Author: almusky

Q is the answer

Smith comes off the bench to spark 10-0 closing run that lifts No. 2 Salem CC over Thaddeus Stevens for tenth win of season

THURSDAY BASKETBALL
Salem CC 89, Thaddeus Stevens 79

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – As a role player, Qua Smith doesn’t get the kind of minutes in a Salem CC box score the way the starters do, but he knows when he does get time he has to be ready for it. Head coach Mike Green expects it.

The 6-4 freshman from Philadelphia only got nine minutes in the Mighty Oaks’ 89-79 win over Thaddeus Stevens Thursday night, but it’s what he did in the final two that made all the difference in keeping his team undefeated.

His defense and athleticism sparked second-ranked Salem’s 10-0 closing run after the Bulldogs tied the game at 79. He scored only three points, but it was a three-point play with 1:20 left that gave the Mighty Oaks a five-point lead, and after that came up with a rebound, two assists and a big steal to keep the Bulldogs from threatening again.

“I just make sure when I get in to grab rebounds and do whatever my coach tells me to do,” Smith said. “The mindset is just compete. No matter how many minutes you get, give 100 percent, the whole time.

“You’ve just to stay calm and stay confident. It doesn’t matter how many minutes you get, you’ve just got to go there and do what you have to do for the team. It’s a team thing. It’s not about yourself. That’s how we got the win today.”

It was just a couple weeks ago Green gave his reserves some extended minutes in a blowout win and lamented their play demonstrated they didn’t “appreciate” the opportunity. Smith was locked in when he went into a much tighter game this time.

The Mighty Oaks never trailed in the game and led by as many 16 in the second half. But the Bulldogs (4-5) started hitting the shots they were missing in the first half and eventually tied it at 79 on leading scorer Kneco Hill’s 3-pointer with 2:12 to play. The battle-tested Mighty Oaks weren’t worried.

“You just had to stay calm,” Nasseem Wright said. “Calm men always win through adversity like that. It was just staying calm, staying poised and finishing the game up.”

That’s just about when Smith reentered the game. No sooner had he checked in then Jerrell Little blocked a shot, collected the loose ball and fed Smith for a three-point play at the other end to make it a five-point game with 1:20 left. 

From there to the end, Smith had a defensive rebound, made a steal that Little converted into a layup and assisted on Little’s final bucket of the game.

“He turned the game,” Green said. “There are times when he’s locked in and we got lucky it was the last two minutes tonight. We’ve just got to do a better job getting him locked in more often.

“If Quade’air’s locked in he’ll play a lot more minutes for us. It’s hard to keep him locked in. You’ve got classes on Monday and Wednesday, you play Tuesday and Thursday, and he just was sick so we haven’t played him since the Essex game (Nov. 22). We’ve got to get him locked him,. Same with Jaiayre (Wright). Once we get them locked in they give us another push and we needed that push tonight. Jayaire did it early and Qua did it late.”

“Qua always changes the game for us with his athleticism and rebounding at the end,” Little said. “Our coach always says there’s no garbage minutes on our team because everybody needs to come to play all the time. We need every single person on our team from first to last on the bench. He came in a changed the game.”

Little led the Mighty Oaks with 27 points .Wright came within one assist of a triple double, finishing with 21 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. Point guard Saaid Lee had 16 points in 37 minutes.

SALEM CC 89, THADDEUS STEVENS 79
THADDEUS STEVENS (4-5): William Fowlkes 2-9 3-3 7, Levon Brown 3-10 2-2 8, Kneco Hill 9-20 6-6 27, Isaiah Diggs 5-9 0-1 10, Tyree Banks 4-7 0-0 11, Luis Torres 0-2 1-2 1, Willie Hashamy 4-8 0-0 8, Anthony Henson 1-3 0-0 2, Jesse Smith 1-4 0-0 3, Travis Turner 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 30-74 12-14 79.
SALEM CC (10-0): Jarrell Little 11-22 2-3 27, Saaid Lee 6-9 1-2 16, Zyaire Gibson 1-8 1-2 3, Nasseem Wright 9-13 3-8 21, Stefan Phillips 3-4 0-0 7, Jahseir Sayles 2-4 0-0 5, Jaiayre Wright 1-3 2-2 4, Quadeair Smith 1-1 1-3 3, Idris Rines 1-5 1-2 3. Totals 35-69 11-22 89.

Thaddeus Stevens3247-79
Salem CC4148-89

3-point goals: Thaddeus Stevens 7-19 (Fowlkes 0-2, Hill 3-8, Banks 3-5, Henson 0-1, Smith 1-3); Salem CC 8-28 (Little 3-9, Lee 3-4, Gibson 0-7, N. Wright 0-1, Phillips 1-1, Sayles 1-2, Rines 0-4). Rebounds: Thaddeus Stevens 38 (Brown 8, Diggs 7); Salem CC 41 (N. Wright 11, J. Wright 6). Technical fouls: Thaddeus Stevens bench, Salem CC coach Green. Total fouls: Thaddeus Stevens 17, Salem CC 15.

Salem CC’s Nasseem Wright came within one assist of a triple-double Thursday night against Thaddeus Stevens. He had 21 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. The top photo is Qua Smith at the foul line. (Salem CC photos)

Region XIX Standings

DIVISION IIIR19ALLGSAC
Union (4)7-07-05-0
SALEM CC (2)6-010-05-0
Northampton (5)6-010-0
Montgomery (11)3-04-1
Brookdale7-27-43-2
Camden6-26-24-1
Ocean5-35-33-2
RCSJ-Cumberland4-34-33-1
Thaddeus Stevens2-24-5
Bergen4-65-62-4
RCSJ-Gloucester3-53-61-3
Sussex2-52-61-4
Harrisburg Area1-31-8
Atlantic Cape2-62-61-6
Passaic2-62-62-5
Philadelphia1-73-7
Delaware County1-81-8
Luzerne0-42-5
Number in parenthesis is JUCO Division III national ranking

THURSDAY’S GAMES
Salem CC 89, Thaddeus Stevens 79
Union 66, Essex 64
Camden 61, Atlantic Cape 55
Philadelphia 64, Delaware County 59
RCSJ-Cumberland 82, Luzerne 77
Raritan Valley 74, Morris 72
Northampton 83, Harrisburg Area 74
Brookdale 79, Bergen 71
FRIDAY’S GAMES
Baltimore City at Harcum
Eastern JV at RCSJ-Gloucester
Mercer vs. Manor
Philadelphia at Lancaster Bible JV
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Salem at Bergen
RCSJ-Gloucester vs. Mercer/Manor
Mercer vs. RCSJ-Gloucester/Eastern JV
Union at Sussex
Luzerne at Montgomery
Ocean at Harrisburg Area
Bucks at Thaddeus Stevens
Williamson Trades at Delaware County
Brookdale at Camden
RCSJ-Cumberland at Passaic
Monroe at Morris
Middlesex at Lackawanna

Region XIX Standings

WOMENS DIVISION IIR19ALLGSAC
Union (4)5-011-04-0
Harcum (8)4-08-1
Mercer (RV)4-17-22-0
Essex3-16-23-1
Lackawanna2-22-5
Delaware Tech1-22-8
Morris0-20-20-1
Raritan Valley0-32-50-2
Middlesex0-44-80-3
SALEM CC0-40-60-2
Number in parenthesis is JUCO Division II national ranking

THURSDAY’S GAMES
Salem CC at Bucks, cancelled
Harcum 86, Lackawanna 29
Union 76, Monroe 66
Montgomery 83, Ocean 40
Atlantic Cape 63, Camden 36
Brookdale 66, Bergen 50
Northampton 64, Sussex 22
Johnson County 99, Raritan Valley 48
CCBC Catonsville 61, Essex 59
FRIDAY’S GAME
Baltimore City at Harcum
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Salem CC at Raritan Valley
RCSJ-Cumberland at Passaic
Mercer at RCSJ-Gloucester
Union at Morris
Brookdale at Camden
Middlesex at Lackawanna

Rogers an Owl

Salem’s Rogers makes it official, signs into Temple football’s largest class ever; will report in January to take part in spring practice

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

SALEM – Kemp Carr has had a lot of hard-working players in his long tenure as a high school football coach, but the list is short of those who have worked as hard as Antwuan Rogers has to get to where the Salem senior found himself Wednesday.

When he was coming up Rogers played like a kid. He’d give what he thought was winning effort on a play, but didn’t always see it all the way through. There also was a measure of maturing away from the field that needed to take place.

Then, the winter after his freshman season he sat in the front row and watched his senior teammates signed to play college football and decided that was something he’d like to do. It was right there he knew there was work to be done.

Fast forward to Wednesday. One by one coaches, teachers, family and teammates rose to speak about the Salem senior after he signed to play college football at Temple and to a person the prevailing comment – with pride – was “he’s come a long way” to achieve his longtime dream.

It has been a long road – “real, real long,” Rogers said – a lot longer than the stretch of country road Carr has the Rams run in the summer for heart and conditioning, although Rogers will tell you that hill is a lot harder. It was on that road, where Rogers threw up in the oppressive heat and went back for more, Carr knew his senior sackmaster had was going to do whatever it took to get to the next level.

“Everybody faces struggles, battles,” Rogers said, “but it’s all about perseverance. The best football players face the most adversity.

“I think about that every day. Just looking back at my freshman year, I get amazed. If you look at my film (now) you see I run to the ball every play; eighth grade, freshman year, I didn’t play like that. I’d quit before the whistle blew. I’ve grown so much as a player.”

In signing with the Owls, Rogers becomes the Rams’ first major Division I football signee since record-breaking and future NFL All-Pro Jonathan Taylor signed with Wisconsin in 2017 and the first Salem athlete to graduate early to pursue their sport. The 6-foot-5, 245-pounder, one of four edge rushers in Owls coach K.C. Keeler’s first high school signing class, will enroll in January – one of 21 early enrollees — and be on campus to participate in spring practice.

In Rogers, the Owls are getting a fierce pass rusher who recorded 23 sacks this past season, setting the single-season school record with a beastly single-game record eight against KIPP in the opening round of the South Jersey Group I playoffs. He had 98 total tackles.

He led a defense that held six opponents to a touchdown or less. Behind that defense, the Rams went from 0-9 in Carr’s first season to 6-5 and won their first playoff game since 2022.

“He has the mindset that he tries to win everything, every rep, every wind sprint, everything, and that’s what pulls over to what you see in the game,” Carr said. “You notice he never came off the field. He was on every special team, offense, defense, that’s because he had a stamina to do so.

“How do you get that stamina, how do you build that? You build it in practice. You build it in the offseason. The kid is just relentless. His motor never stops. They ran toss on the opposite side of him and he was chasing down the ball. Some things are not teachable. Effort is one of them. He’s always given that gallant effort.”

Carr called the difference between Rogers from when he first saw him on film to what he has become “night and day.”

And it’s been an inspiration to his teammates who were on hand to help celebrate the occasion.

“His freshman year he came in and didn’t really play, he was undersized and not that strong,” recalled senior Willie Chatum, who’s known his linemate since second grade. “He took the off-season of his freshman year serious, got bigger, got stronger, got faster, then his sophomore year, junior year he went all out and worked hard every single day.

“It made me want to work really harder. When we were working out together he was working so hard it made me want to work even harder. He was making me want to go do it, gave me motivation. I felt like I was doing something to get better.”

Senior receiver William Dunn has known Rogers since they were cutting up as 3-year-olds and has been with newest Owl “every step of the way.” He, too was “motivated” watching his carpool partner sign on the dotted line.

“It makes me not want to give up on my football dreams,” Dunn said. “I want to take it to the next level, whether it’s JUCO, Division III, somewhere else. I still want to make it D-One. I’ve got hope. He gave me hope. He gave me a little spark.”

Carr hopes that’s what every one of his players took away from Wednesday’s program and he left them with a simple two-word message.

“Who’s next?”

Ready to sign

Salem sack master Rogers ready to embrace life-changing experience as he prepares to sign with Temple

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

SALEM – The phone buzzed in Antwuan Rogers’ pocket during Tuesday’s mid-morning rush. On the other end of the line was his Temple recruiting contact Malachi Timberlake, just checking in again with the Salem senior, but this time to make sure everything was still on track for Wednesday’s red-letter day.

“‘Are you ready,’” Rogers said, recalling the conversation. “’Your life changes tomorrow.’”

ROGERS

Indeed. First thing Wednesday morning Rogers will sign with Temple to play Division I football. He’ll enroll in January and participate in spring practice to get a jump on his freshman college season. And he plans to come back to walk with his graduating class in May.

It’s a day he’s dreamed about since he was a ninth-grader sitting in the auditorium watching his senior teammates do exactly what he will be celebrating Wednesday afternoon in front of friends, family and teammates. He was too young to understand the enormity of the day when Salem’s record-setting future NFL All-Pro Jonathan Taylor signed with Wisconsin in 2017, but the implications of what he’s about to do really hit home that day as a freshman.

“When I saw that I was like I can’t wait to do that,” he said. “They all knew where they were going to college, just about everything they worked for was happening for them and I just felt happy to see it. It made me realize I had to work harder to get there.”

And that’s what he did.

He said the summer between his sophomore and junior year was “the hardest I ever worked in my life.” Early-morning workouts, nap, practice, work out again. Whatever it took.

It paid off in what he called a “good” junior season for a winless Salem team and it got him invited to the All-American Game in Texas that winter – just a few months after K.C. Keeler was named the Temple head coach — an experience he said “opened me up as a person.”

He’d never been outside the Delaware Valley area before and the flight to Texas was his first ever, but the moment he stepped on the plane it hit him that “this is what football can do, it can change my life like this.”

And then he impressed in the workouts and the game.

“At first even though I was nervous around all these people who were tops in the country and have all these offers and you go in with the butterflies like any other game, but I held my own,” he remembered. “I did my thing with the top guys. I was like I could be considered a top guy.”

In Rogers, the Owls are getting a fierce 6-foot-5 pass rusher who made his bones terrorizing opposing quarterbacks this season. He recorded 23 sacks, breaking the single-season school record that had been his goal with a beastly single-game record eight against KIPP in the opening round of the South Jersey Group I playoffs. He finished the year with 98 tackles and 28 career sacks

Although he had interest from two other major programs, the Owls were always high on his list. He went to “a lot” of Temple games growing up, knew a lot of their players and when he finally went there on a visit it all felt so familial.

Timberlake was calling Tuesday morning just to make sure it still felt that way. He’s ready.

“It’s the day that’s everything I worked for,” Rogers said. “Sometimes you get unmotivated, you see a lot of guys getting offers around you and you don’t have any, (but) you just keep your head down and keep working.”

Bio-frozen out

No. 4 Union women overwhelm Salem CC, remain undefeated while Mighty Oaks remain winless

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT — The game was only four minutes old and his team was in the middle of a 20-0 run that gave it control of the game, but UCNJ women’s coach Jaleel Taylor was seeing something he didn’t like.

During a 30-second time out he barked to the trainer to “rub some BioFreeze” on his players’ arms to get them talking because he knew that would get them going.

There wasn’t enough time during the timeout to get the gel distributed, but the mere suggestion was enough for the fourth-ranked Owls to change their approach. They came out of the pause and continued to pour it on, eventually routing winless Salem CC 98-32.

“It was a fear factor, that’s simply what it is,” Taylor said. “Just to get our girls to talking. 

“We’ve been trying to get them to talk since the beginning of preseason. They love each other off the court. They love each other in the classroom. But on the court we’ve got to become a better communicating team, because we know if we’ve got communication we can be better on both ends of the court, so the BioFreeze is like a funny scare tactic to them.”

Even without the icy-hot, the Owls (10-0) were pretty good on both ends of the floor Monday. They forced the Mighty Oaks (0-6) into 38 turnovers – 26 off steals – off which they scored a whopping 55 points. There were only nine possessions in the first three quarters they failed to convert a turnover into points while building a 85-24 lead.

And when they weren’t rolling in layups off the turnovers, they were hitting from the outside. The Owls hit a season-best 9-of-23 from 3-point range, 6-of-12 in the first half.

“I think the break helped,” Taylor said. “We were coming off a very hectic November. We played nine games in November (all on the road) and we had three days off for break. I think those three days for them just to go home, relax, not even think about basketball, they came back rejuvenated and worked really well. The girls got their feet back under them.”

The Mighty Oaks didn’t make a field goal in the first quarter (0-for-7) and hit only one — Paula Wilson’s 3-pointer — in the final eight minutes of the second quarter. Union scored 38 points in the half off turnovers.

“In watching film against Union, they get a majority of their points off turnovers and runouts and in the first half that’s exactly what they did,” Salem coach Brian Marsh said. “They’re ranked nationally, they’re a really good team … but you just don’t to play to those strengths.

“I wanted to slow it down a little bit, make them work for shots because they’re typically not a great shooting team (but) they shot really well today. You’ve got to give them some credit, they’re a good team for a reason, but there are some things we need to work on.”

It was a little better in the second half. The Mighty Oaks gave up 18 fewer points in the second half than the first, cut their turnovers from 24 to 14 and gave up only two second-chance points.

“The one thing I really liked about my team is we never quit,” Marsh said. “Down 50, 60 points we kept fighting hard, so that’s something we can build upon. In a game like this you’ve got to find things that you can build upon, that you’re proud of, and I’m proud that they never stopped working hard.”

ACORNS: Because its gym is undergoing renovations, Union will play all of its games this season on the road. That means the women’s team will travel 4,548 round trip bus/van miles during the regular season. “That’s a lot of miles,” Taylor said. The Owls’ mens team is in the same boat … In five games since the revival of Salem’s program, the average margin in the series has been 60 points

UNION 98, SALEM CC 32
UNION (10-0): Jasmin Mckay 7-10 5-5 19, Zakiyyah Lindsey 6-14 5-6 20, Jada Rodgers 1-3 2-2 4, Darrian Jackson 2-5 0-0 5, Zanaya Parsons 6-6 0-0 12, Aaliyah Littles 3-9 1-1 7, Gracie Cruz 2-6 0-0 4, Gianna Papineau 5-9 0-0 12, Emani Resto 2-5 0-0 4, Maria Paula Urena Rojas 3-9 0-0 9, Brianna Patterson 0-3 0-0 0, Asia Kirkpatrick 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 38-82 13-14 98.
SALEM CC (0-6): RayNescia King 0-10 1-2 1, Tanijya Shaw 3-15 5-8 11, Kasey Oliver 2-3 1-4 5, Dani Gustin 0-2 3-6 3, Jayda Hunter 0-5 3-4 3, Justine Cardona 1-5 2-3 4, Americana Hunter 0-2 0-0 0, Paula Wilson 2-6 0-0 5. Totals 8-48 15-27 32.

Union32262713-98
Salem CC7898-32

3-point goals: Union 9-23 (Mckay 0-1, Lindsey 3-4, Rodgers 0-1, Jackson 1-2, Cruz 0-1, Papineau 2-3, Urena Rojas 3-8, Patterson 0-3); Salem CC 1-15 (King 0-3, Shaw 0-3, Hunter 0-2, Cardona 0-2, Hunter 0-1, Wilson 1-4). Rebounds: Union 46 (Mckay 7, Resto 7); Salem CC 35 (Shaw 9, Hunter 8). Total fouls: Union 21, Salem CC 13.

Region XIX Standings

WOMENS DIVISION IIR19ALLGSAC
Union (4)5-010-04-0
Harcum (8)3-07-1
Mercer (RV)3-16-22-0
Essex2-15-12-1
Lackawanna2-12-4
Delaware Tech1-12-7
Morris0-20-20-1
Middlesex0-34-70-2
Raritan Valley0-32-40-2
SALEM CC0-40-60-2
Number in parenthesis is Division II national ranking.

MONDAY’S GAMES
Union 98, Salem 32
TUESDAY’S GAMES
Middlesex at Essex
Raritan Valley at Lackawanna
Mercer at Delaware Tech
Northampton at Camden
Harcum at Morris
Sussex at Passaic
Ocean at Atlantic Cape
RCSJ-Gloucester at Bergen
Brookdale at Delaware County

Phase One: 9-0

No. 2 Salem CC men stay unbeaten with road win at Camden; women still seeking first win after loss at Delaware Tech

TUESDAY BASKETBALL
Salem CC 69, Camden CC 59
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Delaware Tech 64, Salem CC 53

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

BLACKWOOD – At the start of each of the last two seasons Salem CC basketball coach Mike Green and assistant Scooter Wilkerson got together to plot the worst-case scenario for the first month of the season. Green wouldn’t disclose his projection except to say it was better than his assistant’s – and that one was pretty good.

Suffice to say, the team is “way ahead of schedule.”

The second-ranked Mighty Oaks head into Thanksgiving 9-0 after a 69-59 win at Camden County College Tuesday night.

“I thought we’d be pretty good,” Green said after pushing his career coaching record to 44-17 (.721) with the strong start. “I thought we’d struggle at a couple places, but we’re way ahead of Scooter’s (projection) and we’re ahead of mine, let’s put it that way.”

The players expected to have success this year, even though the roster is completely new, but being undefeated might have caught some of them by surprise.

“I didn’t think we were going to be bad, but undefeated was unexpected, I’m not going to lie,” point guard Saaid Lee said. “But for us to be that way I think we’re way ahead of the curve where we’re supposed to be right now.”

“To be honest, I felt like we were going to be right where we’re at right now,” Nasseem Wright said. “I’ve got a lot of confidence in my guys. We’re not looking past anybody, we’re just executing the job. It’s cool (to be undefeated), but there’s more to do, for sure.”

The Mighty Oaks took control of the game with a 17-0 run in the middle of the first half. And although the players never felt uncomfortable even when the Cougars made a couple runs at them, it just had that kind of feel about it.

They led by 16 after that initial outburst and maintained the lead throughout. The Cougars rode some intense defense to draw within six with five minutes left. Green called time at that point and the Mighty Oaks returned to the floor with renewed energy and scored the next six points to push their lead back to double digits. 

Second-chance buckets by Lee and Stefan Phillips and Zyaire Gibson’s layup after a Wright steal made it 62-50 with 3:22 left. The lead slipped below 10 only once the rest of the way.

“They don’t let you breathe,” Green said. “They’ve got a toughness about them. Our kids again answered the bell.

“We just had to reset the group. Let them know we’re still winning, it ain’t the end of the world. Let’s put something on top of it.”

The Mighty Oaks put five scorers in double figures. Jarrell Little, the newly-minted Region 19 Division III Player of the Week, and Lee led the way with 14 points apiece. Wright, Idris Rines and Stefan Phillips had 10 points apiece.

Lee scored all his points in the second half. He also had five rebounds and five assists, including the alley-oop pass that produced Wright’s thunderous dunk at the end of the game. Wright also had 10 rebounds and five assists, and once again Phillips didn’t miss a shot.

“The more weapons we’ve got, the better it is, and we’ve got a good amount of weapons,” Green said. “Nobody has successfully taken all of them out yet.”

The good thing about having a brand new team is it isn’t burdened by history. The win was the Mighty Oaks’ first in six games at Camden since the revival of the program (0-5). Green was 0-2 and had 13-point leads in both games.

The players were aware of all that, prompting Wright to call Tuesday night’s game “personal.”

“Any time you lose in overtime or you got a lead you surrender, you don’t forget that,” Green said.

One piece of history the new Mighty Oaks won’t want to forget is they have now won 11 in a row going back to last year and 17 of their last 18 (with only loss to national champion and current No. 1 Mohawk Valley in the national tournament). They’re now 7-0 away from home this season, 6-0 in true road games.

So they’re undefeated going into Thanksgiving. Going into Christmas without a loss — a joyous No-L, get it — that would be something. They play seven games in December, two against teams they’ve already beaten and none against the other three nationally ranked teams in the league.

“It’s tough, you’ve got to stay healthy,” Green said of the prospects. “Hopefully our guys stay healthy. If you stay healthy, anything can happen.”

SALEM CC 69, CAMDEN 59
SALEM CC (9-0): Jarrell Little 5-15 0-0 14, Saaid Lee 6-10 2-4 14, Nasseem Wright 4-6 2-2 10, Idris Rines 4-7 0-0 10, Stefan Phillips 5-5 0-0 10, Zyaire Gibson 3-12 0-0 7, Lenar Anderson 1-2 0-2 2, Jaiayre Wright 1-2 0-0 2, Jahseir Sayles 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-59 4-8 69.
CAMDEN (5-2): Cam Rembert 6 0-0 12, Su Allyene 2 6-9 10, Mikey Campbell 3 0-0 6, Kyree Henry 0 0-0 0, Zhamere Crawford 1 1-2 4, Christian Durham 3 0-0 6, Sami Singletary 0 2-2 2, Istavan Norwood 8 0-2 16, Ayden Chopstick 1 0-0 3. Totals 24 9-15 59.

Salem CC (9-0)3138-69
Camden (5-2)2039-59

3-point goals: Salem CC 7-26 (Little 4-11, Lee 0-1, N. Wright 0-2, Rines 2-3, Gibson 1-8, Anderson 0-1)
Camden 2 (Crawford, Copestick). Rebounds: Salem CC 33 (N. Wright 10). Total fouls: Salem 13, Camden 15.

Region XIX Standings

DIVISION IIIR19ALLGSAC
Union7-07-05-0
SALEM CC6-09-05-0
Northampton6-09-0
Montgomery4-04-1
Camden5-25-23-1
Brookdale5-25-42-2
Ocean4-34-32-2
RCSJ-Cumberland3-33-33-1
RCSJ-Gloucester3-33-41-3
Bergen3-54-52-3
Thaddeus Stevens1-23-4
Atlantic Cape2-42-41-4
Sussex2-52-61-4
Harrisburg Area1-31-6
Passaic2-62-62-5
Delaware County1-61-6
Luzerne0-32-4
Philadelphia0-72-7

TUESDAY’S GAMES
Salem CC 69, Camden 59
Northampton 98, Delaware County 51
Union 100, Passaic 50
Harrisburg Area 69, Philadelphia 54
Morris 90, Essex 73
Thaddeus Stevens at RCSJ-Gloucester
RCSJ-Cumberland 79, Atlantic Cape 73
Sussex 92, Bergen 84
Montgomery 78, Lackawanna 52
Middlesex 71, Mercer 70
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Williamson Trades at Harrisburg Area
Morris at Allegany (Md.)
DEC. 2 GAMES
Philadelphia at Luzerne
Brookdale at Delaware County
Sussex at Passaic
Middlesex at Essex
Raritan Valley at Lackawanna
CCBC Catonsville at Harcum
Northampton at Camden
Harrisburg Area at RCSJ-Cumberland
Mercer at Delaware Tech
Ocean at Atlantic Cape
RCSJ-Gloucester at Bergen

Women’s game

NEWARK, Del. — A cold night from the floor doomed the Salem CC women to a fifth straight loss to open the season, 64-53 at Delaware Tech.

The Mighty Oaks shot 23-of-82 from the floor and 3-of-17 from 3-point range. Tanijya Shaw led the offense with 16 points. Point guard Justine Cardona returned to the lineup a missing the past three games with an ankle injury and had 11 points and five rebounds. Kasey Oliver trapped a team-high 12 rebounds.

Salem CC (0-5)8101619-53
Delaware Tech (2-7)15161617-64

SALEM CC LEADERS
Scoring: Tanya Shaw 16, Justine Cardona 11, Kasey Oliver 10.
Rebounding: Kasey Oliver 12, Dani Gustin 7.
Steals: RayNescia King 4, Tanijya Shaw 4.

Region XIX Standings

WOMENS DIVISION IIR19ALLGSAC
Union4-09-03-0
Harcum3-07-1
Mercer3-16-22-0
Essex2-15-12-1
Lackawanna2-12-4
Delaware Tech1-12-7
Morris0-20-20-1
Middlesex0-34-70-2
Raritan Valley0-32-40-2
SALEM CC0-30-50-1

TUESDAY’S GAMES
Delaware Tech 64, Salem CC 53
Harcum 70, Raritan Valley 60
Bergen 69, Sussex 59
Mercer 101, Middlesex 43
Atlantic Cape 89, RCSJ-Cumberland 37
Essex 125, Morris 20
Union 86, Lackawanna 33
DEC. 2 GAMES
Union at Salem
Middlesex at Essex
Raritan Valley at Lackawanna
Mercer at Delaware Tech
Northampton at Camden
Harcum at Morris
Sussex at Passaic
Ocean at Atlantic Cape
RCSJ-Gloucester at Bergen
Brookdale at Delaware County

Stars align for TCC

Tri-County Conference sweeps Colonial in soccer all-star games, boys score five goals in final 10:30, girls score shutout

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CLAYTON — Darren Huck was about 30 seconds away from walking down the sideline to ask his opposite number how he wanted to play it if their all-star soccer game ended in a tie. Overtime? PKs? Coin toss at 20 paces?

Turns out he didn’t have to have that conversation at all.

After nearly 70 minutes of close calls, the Woodstown coach’s Tri-County Conference boys soccer all-stars erupted for five goals in the final 10 and a half minutes of the match and wrecked the Colonial Conference stars 5-1 Monday at Haupt Field.

“Just got lucky,” Huck said with some serious side-eye when asked if he planned it that way. “How did they say it on TV, the ‘A-Team,’ ‘I love it when a plan comes together.’

“It worked out really, really well. We had some weapons we were able to make us look like we knew what we were doing on the sideline.”

Actually, the game went a lot like Huck envisioned, for the first 70 minutes at least. It was a close game between two evenly matched teams, nothing like last year’s 9-1 TCC rout.

The Colonials took a 1-0 lead when Gateway’s Ethan LaCroix hit a shot from about the PK spot that was just out of Pennsville keeper Coen Rinnier’s reach less than four minutes before the break. 

And it stayed that way until shortly after the TCC’s last wave of substitutions.

Just about the time Huck was headed over to make his overtime pitch GCIT’s Mike Stanwood got the equalizer when he finished Schalick senior Anthony Sepers’ sharp pass through the box with 10:26 to play.

The coach stopped, turned around and decided to rethink this overtime thing. Then the goals came fast and furious.

Before it was over, Sepers had another assist and GCIT’s Cole Madgey and Williamstown’s Amadu Jalloh had two goals apiece. All five goals came in a span of 9 minutes and 12 seconds.

“Sometimes it just clicks and when you score one, then you’re feeling good and get more adrenaline and you score another and then another and then another,” said Sepers, one of nine Salem County players and four Cougars in the game. “I thought it was going to be a really close game, which it was for the most part, and it just opened up.”

The Tris might not have gotten the first goal if Sepers weren’t so good at reading the field. He was going to shoot it from the left side, but saw Stanwood making a run from behind and pushed the ball through to where he anticipated the receiver would be. It would be the play that changed the game.

“The energy completely shifted,” Madgey said. “It was like no one was really caring and then we scored, then it became a huge energy shift and we all started having more fun and it became more of a game. We scored one and we couldn’t stop.”

Jalloh scored the go-ahead goal two minutes later. About 90 seconds after that Madgey lit the lamp for the first time. Madgey got his second goal moments later off a Sepers corner kick and Jalloh closed the scoring with 64 seconds to play shortly after banging one off the post.

“The corner kick (assist) was actually funny,” Sepers said. “A lot of us all used to play on a club team together so we were messing around and calling that one play and it actually worked.”

“They were all talking about a play they had and I joined in,” Madgey said. “They all said ‘crash,’ and went to the goalie. I just joined in and it kind of found its way to me.”

When the train comes in, everybody rides.

Tri-County 5, Colonial 1

Tri-County05-5
Colonial10-1
GOALS — C: Ethan LaCroix, 36:08; T: Mike Stanwood (Anthony Sepers), 69:34; T: Amadu Jalloh, 71:32; T: Cole Madgey, 73:00; T: Cole Madgey (Anthony Sepers), 74:30; T: Amadu Jalloh, 78:46.
Schalick teammates Quinn Berger (L) and Cali Fisler talk about scoring the first two goals of the match in the Tri-County all-stars’ 3-0 win over the Colonial Conference stars.

Girls: ‘It’s a Schalick show’

CLAYTON – No sooner had Quinn Berger’s goal from the corner settled inside the goal, Cali Fisler ran over to her teammate and enthusiastically proclaimed, “It’s a Schalick show.”

Fisler and Berger scored the first two goals of the game, about five minutes apart in the first half, and Woodstown’s Ellie Wygand made a big save in the second half as the TCC girls won 3-0.

Fisler, who’s normally assisting other players’ goals, scored the first goal of the night when she lined straight up on Colonial keeper Egypt Bolan (Lindenwold) and buried a shot from about 15 yards out inside the left post with 15:07 left in the first half.

“That was pretty exciting considering I’m not much of a goal scorer in the season, I usually get a lot of assists,” the Cougars’ all-time assists leader said. “But I saw the ball open and I had a shot on net, so I was like I’m just going to take it and it wound up in the back of the net so I’m pretty happy.”

Berger made it 2-0 about five minutes later, and of course it came on a corner kick. The set piece specialist, who had five corner-kick assists on Emily Miller goals in a two-game stretch late in the season and scored directly on a corner in the South Jersey Group I semifinals, put a ball on goal from the right corner that exploded off the keeper’s forearms into the goal.

“That’s literally Quinn,” Fisler said. “That’s the definition of Quinn. That’s what she does.”

Berger had two other corners in the half that had chances to go in. The first was headed over the crossbar by one of her teammates and the other was saved by the keeper and cleared by the defense.

“I honestly don’t know (why it works so well),” Berger said. “I just try to aim for the goal and I have my spot to where I put it on the corner.

“I was always the one who took free kicks, so I was always used to that,  but this year is just on a whole different level of excellence. I know where to put it and I know the mindset of where people will be and just put it in the box so they can get it.”

Gianna Simon of Overbrook deposited the TCC’s third goal with 2:36 left in the match.

Wygand played at the end of the first half and started the second. She kept the shutout alive when she reached out with her arm to knock away a shot by Audubon’s Charlie Owens targeted for the upper right corner 11 minutes into the second half.

“I was really focused in that moment when I saw the girl coming at me and all I had to do was make the save,” Wygand said. “I definitely knew she was going toward the back post because of the way she was angled. I kind of just planted and it went the right way.

“Once I made it, I was good and I knew I had people to back me up on the back line and everywhere else. It was awesome.”

Tri-County 3, Colonial 0

Tri-County21-3
Colonial00-0
GOALS — T: Cali Fisler (Elizabeth Anderson), 24:53; T: Quinn Berger, 29:19; T: Gianna Simon, 77:24.


All-Star Soccer

The Tri-County and Colonial Conference soccer stars face off in annual all-star games Monday at Clayton

By Riverview Sports News

CLAYTON – The Tri-County Conference will put its recent series dominance on the line with another strong roster of all-stars when the games are played on the artificial turf at Haupt Field here Monday night.

TCC has won the boys game the last two years with one-sided outcomes – 9-1 and 5-2 – that weren’t anticipated but just happened.

“The whole point of the game is for it to be competitive and fun and for these guys to play with some really good players and just have some fun with it; that’s the main part of it,” said Woodstown coach Darren Huck, who has the TCC boys team. “I don’t want to see a blowout on either side, that’s not good for anybody. I’m expecting a close game.”

Salem County is well represented with five players in the 5 p.m. girls game and nine in the boys 7 p.m. nightcap.

Among the girls are Schalick’s set-piece specialist Quinn Berger and all-time assists leader Cali Fisler, Woodstown’s Delaney Walker and Ellie Wygand, and Pennsville’s Taylor Bass.

Schalick has four players on the TCC boys roster – Steve Chomo, Jaxon Weber, Anthony Sepers and Michael Nelson – and they’re joined by Woodstown’s Bryce Ayars and Josh Crawford, Pennsville’s Steve Fatcher and Coen Rinnier, and Salem Tech’s Kameron Brown. 

“I think we’re going to have a very good showing,” Huck said. “I think we’re going to be very strong with very quality, quality players. It’s a privilege to coach them.”

Huck hasn’t determined his starters, but he does have a plan for the groups. He’ll play with three forwards, giving each of the two groups 20 minutes per half. The two sets of four midfielders also will get 20 minutes per half and the three sets of four defenders will each get 13-minute shifts. Each keeper will get 20 minutes.

“I expect the Colonial Conference to come out with their strongest lineup in the beginning of the game, so we want to make sure we put our strongest goal keeper out there,” Huck said.

Ten of the TCC girls and 12 of the TCC boys will be playing in the South Jersey Soccer Coaches All-Star Game Tuesday at Rutgers-Camden. The Colonial has seven and four players, respectively, in that game.

Girls rosters, 5 p.m.

NO.TRI-COUNTY GIRLSCOLONIAL GIRLS
1x-Taylor Stuart, Washington Twp.x-Charlie Owens, Audubon
2x-Carli Scrivana, Williamstownx-Brielle Connor, Haddon Hts.
3x-McKenna Eaton, Williamstownx-Rylee Delaney, W. Deptford
4Casey Vilary, ClearviewPenny Floyd, Gateway
5Allison Wiggins, KingswayAlexis Nelson, Gloucester
6Mackenzie Barry, KingswayAyanna Miller, Woodbury
7Brianna Weiss, Washington Twp.Montgomery Graham, Sterling
8Brooke Jones, GCITx-Kylie Tocco, Audubon
9x-Deondria Simon, Claytonx-Alexis Varela, W. Deptford
10Alyssa Shinskie, ClaytonJoselyn Hauck, Haddon Twp.
11LeighAnn Nage, ClaytonMadison Eastlack, W. Deptford
12Audrey Duffield, Pitmanx-Kayleigh Daley, Gateway
13Lauren Narolewski, Glou. Cath.Whitney Okeke, Lindenwold
14Kaitlyn Capalbo, Glou. Cath.x-Emily Sewell, Gateway
15x-Olivia Capecci, DelseaMadison Sims, Sterling
16x-Ayress Maitland, DelseaMariela Fuentes Ramirez, Lindenwold
17Emma Serrano, DelseaEgypt Bolan, Londenwold
18Gracie Mills, DeptfordMolly Sullivan, Audubon
19x-Anna Lawyer, DeptfordSydney O;Loughlin, W. Deptford
20Ciana Ragonese, CumberlandMoira Schroeder, Haddon Hts.
21Elizabeth Anderson, HighlandJayleen Peebles, Haddon Twp.
22x-Amina Brown, GlassboroLily Henning, Haddon Twp.
23Quinn Berger, SchalickAlex Billingsley, Haddon Twp.
24x-Cali Fisler, Schalick
25x-Delaney Walker, Woodstown
26Ellie Wygand, Woodstown
27Gianna Simon, Overbrook
28Taylor Bass, Pennsville
x-Playing in SJSCA Game Tuesday at Rutgers-Camden

Boys rosters, 7 p.m.

TRI-COUNTY BOYSCOLONIAL BOYS
1William Gallagher, TritonConnor Wendell, Audubon
2Mason Henry, DeptfordPhelan Pizzutillo, Collingswood
3x-Kenny Cockerill, DeptfordMason McCarthy, Haddon Twp.
4Brody Rowe, Timber CreekEthan LaCroix, Gateway
5Aidan Worley, HighlandJuan Flores-Sanches, Collingswood
6Joshua Holt, Cumberlandx-Eammon Sheehan, Haddon Twp.
7x-Danny Bird, Delseax-Riley Yearicks, W. Deptford
8x-Bryce Ayars, Woodstownx-Ben Cameron, Audubon
9Steve Chomo, SchalickMax Ciavarelli, Haddon Hts.
10x-Jaxon Weber, SchalickAllan Medina, Gloucester
11Anthony Sepers, SchalickZach Fayer, Audubon
12x-Michael Nelson, SchalickAllen Eastlack, W. Deptford
13Josh Crawford, WoodstownNate Durst, Collingswood
14x-Joey Zubert, PitmanLester Saba, Woodbury
15Zach Payne, Glou. Cath.Brendan Rettig, Gloucester
16Alex Osorio, WildwoodShawn Rizzi, Audubon
17Steve Fatcher, PennsvilleQuinn Dahem, Haddon Hts.
18Ju’son Stewart, ClaytonAlton Rattle, Gateway
19Steven Benckert, ClaytonCarter Watson, W. Deptford
20Coen Rinnier, Pennsvillex-Bayron Guardado, Lindenwold
21Kameron Brown, Salem TechHendrick Guerrero, Lindenwold
22x-Connor Brown, KingswayJonathan Rojas, Haddon Hts.
23x-Ayden Anderson, Washington Twp.Jack McGarrigel, Haddon Twp.
24x-Cole Madgey, GCITPatrick Farrow, Collingswood
25Luke Marino, Clearview
26x-Robbie Finnegan, Washington Twp.
27x-Amadu Jalloh, Williamstown
28Cristian Russell, Williamstown
29Angel Lara, Wildwood
30x-Sean Tarsatana, Washington Twp.
x-Playing in SJSCA game Tuesday at Rutgers-Camden.


Double OT thriller

Salem CC survives Essex in 2 OTs to remain undefeated, Little goes for 42; women remain winless

SATURDAY BASKETBALL
Salem CC 109, Essex 106 (2 OT)
Essex women 64, Salem CC 35

By Riverview Sports News

NEWARK – Mike Green knew his Salem CC basketball team was going to face its share of tests during the season. The Mighty Oaks faced their biggest test so far Saturday and came through it — in double overtime.

Zyaire Gibson hit a 3-pointer with 36.7 seconds left to give second-ranked Salem the lead, then hit a pair of free throws with 12.2 seconds left to seal a 109-106 road win over Essex to remain undefeated.

“Every time on the road get it and go, whether it’s by 20 or two, get it and go,” Green said. “Road wins are tough … You’ve got to win ugly.”

The Mighty Oaks (8-0), who trailed by as many as 12 in the game, had the ball at the end of regulation and the first overtime, but couldn’t get off a shot either time.

Jarrell Little led the Mighty Oaks with 42 points. He was 16-of-28 from the field, 8-of-14 from 3-point range. It’s the most points by a Salem player in the Green Era and the most since Akeem Taylor scored 33 against Camden in his Mighty Oaks debut last January. Niame Scott had 33 against Sussex in February 2024.

Lamar Woody scored 50 for the Mighty Oaks in a February 2020 game against Atlantic Cape. He was 23-of-30 from the floor in that game.

Saaid Lee had 22 points (and five assists), Nasseem Wright 18 (with 16 rebounds and six assists), and Gibson 14.

The Division II Wolverines (2-5) missed an off-balanced 3-pointer contested by Idris Rines for the tie at the end of the second overtime. The 106 points they scored were the second-most against the Mighty Oaks in the Green Era and only the third time a team has scored 100. Brookdale put 107 on them in Green’s second game as coach in 2024.

“Wild, really wild,” Green said of the game. “I’m sure it was good to watch, but it was a tough one.

“They (Essex) were protecting their home. They were up to play against the No. 2 team in the nation and our guys didn’t anticipate that. But they (his team) made winning plays at the end and we got the stop that we were begging for all game long. We finally figured it out.”

The Mighty Oaks entered the game ranked sixth in NJCAA Division III in scoring. It was their fourth game this year scoring more than 100 points and third in a row.

They’ve now won 10 in a row going back to last season. They had two six-game winning streaks last year.

SALEM CC (8-0): Jarrell Little 16-28 2-4 42, Saaid Lee 9-17 3-4 22, Nasseem Wright 6-14 6-8 18, Zyaire Gibson 3-18 5-6 14, Qua Smith 2-5 4-6 8, Stefan Phillips 1-5 1-3 3, Idris Rines 1-7 0-0 2, Jahseir Sayles 0-1 0-0 0 0. Totals 38-95 21-31 109.

Salem CC4839517-109
Essex4641514-106
3-point goals: Salem CC 12-37 (Little 8-14, Lee 1-1, Gibson 3-15, Phillips 0-2, Rines 0-4, Sayles 0-1). Rebounds: Salem CC (Wright 16, Lee 7, Rines 8). Total fouls: Salem CC 17.

.

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES IN GREEN ERA
PTSOPPONENT, DATE
119at RCSJ-Cumberland (53), Jan. 14, 2025
114RCSJ-Cumberland (56), Dec. 19, 2024
113Ocean (90), Nov. 18, 2025
112Luzerne (67), Feb. 1, 2025
111at Passaic (73), Nov. 20, 2025
110Harrisburg Area (66), Feb. 10, 2024
109at Essex (106), Nov. 22, 2025
106Lancaster Bible JV (71), Nov. 21, 2024
106RCSJ-Gloucester (70), Jan. 13, 2024
102Bergen (69), Nov. 13, 2025

Region XIX Standings

DIVISION IIIR19ALLGSAC
Union6-06-04-0
SALEM CC5-08-04-0
Northampton5-08-0
Montgomery3-03-1
Camden4-15-13-0
Brookdale5-25-42-2
Ocean4-24-32-2
RCSJ-Gloucester3-33-41-3
Bergen3-43-41-2
Atlantic Cape2-32-31-3
RCSJ-Cumberland2-32-32-1
Thaddeus Stevens1-23-3
Passaic2-52-52-4
Delaware County1-51-5
Sussex1-51-60-3
Luzerne0-32-4
Harrisburg Area0-30-6
Philadelphia0-62-6

SATURDAY’S GAMES
Salem CC 109, Essex 106 (2 OT)
Ocean 96. Philadelphia 86
RCSJ-Gloucester 77, Harrisburg Area 72
Northampton 87, Luzerne 53
Camden 69, Passaic 50
RCSJ-Cumberland 87, Sussex 74
Bergen at Thaddeus Stevens
Union 76, Delaware County 56
Morris 100, Montgomery (Md.) 88
Lackawanna 68, Delaware Tech 61

TUESDAY’S GAMES
Salem CC at Camden
Delaware County at Northampton
Union at Passaic
Philadelphia at Harrisburg Area
Essex at Morris
Thaddeus Stevens at RCSJ-Gloucester
RCSJ-Cumberland at Atlantic Cape
Bergen at Sussex
Montgomery at Lackawanna
Mercer at Middlesex

Women’s game

NEWARK – The Salem CC women were in a tight battle early, then Essex went on an 21-2 run on the way to an 18-point halftime lead and rolled to a 64-35 victory to keep the Mighty Oaks winless.

The Mighty Oaks (0-4) are shorthanded as it is, but their options were even more limited after their two posts fouled out. Injured point guard Justine Cardona remains out, but the team is hoping to have her back for Tuesday’s game against Delaware Tech.

“Our play is very inconsistent right now,” coach Brian Marsh said. “We will keep working hard and get this straightened out.”

Salem CC14597-35
Essex14231314-64

Region XIX Standings

WOMENS DIVISION IIR19ALLGSAC
Union3-08-03-0
Mercer2-05-11-0
Lackawanna2-02-3
Harcum1-05-1
Essex1-14-11-1
Delaware Tech0-11-7
Morris0-10-10-0
Middlesex0-24-60-1
SALEM CC0-20-40-1
Raritan Valley0-21-30-2

SATURDAY’S GAMES
Essex 64, Salem CC 35
Mercer at Harcum
Union 92, Middlesex 35
Philadelphia 82, Ocean 46
Passaic67, Camden 56
Montgomery 79, RCSJ-Cumberland 29
Lackawanna 68, Delaware Tech 64

TUESDAY’S GAMES
Salem at Delaware Tech
Harcum at Raritan Valley
Bergen at Sussex
Mercer at Middlesex
RCSJ-Cumberland at Atlantic Cape
Essex at Morris
Union at Lackawanna

Coaching again

Accorsi hits the recruiting trail in first day as Salem CC’s interim head football coach, would like to be the permanent leader when inaugural game comes next fall

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – Jay Accorsi really thought he was done with coaching. When he told the Rowan football team he coached for 30 years – the last 22 as the head coach — on the last day of spring practice 2024 he was retiring he thought that was it. When his time was done, he was done and never looking back.

ACCORSI

But like a lot of people of that certain age it didn’t take him long to get tired of being retired. Oh, the break was fun for a while, he got to follow his son’s final year of college soccer, but then he got the itch to do something familiar.

There was this little project he’d been quietly dabbling in for a while, this burning question of why there was no junior college football in New Jersey in general and South Jersey in particular when there were so many high school players either going elsewhere to play on the next level or just giving up the game (and the possibility of going to college) because they had no options. 

He had been gathering information in his travels with the Profs, and his retirement days gave him a chance to do an even deeper dive on the subject. The more he worked it, the more he believed this could really work in the right environment.

He took his data to Salem Community College president Mike Gorman and, guess what, he’s back in the game.

On Thursday night, the junior college’s board of trustees approved adding a football program to the school’s lineup of sports and installed Accorsi, who had been the paid consultant in the exploration, as interim head coach (and the betting favorite to become the permanent guy when that move is made.)

Suddenly, the man with the Santa Claus look was given the gift he had always been giving. 

As the interim head coach, it’ll be Accorsi’s mission to recruit players and do whatever it takes to “help the athletic director with everything that’s needed to help the program” as it moves towards a Fall 2026 Opening Day. His first task: Hit the recruiting trail Friday, starting with all the football-playing schools in Salem County (and Pennsville on Monday).

“It’s funny, I never thought I was (going to get back in); I walked away and was happy,” Accorsi said. “Everybody said I would get bored. I was OK for a while and then I got bored.

“Then the football bug hit. The concept of this idea really helped me be creative and put some information together and think if this could actually work. For me, the great part is, that was kind of validated tonight by a board to go ahead and proceed with something that I’ve thought about forever and really started to work on last winter.”

Salem athletics director Bob Hughes couldn’t be happier with the direction things are moving. The Mighty Oaks were going to announce the interim head coaching move Friday in conjunction with their classifying the sport with the NJCAA, but Hughes went ahead and pulled the trigger after Thursday’s board meeting.

“I’m excited to continue to grow the relationship with Jay,” he said. “He’s been a fantastic addition to the college and the athletic department and I’m excited with him to help us get this program truly off the ground.”

Gorman remembers that first conversation with Accorsi about the possibility of bringing football to Salem. Although he was familiar with the former coach and it was that association that got him in the door, Gorman thought they were talking about something else until about five minutes into the conversation.

“I honestly thought he was selling something,” Gorman said. “I knew of him as a football coach, but I didn’t know he was bringing in a proposal of that nature. I thought maybe he was representing a company that was doing equipment or whatever, but until we got into that conversation I didn’t know what we were specifically talking about.’

Actually Accorsi was selling something. He was selling football to a school that had never had it before.

As a former high school and college football player himself and visionary for the college, Gorman could see the merits of bringing the sport to campus. The college had done an analysis five years earlier and thought it was feasible, but with the onset of the COVID pandemic and other factors decided it wasn’t the time to proceed.

Sure, there’s is a financial risk – it’ll run nearly a half-million dollars in startup costs – but the college is said to be fiscally aligned to handle it, but in its mission of “changing lives,” as Gorman puts it, there was really no other capacity that could bring on such increased enrollment in such a rapid period of time.

(The news of the decision is spreading so quickly the athletics department received a half-dozen inquiries from prospective student-athletes before 10 a.m. Friday.)

The timing was absolutely right. As Accorsi had discovered in his research there was a plethora of underserved high school football athletes in the region and only one junior college football program between Central New York and Louisburg, N.C.

It was in that opportunity Accorsi and the college converged.

A national search will get underway to find a permanent leader of the program. It’s a safe bet Accorsi will be the odds on favorite — and he does want the job — but he knows nothing is guaranteed. And frankly he prefers it that way.

“When I was the assistant coach at Rowan and KC (Keeler) left to go to Delaware, I met with the AD several times and it was decided to do the national search and at the time I was very happy about that because I said I just don’t want you to hand me the job,” he said. “I want to earn it against everybody in the country and I feel the same way about this. I want to put myself in a position to earn the title and be able to do it down the road.

“They (Rowan) went to a national search, I had to interview, I had to go through the process. I learned a lot. I was very happy that I became head coach, but I was happy they did it that way and they didn’t hand it to me. I believe you earn things in life; you’re just not given things.”

From there he became the longest-tenured head coach in the program’s history, posting a record of 143-78 with seven conference titles and seven trips to the NCAA Division III playoffs. Two of his teams reached the national semifinals.

He seems to fit at least one of the criteria the policymakers are looking for in the permanent head coach.

“I want somebody who belongs to this area,” Gorman said. “I want somebody who’s really invested in Salem County and the region as a whole and believes in what we’re saying. This isn’t about the X’s and O’s about the game. This is about changing lives for young people.”

But what if he doesn’t become the guy after putting in all the legwork to get the program off the ground? As he has said nothing’s guaranteed.

“I’d still feel like I accomplished something because my main goal was to provide an opportunity for students and especially those in New Jersey to play football in an opportunity where they hadn’t,” Accorsi said. “So if I helped create that which we’re doing today then I’ve reached my goal and I helped do that. 

“I firmly believe that’s why I decided to do this and be involved in this because I wanted to make sure an underserved population was getting what they needed and that’s what I’m really proud of.”

And if he doesn’t land the job he can go back into retirement mode again — until the next big thing comes along to pique his interest. 

Hot shots

Scorching No. 2 Salem CC makes it seven in a row; women give No. 17 Palm Beach a battle, but can’t get last shot to fall

SALEM CC BASKETBALL
Salem CC 111, Passaic 73
WOMENS BASKETBALL
Palm Beach State 59, Salem CC 56

By Riverview Sports News

PATERSON – Salem CC enjoyed one of its best shooting nights in coach Mike Green’s head coaching career, placed six scorers in double figures and scored 67 points in the second half to beat Passaic 111-73 for its seventh win in a row.

Nasseem Wright led the second-ranked Mighty Oaks (7-0) with 20 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Zyaire Gibson and Idris Rines had 16 points apiece, Saaid Lee and Jarrell Little each had 15 and Stefan Phillips had 10 without missing a shot. Little had six assists

The Mighty Oaks shot a season-high 58.1 percent from the floor (43-of-74), the second-best night in their 2 1/2 seasons under Green. They shot .596 in a February win at Luzerne in Green’s first season.

Phillips was 4-for-4, Lee 6-for-7 and Rines 6-for-9. Phillips is 14-of-15 from the floor in his last four games.

They scored 100 points for the second game in a row and third time this season.

Salem CC 111, Passaic 73

SALEM CC (7-0): Nasseem Wright 8-13 4-8 20, Zyaire Gibson 6-11 0-0 16, Idris Rines 6-9 2-2 16, Saaid Lee 6-7 3-3 15, Jarrell Little 5-10 3-4 15, Stefan Phillips 4-4 2-2 10, Qua Smith 3-8 2-3 8, Lenar Anderson 2-4 0-0 4, Jaiayre Wright 1-4 1-2 3, Jahseir Sayles 1-3 0-0 2, Michael Goodwin 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 43-74 17-24 111.
PASSAIC (2-4):

Salem CC 4467-111
Passaic3142-73

3-point goals: Salem CC 8-24 (N. Wright 0-1, Gibson 4-9, Rines 2-4, Lee 0-1, Little 2-3, Smith 0-2, Anderson 0-2, J. Wright 0-1, Sayles 0-1). Rebounds: Salem CC 52 (N. Wright 7, Rines 6, Lee 6, Little 6). Total fouls: Salem CC 20.

Region XIX Standings

DIVISION IIIR19ALLGSAC
Union5-05-04-0
SALEM CC5-07-03-0
Northampton4-07-0
Montgomery3-03-1
Camden4-14-12-0
Brookdale4-24-41-2
Atlantic Cape2-22-21-2
RCSJ-Gloucester2-22-41-3
Bergen3-43-41-2
Ocean2-33-32-2
Passaic2-32-32-2
Thaddeus Stevens1-23-3
RCSJ-Cumberland1-31-31-1
Delaware County1-41-4
Sussex1-41-50-2
Luzerne0-22-3
Harrisburg Area0-20-5
Philadelphia0-51-5

THURSDAY’S GAMES
Salem CC 111, Passaic 73
Luzerne 95, Miseracordia JV 85
Northampton 59, SUNY-Broome 51
Middlesex 77, Bucks 67
Raritan Valley at Mercer
Philadelphia at Georgian Court JV
Atlantic Cape at Brookdale
Ocean 80, RCSJ-Gloucester 79
Bergen 80, Sussex 74

SATURDAY’S GAMES
Salem CC at Essex
Philadelphia at Ocean
Harrisburg Area at RCSJ-Gloucester
Luzerne at Northampton
Passaic at Camden
Sussex at RCSJ-Cumberland
Bergen at Thaddeus Stevens
Union at Delaware County
Montgomery at Morris
Delaware Tech at Lackawanna

Women’s game

CARNEYS POINT – The Salem women bounced back from a rough loss in its last game to give the 17th-ranked team in the country a full-game battle Thursday, but just couldn’t get their final shot to fall.

The Mighty Oaks held the halftime lead, then rallied from nine down in the fourth quarter to tie the game in the final minute, but they couldn’t get a game-tying 3-pointer with a second left to go and fell to No. 17 Palm Beach (Fla.) State 59-56.

“We gave them everything we had,” Salem coach Brian Marsh said. “They had a really good third quarter and we battled back to get back into the game.

“I’m really proud of our team. They played really hard coming off a really bad loss (at Mercer) and that’s really all you ask for. They gave me everything they had.”

The Mighty Oaks took a 29-25 halftime lead, shooting 50 percent from the field and holding Palm Beach leading scorer Janiah Suprius to 10 points, but the visitors from Florida used a big third quarter to take a 44-37 lead into the fourth. The Panthers scored the first eight points of the third quarter and 12 of the first 14.

Salem scored the first seven of the fourth quarter to tie the game with 8:01 to play. Palm Beach went up by nine three minutes later, but the Mighty Oaks rallied again and tied it at 56 on Paula Wilson’s 3-pointer with 36 seconds left. 

A pair of free throws by Suprius with six seconds left made it 59-56. The Mighty Oaks called time to get the ball to midcourt. They inbounded to Shaw and got a good look, but her 3-pointer from the right side with a second left hit the back of the rim and they couldn’t get the rebound before the horn sounded.

“Being down three we wanted to get a good look at a 3-pointer and we got a good look from TJ and she just didn’t make it,” Marsh said. “I could definitely live with that shot. I thought we got the shots that we needed down the stretch. We need to make them.”

Shaw led the Mighty Oaks with 16 points. Jayda Hunter grabbed a game-high 19 rebounds. Suprius led all scorers with 31 points.

“The things that we’ve been focusing on they really took to heart tonight and put it towards the game and that’s we had the result that we did,” Marsh said. “Even though we came up short I told them I was extremely proud of the way they played. We got to shots we wanted down the stretch. The next time we’ll make them.”

PALM BEACH (4-1): Kierra Kline 1-4 0-0 3, Janiah Suprius 11-17 7-11 31, Destiny Nguyen 4-6 0-0 8, Macey Kovach 0-5 0-0 0, Adrianna Skraban 4-10 1-4 9, Thatiyana Holiday 0-1 2-2 2, Chayce Wright 1-2 0-0 2, Taaliah Todd 1-5 0-0 2, Katelyn Pire 0-5 0-0 0, Kenyah Moss 1-2 0-1 2. Totals 23-57 10-18 59.
SALEM CC (0-3): RayNescia King 4-8 0-2 8, Tanijya Shaw 4-19 6-14 16, Kasey Oliver 3-8 2-4 8, Dani Gustin 3-4 1-2 7, Jayda Hunter 4-9 1-2 9, Paula Wilson 3-5 0-0 8, Breanna Ruhl 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-53 10-24 56.

Palm Beach State14111915-59
Salem CC1217819-56

3-point goals: Palm Beach 3-14 (Kline 1-1, Suprius 2-4, Kovach 0-3, Todd 0-3, Pire 0-3); Salem CC 4-11 (King 0-1, Shaw 2-6, Hunter 0-1, Wilson 2-3). Rebounds: Palm Beach 26 (Suprius 7, Nguyen 6); Salem CC 41 (Hunter 19, Gustin 9). Fouled out: Oliver. Total fouls: Palm Beach 23, Salem CC 20.

Region XIX Standings

WOMENS DIVISION IIR19ALLGSAC
Union2-07-02-0
Mercer2-05-11-0
Harcum1-04-1
Lackawanna1-01-3
Delaware Tech0-01-6
Essex0-13-10-1
Middlesex0-14-50-0
Morris0-10-10-0
SALEM CC0-10-30-1
Raritan Valley0-21-30-2

THURSDAY’S GAMES
Palm Beach (Fla.) State 59, Salem CC 56
RCSJ-Gloucester 101, Ocean 38
Mercer 88, Raritan Valley 54
Northampton 80, SUNY-Broome 35
Sussex 48, Bergen 46
Atlantic Cape 67, Brookdale 62
Philadelphia 93, RCSJ-Cumberland 29
Bronx 72, Middlesex 64
Union 86, Essex 59
Five Towns 96, Lackawanna 38
Allegany (Md.) 55, Camden 51

FRIDAY’S GAME
Palm Beach State at Harcum

SATURDAY’S GAMES
Salem at Essex
Mercer at Harcum
Union at Middlesex
Ocean at Philadelphia
Passaic at Camden
Montgomery at RCSJ-Cumberland
Morris at Raritan Valley
Delaware Tech at Lackawanna