jersey Group I championship game this fall and 19 wins over the last two seasons.
“You’ve got to have people who are used to winning, you’ve got to have people on the team who understand the culture of winning,” Cougars coach James Turner said. “When you understand your culture of winning it makes it easier to bring in that culture in the one program into the next.
“For the football program and before these last few years that culture wasn’t there, but thankfully we’ve had that culture in the fall sports all around, with all our fall sports, especially football, and we’re just hoping it finally can carry over into the winter programs as well.”
The key, of course, is picking up some wins early in the season to keep their spirits up and the momentum building. The Cougars have that chance as their first three regular-season games are against two teams that won only two games last year and a Woodstown team they claimed as one of their three wins.
But after being doubled up by the Pioneers Thursday Turner confesses they “have a lot of work to do.”
Nylan Sutton led the Cougars with 12 points. Reggie Allen had nine.
CLEARVIEW 61, SCHALICK 30 SCHALICK – Reggie Allen 4 1-2 9, Ryan Johnson 0 0-0 0, Jordan Johnson 2 0-0 4, Nylan Sutton 5 2-2 12, Nasir Sutton 2 0-0 4, Jake Siedlecki 0 0-0 0, Nyzier Wynder 0 0-0 0, Dan Lis 0 1-3 1, Jase Volovar 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 4-7 30. CLEARVIEW – Luke Andres 1 2-4 5, Kaprice Stewart 7 2-4 17, Dalton Phalines 3 3-4 9, Michael Guy 3 0-0 6, JD Steidle 1 2-3 5, Jonah Turner 3 1-2 7, Jake Slotter 0 0-0 0, Trevor Durkin 0 0-0 0, Luke Zuba 4 0-0 9, George Kritikson 1 0-0 3, Russ Manel 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 10-17 61.
Penns Grove girls coach Jennifer Denby plots strategy with her team during a timeout in their scrimmage with Paulsboro. On the cover, Damien Ware does the same with his Red Devils boys team against Egg Harbor Twp.
Not rebuilding, reloading
PENNS GROVE – It already returns a Fab Five that brought the team through the adversity of an ever-shrinking roster to the South Jersey semifinals, but add a dynamic freshman class that tasted victory as eighth-graders and a standout transfer with two years eligibility left and it’s easy to understand the optimism in the Penns Grove girls basketball program.
The Red Devils hit the court for their second scrimmage and crushed Paulsboro 67-15 for their first victory of the preseason.
The foundation of the team lies in the Fab Five starters who kept it together last year when it looked like their season was going to crumble around them. Coach Jennifer Denby brought in four fabulous freshmen who won a title as eighth-graders and welcomed Raniyah Wilson from Kingsway who would have been the Dragons’ top returning scorer and rebounder.
“I like the chemistry,” Denby said. “We have a lot of girls and different types of chemistry that we can put out on the floor.”
Every combination had a hand in the rout. Senior Jameelyonna Horace had 18 points, three 3-pointers and three rebounds. Among the newcomers, Wilson had eight points and seven rebounds, JaNiyah Cummings had 10 points and five boards, and Zoey Caesar had eight points and seven boards.
Overall, there was just a lot to like.
“I like the defense, I like them laughing and playing with each other and just out there having fun, and they’re coachable,” Denby said. “The five freshmen (she includes Wilson in the group because she’s a newcomer) we have are very coachable, which makes the coach’s job much easier.”
