Just when Woodstown senior running back appeared set for a courageous return from knee surgery, he faces injury to other knee
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – Just when it looked like Woodstown running back James Hill was all set for a courageous return from off-season knee surgery, an injury to his other knee has surfaced to threaten his senior season.
The 3,000-yard career rusher was set to make his 2023 debut Friday night at Deptford, but he watched from the sidelines in street clothes as the coaches held him out for precautionary reasons after feeling something uncomfortable in his left knee jumping over a ball in a mid-week gym class.
The rumor making the rounds is a torn anterior cruciate ligament, but Wolverines’ coach John Adams urges caution and await the results of additional tests that could come as early as Monday.
“He jumped up in phys-ed and just felt like some grinding and it freaked him out because of what he just went through with his other knee,” Adams said. “We’re playing it cautious. We’re playing it very, very cautious. One doctor saw him and then referred him to go get evaluated again; let’s go get it double checked.
“There are some rumors flying around school. Guys, just pump the breaks. Let’s make the doctors make decision … but it’s up in the air right now is it good or bad news.”
Hill suffered a torn ligament in his right knee jumping in the wrestling room last winter, then spent the last six months aggressively rehabbing after surgery and beat the traditional timeline for such an injury by nearly three months. His teammates were amazed with the regimen he put himself through to be there for his team.
If a similar surgery is required for this latest injury, provided he’s up for a similarly aggressive rehab program, he would miss all of the football season and most of the wrestling season. The typical timeline for such an injury is six to nine months.
The impact any of that would have on his college recruitment is uncertain.
The running back was excited about the prospects of returning to the field earlier in the week, but Adams described him as “in the dumps a little bit” Thursday when he was held out of practice. By Friday night he was on the sideline excitedly supporting his team in a 49-7 victory, a game he likely would have been out by halftime given the nature of the game.
“I just feel bad; it’s a setback for him again,” Adams said. “We were really, really excited to get him back and now we don’t have him right now. You feel more for him as a player. He was itching to get back. Even last year it was always get back for the Glassboro game and then when we saw he could get back earlier it was (exciting), and then to have something come up again you feel bad. How many setbacks can a kid handle?”
While Hill’s presence is a big piece of the Wolverines’ offense, softening the blow of his now extended absence is the productivity of the backs who have kept them moving while they awaited his return.
Bryce Belinfanti has rushed for 413 yards and six touchdowns on 46 carries in the Wolverines’ first three games. He only had six carries Friday because they had gotten so far ahead so early. Back Alex Torres had a career-high 120 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries against Deptford.
“I even said that to the team,” Adams said. “It’s different when you won several games and then you lose a guy and then you have that will the players be able to understand they can win without that guy in there? For us to start the season off without him and win, not having him last night, it wasn’t a foreign thing for them. They already prepared coming into the season knowing they weren’t going to have him. It was like let’s go to work – and obviously we did last night.
“I’ve been through seasons where midway through or towards the end of the season you lose a guy and it mentally can take a whole toll on the team and take the wind out of your sails. But for us, we’ve had to step it up without James, we had no other choice. Our team had time mentally to prepare to be playing without him and I think they’ve done a good job since.”
Author: almusky
Closing ceremonies
Penns Grove wins final high school football game on Salem’s Walnut Street Field, beating the Rams with a former Salem starter at the helm
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
SALEM – Penns Grove football coach and Salem alum John Emel did not pick up a handful of dirt or stick a commemorative clump of turf in his pocket on the way out of Walnut Street Field Saturday. The good feeling of getting the team’s first win of the season would have to be a sufficient enough memento of the historic day.
NEXT: Penns Grove
at Haddon Heights,
Saturday, 11 a.m.
Emel’s Red Devils took control of the game early and then closed out the Rams 21-6 in what likely will be the final high school football game played at Walnut Street Field, where Emel played his home games as a Salem starting lineman back in the day.
The Rams are scheduled to move into a new on-campus stadium next month, a project precipitated by the city condemning the decades-old wooden bleachers at The Nut. City officials were working to bring the field back for its youth teams, but ramped up their work for the high school after the Rams ran into a conflict with a Labor Day weekend neutral site game.
NEXT: Salem
vs. Cedar Creek,
Rumble on the Raritan,
SHI Stadium, Rutgers,
Saturday, 3 p.m.
The facility held up well enough for the Rams to move their Penns Grove game back there with, ironically, Emel providing the opposition for the venue’s final high school game. Salem’s on-campus stadium is schedule to host its first game Oct. 7.
“I did not grab any dirt in the moment,” Emel said. “Like I said before, it’s not something I make a habit of. My AD (Anwar Golden, also a Salem alum) came up to me at halftime and said it’s kind of sad this is the last game here, right. I said yeah, but we want to go out with a win.”
The Rams wanted to lock the gates for the final time with the same reward.
“Unfortunately we couldn’t get it done for the city and our seniors’ last ride there,” first-year Salem coach Danny Mendoza lamented.
Penns Grove took advantage of Salem’s continuing shortcomings on special teams to build a 15-0 halftime lead.
The Red Devils (1-3) blocked two punts. Isaiah Upshur snuffed one on the first series and almost returned it for a touchdown. Bryce Wright caught the second one in midair and he did return it for the game’s first score and then ran in the conversion to make it 8-0.
Wright scored the second touchdown with less than 90 seconds left in the half on a short run that capped a long drive. Anthony Brown kicked the extra point. Freshman Karon Ceaser scored their final touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
Wright finished with 118 yards rushing on 18 Carrie’s. Ceaser had 109 yards on 17 carries.
“Every time we’ve gone there, whether it was a big win or a heartbreaking loss, we always started fast and, really, that’s the key to beating those guys every time, because Salem is known to be a second-half team,” Emel said. “So, you have to really jump out on them and then hang on for dear life. That’s always how we played them.”
The Rams (0-4) made it interesting when Daveon Jackson scored on a short run with 10:01 to play. Jackson also recovered a fourth-down fumble on Penns Grove’s ensuing drive, but the Rams couldn’t take advantage of the turnover.
“Daveon Jackson is probably the heart and soul of our team and we should be inspired by his play,” Mendoza said. Expect to see more of Jackson next Saturday when the Rams play Cedar Creek in the Rumble on the Raritan at Rutgers’ SHI Stadium, he added.
“They’re athletic, they’re dangerous, so keeping those guys out of the red zone is a big key to defending them,” Emel said. “When you’re playing Salem, they’re notorious for big play.”
But the Rams couldn’t turn any on this historic day. They’ve scored only two touchdowns in their last three games. The biggest play they made Saturday was Ramaji Bundy’s run on third-and-9 from the 13 to keep the chains moving on their touchdown drive.
“We’re just so hot and cold,” Mendoza said. “We just haven’t put together four quarters of football. We have to understand it’s an 11-man game; sometimes we do, sometimes we don’t.
“We’ve just got to keep chomping at the bit. We’ve got to understand it’s a four-quarter game. The fun part of the game is the battling, it’s the fight, and we’ve got to learn to keep fighting. I still think this team has the talent to win some games and beat some teams on our schedule, but we’ve got to do our talking with our pads and play for four quarters. That’ll be the make or break.”
Penns Grove 21, Salem 6
| Penns Grove (1-3) | 0 | 15 | 0 | 6 – | 21 |
| Salem (0-4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 – | 6 |
Scoring plays
PG – Bryce Wright 15 blocked punt return (Bryce Wright run)
PG – Bryce Wright 5 run (Anthony Brown kick)
S – Daveon Jackson 5 run (pass failed)
PG – Karon Ceaser 25 run (kick failed)
Complete domination
Wolverines strike quickly, take control early, get starters out and turn it over to the rest; Hill held out for precautionary reasons
By Riverview Sports News
DEPTFORD – Woodstown went on the road, took control of the game early and got the chance to get a lot of players meaningful minutes.
The Wolverines scored four touchdowns on their first six plays and rolled over Deptford 49-7 for their third straight win.
“Complete execution like I have never seen us have,” Woodstown coach John Adams said. “It was insane. I was like we just scored four touchdowns in six plays; we don’t even do that in practice.”
The Wolverines’ starters played most of the first half, with the second unit going in late in the second quarter and playing the entire second half.
That situation gave cousin quarterbacks Max Webb and Jack Holladay the chance to play significant minutes in the same game. Webb completed all six of his pass attempts for 140 yards and three touchdowns.
“Max Webb was just on fire,” Adams said. “Orlandini the one time was wide open, but all the other ones Max just like threaded the needle. They had good coverage on us, he just made the right decisions, stepped up in the pocket and then halfway through the second quarter the varsity was out.”
While the starters were in the game, lead back Bryce Belinfanti had six carries for 95 yards and two touchdowns. Backup Alex Torres followed him with 12 carries for a career-high 120 yards and two touchdowns. Zach Bevis caught two touchdown passes and the Wolverines’ defense collected four takeaways, including opening the game with an interception.
“It was awesome,” Adams said of getting so many players in the game. “We got to get our next quarterback in for a series with our varsity guys and then we started subbing in a lot of other seniors who we have who don’t start. And then our JVs were in there for a good portion of the second half and they played really well, too.”
It wasn’t all rosy, however. Wolverines’ star running back James Hill was on the sideline in street clothes and did not play. He was set to start Friday in his first game back from off-season surgery on his right knee, but the coaches held the 3,000-yard career rusher out for precautionary reasons after he felt something uncomfortable in his left knee jumping to avoid a ball in gym class earlier in the week.
Woodstown 49, Deptford 7
| Woodstown (3-0) | 28 | 14 | 0 | 7 – | 49 |
| Deptford (0-3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 – | 7 |
Scoring plays
W – Carter Orlandini 38 pass from Max Webb (Jake Ware kick)
W – Bryce Belinfanti 12 run (Jake Ware kick)
W – Bryce Belinfanti 51 run (Jake Ware kick)
W – Zach Bevis 46 pass from Max Webb (Jake Ware kick)
W – Zach Bevis 8 pass from Max Webb (Jake Ware kick)
W – Alex Torres 13 run (Jake Ware kick)
W – Alex Torres 24 run (Jake Ware kick)
D – 57-yard run (kick good)
Schalick football
Cougars wear down Riverside, go to 4-0 and grab share of Horizon Division lead
By Riverview Sports News
PITTSGROVE – Four games into the season two things have become quite clear about the Schalick football team: The Cougars are getting closer to the complete game coach Mike Wilson is seeking and their work in the weight room is giving them an edge that simply wears people down.
That’s what they did Friday night in a 42-18 victory over Riverside for their fourth victory of the season.
“Four games in that’s who we are,” Wilson said. “We just wear on them and kind of wore them down. We just had more bullets than they did.”
Reggie Allen rushed for 172 yards and scored three touchdowns for the second game in a row. Quarterback Kenai Simmons rushed for 109 yards and two touchdowns and threw an 82-yard touchdown pass to Jake Siedlecki.
Riverside got as close as 14-12 in the third quarter, then the Cougars outscored them 28-6 the rest of the game.
“Our identity is in the weight room and I think it shows in games like that,” Wilson said. “We just wear on them. We wore them out tonight.”
The Cougars have now nine division games in a row.
Schalick 42, Riverside 18
| RIV (18) | SCH (42) | |
| 18 | 1st Downs | 16 |
| 36-170 | Rushing | 30-291 |
| 9-22-1 | Passes | 4-8-0 |
| 118 | Passing | 145 |
| 0-0 | Fumbles-lost | 0-0 |
| 1-29.0 | Punts-avg | 0-0 |
| 9-85 | Penalties-yds | 4-36 |
| Riverside (2-1) | 0 | 6 | 6 | 6 – | 18 |
| Schalick (4-0) | 14 | 0 | 7 | 21 – | 42 |
Scoring plays
S – Reggie Allen 49 run (Hunter Dragotta kick)
S – Kenai Simmons 17 run (Hunter Dragotta kick)
R – Justin Mary 4 run (PAT failed)
R – Justin Mary 13 run (PAT failed)
S – Reggie Allen 13 run (Hunter Dragotta kick)
S – Reggie Allen 15 run (Hunter Dragotta kick)
R – Justin Mary 19 run (PAT failed)
S – Kenai Simmons 55 run (Hunter Dragotta kick)
S – Jake Siedlecki 82 pass from Kenai Simmons (Hunter Dragotta kick)
Coming to life
Pennsville scores three quick touchdowns in the second half to beat Gateway, 23-7
By Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – It’s amazing how the script can flip when a team cuts out its mistakes and starts building a little momentum.
Pennsville got off to a balky start Friday night, but wiped the cobwebs and scored three touchdowns in a 3 minutes, 30 second stretch over the third and fourth quarters to beat Gateway 23-7.
“We were moving the ball in the first half up and down the field, but we weren’t able to finish on drives,” Eagles coach Mike Healy said. “But we were able to refocus and get done what we needed to get done and come out with the win. It feels great to get and happy for the kids.”
The Eagles were beset with missed blocks, dropped passes and penalties in the first half and trailed 7-0 at halftime. They finally broke through on Robbie McDade’s 11-yard run with 1:30 left in the third quarter and took the lead on Sky Eppes’ two-point conversion run.
They got the ball back when Conner Ayers recovered a fumble on the first play after a touchback on the ensuing kickoff and Eppes extended the Eagles’ lead on a 10-yard run and conversion with seven seconds left in the quarter.
They made it 23-3 less than two minutes into the fourth when Eppes ran it in from the 4 and Jackson Leino kicked the extra point.
“In the second half we settled down,” Healy said. “The kids did a great job doing their jobs and doing what needed to be done. I think that’s what we’re capable of doing. It made me real happy to see the team in the second half come back out, correct the mistakes and do what we’re supposed to do.
“At halftime it was more about fixing the little things that were stopping us from being successful offensively and we managed to get that done. The score shows for itself that when we take care of our mistakes, we’re able to score points and defensively we’re able to stop people.”
Eppes rushed for 155 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. McDade rushed for 62 yards and was 8-of-22 passing for 109 yards. Malik Rehmer caught five passes for 87 yards. Ayers led the defense with seven total tackles.
The win snapped a six-game WJFL division losing streak for Pennsville. It’s the earliest the Eagles have earned their second victory of the season since starting 2-0 in 2020.
Pennsville 23, Gateway 7
| Gateway (1-2) | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 – | 7 |
| Pennsville (2-1) | 0 | 0 | 16 | 7 – | 23 |
Scoring plays
G – Aiden Bender 14 pass from Sean Simmons (PAT kick), 1:41 1Q
P – Robbie McDade 11 run (Sky Eppes run), 1:30 3Q
P – Sky Eppes 10 run (Sky Eppes run), 0:07 3Q
P – Sky Eppes 4 run (Jackson Leino kick), 10:01 4Q
Cover photo by Lorraine Jenkins
One last hurrah
Part of John Emel’s family legacy is playing football on Salem’s Walnut Street Field; Saturday he brings his Penns Grove team to play there in the facility’s final high school game
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
SALEM – John Emel has never taken dirt from another team’s field either as a player or a coach, but this time he might make an exception.
The Penns Grove football coach is genuinely going to miss Walnut Street Field.
After serving as the home field for the Salem High School football team for decades, The Nut will host what likely will be the last high school football game Saturday when, ironically, Emel brings his Red Devils (0-3) to play the Rams (0-3) in what is always a big game for both teams regardless of their records.
“For starters, it’s a great place to play a game,” Emel said. “You know, people get hung up in the facilities and the weight room and the locker room and things like that and that place doesn’t have that, but it’s an awesome place to play and coach a big game. There have been a lot of big games there over the years.”
The field holds a lot of memories for him. Five generations of Emel men have played on it. His great-great grandfather, great grandfather, grandfather and dad all played there. John Emel was a starting lineman for the Rams when he played there from 1998 to 2001. His brothers played there, as well as several cousins and uncles. His uncle Dave, a two-way starting lineman on Salem’s 1983 championship team, is a member of the chain crew there now.
As other long-standing schools have moved their athletics program into more modern facilities on their campuses, facilities like Walnut Street have remained vigilant gatekeepers of bygone days. Sadly, many have fallen into disrepair.
The field has virtually been unchanged since 1962, but there was a time before that when it looked a lot different. It actually ran diagonally to its present configuration to accommodate a baseball field. The current design has the scoreboard, entrance gates and concession stand on the Walnut Street end of the stadium.
“There are just a lot of memories there,” Emel said. “I haven’t been there since the bleachers came down, but to me what made it so unique was the big old-style home bleachers.
“The field is always in awesome shape. The Salem field playing surface, to be honest, is as good as any around. I’ve played there over the years in wet, sometimes rainy, conditions, all types of conditions, and no one ever complained about the playing surface.”
Some of Emel’s fondest members as a player and a coach have been created on that field.
His two fondest memories as a player were his first-ever start against Glassboro and winning his final home game.
The start came as a sophomore against one of the best Glassboro teams ever in a game that was forced to a Monday by the arrival of Hurricane Floyd; ironically, he would be blocking for his future Penns Grove athletics director Anwar Golden, then Salem’s senior starting running back and safety, in that game. Glassboro won 33-14, pulling away from a game that was tight for a while and going on to be 12-0, but Emel played one of his better games and it “helped further my love of football.”
His final home game was Senior Day against Pennsville. The Rams won and went on the road for the playoffs the next week. “I felt the year before against them I didn’t play that well and came back and played one of my better games,” he said. “That year I got to play with my brother on the field a little and other guys I was really close with. It was just special.”
Two of his fondest memories as a coach are the last two times he took a team to Salem. In 2016, an 0-2 Red Devils teams trekked down Rt. 49, held future NFL All-Pro Jonathan Taylor out of the end zone and beat the Rams 20-8. In 2018, they were the best two teams in Group I and the Red Devils prevailed again 26-20 and then beat their rivals in the rematch at Penns Grove for the South Jersey championship to cap an undefeated season.
In the interest of full disclosure, Emel admitted a couple of his toughest losses came on Walnut Street as well, including a playoff loss to the Rams his first year as Penns Grove’s coach.
“I want to end up a high note,” he said.
It looked like Walnut Street had seen its final days last season when the city condemned the old wooden bleachers. That decision led Salem school officials to start building an on-campus facility, but with that project on-going it also was going to force the football team with a new coach to play all of its games on the road until October.
The city continued to work to make the field ready for its youth team, but It picked up the pace when logistical issues at Abessinio Stadium in Wilmington forced Salem and Camden to pull its game out of the Mid-Atlantic Classic without a place to go. The city got Walnut Street put together well enough to host the game and it worked so well Salem moved the Penns Grove game back there as well.
The Rams are expected to open their on-campus facility Oct. 7.
Not even some off-the-field drama following the Camden-Salem game that forcing Saturday’s contest to be played without outside fans in attendance due can put a damper on the significance of the day.
“I don’t think I’m crying like (Eagles head coach) Nick Sirianni during the national anthem of the Super Bowl,” Emel said. “But football is an emotional game. You want to play with emotion and coach with emotion.
“I want to win every game, but I really want to win this one because not only is it the next one, but it’s Salem, it’s a rivalry and the fact that it’s the last game on Walnut Street it would make some of these other memories coaching that I mentioned that much sweeter. We want to close it out with a victory.”
Because the field means so much to him, perhaps when no one is looking Saturday, maybe as he walks through the gates for the final time, Emel will reach down and sneak a little souvenir to remember it by.
“I’ve never taken dirt from any other stadium,” he said. “Maybe this one should be the first.”
He’s ba-a-a-ck
County football preview: Woodstown’s Hill eager to play first game; Schalick, Pennsville focused on the details
SALEM COUNTY FOOTBALL
Friday’s games
Riverside at Schalick, 6 p.m.
Woodstown at Deptford, 6 p.m.
Gateway at Pennsville, 7 p.m.
Saturday’s game
Penns Grove at Salem, noon
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – Woodstown running back James Hill has been looking forward to Friday night’s game at Deptford for six months. So has Wolverines’ coach John Adams. The rest of the WJFL, because they know the impact, not so much.
Hill makes his long-awaited season debut against the Spartans, six months removed from the knee injury and surgery during wrestling season.
He was cleared to return for football with limitations in late August and was cleared for full contact last week in time to fulfill his six padded practice embargo in time to play Friday night.
“I’m looking forward to it – a lot,” Hill said. “It’s been the last 6-7 months of rehabbing really strong. Every day I look at the clock and it just inches closer and closer. It’s kind of like Christmas and a birthday put together. No one wants to get older, but everyone wants to get the gifts.”
The plan is to rotate him between inside and outside linebacker this week and ease him into the offense where they need him. Hill has repped at multiple positions this week and, coach John Adams says, “knows the playbook from couple different spots.” Just don’t look for him to be running between the tackles on the Spartans’ artificial turf in his first game back.
He has rushed for more than 3,000 yards and 31 touchdowns over the last two seasons.
“It’s tremendous (to get him back),” Adams said. “He’s a two-time captain, so getting his athleticism on the field is going to be phenomenal, him getting some of the rust out and stuff like that and get some confidence back in his leg will be big for him, but for us, having that leadership on the field is huge.
“The last two weeks he’s been doing everything he could from the sideline and having that leadership on the field is going to be really, really big for us.”
Hill said he has “no fear in playing football” coming back and is hoping for a big game capped by a victory.
“I just want to individual feel 100 percent confident in everything,” he said. “I don’t want to have any worries about making a cut. I just want to go out there and run around and play a high school football game and not have two thoughts of my ACL was torn seven months ago.”
RIVERSIDE (2-0) at SCHALICK (3-0): In an early-season battle of unbeatens this week is all about details for the Cougars – the I-dotting and T-crossing things that take a good team to great and a great team to special.
It’s things like finishing drives and finishing blocks that lead to bigger runs, winning first down, locking up on tackles and reading keys, and staying focused on extra points.
“That’s what we’ve been preaching all week in practice and that’s what we’re trying to accomplish,” Cougars coach Mike Wilson said. “Getting better at the little things.”
Through three games, junior running back Reggie Allen is emerging as the backbone of the team. He rushed for 144 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s victory at Wildwood and has done most of the heavy lifting on the Cougars’ scoring drives.
He now had 246 yards on 52 carries this season after his 144-yard, three touchdown game last week. He already has half as many touchdowns as he had a year ago, when losing two games to an injury robbed him of a 1,000-yard season.
“Reggie is legitimately our unsung hero,” Wilson said. “I said this his freshman year: Reggie gets lost in the shuffle a little bit, and I don’t know why. Reggie is the backbone of this team. I know a lot of people talk about (quarterback) Kenai (Simmons), but Reggie is the lynchpin of this team, I really believe that.”
Depending on what else happens around the division, this winner could come out of the week in sole possession of first place in the Horizon Division and be its last undefeated team standing.
GATEWAY (1-1) at PENNSVILLE (1-1): The Eagles stand in a bit of a crossroad. A year ago, they won their opener, lost their second game and didn’t win again. They face the same scenario this week after a flat game in their home opener, but this time are confident of flipping the script with the proper approach.
It’s all about players doing their job and trusting the player next to them. Last week’s 28-7 loss to Lower Cape May was about a lot of players trying to do too much that took them out of position.
This week, back to a regular practice schedule in the first full week of school, it’s all about getting back to basics.
“This whole year is really about getting respect back for the program and we need to show we can consistently play at a high level and go out there and compete like we can as opposed to last week,” Healy said. “We did not show who we really were, I felt like.”
Last year’s Gateway game got away from them and was the turning point in their season. It has the potential to be the springboard for this year as well.
“They’re 1-1 right now, same as us, so we can’t go in there, especially after last week how we played, thinking too much of ourselves,” Healy said. “We’ve got to understand we’re both even going into this game so we’ve got to show up.”
Coming next: Penns Grove’s Emel reflects on Salem’s Walnut Street Field on the eve of its final game
Eagles trio ‘on’
Tuesday roundup: Pennsville boys erupt for three rapid-fire goals to get first W of the season, Penns Grove coach gets first win, Schalick goes to 4-0; Salem, Penns Grove, Salem girls play to draws
WEDNESDAY’S SCOREBOARD
BOYS SOCCER
Pennsville 5, Clayton 0
Penns Grove 6, Salem 2
Schalick 3, Gloucester Catholic 0
Woodstown 7, Salem Tech 0
GIRLS SOCCER
Pennsville 2, Clayton 2
Salem 3, Penns Grove 3
Schalick 4, Gloucester Catholic 1
Woodstown 6, Salem Tech 0
GIRLS TENNIS
Pennsville 5, Salem 0
Schalick 5, Glassboro 0
By Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – One minute the game is scoreless and the next time Pennsville boys soccer coach Derek Foglein looked his team had a three-goal lead. Things can happen that quickly when you have the kind of strikers the Eagles have.
After a slow opening 10 minutes, the Eagles erupted for three goals in the 10 minutes before the first half water break and went on to beat rebuilding Clayton 5-0 for their first win of the season.
Shane Puckett and Jake Isaac both scored twice in the first half and Dylan Waller scored in the second.
“I felt like I blinked and we were up 3-0; it was like three in a matter of five minutes,” Foglein said. “It’s definitely not typical, but when you look at Stone (Mumink), Shane and Jake, they have the quality, they have the talent and they have the offensive vision from working together for a few years, and they’ve got speed, too. If they’re on, they’re on and just like that a game can really turn positively for us.
“I know we have quality offensive pieces. With those front three, that’s really where our offense is going to be from and they were quality today. They worked hard on the ball. They worked hard off the ball. They connected passes and (when you do that) you find yourself in spaces and they found their spaces and they finished. So that was really awesome.”
Puckett scored his two goals around Isaac’s first counter in that rapid-fire stretch. Isaac notched his second goal shortly after the water break. Puckett, Isaac and Mumink each had two assists.
The Eagles (1-2) already had control of the game, but turned up the defense in the second half and the back line helped keeper Coen Rinnier nail down the shutout.
PENNS GROVE 6, SALEM 2: After two gut-wrenching overtime losses to open the season, the Red Devils got goals from five different players to give new coach Mano Massari his first victory.
Junior Sebastian Hernandez scored twice to lead the charge. Captains Ashton Harris and Joey Schultz, Edward Swank and Jayden Merga had the other goals.
“It was really good to get the win; not for me, but for the guys, they deserve it,” Massari said. “We still have a lot of work to do, but a win is a win and we’ll take it.”
As with any new coach and a new team, it took a little time to adjust the pieces. Massari moved junior Frankie Juarez Reynosa to center midfield and the offense blossomed. The six goals were the most the Red Devils have scored in a game since beating Gloucester 7-1 in their final regular-season game last year. Juarez Reynosa had two assists.
“After the first two losses I needed to move some guys around and it really helped open the offense up; Frankie being a huge reason for that,” Massari said. “He started the first two games as a striker but wasn’t getting the ball enough, so I dropped him to a center midfielder and he really controlled the game. He really excelled in that position.”
Salem scores again
UPDATED
Rams field hockey team has scored 15 goals in two games, Schalick, Woodstown open their seasons with a win; cross country off and running
TUESDAY’S FIELD HOCKEY SCORES
Salem 5, Pennsville 1
Schalick 5, Gloucester Catholic 1
Woodstown 9, Deptford 0
By Riverview Sports News
SALEM – Shanna Scott’s tenure as Salem’s field hockey coach certainly has gotten off to an explosive start.
Scott was elevated to the head coach this year. In her first two games her Rams have presented her with two explosive victories. They beat Pennsville Tuesday 5-0.
The Rams rushed right out of the gate, scoring four goals in the first quarter. Tamya Driver, who assisted on Boggs’ goal that opened the scoring, scored in fourth quarter to make it 5-0.
Isabella Saulin scored Pennsville’s goal.
The Rams peppered Pennsville keeper Kylie Harris with 33 shots. They took 29 shots in their win over Clayton.
“Our goal is to work hard and do our best,” Scott said. “It sounds cliche, but coach Kayla Chapman and I spend a lot of time laying a firm foundation of what is expected on and off the field, how we aim to carry ourselves as a team, together and in unity. In order for us to prosper, we must be united as one and we must respect one another.
“While our aim is to come out aggressive with anticipation of winning, it is also important to do so humbly … We don’t expect to be perfect and we may not always do the best, but how the girls respond to that is what is important to us … We are very proud of them so far and cannot wait to see what the remainder of the season looks like.”
SCHALICK 5, GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 1: Phoebe Alward had a hat trick, and Ava Scurry and Lucianna Virga had the other goals as the Cougars opened their season with a victory. Caylen Taylor assisted on the Cougars’ first two goals of the game and Ella Shimp had the assists on Alward’s last two goals. Lydia Gilligan made five saves in posting the shutout.
WOODSTOWN 9, DEPTFORD 0: Braeley DiGregorio had a hat trick and Tulana Mingin scored twice as the Wolverines opened their season in a big way.Hannah Hitchner, Kayla Brown, Megan Donelson and Val Treijo had the other Woodstown goals.
Cross country
SEABROOK – Schalick junior Jordan Hadfield and Kingsway freshman Ryan Duffy were first across the line in their respective races in Tuesday’s Tri-County Batch Meet at Cumberland Regional.
Hadfield won the girls race in 19:56.32, eight seconds ahead of Williamstown senior Alyssa Boucher. Woodstown freshman Lillian Norman was ninth in the race (21:19.99).
Duffy won the boys race in 16:25.69. Schalick’s Charles Fuerneisen was ninth (17:44.46).
Chargers on 3
Salem Tech flexes its sports footprint with the first varsity boys soccer game in school history, a 2-0 win over Salem
MONDAY’S COUNTY SOCCER SCORES
Boys Games
Salem Tech 2, Salem 0
Woodstown 3, Penns Grove 2
Schalick 5, Pennsville 0
Girls Games
Salem 5, Salem Tech 0
Schalick 6, Pennsville 0
Woodstown at Penns Grove, ppd.,
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – Salem Tech may have only had a soccer team for two years, but in truth Monday’s match was five years in the making.
When school administrators green-lighted an athletics program five years ago, the plan was to play two major sports in each of the academic year’s three sports seasons.
They steadily put teams on the field and Monday was the first varsity boys game in school history. And it was a strong debut, a 2-0 shutout of Salem.
“I was happy with the way the guys played; they played hard for each other,” Chargers coach Rob Polk said. “I think they had a sense coming in of what this meant for the school. The effort they showed kind of put that all on display that they understood the meaning of today’s game.
“This is definitely a good start. I couldn’t have asked for a better start. Maybe a couple more goals.”
As satisfying as the outcome was for the Chargers, the day ended on a somber note. The game was halted with three minutes to play due to weather issues and was called altogether a few minutes later when a Salem player collapsed coming off the field.
Trainers raced to the aid of midfielder Christian Hymer in the Rams’ bench area. After working on him on the field, they lifted him onto the back of a golf cart and rode off to the school to await an ambulance. He was reported to be alert in a locker room off the gym as Mannington Fire Rescue prepared to transport him from the scene.
Boys and girls soccer are the newest varsity sports at Salem Tech. When they first rolled out the ball, the Chargers offered just cross country and basketball. Today, the school sponsors varsity teams in cross country, volleyball and basketball for boys and girls, bowling and golf. Officials are now exploring the possibility of adding baseball and softball in Spring 2025.
“It wasn’t even rooted in competition, it was rooted more in student involvement,” principal Jason Helder said of the introduction of athletics. “We wanted there to be structured activities that kids could be involved in after school, where they could work with mentors and coaches and teachers and see them in a different capacity.
“I think it’s remarkable this is our first varsity soccer game. It’s significant because it was literally something that even five years ago didn’t exist and the fact now we’re here playing soccer against a county rival on a home field is significant.
“The establishment of sports gave us an identity we didn’t have. There was no Chargers. Sports gave us a reason to solidify our identity.”
The soccer teams debuted on the junior varsity level last year, then jumped right into varsity play. Polk’s boys team was supposed to make its varsity debut last week at Gloucester Catholic, but the game was postponed due to vandalism to the Rams’ field.
The Chargers only had one 11-on-11 varsity game together before Monday, but they dominated on both ends in their regular-season debut. Most of the match was played in the Salem end until the Rams picked up their attack in the second half.
Sophomore Graham Fields scored both goals for the Chargers. He scored the first varsity goal in school history seven minutes into the match when he took a through ball from Travis Hagan and beat Rams keeper Eithan Longo to the upper right corner. He put home an insurance goal right before the game was called.
He scored the first goal for the JV Chargers last year, too.
“I’ve been playing soccer since I was like 2 or 3 and I’m 15 now so it really does mean a lot to me,” Fields said. “The second I got that goal I was so happy. I was really happy.”
Just as Fields was a force up front peppering the Salem goal at regular intervals, Clinton Bobo was just as impressive for the Chargers on the back line. The Rams didn’t mount many attacks, but when they did, Bobo usually was there to break it up and clear it away. He also won a lot of challenge balls.
“He’s the rock on our defense back there; he’s a safety net for us,” Polk said. “You got to see that a lot with his speed and his physicality. He’s really good at reading plays and timing balls. He settled a lot of things down, especially in the second half. When that ball gets played in behind and it’s a footrace with Bobo, I’m pretty confident he’s coming out on top.”
BOYS GAMES
WOODSTOWN 3, PENNS GROVE 2: Bryce Ayars scored the game-tying goal with five minutes left in regulation and then scored five minutes into overtime to lift Woodstown its first victory of the season and hand Penns Grove its second straight overtime loss.
Ashton Harris and Jayden Murga Santos staked the Red Devils (0-2) to a 2-0 lead early in the second half. Adrian Ibarra got the Wolverines (1-1) on the board 10 minutes into the second half.
SCHALICK 5, PENNSVILLE 0: Bradford Foster scored two goals and Evan Sepers made nine saves as the Cougars won their third straight game. Foster has four goals and shares the team lead with Luke Price, who scored his fourth goal to give the Cougars a 2-0 halftime lead. Steve Chomo and Jaxon Weber had second-half goals for the Cougars.
GIRLS GAMES
SALEM 5, SALEM TECH 0: Ryann Foote scored two goals, Ameriyona Hunter had a goal and two assists and Marcela Villapando made three saves in posting the shutout. Karima Davenport-White and Carlysia Pierce had the Rams’ other goals. It was the season opener for both teams and Salem Tech’s first ever girls varsity game.
SCHALICK 6, PENNSVILLE 0: Cali Fisler and Emily Miller each scored a pair of goals as the Cougars opened their season with a six-goal first-half explosion. Olivia Devoe and Kyleigh Cutler scored their other two goals.
