Salem CC goes toe-to-toe with Army Prep for three quarters, but rough second quarter does the Mighty Oaks in
By Riverview Sports News
WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Salem CC football team stayed with the best team they’ve played so far this season for three quarters, but it was that one quarter they didn’t that make all the difference in the result.
The Mighty Oaks fell to Army Prep 35-6 in their first true road game of this inaugural season Friday night. They battled their hosts to a scoreless tie through the first quarter and were only outscored 7-6 in the second half, but the 28-point second quarter is where it got away.
“I thought we stood the test of a really good team,” Mighty Oaks coach Jay Accorsi said. “They’re really good, by far the best team we’ve seen this year. We knew it was going to be a big test for us and I thought we held up well, I really do. Very pleased for the most part, except for the second quarter, how we did.”
Prep scored on the first play of the second quarter, blocked a punt to set up a second score, then put together two nice drives to go into halftime leading 28-0. It was 35-0 before the Mighty Oaks found the end zone on wildcat quarterback Kahmaj Kearney’s 60-yard touchdown pass to Jeremiah Russell.
The Mighty Oaks (1-3) played three quarterbacks in the game – starter Cam Wright, Malakhai McKenzie and Kearney. Official game statistics won’t be available until early next week.
“Take out the second quarter, it was a 7-6 ballgame, really,” Accorsi said. “I thought we did some really good things. I thought we did against them in the option. The second quarter got away from us, but we rallied back and played a good second half.
“I thought we played with a lot of emotion in the first quarter defensively, maybe too much emotion because I don’t think we were able to kind of carry that into the second quarter. I was pleased how we started, we were toe-to-toe and I just don’t think we kept that emotion defensively in the second quarter.”
Author: almusky
Eagles come up short
Pennsville rallies in fourth quarter to get in position to win, but can’t complete final play, falls to Burlington City, 24-22; Woodstown runs over Buena 42-8, wins back-to-back for the first time since 2024 playoffs
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – Pennsville nearly put together a comeback for the ages, but in the end it turned out to be another near-miss.
The Eagles scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns, made a big goal line stand and were setting up for the winning touchdown with one second to play, but they couldn’t complete that one final play they needed and fell to Burlington City 24-22 on a windy Friday night in Lou D’Angelo Stadium. Burlington City never trailed in the game, but Pennsville made the Blue Devils earn their first win of the season.
| BC | PV | |
| 12 | 1st Downs | 12 |
| 38-160 | Rushing | 21-42 |
| 3-11-3 | Passes | 17-32-1 |
| 35 | Passing | 234 |
| 0-0 | Fum-Lost | 3-1 |
| 4-23.3 | Punts-Avg | 4-36.0 |
| 5-40 | Penalties | 6-54 |
“It’s just a lot of frustration,” Pennsville coach Mike Healy said. “We once again put ourselves in a hole like we’ve done a couple times this year. I can’t take it away from them that their willingness to fight ‘til the end is awesome and all, but until we are able to put together four full quarters of football, we’re not going to be able to be as good as we are. I still think there’s another level we can go to, but right now we’re kind of stopping ourselves from doing that.”
The Eagles (2-3) trailed 12-0 in the first quarter and at the end of another listless first half, and were down 18-7 entering the fourth quarter before things got crazy. They have trailed at halftime in four of their five games this season. Two of them were two-point losses and one an overtime win.
Their potential comeback started rolling when Pennsville quarterback Jake Layfield threw a 59-yard touchdown pass to Chase Johnson early in the fourth quarter and then passed to Aiden Collazo for the conversion to make it 18-15.
Tavion Miller negated all that work when he returned the kickoff 78 yards to put the visitors back on top by more than a touchdown and two-point conversion.
The margin didn’t matter to the Eagles. The way they were moving the ball in the second half, they had plenty of time to get what they needed.
Layfield marched them right back down with three straight completions to Lucas Thomas, Danny Knight and Johnson for 56 yards to get inside the 10. Collazo finished off the drive with two powerful runs to make it 24-22 with Dante Cummings’ PAT with 8:27 to play.
Miller hurt the Eagles again on the kickoff return, this time taking it down to the 30 setting up the Blue Devils for a score that would’ve surely decided the game. They had a first-and-goal from the 12 and then first-and-goal from the 2, but the Eagles turned them away.
On the first set of downs they pushed the visitors back to the 18 after a tone-setting sack by Ayden Epstein and a stop for a loss by Kaedynn Pena, but the Blue Devils kept the drive alive with a 16-yard completion on fourth down to the 2. This time, Tristan Horner and friends threw BC quarterback Mason Shansey for an eight-yard loss. The Blue Devils got it back to the 6, but they came away empty as Grady Sanders intercepted a fourth-down pass in the end zone that newcomer Jaivon Sydnor batted away from 6-foot-8 intended receiver Julian Corry.
“I saw he went out for the wheel from studying the film and having Grady back there at safety to help me, I knew I could make a play on the ball so he could help contribute too,” said Sydnor, playing in his first game for the Eagles after transferring from Salem. “I was trying to make a play but I know my brothers got my back.”
The Eagles had 2:58 and two time outs to go 80 yards for the winning touchdown or less to give Cummings a shot at a winning field goal attempt into a gusty wind. Layfield mixed three runs and three completions, including a nifty one-handed grab over the middle by Syndor to get it inside the 30 with less than 90 seconds to play.
“I felt a lot more confident going to the two minute offense,” Layfield said. “It gave me less time to think and more time to get involved, less time for the defense to be there. The pressure was fine, I wasn’t worried about that, I just needed to make sure my guys were going to be there. During that fourth quarter knowing once we got to that groove I could count on my guys it made it a lot easier.”
Layfield completed a pass to Lucas Thomas down to the 17, but the Eagles were called for holding behind the line, so instead of being inside the 20 they were back at the 38 with 1:03 left. They complained about the clock running over a play that went out of bounds and later a penalty, burning approximately 30 valuable seconds, but they eventually got back into the red zone with 18 seconds left and called their final time out.
It didn’t go well coming back out. Layfield took a six-loss loss, then hustled everyone to the line before spiking the ball with one Michigan second to play. The snap was low and away on the final play, Layfield retrieved it and tried to salvage the play but his pass was rushed and nearly was intercepted by Corey Boykin short of the end zone as time expired.
“Unfortunately we came up short this time, but next time we won’t,” Collazo said.
Layfield completed 17 of 32 passes in the game for 234 yards and two touchdowns. He went over the 1,000-yard passing mark for the season with a nine-yard completion to Johnson on the first play of the fourth quarter. He was 5-of-6 for 118 yards in the two fourth-quarter touchdown drives, 9-of-13 for 161 yards the entire quarter.
“I’d have given up the 1,000 yards for the win,” he said.
Top photo: Pennsville quarterback Jake Layfield loads up to throw a pass on the final play n hopes of delivering the game-winning touchdown.
| Burlington City | 12 | 0 | 6 | 6- | 24 |
| Pennsville | 0 | 0 | 7 | 15- | 22 |
SCORING SUMMARY
BC-Julian Corry 7 pass from Mason Shansey (run failed), 4:32 1Q
BC-Tavion Miller 4 run (pass failed), 2:11 1Q
PV-Lucas Thomas 34 pass from Jake Layfield (Dante Cummings kick), 7:19 3Q
BC-Darius Davis 8 run (run failed), 0:08 3Q
PV-Chase Johnson 59 pass from Jake Layfield (Aiden Collazo pass from Jake Layfield), 10:30 4Q
BC-Tavion Miller 78 kickoff return (run failed), 10:14 4Q
PV-Aiden Collazo 1 run (Dante Cummings kick), 8:27 4Q
Woodstown 42, Buena 8
WOODSTOWN — Mason Middlemiss threw a pair of touchdown passes to Andrew White and ran for another score as Woodstown rolled over Buena to win back-to-back games for the first time since the 2024 playoffs, coach Frank Trautz’ first year at the helm.
TyRell West and Cole Ware each scored on short runs in the first quarter, but were workhorses for the Wolverines all night. Middlemiss accounted for the next three scores and Noah Chiu scored their final touchdown when his tackle for loss resulted in a fumble that he fell on in the end zone.
“I thought we played really well tonight, executed and were able to once again put together four quarters of really good football,” Trautz said. “That’s two good weeks in a row. Obviously, building on the momentum from last week and was happy to put another good game together. We’ve just got to try to keep it rolling now.
“It’s about continuing to put good days together that turn into good weeks that turn into good results on Friday night. We’re learning to do that and that’s a good thing.”
| Buena | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8- | 8 |
| Woodstown | 14 | 14 | 14 | 0- | 42 |
SCORING SUMMARY
WO-TyRell West 5 run (Jack Bucksar kick)
WO-Cole Ware 3 run (Jack Bucksar kick)
WO-Mason Middlemiss 30 run (Jack Bucksar kick)
WO-Andrew White 25 pass from Mason Middlemiss (Jack Bucksar kick)
WO-Andrew White 60 pass from Mason Middlemiss (Jack Bucksar kick)
WO-Noah Chiu fumble recovery in end zone (Jack Bucksar kick)
B-Touchdown (2-point conversion)
WJFL Standings
| DIAMOND | ALL | DIV | INDEPENDENCE | ALL | DIV |
| Schalick | 4-0 | 2-0 | Woodstown | 3-2 | 3-0 |
| Overbrook | 2-2 | 2-0 | Penns Grove | 3-0 | 2-0 |
| Paulsboro | 3-1 | 2-0 | Clayton | 3-1 | 1-1 |
| Burlington City | 1-4 | 1-2 | Woodbury | 2-2 | 1-1 |
| Salem | 1-3 | 0-2 | Pitman | 1-3 | 0-2 |
| Pennsville | 2-3 | 0-3 | Buena | 1-4 | 0-3 |
FRIDAY’S RESULTS
Woodstown 42, Buena 8
Burlington City 24, Pennsville 22
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Penns Grove at Woodbury, 10 a.m.
Schalick at Paulsboro, 11 a.m.
MONDAY’S GAME
Overbrook at Salem, 3:30 p.m.
500 reasons to smile
Woodstown adds two more milestones to its storied soccer history
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT – There is one thing Darren Huck enjoys as much as he does coaching the Woodstown boys soccer team. It’s digging into the history of the Woodstown boys soccer team.
Those two passions converged on one field here Thursday as the Wolverines won the 500th game in the history of their soccer program, 4-2 over Penns Grove.
The Wolverines have been playing soccer since 1978. Huck has been at the helm since 1999, adding 318 wins to that total.
“For me, as an alumnus of Woodstown High School, for me, as someone who’s played at Woodstown, for someone who was an assistant coach at Woodstown and someone now as the head coach and I’ve been doing it for such a long time, I’m just proud to be a part of this program,” Huck said. “This is a program that is very dear to me and I put everything I can into it, whether it’s the players, the uniforms they wear, the equipment we get, the facility that we have, you name it, and for people to say wow that Woodstown soccer program that’s all right that means a lot.
“The 500th win in school history is pretty cool. We don’t play the game to try to get that 300th player to get a goal or get the school to get to 500 wins … but it’s nice to always look back and reflect on certain milestones like that.”
Another piece of Wolverines soccer history hit closer to Huck’s home last Friday, That’s when Cole Huck, the coach’s son, became the 300th individual player to score a goal for the boys program when he scored in the first half against Salem.
It wasn’t set up to fall that way, it just happened. Ethan Cottman, who scored two goals in Thursday’s win, became Goalscorer No. 299 when he got the first goal against Salem. Another player hit the post just minutes before Cole’s goal or he would have had the distinction of being Mr. 300.
Cole’s goal was sixth of the half in an eventual 9-0 victory. Thomas DiPrimio came into the middle of the field with the ball, tapped Huck a diagonal pass and the junior tucked it into the bottom left corner. He also had two assists in the game.
“People brought it up to me about it, but I didn’t know, it didn’t click to me that I was the 300th,” Cole said. “It was really me? I was shocked about it, but I thought it was pretty cool.”
HIGH PRAISE: Penns Grove coach Mano Massari tipped his hat to the way Woodstown played as a team throughout Thursday’s match and he reserved special praise for Wolverines’ midfielder Jake Lewis.
The senior went down hard in a collision with Penns Grove striker Juan Ortiz near midfield in the second half. Ortiz collected the ball and went the other way and scored. Lewis was hunched over in pain for several moments before leaving the field. He returned later in the half and finished the game.
His play spoke to the Red Devils’ coach.
“That kid is unbelievable to watch,” Massari said. “I don’t think he scored any goals today, I don’t think he’s their top goal-scorer, but that kid, just from one game, he looks like their engine, he really does.
“He dominated that entire midfield. He wins every ball in the air. He goes into tackles. He distributes. I would kill to have a kid like that on my team, I would. He is unbelievable to watch. He’s the most impressive kid I’ve seen this year, from a heart standpoint and effort and just drive to win. It’s Jake Lewis. It’s a pleasure to watch him.”
Flynn’s first, Woodstown’s 500th
Woodstown senior scores first career goal in Wolverines’ 500th all-time win and more from Thursday’s full slate of Salem County games
BOYS SOCCER
Clayton 8, Salem 0
Salem Tech 3, Gloucester Catholic 1
Schalick 2, Pitman 0
Woodstown 4, Penns Grove 2
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT — Aaron Flynn still gets the questions and still hears the comments, but he’s used to them by now and usually just laughs them off.
At 6-foot-4, 240 pounds it’s only natural for people who watch him play futbol to wonder why he’s not protecting Mason Middlemiss’ blind side as an offensive tackle on the Woodstown football team instead of standing his ground as the last line of defense for the Wolverines’ soccer side.
Truth be told, the senior with a big throw-in and even bigger foot never really got introduced to or took an interest in football in his youth. He tells the curious he gets his contact playing lacrosse in the spring, but that doesn’t stop them from asking.
“Oh my God, yes, I get asked all the time why I don’t play football,” Flynn said. “You’d be surprised, almost every game I play in when I throw the ball in from the parents’ side, it’s either comments from parents, comments from kids at the school, they say man, you should be out there playing football or when the game’s chippy I get the usual ‘he’s too big for soccer.’
“I kind of take it like a compliment. It’s not every day you see a kid that’s 6-4 240 running up and down the field playing like I do. It’s fun. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Flynn said none of the current Woodstown football coaches have ever pressured him to crossover, but he did admit he “thought about it” briefly last year when it looked like the Wolverines were going to have some big holes to fill and the comments accelerated. Ultimately his love for the game and playing with his friends pulled him back.
His dedication to the sport was rewarded with the ultimate prize Thursday as he scored his first career goal in the second half of the Wolverines’ milestone 4-2 win over Penns Grove. It was the 500th victory in the 48-year history of the Woodstown soccer program.
RELATED STORY: Huck reacts to two milestones https://riverviewsportsnews.com/2026/09/25/500-reasons-to-smile/
The goal came on a 30-yard free kick that sailed over Penns Grove keeper Ruben Torres Saenz and gave the Wolverines a 4-1 lead.
“I didn’t get to see my player get fouled, but my coach Don Ayars said we’re going to kick it,” Flynn said. “I was surprised he was looking at me getting ready to kick the ball. I sat the ball down and I started to realize the goalie’s out pretty far, I think I’m going to try to shoot. I couldn’t believe it, but when I kicked the ball I saw his hands go up and as soon as I saw him jump I said I think it’s going to go in. I was super excited.
“I’ve never really come close. I’ll take a swing and I usually put it over top., so I don’t necessarily have the green light to rip one from outside usually. I’ll definitely remember it because it was my first one. I make a lot of jokes to the coaches before the games, after the games, that one of these times I kick it over it’s gonna drop in sometimes, so it was great. It was my senior year and I finally get to put one in.”
Flynn’s goal was part of a three-goal eruption in the second half that kept Woodstown in control of the game.
The Wolverines had the most opportunities in the first half but only had a 1-0 lead to show for it. Josh Olbrich redirected a Tommy Tucci cross just inside the left post five minutes into the game to put Woodstown on the board. They could’ve had more in the half, but hit a post and a crossbar.
Ethan Cottman scored twice in the second half before Flynn delivered. Cottman’s second goal came on a penalty kick after a handball in the box made made it 3-1. Woodstown peppered Saenz with 33 shots.
“I was really happy with the amount of pressure we applied today and that was the key to some of the opportunities that we had,” Woodstown coach Darren Huck said. “I thought we worked well off the ball and we were very unselfish as far as all the passes we linked together.
“For us to be on the road and play a division team like Penns Grove with some of the crazy finishes that we’ve had over the last couple seasons, that (Red Devils coach) Mano (Massari) have been a part of, it was gratifying to see the work pay off.”
Penns Grove picked up its pace in the second half as well. Juan Ortiz scored both of the Red Devils’ goal. The first came after he violently collided with Woodstown midfielder Jake Lewis then took the ball all the way and beat keeper Eddie Fuller, who also was injured attempting to make the save. Lewis returned to the game, Fuller did not.
Ortiz notched his second goal against backup goal Lee Coombs with less than 10 minutes to play, but it only got the Red Devils back to 4-2.
“We took too long to show up today, we really did,” Massari said. “I think the last 20 minutes of that game we took control over it, but we took too long (getting there). We’ve talked about that; it’s been a thing with these guys. Some days they show up, some days they don’t. I don’t know how they don’t show up against a division rival.
“Woodstown plays as a team and that;’ what we talked about that after the game. We don’t play as a team sometimes and that was a total team effort from Woodstown and that’s what showed today. They outworked us today, easily.”
Now that Flynn has established himself as a goal scorer for the Wolverines, will there be more chances coming his way? Don’t wait for it.
“I think we’re good where he’s at right now,” Huck said. “We’ll leave that to some other players, let him continue to grow.”
Top photo: Woodstown senior Aaron Flynn moves in to clear a ball out of harm’s way.
SCHALICK 2, PITMAN 0: Connor McQuade scored in the first half and Tim Koering scored four minutes into the second half for the Cougars. Nick Latona recorded four saves in the shutout.
SALEM TECH 3, GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 1: The Chargers rallied with three goals in the second half. Cross Lopez got the equalizer, Avery Reed put them ahead, and Logan Pace added an insurance goal. Aiden Bobo made a several saves in goal to keep the Charters in it until they go on track.
CLAYTON 8, SALEM 0: Jonathan Rehm scored five goals in the first half to run his career total to 70 and set the Clippers’ all-time scoring record. Kevin Mosley assisted on three of Rehm’s goals.
GIRLS SOCCER
Clayton 6, Salem 0
Gloucester Catholic 7, Salem Tech 0
Pitman 3, Pennsville 1
Woodstown 7, Penns Grove 0
WOODSTOWN 7, PENNS GROVE 0: Seven different players lit the lamp in the Wolverines’ fifth straight win. They’ve outscored their opponents 28-1 during the streak.
PITMAN 3, PENNSVILLE 1: The Panthers scored three goals in the first half to take control. Karsen Cooksey scored Pennsville’s goal in the second half.
GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 7, SALEM TECH 0: Seven different players scored goals for the Rams.
CLAYTON 6, SALEM 0: Mikaela Sciubba had a hat trick and Madi Traister scored a pair of goals for the Clippers.
FIELD HOCKEY
Glassboro at Pennsville
Salem Tech 6, Salem 0
Schalick 10, Deptford 0
Woodstown 5, Overbrook 0
SALEM TECH 6, SALEM 0: Hazel Eachus scored twice and Jessilyn Chambers had a goal and two assists to lead the Chargers to their first-ever win over a Salem County opponent. Hayden Crispin, Abigail Beals and Araya DiGregorio scored their other goals.
SCHALICK 10, DEPTFORD 0: Alexa Shimp and Chayce Hedley each scored twice and six others added single goals as the Cougars won their sixth in a row and posted their second straight shutout. Luci Virga had a goal and an assists to reach 150 career points.
WOODSTOWN 5, OVERBROOK 0: The Wolverines scored four goals in the first quarter, two by Caroline Sheets, and cruised to their fifth straight win. Lexi Taylor scored their first goal and fifth goal. Shyann Higinbotham scored the other goal and had three assists.
GIRLS TENNIS
GLASSBORO 4, SALEM 1
Taylor Adcock (G) def. Heaven Jones-McCullough, 6-1, 4-6 10-1
JaNye Hubbard (S) def. Virginia Tarasevich, 6-3, 6-0
Amani George (G) def. Erica Brewer, 6-0, 6-0
Sofia Dungca-Conception Soriano (G) def. Aleena Allen-Aniya Lyles-Clark, 6-0, 6-0
Shreeti Sutaria-Lindsay Townsly (G) won by forfeit
Records: Glassboro 6-4, Salem 0-6
PITMAN 4, PENNSVILLE 1
Ava Mollenhauer (PI) def. Graillyn Weber, 6-1, 7-5
Kendall Bennett (PI) def. Naomi Hess, 6-2, 6-2
Jaisley Weber (PV) def. Mikaela Totora, 6-1, 6-3
Listella Eisenhardt-Delaney Pierson (PI) def. Aubrey Hall-Juliana Thomas, 6-1, 6-0
Anna Jones-Mia Gladney (P) def. Yasary Clemente Brito-Mariangela Rangel, 6-1, 6-1
Records: Pitman 10-4, Pennville 7-3
SCHALICK 5, OVERBROOK 0
Olivia Lunemann (S) def. Isabella Sepulveda, 6-1, 6-2
Sebrina Bradford (S) def. Madison Rikard, 6-4, 6-0
Jasmine Hunt (S) def. Sianni Diaz, 6-0, 6-0
Brooke Brown-Jasmin Perez (S) def. Nicola Cusato-Liana Grant-Williams, 6-1, 6-0
River Wojcik-Janae White (S) def. Michaela Sapundzhiev-Aysia Harper Williams, 6-1, 6-1
Records: Schalick 7-3, Overbrook 1-7
WOODSTOWN 5, PENNS GROVE 0
Madison LaPalomento (WO) def. Adanelys Lopez-Melendez, 6-0, 6-0
Emma West (WO) def. Kavila Pulchard, 6-1, 6-2
Angelina Lindenmuth (WO) def. Valeria Torres, 6-1, 6-1
Emilee Kehr-Elliana Norman (WO) def Cadence Jackson-Clarisleidy Smith, 6-0, 6-0
Records: Woodstown 7-4, Penns Grove 0-8.
COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
Anne Arundel 3, Salem CC 0 (25-9, 25-18, 25-18)
Long road to tennis glory
Here are the pairings for the first two rounds of the South Jersey Group 1 girls tennis tournament. The field expands to 24 teams, with the top eight seeds drawing a bye. The new format makes for some interesting trips (ex.: Henry Hudson/Keyport at Lower Cape May, 120 miles; Dayton at Pennsville, 109 miles). “When the NJSIAA decided to go with a combined South/Central (sectional) we knew this was a possibility in terms of extensive travel,” Woodstown coach Jesse Stemberger said. In regards to his team’s seeding Stemberger said, “A little surprised we’re 3 to be honest. I thought 5 was the best case scenario but we’ll take the current alignment.”
TUESDAY’S MATCHES
(1) Pitman bye
(17) Bernards at (16) Highland Park
(24) New Egypt at (9) Roselle Park
(8) Middlesex bye
(5) Gateway bye
(21) Wildwood at (12) South River
(20) Glassboro at (13) Schalick, 2 p.m.
(4) Haddon Twp. bye
(3) Woodstown bye
(19) Henry Hudson/Keyport at (14) Lower Cape May
(22) Pt. Pleasant Beach at (11) Edison Magnet
(6) Metruchen bye
(7) Woodbridge Magnet
(23) Dayton at (10) Pennsville
(18) Shore at (15) Dunellen
(2) New Providence bye
OCT. 1 MATCHES
Bernards-Highland Park winner at Pitman
Roselle Park-New Egypt winner at Middlesex
Wildwood-South River winner at Gateway
Schalick-Glassboro winner at Haddon Twp.
Henry Hudson/Keyport-Lower Cape May winner at Woodstown
Edison Magnet-PP Beach winner at Metuchen
Pennsville-Dayton winner at Woodbridge Magnet
Dunellen-Shore winner at New Providence
On the MAPS
Accorsi putting Salem CC football ‘on the MAPS’ with Friday’s game with Army Prep at West Point
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT – Every game means something to someone, but this week’s game has special meaning to Salem CC football coach Jay Accorsi.
Not only are the Mighty Oaks coming off their first win in program history, Accorsi is preparing his players to enter “a whole different world.”
Michie Stadium, West Point Friday, 6:30 p.m.
The Mighty Oaks hit the road in the regular season for the first time as a program, but that’s not exactly what makes it special. It’s the venue. They take on Army Prep at Michie Stadium on the grounds of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point Friday at 6:30 p.m.
Actually, it’s the first of two games the fledgling program will play against the service academy prep schools. They play Navy Prep at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis on Oct. 23, giving them the distinction of being the only junior college team in the country playing both Army and Navy prep schools
“That’s why I did it in my previous experience coaching, for the players to understand there’s other student-athletes who do a lot of other things,” Accorsi said. “To go to a service academy and play a service academy team is pretty special. If you look at all the other JUCOs, nobody else is playing Army and Navy Prep. It’s something I wanted to do and it kind of worked out.
“Don’t get me wrong, they’re really good. They beat Nassau 39-19 and it probably could’ve been 60-7, but that wasn’t part of what I wanted to create. I wanted to create an experience where they could go and be exposed to others who are doing a lot more than the normal student-athlete.
“It’s a pretty special place. It’s a historic place. So to be able to be there and be on that campus I think is pretty special. It’s just a different atmosphere, so that’s really what I wanted to bring – and legitimacy to our program. If you’re playing two service academy teams that’s really special, no other JUCO program in the country is doing that, so that’s the part I wanted to legitimize our program early on, we’re doing something nobody else is doing.”
Accorsi, whose brother-in-law, a retired Army colonel, is a West Point grad, had played the Army JV team at Fort Monmouth when he was at Rowan and been to West Point before. When the academy decided to build a prep campus at the north end of West Point, he put it on the bucket list to play there. MAPS already has agreed to play in Salem County next season.
Unlike the trip to Annapolis where the stadium is located outside of the U.S. Naval Academy gates, Michie Stadium is on the U.S. Military Academy campus and as such the travel party has been filling out paperwork for access to the grounds. Accorsi said most of the 60-65 players expected to make the trip have obtained the proper documentation. Player parents and others not part of the official travel party must report to the USMA Visitor Control Center at the opposite end of the campus for clearance..
Of course, there are other internal logistical considerations that go with taking such a large group of the road regardless of the game site. That’s the reason Accorsi scheduled the Mighty Oaks’ preseason scrimmage at Montclair and he said he was “very happy” with how they traveled that day.
Friday’s opponent will be different than any team the Mighty Oaks will play this season, with the exception, of course, of Navy Prep. They’re extremely disciplined, as you might expect, and play a style of football that has the Mighty Oaks installing a new defensive scheme in this short work week. Accorsi expects there will be some players the Mighty Oaks will be seeing on TV suiting up for the Black Knights in the next couple years.
“I told the team you’re excited about (last week’s) win, happy for everybody, everything’s great … but now we’re entering a whole different world and they are so opposite of the junior college programs,” Accorsi said. “That’s why I scheduled these games, so they could understand there are teams that are completely opposite of what junior college football is like but still very successful.”
Speaking of special, the special teams played a big part in the Mighty Oaks’ win over Thaddeus Stevens. They had over 200 yards in returns and both of their go-ahead touchdowns in the second half were set up by huge returns by Demetris Williams (68 yards on a kickoff) and DJ Binck (46 yards on a punt). Three quarterbacks moved the offense fluidly in the second half and won the game with the ball in their hands. The defense held Stevens to less than 90 yards rushing, allowed just one touchdown and came up big several times on third and fourth down.
“The advantage we have is our athletic ability and speed,” Accorsi said. “We’re going to have to use that to our advantage in certain areas and try to create some mismatches and things we’re going to have to do.
“We didn’t have a lot of personal fouls, (in the win), we didn’t have a lot of real bad penalties. I told them we need to do that and even more against this type of team to put ourselves in a position to stay in the game so hopefully at the end of the game we have a chance. That’s what our goal is.”
Salem CC Leaders
PASSING: Aidan Hill 9-28-2, 205 yards, 2 TDs; Malakhai McKenzie 7-16-0, 52 yards; Cam Wright 3-7-1, 19 yards.
RUSHING: Aidan Hill 20-106, Kahmaj Kearney 20-66, Jamar Smith 12-59-1, Jon Pettigrew7-47, Tre McLeod 6-42.
RECEIVING: Jeremiah Russell 3-92-1, Darion Joyner 3-41, Kahmaj Kearney 3-31, Jahfarri Payne 2-46-1, Lamar McCoy 2-29, Jon Pettigrew 2-12
TACKLES: Charlie Shute 13, Zariah Poutre 11, Mark Moore 8, Aidan Alexander 7.
INTERCEPTIONS: Mark Moore 2, Jarrell Burks 2.
Buena to join TCC
Chiefs, already a popular scheduling partner of league teams, to come aboard Tri-County Conference in 2028-29 school year.
By Riverview Sports News
Buena Regional High School has announced it plans to leave the Cape-Atlantic League to join the Tri-County Conference starting in the 2028-2029 school year.
One of the prime factors, the school said in a news release, is enrollment alignment. The Tri-County Conference currently includes eight Group I high schools, compared with two in the Cape-Atlantic League, providing the Chiefs with more opportunities to compete against schools of similar size.
Travel was also reviewed and is expected to be relatively comparable to their current Cape-Atlantic League schedule.
There are currently 22 schools in the TCC. Buena played 43 regular-season games against TCC teams the previous school year.
All six Salem County high schools play in the TCC. Buena’s athletics director, Doug Foglein, is the brother of Pennsville boys soccer coach Derek Foglein.
The league recently lost Wildwood back to the CAL. The Warriors moved back for similar reasons to Buena jumping to the TCC.
All of Buena’s athletic programs will remain in place, the school said. Football will continue in the West Jersey Football League, and Buena Regional Middle School athletics will continue to operate independently.
Buena’s expected final date in the Cape-Atlantic League would be June 30, 2028, with anticipated membership in the Tri-County Conference beginning July 1
“They will be a great fit for us; have wanted them to join us for a while,” Pennsville athletics director Jamy Thomas said. “(They are a) nice fit with our small division. We need to push to get to 24; four divisions of six would be ideal. The few sports we have now with four or five teams in a division is just not good for anyone.
“We already play them in a ton of sports, so I am looking forward to working with them even more.”
Top photo: Buena has been a popular non-conference opponent for Pennsville over the years. In this photo, the Eagles play Buena in its holiday basketball tournament a few years back.
Football leaders
Here are the Salem County football statistical leaders through Sept. 20
Salem County leaders
Rushing
| PLAYER | CAR. | YARDS | TD |
| Kenny Bartee, Schalick | 53 | 533 | 8 |
| Jaivon Thomas, Penns Grove | 23 | 469 | 7 |
| Cole Ware, Woodstown | 56 | 334 | 1 |
| Terrell Thomas, Penns Grove | 30 | 291 | 6 |
| David Stewart, Schalick | 32 | 271 | 4 |
| Cashmir Parsley, Salem | 48 | 326 | 2 |
| Ayden Jenkins, Schalick | 34 | 194 | 1 |
| Aidan Collazo, Pennsville | 15 | 173 | 1 |
| Tristan Horner, Pennsville | 34 | 138 | 4 |
| Mason Middlemiss, Woodstown | 24 | 100 | 4 |
| Savior Allah, Penns Grove | 4 | 80 | 1 |
| Kyvion Parsons, Salem | 14 | 81 | 2 |
| Zavier Reeder, Penns Grove | 4 | 71 | 0 |
| Adrian Alleyne, Salem | 7 | 59 | 0 |
| TyRell West, Woodstown | 13 | 55 | 2 |
| Freddie Allen, Schalick | 8 | 49 | 1 |
| DezYon Purnell, Schalick | 8 | 49 | 0 |
Passing
| PLAYER | C-A-I | YARDS | TD |
| Jake Layfield, Pennsville | 82-126-3 | 920 | 8 |
| Owen McDonald, Salem | 10-22-2 | 105 | 1 |
| Mason Middlemiss, Woodstown | 11-20-3 | 135 | 2 |
| Kenny Bartee, Schalick | 6-21-0 | 125 | 1 |
| Damien Robinson, Penns Grove | 10-13-0 | 82 | 2 |
| Gabriel McFarland, Schalick | 3-4-0 | 49 | 1 |
| Kyvion Parsons, Salem | 3-11-2 | 41 | 1 |
Receiving
| PLAYER | NO. | YARDS | TD |
| Chase Johnson, Pennsville | 29 | 424 | 4 |
| Lucas Thomas, Pennsville | 14 | 87 | 1 |
| Aidan Collazo, Pennsville | 10 | 132 | 0 |
| Jacob Kimani, Pennsville | 10 | 126 | 1 |
| Tristan Horner, Pennsville | 9 | 45 | 1 |
| Danny Knight, Pennsville | 7 | 93 | 0 |
| Jerry Wooton, Penns Grove | 6 | 97 | 2 |
| Ahmad Tucker, Salem | 4 | 51 | 1 |
| Cole Ware, Woodstown | 4 | 35 | 0 |
| Gio Alicea, Schalick | 3 | 56 | 1 |
| KaiSiere Muhammad, Salem | 3 | 49 | 0 |
| Dante Cummings, Pennsville | 3 | 13 | 1 |
| Andrew White, Woodstown | 2 | 43 | 2 |
| Noah Chiu, Woodstown | 2 | 31 | 0 |
| Omari Robinson, Penns Grove | 2 | 26 | 1 |
| Quimere Bergen, Salem | 2 | 24 | 1 |
| Nehemiah Carter, Woodstown | 2 | 23 | 0 |
| Savior Allah, Penns Grove | 2 | 21 | 0 |
| Evan Elliott, Schalick | 2 | 10 | 1 |
Defense
SACKS — 6: Omari Robinson, Penns Grove; 5.5: Myshion Barnes, Salem; 4: JaKai Ingram, Penns Grove; Mahkye Murray, Salem; 3.5 Tony Merendino, Salem; 3: Nick Lopergolo, Schalick; 2: Kamal Chatum, Salem; Xavier Csaszar, Woodstown; Evan Elliott, Schalick; Dillon Garrity, Woodstown; Rex Hannah, Woodstown; Maliq Reddick, Penns Grove
INTERCEPTIONS — 4: Jacob Kimani, Pennsville; 3: David Stewart, Schalick; 2: Gio Alicea, Schalick; Jaivon Thomas, Penns Grove; Danny Knight, Pennsville
Team Leaders
| TEAM | RUSH | C-A-I | PASS | PF | PA |
| PENNS GROVE (3-0) | 1007 | 11-15-0 | 147 | 133 | 26 |
| PENNSVILLE (2-2) | 246 | 82-126-3 | 920 | 95 | 61 |
| SALEM (1-3) | 531 | 13-33-4 | 146 | 56 | 98 |
| SCHALICK (4-0) | 1126 | 12-30-0 | 208 | 147 | 26 |
| WOODSTOWN (2-2) | 545 | 11-20-3 | 135 | 62 | 83 |
True grit
Penns Grove soccer shows grit in extending longest winning streak since 2022; conditions impact the day’s schedule but Schalick weathers it
TUESDAY RESULTS
BOYS SOCCER
Schalick 7, Glassboro 0
Penns Grove 4, Overbrook 3
GIRLS SOCCER
Overbrook 6, Penns Grove 0
Salem at Pennsville, ppd.
Salem Tech at Pitman
Schalick 6, Glassboro 0
FIELD HOCKEY
Schalick 2, Glassboro 0
Gloucester Catholic at Woodstown
Salem Tech at Pennsville, ppd.
GIRLS TENNIS
Mainland at Woodstown, ppd.
Glassboro at Penns Grove
Pennsville at Overbrook, ppd.
Pitman 5, Schalick 0
Salem at Timber Creek, ppd.
CROSS COUNTRY
TCC Batch Meet at Salem Tech
Boys
Salem Tech 17, Clayton 44
Glassboro 16, Woodstown 39
Pennsville 28, Salem 29
VOLLEYBALL
Lindenwold 2, Salem Tech 0 (27-25, 25-16)
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PINE HILL – It was a long, wet bus ride back to campus after the match, but it gave the Penns Grove soccer team a chance to reflect.
The Red Devils outlasted Overbrook 4-3 Tuesday for their fourth straight win, their longest winning streak since 2022. You’ve got to go back before 2010 to find the last time they started a season 5-1 and the conversation they had on the ride back home attempted to put things in perspective.
“It just validates to guys that what we do in practice is working,” Penns Grove coach Mano Massari said. “We had a long talk on the bus that it’s a long season, they can’t get full of themselves. We know this is the hottest start we’ve had in a long time, but we’ve got to keep our heads straight, stay calm, keep doing our jobs and good things will happen.
“Be proud of themselves because it’s hard to win in this division. So far they’ve had a good start. Had some bumps in the road, but they can’t get full of themselves. They can’t get caught up in it, gotta stay hungry. All this does is validate what we’re doing is working, but we’ve got a lot of good teams on our schedule ahead. We’ve got to keep doing what we’re doing.”
Juan Ortiz scored two goals to lead the Red Devils, including the game-winner with about 15 minutes left in the match, and assisted on both of senior David Adu’s two goals. Ortiz has scored in all five of the Red Devils’ wins. They have won their last nine in which the junior has scored at least one goal.
“He’s a very skilled player; he elevates the team when he keeps his head straight,” Massari said. “He’s just got to keep grinding, keep working. He can be a force on the field if he keeps going in this direction.”
Penns Grove never trailed in the match, but the Rams matched every goal the Red Devils scored until Ortiz put home his county-leading 12th of the year for the game-winner.
“All the goals were really good goals on both sides,” Massari said. “It took everything out of my guys to win that game. I told them every time we get into a dogfight usually we come out on top. It says a lot about the grit of the team, but I said we can’t make a habit of it.”
SCHALICK 7, GLASSBORO 0: Luke Price scored two of the Cougars’ six first-half goals. Ryan Loper, Nolan O’Toole, Landon Anderson, Marco Spinnato and Grant Vanlier scored their other goals. All three of the Cougars’ wins have been by seven-goal margins.
Girls soccer
SCHALICK 6, GLASSBORO 0: Brooke Valentine and Kyleigh Cutler both scored twice as the Cougars erupted for five goals in the second half and remained undefeated (5-0). It’s their longest winning streak to open the season since going 6-0 to open the 2020 season. They were unbeaten in their first nine in 2022.
OVERBROOK 6, PENNS GROVE 0: Victoria Bupp scored a hat trick in the first half to reach 100 career points and Lilly LaFountain scored twice in the second half. Bupp also had three assists and LaFountain had two.
Field hockey
SCHALICK 2, GLASSBORO 0: The Cougars didn’t wait to the last-second to extend their winning streak, scoring both their goals in the first quarter. Luci Virga and Addi Shimp lit the lamp. It was the Cougars’ fifth win in a row. Their last two came on goal off a corner after time had expired and on a goal with 19 seconds left. The game was called at halftime because of the weather, but it’s official.
Cross country
WOODSTOWN – Glassboro put the first four runners across the line in a pack six seconds apart to lead the field in Tri-County batch meet at Salem Tech and was just too tough for Woodstown to catch in their head-to-head shakeout..
Woodstown’s David Farrell was the fastest Salem County runner across the line, finishing seventh overall in 16:32.61.
Salem Tech’s Levi Seals finished 22nd overall (17:48.78) and led the Chargers over Clayton, 17-44.
Pennsville’s Carter Marts was 28th and led the Eagles to a 28-29 win over Salem. The Eagles won it by going 9-10-11 in the head-to-head before the Rams posted their fifth counter. Gavin Cronrath was Salem’s fastest runner, placing 64th overall in 19:02.44.
Schalick was matched with Overbrook, but the Rams didn’t have enough runners to post a team score. The Cougars were led by Aidan Cain’s 18:16.69 (30th).
Woodstown’s Abby Marino finished fifth overall in the girls race (19:48.87). Pennsville’s Sawyer Slad was 19th overall (21:27.57). Helen Lillia was Schalick’s fastest (22:53.47, 40th). Abigail Vanaman led Salem Tech at 24:39.64. Kingsway put the first three runners across the line in the girls race.
Girls tennis
WESTVILLE — Schalick moved its match to RiverWinds to get it played in hopes of advancing its power points position on the cut-off date, but the Cougars came up short 5-0. The Cougars entered the day No. 11 in the South Jersey Group 1 power points standings.
PITMAN 5, SCHALICK 0
Ava Mollenhauer (P) def. Olivia Lunemann, 6-1, 6-1
Kendall Bennett (P) def. Sebrina Bradford, 6-1, 6-0
Mykaela Totora (P) def. Jasmine Hunt, 6-1, 6-2
Listella Eisenhardt-Delaney Pierson (P) def. Brooke Brown-Jasmin Perez, 6-0, 6-2
Anna Jones-Mia Gladney (P) def. River Wojcik-Janae White, 7-5, 7-5
Records: Pitman 9-4, Schalick 6-3
Hurdling Hernandez
Freshman leads Woodstown girls soccer to fourth straight win; includes all of Monday’s Salem Cou
MONDAY’S SCORES
GIRLS SOCCER
Woodstown 7, Audubon 1
Millville 6, Pennsville 1
Pitman 6, Salem Tech 0
BOYS SOCCER
Audubon 1, Woodstown 0
Salem Tech 1, Paulsboro 0
FIELD HOCKEY
Salem 2, Clayton 1
GIRLS TENNIS
Schalick 5, Penns Grove 0
VOLLEYBALL
Timber Creek at Salem Tech
COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
Atlantic Cape 3, Salem CC 0 (25-6, 25-9, 25-6)
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN — Korynn Hernandez is thinking about going out for track this winter or spring. She’s never run the hurdles before, but she should consider it. She’d be pretty good at it.
Her game, of course, is soccer and she’s pretty good at that, too.
In a fortuitous blend of the two sports, the Woodstown freshman hurdled an Audubon defender at the top of the 18 box like Saquon Barkley, then planted her foot on the other side and fired a shot past a surprised goalie for her 11th goal of the season. It touched off a five-goal eruption over the next 26 minutes that carried the Wolverines to a 7-1 mercy-rule win.
It was their fourth win in a row.
“I don’t think I realized (she did that); I just kind of run and push as hard as I can until something develops,” she said. “At that moment I just got changed into attacking mid from wing, so I was coming from the outside and running in, so I think it’s easier to get the ball and go forward that way. That was a really good idea by my coach to switch me that fast.
“I also think I’m pretty good at checking my surroundings and Ive gotten better at that, so I think I was aware there was a girl behind me and as I turned in front of me, so I think as I was able to get that forward touch on the ball I was able to get over her because I knew she was there in advance.”
Seven different players scored for the Wolverines (5-1-1), the product of their unique rotation that allows opportunities to happen.
Hernandez had a hand in their first two goals. She assisted on the only goal of the first half when Genevieve Flynn headed home the freshman’s perfectly placed corner kick in the ninth minute. Then in the first minute of the second half she sent a quick shot into the middle that Sayumi Gonzalez got a piece of and Aubree Covely finished with her left foot, making it 2-0.
With a goal and three assists against the Green Wave, she now leads Salem County girls in goals and overall points by a wide margin.
“She’s definitely not a one trick pony; I mean she’s good at everything,” Wolverines coach Kieran Keyser said. “She works hard. She obviously can score goals; she has a natural knack to find the back of the net. She’s a good shot. She’s got some speed. She’s got some great skill. Positioning, she’s great. She kind of does everything you needed today. She played in four different positions today.
“The fact she can play anywhere and is so versatile helps us so much. “
Ellie Springer answered Covely’s goal three minutes later when she took advantage of a defensive breakdown and bounced a rebound the Wolverines should have cleared just over the reach of keeper Mazie Mazzoni. It ended a stretch of 335 minutes over five games without allowing a goal and cut the margin in half. But it also lit a fire under the Wolverines.
Hernandez followed with her hurdling goal five minutes later, followed by goals from Mariah Hyman, Hailey Kucharczuk, Bella Lucas and Gabby Maldonado. The game ended with 4:18 still to play.
“That was all credit to our team,” Keyser said. “We made a few subs, talked to our girls about staying home and sticking to our game plan. (The Audubon goal) probably helped us in sense because we realized the game was still a game. That gave us a little motivation to lock in and finish it out.”
MILLVILLE 6, PENNSVILLE 1: Freshman Bailey Hulse scored a hat trick in the second half and Naomi Burkhart scored twice for the Thunderbolts. Abby Marandola scored Pennsville’s goal in the second half.
PITMAN 6, SALEM TECH 0: Junior Elizabeth Heintz scored the first two goals of her career and Emery Sharpnack had three assists.
Boys soccer
SALEM TECH 1, PAULSBORO 0: Josh Woroniak scored the goal and Aiden Bobo recorded his third shutout of the season.
AUDUBON 1, WOODSTOWN 0: Anastasios Novratidis scored in the last five minutes of the first half and a pair of Green Wave goalies kept the Wolverines out of the net.
Field hockey
SALEM 2, CLAYTON 1: The Rams (1-6) scored a goal in overtime to score their first win of the season.
Tennis
SCHALICK 5, PENNS GROVE 0
Olivia Lunemann (S) def. Valeria Torres, 6-0, 6-0
Sebrina Bradford (S) def. Clarisleidy Smith, 6-0, 6-0
Jasmine Hunt (S) def. Stephani Recinos, 6-0, 6-0
Brooke Brown-Jazmin Perez (S) def. Angelica Luna-Savannah Bazemore, 6-0, 6-0
River Wojcik-Janae White (S) def. Alexandra Pantoja-Jackelyn Garcia, 6-0, 6-0
Records: Schalick 6-2, Penns Grove 0-6.
