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Playing for their coach, Pennsville field hockey grabs share of first division title since 2021; Eagles’ Bass surpasses 100 career soccer points; Weber’s golden goal lifts Schalick boys over Audubon; includes TCC Classic, Diamond Division girls soccer all-star teams

TUESDAY’S SCORES
FIELD HOCKEY
Pennsville 6, Clayton 1
Woodstown 7, Glassboro 1
BOYS SOCCER
Schalick 2, Audubon 1
GIRLS SOCCER
Pennsville 7, Paulsboro 0

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CLAYTON – The Pennsville field hockey team had just dispatched Clayton 6-1 with one of its most complete games of the year to win its first Tri-County Conference Classic Division title since 2021. The players had taken their victory team picture, shared a group hug and were on the bus home when they started making telephone calls.

Who was the first person the Eagles called?

Head coach Lisa Doran, of course. Doran, the Pennsville Hall of Famer who is retiring at the end of the season, has been away from the team since Oct. 23 for health reasons and the players have been playing with her in mind.

As the bus was making its way back to Pennsville, the players got Doran on a FaceTime call and gathered around to share in a group chat. She is expected to be recovering at home the rest of the week, but everyone hopes she’ll rejoin the team for its South Jersey Group I tournament opener at second-seeded West Deptford Tuesday.

They did speak briefly after Monday’s win at Gloucester Catholic that put them in position to grab a share of the division title here, but it was just to say hello. Tuesday’s conversation was a lot longer and gave the coach a chance to tell her players how proud she was of them and how bad she wants the success for them.

“It was awesome,” said assistant coach Cass Kirk, who has been directing the team in Doran’s absence. “It was awfully good to see her face and see her home and to see her normal smile. It was really good. I’m sure we’re helping her recover right now with having this win under our belt. We were all so excited to see her and make sure that she’s OK.”

“It basically makes us want to play harder and do it for her and make her happy,” said forward Gracie Mease, who scored two goals in the game, including the one deemed the game-winner.

Kylie Harris scored three more goals since her midseason move to forward and Kendall Hoyt scored the other goal.

“We came out knowing what we wanted, we wanted that win, but we also wanted to make sure we were playing as a team today and that’s exactly what we did,” Kirk said. “We passed the ball a ton, got every single person on the team on the field. It was really good to get everybody out there and working together. One of the things I said to them was make each other look better.”

The Eagles are 3-0 in Doran’s absence, including two big division wins the last two days. Harris has scored 16 goals since moving to the top, five in this emotional three-game winning streak.

“Doran being gone lit a fire under us; it was like she’s not here so we need to work extra hard for her to make her proud,” Harris said. “She does so much for us, working hard and winning was kind of our way of giving back to her knowing she couldn’t be there and experience it with us.”

The win left the Eagles 10-8-1 in the regular season, guaranteeing them a winning season. More importantly, it drew them into a tie with Gloucester Catholic for the division title.

“Now we have our names up on the board (of division champions); that’s pretty cool, especially when there hasn’t been one up there in years” Mease said. “We’re all working together as a team to win the division and it’s nice when we won the division for Doran’s last year.”

WOODSTOWN 7, GLASSBORO 1: Shyann Higinbotham had two goals and three assists and Estella Hitchner scored the first two goals of her career as the Wolverines (10-7-1) won their third straight. Lexi Taylor, Zoe Lipovsky and Kendall Young scored their other goals.

Pennsville 6, Clayton 1

Pennsville	2	1	2	1-	6
Clayton	1	0	0	0-	1

First quarter
P: Kendall Hoyt (unassisted), 9:23; P: Gracie Mease (unassisted), 6:10; C: Dayna Leithead (Madisyn Paclen), 5:03.
Second quarter
P: Kylie Harris (Aubrey Manowitz), 14:20.
Third quarter
P: Kylie Harris (Gracie Mease), 11:03
P: Gracie Mease (Kylie Harris), 3:00
Fourth quarter
P: Kylie Harris (Laura Tamberella), 3:17

Boys Soccer

PITTSGROVE – Jaxon Weber’s golden goal in the first overtime lifted the Cougars (13-3-2) to victory in their final regular season game in a battle between projected 2 and 3 seeds in the upcoming South Jersey Group I tournament.

Audubon (13-3-1) took a 1-0 halftime lead, but Michael Nelson got Schalick’s equalizer when he headed home a free kick from Anthony Sepers.on a header in the second half.

Girls Soccer

PENNSVILLE – Taylor Bass recorded a goal and two assists to go over 100 career points and Karson Cooksey and Marley Wood both scored and spent time in goal as part of Pennsville’s seventh shutout of the season, 7-0 over winless Paulsboro.

Bass assisted on the Eagles’ first two goals to reach 99 points, then reached the milestone with her 43rd career goal 7:43 before halftime to give them a 3-0 lead.

Sloan Marquette, Cameron Robbins, Reagan Wariwanchik and Maura Widener scored Pennsville’s other goals. Tatiyonna Crawford started in goal for the Eagles.

TCC Girls Soccer Teams

(Based on coaches vote)

	DIAMOND FIRST		DIAMOND SECOND
F	Kyleigh Cutler, Schalick	F	Taylor Bass, Pennsville
F	Emma Perry, Woodstown	F	Hailey Kucharczuk, Woodstown
F	Gianna Simon, Overbrook	F	Olivia Vanacker, Schalick
MF	Cali Fisler, Schalick	MF	Gina Murray, Woodstown
MF	Amina Brown, Glassboro	MF	Victoria Bupp, Overbrook
MF	Emma Morgan, Woodstown	MF	Molly Gratz, Pennsville
MF	Quinn Berger, Schalick
B	Emily Miller, Schalick	B	Delia Hahn, Woodstown
B	Delaney Walker, Woodstown	B	Brooke Valentine, Schalick
B	Kassaday Sickler, Schalick	B	Reagan Wariwanchik, Pennsville
B	Sianna Wedderburn, Glassboro	B	Sanaa Thomas, Glassboro
GK	Ellie Wygand, Woodstown	GK	Marissa Pasquarello, Glassboro

	CLASSIC FIRST		CLASSIC SECOND
F	Alexa Battaglia, Glou Cath	F	Nicole Lemon, Clayton
F	Deondria Simon, Clayton	F	Carly Razze, Pitman
F	Aubrey Bradway, Wildwood	F	Teagan Canna, Pitman
MF	Emery Sharpnack, Pitman	MF	Kaitlyn Capalbo, Glou Cath
MF	Madi Traister, Clayton	MF	Mollie Farrell, Wildwood
MF	Alexa Kostiuk, Pitman	MF	Ana Yucis, Glou Cath
MF	Mikaela Scuibba, Clayton
B	Audrey Duffield, Pitman	B	Elizabeth Burgo, Glou Cath
B	Leigh Ann Nage, Clayton	B	Lily Atkinson, Wildwood
B	Olivia Pisano, Glou Cath	B	Kendal Renshaw, Clayton
B	Alyssa Shinskie, Clayton
GK	Danielle Fredo, Salem Tech	GK	Lauren Narolewski, Glou Cath

Football leaders

Here are the leaders among Salem County’s five football teams based on statistics posted to the state sports reporting service

Rushing

PLAYER, SCHOOL	ATT	YDS	TD
Rylan Hardy, Pennsville	130	889	12
Robbie McDade, Pennsville	108	704	8
Kenny Bartee, Schalick	86	503	7
Cashmir Parsley, Salem	65	368	2
Troy Carey, Salem	35	326	4
Desmund Thomas, Salem	48	308	2
Terrell Thomas, Penns Grove	73	293	2
Jameel Horace, Penns Grove	45	290	1
David Stewart, Schalick	51	269	3
Frank Hoerst, Woodstown	54	224	6
Evan Elliot, Schalick	42	166	0
Adrian Alleyne, Pennsville	31	165	3
Zane Thomas, Penns Grove	41	158	0
Torryn Ransome, Salem	31	153	3
Aidan Collazo, Pennsville	27	108	3

Passing

PLAYER, SCHOOL	COM	ATT	INT	YDS	TD
Desmund Thomas, Salem	80	144	4	1114	13
Frank Hoerst, Woodstown	31	72	1	510	4
Robbie McDade, Pennsville	47	85	6	484	6
Kenny Bartee, Schalick	13	48	9	302	2
Gary Simonini, Schalick	21	41	2	177	1

Receiving

PLAYER, SCHOOL	REC	YDS	TD
Kaden Robinson, Salem	19	353	6
Kyvion Parsons, Salem	19	239	1
Rylan Hardy, Pennsville	17	164	0
Dylan Sheehan, Schalick	11	107	1
Adrian Alleyne, Pennsville	9	90	2
Aidan Collazo, Pennsville	7	50	0
Jerry Wooten, Penns Grove	7	44	0
Quimere Bergen, Salem	6	118	2
Sherrod Jones, Schalick	6	118	1
KaiSiere Muhammad, Salem	6	107	2
Ayden Jenkins, Schalick	6	67	0
David Stewart, Schalick	5	108	1
Ahmad Tucker, Salem	5	60	1
Cashmir Parsley, Salem	5	35	0

Tackles

PLAYER, SCHOOL	S	TFL	TOT
Dezyon Purnell, Schalick	3.5	13	80
Antwuan Rogers, Salem	13	13	74.5
Troy Carey, Salem	0	11	69
Dylan Sheehan, Schalick	1	7	63
Kemal Chatum, Salem	6	11	60
Isaiah Upshur, Penns Grove	0	6.5	55
Gary Simonini, Schalick	1	6.5	53.5
Luis Colon, Penns Grove	1	10	52
Ray Brown, Penns Grove	4	11	49
Torryn Ransome, Salem	0	5	40
Robert Daly, Schalick	0.5	4	39
Dante Cummings, Pennsville	0	0	38
Nazeer Painter, Penns Grove	1	3	38
JaKai Ingrim, Penns Grove	2	9	37
Mahkye Murray, Salem	2	8	37
Rylan Hardy, Pennsville	1	3	34
Eric Sulik, Schalick	3.5	4.5	33
Kaden Robinson, Salem	0	0	32
Aiden Torres, Schalick	3	2	31
Jovanni Rios, Salem	3.5	6	31

TACKLES FOR LOSS
13: Dezyon Purnell, Schalick; Antwuan Rogers, Salem
11: Ray Brown, Penns Grove; Troy Carey, Salem; Kemal Chatum, Salem
10: Luis Colon, Penns Grove
9: JaKai Ingrim, Penns Grove
8: Mahkye Murray, Salem
7: Dylan Sheehan, Schalick
6.5: Isaiah Upshur, Penns Grove; Gary Simonini, Schalick
6: Jovanni Rios, Salem
4.5: Eric Sulik, Schalick
4: Ray Brown, Penns Grove; Evan Elliot, Schalick; Terrell Thomas, Penns Grove;

SACKS
13: Antwuan Rogers, Salem
6: Kemal Chatum, Salem
3.5: Dezyon Purnell, Schalick; Jovanni Rios, Salem; Eric Sulik, Schalick
3: Aiden Torres, Schalick

INTERCEPTIONS
3: Dylan Sheehan, Schalick; David Stewart, Schalick
2: Savior Allah, Penns Grove; Quimere Bergen, Salem; William Dunn, Salem; Jerry Wooten, Penns Grove

Kicking

PLAYER, SCHOOL	FG	PAT	PTS
Hunter Dragotta, Schalick	2-4	15-18	21
Frank Hoerst, Woodstown	0-0	4-5	4
Adrian Alleyne, Pennsville	0-0	3-3	3

Scoring

PLAYER, SCHOOL	PTS	TD	2P	PAT	FG
Rylan Hardy, Pennsville	82	12	5	0	0
Cole Ware, Woodstown	78	13	0	0	0
Robbie McDade, Pennsville	56	9	4	0	0
Kenny Bartee, Schalick	49	7	0	0	0
Frank Hoerst, Woodstown	40	6	0	4	0
David Stewart, Schalick	36	6	0	0	0
Kaden Robinson, Salem	36	6	0	0	0
Adrian Alleyne, Pennsville	33	5	0	3	0
Troy Carey, Salem	28	4	2	0	0
Perry Meranti, Pennsville	26	3	4	0	0
Hunter Dragotta, Schalick	21	0	0	15	2
Quimere Bergen, Salem	18	3	0	0	0
KaiSiere Muhammad, Salem	18	3	0	0	0
Torryn Ransome, Salem	18	3	0	0	0
Aiden Collazo, Pennsville	16	2	2	0	0

Rushing TDs: Hardy 12, Ware 13, McDade 8; Receiving TDs: Robinson 6

Monday roundup

Here are the scores and details from Monday’s Salem County sports schedule

BOYS SOCCER
Paulsboro 3, Salem Tech 1
Triton 2, Woodstown 1
Salem at Gloucester Catholic

TRITON 2, WOODSTOWN 1: The Wolverines got out fast, scoring on Bryce Ayars’ header two minutes into the match, but Triton overcame it.

GIRLS SOCCER
Woodstown 2, Triton 0

WOODSTOWN 2, TRITON 0: Emma Morgan and Gina Murray scored goals in the first half and Ellie Wygand made four saves to record her eighth shutout of the season.

FIELD HOCKEY
Pennsville 1, Gloucester Catholic 0

PENNSVILLE 1, GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 0: Izzy Saulin converted a pass from Delaney Ford with 8:10 left in the third quarter for the only goal of the game, avenging a 1-0 loss to the Rams in the first meeting between the teams.

The win gives the Eagles (8-8-1) a chance to finish the regular season with a winning record and earn a share of the TCC Classic Division title with a win at Clayton Tuesday while continuing to play for coach Lisa Doran, who remains out for health reasons.

It would be their first division title since 2021.

Field hockey leaders

Here are the statistical leaders among the field hockey teams in Salem County through Oct. 26

SCORING	G	A	PTS
Ava Scurry, Schalick	25	27	77
Luci Virga, Schalick	15	9	39
Julliana Love, Salem	13	0	26
Caylen Taylor, Schalick	8	10	26
Lena Virga, Schalick	8	7	23
Shyann Higinbotham, Woodstown	6	10	22
Talia Guardascione, Woodstown	8	3	19
Izzy Saulin, Pennsville	5	9	19
Zoe Lipovsky, Woodstown	7	4	18
Gracie Mease, Pennsville	7	3	17
Addi Shimp, Schalick	7	2	16
Phoebe Alward, Schalick	5	5	15
Hazel Eachus, Salem Tech	7	1	15
Kendall Hoyt, Pennsville	5	5	15
Alexa Shimp, Schalick	5	5	15
Margaux Lipovsky, Woodstown	5	3	13
Jessilynn Chambers, Salem Tech	5	2	12
Lux Holmes, Woodstown	3	6	12
Olivia Lydon, Salem Tech	5	2	12
Paisley Warner, Schalick	4	3	11

GOALS	TOTAL
Ava Scurry, Schalick	25
Luci Virga, Schalick	15
Julliana Love, Salem	13
Kylie Harris, Pennsville	11
Talia Guardascione, Woodstown	8
Caylen Taylor, Schalick	8
Lena Virga, Schalick	8
Hazel Eachus, Salem Tech	7
Zoe Lipovsky, Woodstown	7
Gracie Mease, Pennsville	7
Addi Shimp, Schalick	7

ASSISTS	TOTAL
Ava Scurry, Schalick	27
Shyann Higinbotham, Woodstown	10
Caylen Taylor, Schalick	10
Izzy Saulin, Pennsville	9
Luci Virga, Schalick	9
Lena Virga, Schalick	7
Shelby Drummond, Salem Tech	6
Shyann Higinbotham, Woodstown	6
Lux Holmes, Woodstown	6

GOALIE SAVES (based on total)	GP	TOT	AVG
Lydia Gilligan, Schalick	13	200	15.4
Ava Rodgers, Salem	13	190	14.6
Kendall Higgins, Woodstown	15	80	5.3
Kelsey Cook, Pennsville	11	67	6.1
Caroline Tighe, Salem Tech	12	60	5.0
GA not available

Soccer leaders

Here are the statistical leaders for the Salem County soccer teams through Oct. 26

Boys soccer

SCORING	G	A	PTS
Bryce Ayars, Woodstown	16	3	35
Sam Hassler, Pennsville	9	6	24
Kameron Brown, Salem Tech	10	3	23
Anthony Sepers, Schalick	7	8	22
Steve Chomo, Schalick	8	5	21
Luke Price, Schalick	8	3	19
Tyler Vanlier, Schalick	8	3	19
Danny Bunay Coronel, Pennsville	6	4	16
Justin Michaca, Pennsville	6	3	15
Jaxon Weber, Schalick	6	3	15
Connor Jackson, Schalick	5	3	13
Prince Ledbetter, Penns Grove	5	3	13
Logan Pace, Salem Tech	5	3	13
Nick DiTeodoro, Woodstown	3	6	12
Juan Ortiz, Penns Grove	6	0	12
Jack McCauley, Salem Tech	5	3	13
Landon Gugliemo, Woodstown	4	2	10
John Sassi, Pennsville	5	0	10
Marco Spinnato, Schalick	5	0	10

GOALS	TOTAL
Bryce Ayars, Woodstown	16
Kameron Brown, Salem Tech	10
Sam Hassler, Pennsville	9
Steve Chomo, Schalick	8
Luke Price, Schalick	8
Tyler Vanlier, Schalick	8
Anthony Sepers, Schalick	7
Danny Bunay Coronel, Pennsville	6
Justin Michaca, Pennsville	6
Juan Ortiz, Penns Grove	6
Jaxon Weber, Schalick	6
Connor Jackson, Schalick	5
Prince Ledbetter, Penns Grove	5
Logan Pace, Salem Tech	5
John Sassi, Pennsville	5
Marco Spinnato, Schalick	5

ASSISTS	TOTAL
Anthony Sepers, Schalick	8
Blake Bialecki, Woodstown	6
Nick DiTeodoro, Woodstown	6
Sam Hassler, Pennsville	6
Edwin Castaneda-Sanchez, Pennsville	5
Steve Chomo, Schalick	5
Ugur Elmali, Pennsville	5
Danny Bunay Coronel, Pennsville	4
Steve Fatcher, Pennsville	4
Daniel Marandola, Salem Tech	4
Jack McCauley, Salem Tech	4
Jake Sepers, Schalick	4

GOALIE SAVES (based on total)	GP	TOT	AVG
Pavel Norberto-Castro, Salem	12	179	14.9
Coen Rinnier, Pennsville	18	162	9.0
Aiden Bobo, Salem Tech	14	148	10.1
Dwayne Guzman Silva, Penns Grove	11	143	13.0
Trey Markward, Woodstown	15	96	6.4
Evan Sepers, Schalick	14	56	4.0
GA not available

Girls Soccer

SCORING	G	A	PTS
Taylor Bass, Pennsville	17	10	44
Quinn Berger, Schalick	13	16	42
Olivia Vanacker, Schalick	11	6	28
Cali Fisler, Schalick	8	11	27
Molly Gratz, Pennsville	10	7	27
Lia Covely, Woodstown	8	8	24
Emma Perry, Woodstown	9	6	24
Hailey Kucharczuk, Woodstown	9	5	23
Gina Murray, Woodstown	9	3	21
Julia Hewitt Friebel, Salem Tech	9	0	18
Ava Robinson, Salem Tech	7	4	18
Abby Willoughby, Schalick	8	0	16
Karlie Bakley, Schalick	5	5	15
Emma Morgan, Woodstown	6	3	15
Kyleigh Cutler, Schalick	3	7	13
Sloan Marquette, Pennsville	5	3	13
Isla Bohn, Salem	6	0	12
Kallie Morrison, Pennsville	3	6	12
Arianna Dowe, Penns Grove	5	1	11
Peyton Pratt, Salem Tech	5	1	11
Emily Miller, Schalick	4	2	10
Marley Wood, Pennsville	4	2	10

GOALS	TOTAL
Taylor Bass, Pennsville	17
Quinn Berger, Schalick	13
Olivia Vanacker, Schalick	11
Molly Gratz, Pennsville	10
Julia Hewitt Friebel, Salem Tech	9
Hailey Kucharczuk, Woodstown	9
Gina Murray, Woodstown	9
Emma Perry, Woodstown	9
Lia Covely, Woodstown	8
Cali Fisler, Schalick	8
Abby Willoughby, Schalick	8
Ava Robinson, Salem Tech	7
Isla Bohn, Salem	6
Emma Morgan, Woodstown	6
Karlie Bakley, Schalick	5
Arianna Dowe, Penns Grove	5
Sloan Marquette, Pennsville	5
Peyton Pratt, Salem Tech	5

ASSISTS	TOTAL
Quinn Berger, Schalick	16
Cali Fisler, Schalick	11
Taylor Bass, Pennsville	10
Lia Covely, Woodstown	8
Kyleigh Cutler, Schalick	7
Molly Gratz, Pennsville	7
Ava Mayne, Schalick	7
Kallie Morrison, Pennsville	6
Emma Perry, Woodstown	6
Olivia Vanacker, Schalick	6
Karlie Bakley, Schalick	5
Blair Baldi, Woodstown	5
Hailey Kucharczuk, Woodstown	5
Izzy Desantis, Schalick	4
Cameron Robbins, Pennsville	4
Ava Robinson, Salem Tech	4

GOALIE SAVES (based on total)	GP	TOTAL	AVG
Ameerah Williams, Salem	13	167	12.8
Danielle Fredo, Salem Tech	6	79	13.2
Ellie Wygand, Woodstown	16	72	4.5
Shyla Parsons, Salem	4	62	15.5
Tatiyonna Crawford, Pennsville	9	50	5.6
Eve Berger, Schalick	16	44	2.8
Ava Fredo, Salem Tech	7	39	5.6
GA not available

This week’s schedule

First round of the South Jersey Group I football playoffs, sectional XC at DREAM Park highlight the Salem County sports schedule for the week of Oct. 27-Nov. 2

MONDAY, OCT. 27
FIELD HOCKEY
Pennsville at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Salem at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m.
Salem Tech at Paulsboro, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Triton, 4 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Triton at Woodstown, 4 p.m.

TUESDAY, OCT. 28
FIELD HOCKEY
Pennsville at Clayton, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Glassboro, 4 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Audubon at Schalick, 4 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Paulsboro at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Highland at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 29
FIELD HOCKEY
Vineland at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Mainland at Schalick, 4:15 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Gateway at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Penns Grove at West Deptford, 7 p.m.

THURSDAY, OCT. 30
FOOTBALL
South Jersey Group I playoffs
Audubon at Glassboro, 6 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Woodstown at Gateway, 4 p.m.

FRIDAY, OCT. 31
FOOTBALL
South Jersey Group I Playoffs
Schalick at Pennsville, 7 p.m.

SATURDAY, NOV. 1
FOOTBALL
South Jersey Group I Playoffs
Salem vs. KIPP
Woodbury at Paulsboro, noon
CROSS COUNTRY
NJSIAA Sectionals at DREAM Park

SUNDAY, NOV. 2
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC Alumni Game, noon

Saturday soccer

Woodstown sweeps Highland on final day of power points collection, both teams will host first-round tournament games

SATURDAY’S SOCCER
BOYS
WOODSTOWN 3, HIGHLAND 0: Nick DiTeodoro, Bryce Ayars and Ayden Ellis scored goals and Trey Markward made five saves for the shutout. Jake Lewis returned to the lineup and assisted on DiTeodoro’s goal that gave the Wolverines a 1-0 halftime lead. Brendon Curtis and Bradley Heck assisted on the other goals. The win solidified the Wolverines’ as the No. 4 seed in the upcoming South Jersey Group I tournament, where they’re projected to host Palmyra in the opening round.

GIRLS
WOODSTOWN 4, HIGHLAND 1: Emma Perry had a goal and two assists and Lia Covely scored another goal as the Wolverines got in another win before the playoff cutoff. Gina Murray and Emma Morgan scored their other goals. The win moved the Wolverines to seventh in the power points and they’re projected to host Pennsville in the opening round.

Cougars have fun

Dragotta kicks record FG, Schalick opens up in second half, beats Woodbury to snap losing streak, solidify playoff spot

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODBURY – Hunter Dragotta said when he set the Schalick career record for extra points back in September he was gunning for the school-record field goal next and it was “coming soon.”

It didn’t come as quickly as he had hoped, but he did get it – in Saturday’s final game of the regular season.

The senior booted a 43-yard field goal in the first quarter to open the scoring and help the Cougars beat Woodbury 24-12 to snap a four-game losing streak and solidify their spot in the South Jersey Group I football playoffs.

The old field goal record was 42 yards, set by Erick Wilson as their only points in a season-ending loss to Cumberland in 2007.

“I had my eye on this record since I was a freshman,” Dragotta said. “I was hoping it would happen this year (but) I started to lose faith.

“I wasn’t having a great year with field goals; I just had troubles connecting with the ball. But this one, I had a bad day in warmups and went out there, wasn’t nervous, just lined up, remembered I was in practice, kind of changed my routine a little bit, took a deep breath and just connected with the ball.”

As much as he wanted this particular record, he didn’t realize he’d broken it until the PA announcer said It was a 43-yarder.

Dragotta was just 1-of-3 on his field goal attempts this year coming into the game, but he hadn’t tried one since the third game. He’s now 10-of-16 on career field goals (and 90-of-100 on PATs).

His previous long before Saturday was 39 yards, this year against Somerville. He had a 42-yard attempt that would have tied the record hit the top of the left post his sophomore year against Audubon.

This one was true and produced the only points of the first half.

“We were like third-and-4 and Coach (Kevin) Leamy called out for ‘field goal ready,’” Dragotta said. “I went over, grabbed my block and I was ready. My teammates were like c’mon we’re going to make sure nobody gets through, we’ve got you, just put it through.’ The snap was there, the hold was down, I just kicked the ball. The O-line gave me a great chance to hit it cleanly.”

“I’m so happy for him,” Leamy said. “It’s one of those things you never know if you’re going to get the opportunity to actually attempt it. It was early in the game,. It was like fourth-and-8, so it was one of those things let’s give hit a shot, early on, 0-0, and he drilled it.”

The Herd took a 6-0 lead when quarterback Nico Jimenez broke two tackles and unloaded a 73-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Young. Jimenez was 21-of-34 for 303 yards passing and Young caught 10 passes for 199 yards.

But then Schalick scored 21 straight points to take control of the game.

The Cougars retook the lead on speedster David Stewart’s 45-yard pick-six with 8:28 left in the third then added another score in the fourth quarter on Kenny Bartee’s 16-yard touchdown pass to Dylan Sheehan after another Stewart interception. The Cougars had four picks in the game.

“Having him back adds an extra element that we’ve been missing offensively,” Leamy said of Bartee, who had been out in concussion protocol.

Celebrating was the order of the day and that’s exactly what Sheehan did after his score. He produced a rousing Sherrod Jones-style backflip, which, of course, drew the penalty, which Leamy really didn’t seem to mind.

“This week, Coach Leamy was like I want you guys to go out there and have fun,” Dragotta said. “And I want you guys to get a 15-yard celebration penalty, because we can afford it. We all went out there and all had a ball today.”

The Cougars went up 24-6 on Jase Volovar’s 9-yard touchdown run. It was the senior’s second career touchdown and first rushing. The Herd scored a touchdown against the Schalick twos for the final margin.

“This is exactly what we needed, a little bit of momentum going into the playoffs,” Leamy said. “Things are starting to come together. Some of the plays we were missing on earlier in the year we hit on today. The defense played phenomenal. It was really good.

“The first half we had a lot of chances, moved the ball really well between the 20s. We were moving the ball well, so we knew if we could put it together in the econd half that were going to have success. To the kids’ credit they did exactly that.”

The win allowed Schalick to jump Woodbury in the South Jersey Group I playoff standings despite finishing one spot behind the Thundering Herd in the UPR. That placed the Cougars sixth in the section, to play third-seeded Pennsville in the opening round. Woodbury became the seventh seed and will play second-seeded Paulsboro.

“We have a ton of momentum, especially coming off the Glassboro game,” Dragotta said. “The score doesn’t say it but we played great against (Glassboro) and they just kind of ran up the score at the end. We played great against them, we had very high morale and we carried it over with a win today, so we have a ton of momentum going into the playoffs.”

Schalick 24, Woodbury 12

Schalick (3-6)	3	0	14	7-	24
Woodbury (3-6)	0	0	6	6-	12

SCORING SUMMARY
S – Hunter Dragotta 43 FG
W – Elijah Young 73 pass from Nico Jimenez (kick failed)
S – David Stewart 45 interception return (Hunter Dragotta kick)
S – Dylan Sheehan 16 pass from Kenny Bartee (Hunter Dragotta kick)
S – Jase Volovar 9 run (Hunter Dragotta kick)
W – Mark Martin 8 pass from Nico Jimenez (pass failed)

Top photo: Schalick kicker Hunter Dragotta reacts after hitting a school-record field goal Saturday. (Photo by Heather Papiano)

WJFL scoreboard

Here are the weekend scores in the West Jersey Football League for the final week of the regular season before the power points cutoff; Salem County games in bold

SATURDAY’S GAMES
Burlington City 66, Palmyra 0
Cherry Hill West 37, Vineland 13
Delran 38, Moorestown 7
KIPP Cooper Norcross 22, Bishop Eustace 12
Maple Shade 7, Florence 6
Mastery Charter 52, Gloucester Catholic 14
Paulsboro 42, Clayton 6
Rancocas Valley 34, Lenape 0
Riverside 26, Lawrence 22
Salem 27, Penns Grove 6
Schalick 24, Woodbury 12
Steinert 16, Nottingham 13

FRIDAY’S GAMES
Bordentown 35, Pemberton 0
Buena 41, Wildwood 0
Cherry Hill East 29, Bridgeton 20
Cumberland 13, Absegami 10
Delsea at Mainland, 6
Eastern 33, Highland 12
Ewing 30, Hamilton West 24
Gateway 28, Pitman 16
Glassboro 47, Woodstown 0
Haddonfield 24, Paul VI 7
Holy Cross 15, Lindenwold 12
Hopewell Valley 34, Hightstown 16
Kingsway 43, Williamstown 20
Lower Cape May 28, Oakcrest 20
Millville 28, St. Augustine 21
Northern Burlington 28, Haddon Heights 17
Notre Dame 38, Allentown 6
Ocean City 20, Cedar Creek 17
Pennsville 36, Collingswood 15
Pleasantville 34, Gloucester 23
Princeton 35, WW-Plainsboro South 0
St. Joseph 41, Middle Twp. 0
Sterling 28, Haddon Twp. 8
Trenton 28, Robbinsville 0
Triton 35, Deptford 0
Washington Twp. 38, Timber Creek 0
West Deptford 21, Overbrook 6
Winslow 41, Cherokee 6

THURSDAY’S SCORES
Atlantic Tech 33, Egg Harbor Twp. 7
Burlington Twp. 21, Cinnaminson 0
Pennsauken 40, Clearview 6
Seneca 28, Willingboro 21
Shawnee 21, Hammonton 0

Salem surging

Thomas perfect in second half, finishes game with 4 TD passes, surpasses 1,000 season yards, as Rams solidify playoff spot; Penns Grove coach says he’s not returning

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

SALEM — The Tush Push is beloved in Philadelphia and generally reviled by everyone else who follows the NFL. But that’s just the thing: It’s a play for the NFL and doesn’t fly in the high school game.

Not that folks won’t try it, or something that looks like it.

Salem lined up at the 10 on its first play of the third quarter Saturday looking to grab some second-half momentum against Penns Grove and sent wrecking ball running back Troy Carey careening towards the end zone.

Carey was surrounded by a mass of bodies as he got closer to the goal line and the surge pushed him into the end zone for an apparent score to extend his team’s slim lead.

Not so fast. The flags came out and the Rams were called for assisting the runner. Yet another Salem touchdown called back by a penalty.

No matter. The Rams were back in the end zone the next play, this time without a helping hand, as Desmund Thomas hit Kaden Robinson for a 12-yard score that pushed their tushes to their fourth win in five games, 27-6.

“I definitely felt a little push at the end,” Carey said. “We kind of joked about it a little bit. He said they flagged him for pulling the pile or whatever. I couldn’t really tell. But I ended up punching it in on another two-point conversion, which was way harder than the first one.”

“It wasn’t like a Tush Push,” Thomas said. “It was like our teammate needed help (and) we had his back.”

Rams coach Kemp Carr agreed it wasn’t a Tush Push, because center Wyatt Irvine was caught pulling the running back into the end zone instead of nudging him in from behind, and got off his tush to set the record straight. Still, it was hard not to make the Eagles’ connection seeing the play unfold.

“You’re allowed to push,” Carr said. “Assisting the running is when he grabbed him by the uniform and tried to pull him in. You can push from behind. As you’ve seen, not many times the pile stops and then guys go up and push in high school. It wasn’t that. He didn’t push him from behind. He picked him up and took him in the end zone. I thought the Tush was only from the tush.”

Nevertheless, it was a big play and a big win for the Rams. It got them over .500 for the first time since 2022 and earned them the ninth spot in this year’s South Jersey Group I power points standings and a No. 5 seed in the South Jersey playoff bracket. They are slated to play at KIPP in the opening round.

The loss, meanwhile, left Penn Grove 0-9 for the season, its first winless campaign in modern memory. After the game, Red Devils coach Mark Maccarone told his players he was not returning next season. Not because of the 0-9, but because of the demands of his day job.

The Red Devils played like they wanted their coach to stay on. Defensive back Messiah Allah snatched a ball out of the air that caromed hard off Carey’s pads and raced 95 yards for the game’s first touchdown. There were other situations that gave the impression fate was smiling on them this day. They only trailed at halftime 7-6.

“It was a hard fought game; they didn’t quit,” Maccarone said. “It was a ball game. Two big pass plays changed the dynamic of the game.”

The pick-six and a 2-for-9 second quarter did something to Thomas. The junior quarterback came out in the second half and was perfect. He was 7-of-7 through the air for 113 yards and three more touchdowns – a 377.03 passer rating – surpassing 1,000 yards passing for the first time in his career in the process.

He threw the second-half touchdown passes to Robinson, Quimere Bergen and Ahmad Tucker in the half. The Rams outgained Penns Grove 132 yards to 45.

“The second half was just me not being focused on all the stuff that was being said and me getting into my game,” Thomas said. “Not to let anything get in my way, not to let anything get in our team’s way. It was just clearing everything up, being empty-minded and playing my game.”

The TD pass to Robinson after the helping penalty put him over the 1,000-yard plateau, and that made Robinson happy. He’s the Rams’ first 1,000-yard passer since Jahki Coates in 2022.

“Me being a senior and the No. 1 wide receiver, I wanted him to hit his 1K with me,” Robinson said.

Once the Rams grabbed the momentum, they never let it go.

“I wasn’t happy at all with how we played the first half, but we played in the second half a lot better,” Carr said. “We played good, solid Ram football in the second half and we were able to dictate what we wanted.

“It’s a game for 48 minutes; the last 24 we played well enough to be a decent football team. The first half we looked like we were chasing our own tails. We can’t do that. Football is a game of momentum. We want to grab it, hold onto it, and never let it go.”

Photos by Julliana Love

Salem 27, Penns Grove 6

PG		SAL
5	1st Downs	8
26-20	Rushing	18-89
3-10-1	Passing	10-18-1
2	Passing yds.	157
2-2	Fumbles-lost	1-1
5-20.0	Punts-avg	3-25.3
14-78	Penalties	12-110

Penns Grove (0-9)	6	0	0	0-	6
Salem (5-4)	7	0	14	6-	27

SCORING SUMMARY
PG – Messiah Allah 95 interception return (run failed), 8:42 1Q
S – Kaden Robinson 34 pass from Desmund Thomas (Johnathan Bower kick), 8:06 1Q
S – Kaden Robinson 12 pass from Desmund Thomas (kick failed), 9:23 3Q
S – Quimere Bergen 41 pass from Desmund Thomas (Troy Carey run), 2:12 3Q
S – Ahmad Tucker 35 pass from Desmund Thomas (kick failed), 2:00 4Q

WJFL Standings

DIAMOND	ALL	DIV
Glassboro	9-0	5-0
Salem	5-4	4-1
Schalick	2-6	2-2
Woodbury	3-4	2-2
Woodstown	2-7	1-4
Penns Grove	0-9	0-5
PATRIOT	ALL	DIV
West Deptford	8-1	6-0
Paulsboro	8-1	5-1
Overbrook	6-3	3-3
Pennsville	5-4	3-3
Collingswood	5-4	2-4
Audubon	2-5	1-4
Camden Catholic	0-8	0-5

FRIDAY’S GAMES
Pennsville 36, Collingswood 15
Glassboro 47, Woodstown 0
West Deptford 21, Overbrook 8

SATURDAY’S GAMES
Paulsboro 42, Clayton 6
Salem 27, Penns Grove 6
Schalick 24, Woodbury 12