Author: almusky

Slaying a giant

Girls roundup: Schalick scores 1-0 victory over Group 3 Cherry Hill West; Bloomer scores, Berger saves

GIRLS SOCCER
Gloucester Catholic 6, Penns Grove 0
Schalick 1, Cherry Hill West 0
FIELD HOCKEY
Schalick 2, Delsea 1
Gateway at Woodstown
COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
Salem CC at Morris

By Riverview Sports News

CHERRY HILL — One thing about the Schalick girls soccer program: The Cougars have never backed down from playing up in the schedule. It toughens them up during the season and gets them ready for post-season play.

Those bigger challenges have typically been a tough nut to crack, but Thursday the Cougars came through with a statement win, knocking off Cherry Hill West 1-0 in a battle of top 10 programs on the Lions’ Senior Day.

“It was great,” Cougars coach Will Kemp said. “I thought the girls really showed up today against a really good Cherry Hill West team, especially traveling here, it’s always difficult, especially playing on their turf. It was good.”

The undefeated Cougars (4-0) solidified their hold on the No. 1 spot in the South Jersey Group I power points standings. The Lions (3-2) remained No. 6 in the South Jersey Group 3 standings. Kemp can’t recall knocking off a similar quality larger classification team before in his tenure.

“It just allows them to see that they can overcome a lot of the bigger schools when they play against them,” he said. “In the past that’s been our Kryptonite when it comes to our seasons. Most of the time those are our losses on our records, but this time around they actually stepped up, they rose to the occasion and they played the beautiful game the way you’re supposed to play.”

Freshman Nicolette Bloomer scored the only goal of the match, finishing off a pass from Karlie Bakley midway through the second half. It was her sixth goal of the year. She has found the back of the net in every game this season.

Despite the low score, the Cougars’ dominated the play and their back line four of Emily Miller, Kassady Sickler, Ava Mayne and Brooke Valentine limited the Lions’ challenges. Schalick keeper Eve Berger recorded 11 saves in recording her third straight shutout and 21st over the last three seasons.

“Our back line was rock solid today,” Kemp said. “They handled business. They cleared their lines, prevented a lot of 1-v-1 situations, won their battles and did exactly what they were supposed to do together. We did a lot of defensive shape work this past work. It really showed inside this game.”

GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 6, PENNS GROVE 0: Six different players scored goals for the Rams.

Field hockey

SCHALICK 2, DELSEA 1: Alexa Shimp brought the Cougars their third straight win when she scored the game winner off a penalty corner in the fourth quarter with time already expired. Paisley Warner scored their other goal. Goalkeeper Melissa Basilone made four saves and Ella Cheesman made a defensive save to keep the Crusaders out of the cage.



More driven than ever

Woodstown’s Hannah returns to site of harrowing hit determined to ‘rewrite history,’ includes Salem County statistical leaders

THIS WEEK’S GAMES
Friday’s Games
Salem at Schalick, 6 p.m.
Pitman at Penns Grove, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday’s Games
Woodstown at Woodbury, 11 a.m.
Pennsville at Paulsboro, 11 a.m.

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – Rex Hannah has the tape. He hasn’t watched it in a while. Doesn’t want to see it. Doesn’t need to see it. He lived it. He doesn’t want to see it because it reminds him of one of the scariest experiences of his life – football or otherwise – but because it brings up memories of a loss.

It was a year ago this week the two-way Woodstown lineman was laid out on the field at Woodbury, knocked down by a blindside hit after the play as he was coming off the field. The crowd sat silently as trainers on the field worked to stabilize his head and neck. An ambulance waited nearby, rear doors open, ready to take him to a nearby hospital.

Ironically, Hannah and the Wolverines play the team that laid him out Saturday — 364 days after the incident – and as fate (and the new West Jersey Football League scheduling cycle) would have it, it’s back at Woodbury.

“I just remember waking up in the hospital; I was scared, I didn’t know what happened,” Hannah said before joining his teammates for a mid-week practice. “I really don’t remember the game, to be honest. I just remember waking up and having the great doctors with me and, of course, my family, my parents, who are my rock. Of course, it was tough because we couldn’t get it done and what happened. It was a hard day, but family is everything, so having them with me made it a lot better. It was just a rough day.”

The play occurred midway through the second quarter and the Wolverines were chasing Woodbury quarterback Nico Jimenez in the red zone. A broadcast of the game shows from just outside the frame Hannah appearing to take a front hit that knocked him backwards. The game was delayed nearly 20 minutes while medical personnel attended to him. He was said to have briefly lost consciousness on the field, but was talking and moving his extremities by the time he was transported from the field.

Wolverines head coach Frank Trautz called it a “scary moment … that I don’t wish upon any (player or coach) who ever has to do this.”

Hannah was released later that evening with a neck strain and a concussion that has the now junior cautious about his future in the game and long-term quality of life going forward. He returned to action in Week 7, but was re-concussed and remained sidelined for the rest of the season. 

He holds no animosity towards the offending Thundering Herd player and was actually mad at himself for not having “protected myself better” and not being there for his team in the 42-6 loss. He is proud of the way he’s put it behind him and the way he’s worked all summer to get back for the season and this game.

The last thing he wants is for Saturday to be thought of as “my game” or take away from the team’s focus and goal for the game that has become important to both teams’ seasons. Still, when he gets to the stadium he’ll probably slip away for a quiet moment at the spot to recognize the anniversary of the hit that could’ve ended it all and his recovery from it.

“I’ve had dreams about it, getting off that bus and walking up that hill and getting into that gym,” he said. “Before the game definitely I’m gonna take a knee, take a little rest, think about how far I’ve come, how far I’ve worked and think about how I could’ve gave up. 

“I could’ve sat in that hospital bed and went home and then gave up, but I didn’t and I pushed through. I’m just going to think about that and how I can help my team and what I can do to win. I’ll take it all in pre-game, think about what happened, but definitely take a breath, say a prayer, thank God for letting me still be here.”

Hannah is an intense player as it is, but the experience of last year’s trauma has made him more driven. In an interview during training camp he said ever since that date – and he specifically mentioned the date — he couldn’t wait for this season to get underway. He’s the Wolverines’ center responsible for setting the plays for a young offensive line and is a moving part on the defensive line. Even Trautz has noticed the lineman more determined to succeed.

“I did a lot of work outside football just finding myself,” Hannah said. “(The injury) made me drive a lot harder because nobody’s gonna lower how hard they go just because of whatever happened. It really flipped the switch for me that if they don’t care about you, you should play with that same intensity. Not everybody gets a chance to play football and it can always get taken away from you, so you’ve got to play with that intensity so you don’t get taken out.

“I love football. Football is my favorite thing is life, and to almost have that taken away from me at that spot it’s definitely a big deal  (going back to Woodbury). I almost lost what I love there, but I just want to rewrite history, rewrite what happened, and hopefully make it a better ending than what happened last time.”

FUN FACT: Hannah’s given name is Abraxus Tristan, named after a family friend, who he’s never met, and his father. He said he only recently learned of the 1970 Santana album “Abraxas,” which carried the band’s hits “Black Magic Woman” and “Oye Como Va.”

Salem County leaders

Rushing

PLAYERCAR.YARDSTD
Kenny Bartee, Schalick304237
Jaivon Thomas, Penns Grove173355
Cole Ware, Woodstown47255o
David Stewart, Schalick232364
Cashmir Parsley, Salem302191
Terrell Thomas, Penns Grove241884
Ayden Jenkins, Schalick201571
Aidan Collazo, Pennsville111521
Tristan Horner, Pennsville261184
Mason Middlemiss, Woodstown26
89
3
Adrian Alleyne, Salem7590
Savior Allah, Penns Grove3540
Kyvion Parsons, Salem8521
Freddie Allen, Schalick8491

Passing

PLAYERC-A-IYARDSTD
Jake Layfield, Pennsville60-98-27448
Owen McDonald, Salem10-22-21051
Mason Middlemiss, Woodstown8-18-4
76
1
Kenny Bartee, Schalick4-14-0450
Damien Robinson, Penns Grove6-8-0492
Kyvion Parsons, Salem3-7-1411

Receiving

PLAYERNO.YARDSTD
Chase Johnson, Pennsville233744
Lucas Thomas, Pennsville10781
Jacob Kimani, Pennsville81121
Tristan Horner, Pennsville8431
Aidan Collazo, Pennsville7780
Jerry Wooton, Penns Grove5922
Ahmad Tucker, Salem4511
Gio Alicea, Schalick3561
KaiSiere Muhammad, Salem3490
Quimere Bergen, Salem2241
Nehemiah Carter, Woodstown2
23
0
Dante Cummings, Pennsville2111
Evan Elliott, Schalick2101
Cole Ware, Woodstown240

Defense

SACKS — 4.5: Myshion Barnes, Salem; 4: Omari Robinson, Penns Grove; 3: JaKai Ingram, Penns Grove; 2.5: Tony Merendino, Salem; 2: Kamal Chatum, Salem; Evan Elliott, Schalick; Mahkye Murray, Salem

INTERCEPTIONS — 4: Jacob Kimani, Pennsville; 2: Gio Alicea, Schalick; Jaivon Thomas, Penns Grove

Team Leaders

TEAMRUSHC-A-IPASSPFPA
PENNS GROVE (2-0)6317-9-01149526
PENNSVILLE (2-1)24360-98-27449549
SALEM (1-2)39513-29-31464283
SCHALICK (3-0)94210-22-014813212
WOODSTOWN (1-2)3568-18-4762875

Woodstown milestone

Wolverines played the 1000th game in its football history last week; includes Wednesday’s results and highlights

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – While everyone involved in Friday night’s Schalick-Woodstown football game was – rightfully so – focused on recognizing the 25th anniversary of the attacks of 9/11, another more celebratory milestone slipped under the radar.

The game was the No. 1,000 in the storied history of Woodstown football, according to a recently published list of all-time New Jersey high school football records. The Wolverines played their first game in 1911.

“I didn’t know all that, but it’s very cool to be a part of,” Wolverines head coach Frank Trautz said. “Woodstown football has a tremendous history and so many great people have come through it that I’m honored just to be a small part of it.”

“It’s wild,” said Woodstown athletics director Joe Ursino, himself caught off-guard by the milestone. “I was here for when the school turned 100 years old. It’s just another feather in the cap or attribute towards the tradition that we have. A thousand football games is pretty neat.”

Penns Grove, which started football a year after Woodstown, has played the most games among the county schools and has the most wins. Salem, the longest running program in the county, dating back to 1904, is second in wins with 537.

All told, the five current Salem County football-playing schools have amassed 2,074 wins and 1,937 losses.

Woodstown is closing in on two other milestones on either side of the emotional spectrum. They are nine wins away from 500 all-time and three losses shy of the same number.

“We’ll let the Phillies and the pro sports worry about that,” Ursino said of the losses milestone. “It’s a lot of opportunities we’ve had for kids to grow and learn the game and develop as adults. We focus more on that than we do the Ls, and we celebrate the Ws, but they all have the same goal in the end.”

Salem County football records

SCHOOLSTARTGAMESRECORD
Penns Grove19121047556-442-47
Pennsville1957657335-303-16
Salem19041041537-434-70
Schalick1977469205-261-3
Woodstown19111000441-497-62

Source: Published records

Wednesday’s results

BOYS SOCCER
Penns Grove 3, Salem Tech 2: Juan Ortiz’ second goal of the game, four minutes into overtime, was the game-winner. Ortiz has scored a career-high nine of the Red Devils’ 13 goals this season. Avery Reed and Josh Woroniak scored for the Chargers.
Cumberland 4, Schalick 2: Fernando Santiago scored three goals as the Colts beat Schalick for the first time since 2014. Josh Stecher and Marco Spinnato scored for the Cougars.
Woodstown 8, Gloucester Catholic 0: The Wolverines had their scoring shoes on, Jake Lewis, Nick DiTeodoro and Tyler Robertson all scored twice and DiTeodoro notched three assists. It was the most they’d scored in a game since putting nine on the Rams in 2023. The Wolverines had scored seven goals in their first four games.
Glassboro 2, Pennsville 1: Lucas Kudless scores both Glassboro goals, finishing a long cross on the touchline for the game-winner. Brett Land scored for the Eagles.

GIRLS SOCCER
Cumberland 13, Salem 1: Ellie Bodine scored seven goals, the most in a single game in the state this season. Hoboken’s Wren Napolitani had six in a game last week. Lyric Hayes scored Salem’s goal in the second half.
Woodstown 2, Gloucester Catholic 0: Bella Lucas and Genevieve Flynn scored the goals as the Wolverines won their third in a row. All three wins have been by shutout. Mazie Mazzoni and Co. haven’t allowed a goal in their last seven halves.
Glassboro at Pennsville
Penns Grove at Salem Tech

FIELD HOCKEY
Schalick 12, Pennsville 0: Lucy Virga scored three goals, Addi Shimp and Lily Terrigno each scored twice and the Cougars scored the most goals in any game under head coach Heather Cheesman. It’s the most goals the Cougars have scored in any game since putting 13 on Clayton in 2010.
Salem Tech 2, Overbrook 1: Abigail Beals’ goal in the fourth quarter proved to be the game-winner for the Chargers. Hayden Crispin scored their first goal. Caroline Tighe made six saves in the goal and Jessilyn Chambers came up with a big defensive save to keep the Rams out of the net.

GIRLS TENNIS
PENNSVILLE 3, GLASSBORO 2
Graillyn Weber (P) def. Alana Killelea, 6-1, 6-1
Naomi Hess (P) def. Alice Denzel, 6-0, 6-1
Jaisley Weber (P) def. Virginia Tarasevich, 6-3, 7-6 (9-7)
Sofia Dungca-Conception Soriano (G) def. Aubrey Hall-Mariangela Rangel, 6-2, 6-2
Ijeoma Ufomba-Shreeti Sutaria (G) def. Marissa Dowell-Juliana Thomas, 6-1, 6-0
Records: Pennsville 6-2, Glassboro 3-4.

PITMAN 4, WOODSTOWN 1
Ava Mollenhauer (P) def. Madison LaPalomento, 6-3, 6-0
Kendall Bennett (P) def. Emma West, 6-1, 6-0
Angelina Lindenmuth (WO) def. Mikaela Totora, 6-1, 6-0
Listella Eisenhardt-Delaney Pierson (P) def. Emilee Kehr-Elliana Norman, 3-6, 6-3, 10-8
Anna Jones-Mia Gladney (P) def. Isabella Lindenmuth-Eleanore Lawson, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3
Records: Pitman 6-4, Woodstown 5-4

Tuesday roundup

There was a light lineup on the Salem County sports schedule

TUESDAY’S RESULTS
FIELD HOCKEY
Pennsville 4, Clayton 0
Gloucester Catholic at Salem
GIRLS TENNIS
Woodstown 4, West Deptford 1
Pennsville at Penns Grove
VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at GCIT

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE — Pennsville reduced its lineup to eight players to make it a fair divisional fight and still dominated the play.

Polina Wright scored two goals and Laura Tamberella had a goal and an assist as the Eagles rolled over undermanned Clayton 4-0 in field hockey Tuesday.

The game was an 8-on-8 affair to accommodate the Clippers’ limited roster.

The Eagles (2-1) took control with two goals in the first five minutes. Tamberella scored the first goal and Polina got the second off a pass from Tomberella. Kylie Smith banged home her own rebound with 47.8 seconds left in the second quarter to give them a 3-0 halftime lead.

Polina scored her second goal with 7:52 left in the game.

“She’s just a girl who likes to sprint the whole field with the ball and somehow finds the goal,” Pennsville coach Cass Massari said. “She either does that or she does a full run and gets us a corner.

“She actually started to do that last year for us. She just sees that ball and keeps running with it.”

The Eagles has plenty of opportunities for more, but just couldn’t quite finish. They had 12 corners in the game and Clayton goalie Meadow Hamilton made 11 saves.

“You could tell we were keeping possession of the ball,” Massari said. “The girls took today to really focus on the things that we needed to work on. Because we had less girls on the field we were able to create open spaces. It’s helping us prepare for the next couple games.”

Top photo: Pennsville’s Kendall Hoyt fires a shot on goal during Tuesday’s game with Clayton.

GIRLS TENNIS

WOODSTOWN — Woodstown won two points in third-set tiebreakers and beat West Deptford 4-1 for its third win in a row.

No. 2 singles Emma West defeated Harper Short 6-3, 1-6, 10-6. Isabella Lindenmuth and Eleanore Lawson won the No. 1 doubles point, 6-2, 1-6, 10-4.

WOODSTOWN 4, WEST DEPTFORD 1
Jody Wu (WD) def. Madison LaPalomento, 6-2, 6-1
Emma West (WO) def. Harper Short, 6-3, 2-6, 10-6
Angelina Lindenmuth (WO) def. Anastasia Besar, 6-0, 6-1
Emilee Kehr-Elliana Norman (WO) def. Lily Avila-Najae Budiere, 6-2, 6-2
Isabella Lindenmuth-Eleanore Lawson (WO) def. Laura Monticolo-Rylee Hill, 6-2, 1-6, 10-4
Records Woodstown 5-3, West Deptford 2-5.

.

Cougars break through

Schalick field hockey scores first goal, first win against gritty Salem Tech; roundup includes scores, highlights from Monday’s Salem County sports schedule


MONDAY FIELD HOCKEY
Schalick 2, Salem Tech 1
Woodstown 8, Deptford 0

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – This is a different kind of year for the Schalick field hockey. The Cougars have been the dominant team in Salem County and one of contenders in South Jersey Group 1 for the past couple years, but now they’re in a rebuild.

The core of the group that had won 56 games over last last four years has graduated, off to other pursuits, leaving coach Heather Cheesman with one of the youngest teams in her tenure, but one intent of starting the cycle all over again. Of course, all that comes with growing pains until the light bulb comes on.

The Cougars hadn’t been 0-2 to start a season in 13 years and had yet to score a goal. They finally broke through both barriers Monday when they scored their first goals of the season and secured their first win of the season, 2-1 at Salem Tech.

“It for sure is a different kind of year,” Cheesman said. “I have a lot of young players. We haven’t a team like this in probably the last four years with so many freshmen starting or playing the game at this level. Even when the kids who just graduated were freshmen they had been playing together for years throughout our feeder program so they were already jelled.

“I think once we connect it’s going to be good. It’s just getting them to jell and connect and play together. Individually they’re all good, we’ve just got to bring it together.”

One sure sign it’s a different kind of year is the length of the post-game huddle. The ones the last couple years were brief, if they had one at all. The one down in the far corner Monday lasted 10 minutes – and that wasn’t even the longest one of this season.

“Probably the one against Woodstown was probably more like 20 minutes,” Cheesman said. “The last couple years sometimes we wouldn’t even meet; we’d talk about it the next day. It was a three-minute, five-minute conversation. Now, it’s definitely a lot longer, like what can we do, what can we fix, this is what looked good, this is what we need to work on.”

Ranae Scurry scored the Cougars’ first goal of the season with 4:50 left in the first quarter. Addy Shimp, in her new role as inserter, got the ball to Lucy Virga at the top of the arc. Virga sent it towards the goal and Scurry ripped it into the cage.

“it wasn’t a relief,” Scurry said. “I think it was just a pick-me-up. More like, OK, we can get one, how many more can we get?”

That answer came in the first minute of the second quarter when Shimp made it 2-0. Scurry sent Shimp’s corner into the zone where Virga got it to Morgan DuBois who put a nice touch on it in traffic. Chargers goalie Caroline Tighe made the initial stop, but the ball dropped at her feet where Shimp was “there at the right time” to bang it home.

Both goal scorers are confident the Cougars will return to their old form soon.

“It’s definitely a rebuilding process, but as the season goes on we’re going to learn each other,” Scurry said. “It’s just meshing together. I think it’s kind of hard right now, but we’re learning this game, we’re trying different formations, lineups to deal with. We didn’t have to (before) because we were together for so long.”

“I think the only difference is we’re just not completely used to playing with each other yet,” Shimp said. “We all have the skill, we just have to connect. I think we’ll connect eventually. We definitely have a lot of potential and I think we’re going to connect, it’s just early in season. That was definitely an improvement today because we definitely did a lot better.”

The Chargers, meanwhile, were playing their first game ever against a Salem County opponent and held their own against one of the county’s traditional bests. As an independent in their inaugural season, they could schedule at their leisure for early success and foundational confidence and did just that. Now that they’re in the TCC Classic Division, however, half the schedule is made for them and that includes at least two games each with county rivals Pennsville and Salem. 

They fell behind 2-0 in the first half, but didn’t wilt. Abby Beals got them on the board when she kept Hayden Crispin’s shot moving through the box and inside the left post with 9:45 left in the third quarter.

It looked like they got the tying goal five minutes later, but the whistle blew the play dead before the ball reached the crease. They had another good chance with 2:30 left, when Beals got it in to Crispin, but her shot just missed the right post.

“I think they did great,” Chargers coach Melissa Lewis said. “I felt like they played their game and they were very strong. They didn’t give up and they had a fire in them. They wanted this win and it’s unfortunate we didn’t get it.”

WOODSTOWN 8, DEPTFORD 0: Talia Guardascione had a pair of goals and six other Wolverines scored. Lexi Taylor and Brooke Dillion both had a goal and an assist. The eight goals were the most they’ve scored in a game since a 9-1 win over Cumberland in 2024. It was their third straight shutout.

BOYS SOCCER
Clayton 3, Salem Tech 2: Jonathan Rehm’s second goal, a penalty kick five minutes into overtime, was the game-winner. Logan Pace got the game-tying tying goal for the Chargers on a penalty kick four minutes before the end of regulation.
Penns Grove 6, Pitman 1: Juan Ortiz scores three goals.
Pennsville 2, Gloucester Catholic 0: Sam Hassler and Ugur Elmali scored goals as the Eagles got their first win of the year and extended their unbeaten streak over the Rams to six in a row.
Schalick 8, Overbrook 1: Luke Price and Tyler Vanlier each scored twice and Marco Spinnato had three assists.
Woodstown 1, Glassboro 0 (OT): Ayden Ellis collected his second game-winning goal of the season when he was credited with an own goal midway through OT1. He got the game-winner in the final five minutes against Pennsville in their season opener.

GIRLS SOCCER
Clayton 6, Salem Tech 0: Six players lit the lamp for the Clippers.
Gloucester Catholic 2, Pennsville 0: Alexa Battaglia and Olivia Pisano scored goals, Ruth Cutuli made eight saves in the shutout.
Schalick 6, Overbrook 0: Emily Miller scored three goals and Mackenzie Talarico had a goal and two assists.
Woodstown 7, Glassboro 0: Freshman Korynn Hernandez scored her third hat trick in five games.
Pitman 7, Salem 1: Erin Rudley had two goals and Emery Sharpnack had three assists for Pitman. Jaylynn Dickerson scored Salem’s goal in the fourth minute of the second half.
Woodbury 5, Penns Grove 0

GIRLS TENNIS
Pennsville 3, Buena 2
Woodstown 5, Schalick 0
Salem at Bridgeton
Timber Creek at Penns Grove

WOODSTOWN 5, SCHALICK 0
Madison LaPalomento (WO) def. Olivia Lunemann, 6-1, 6-2
Emma West (WO) def. Sebrina Bradford, 6-4, 6-4
Angelina Lindenmuth (WO) def. Jasmine Hunt, 6-4, 4-6, 10-4
Emilee Kehr-Elliana Norman (WO) def. Brooke Brown-Jasmin Perez, 6-1, 6-2
Eleanore Lawson-Isabella Lindenmuth (WO) def. Riveras Wojcik-Janae White, 6-2, 6-3
Records: Woodstown 4-3, Schalick 4-2

PENNSVILLE 3, BUENA 2
Graillyn Weber (P) def. Caroline Futty, 6-1, 6-2
Naomi Hess (P) def. Kara Horton, 6-0, 6-1
Jaisley Weber (P) def. Makenna Feaster, 6-4, 6-1
SciOni Simmons Laboy-Julie Tomasso (B) def. Aubrey Hall-Mariangela Rangel, 4-6, 6-2, 10-7
Analeigh Nardone-Isabella (B) def. Marissa Dowell-Juliana Thomas, 6-2, 4-6, 10-6
Records: Pennsville 4-2, Buena 1-4.

COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
Atlantic Cape 3, Salem CC 0

This week’s schedule

Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of Sept. 14-19; all events start at 4 p.m. unless noted

MONDAY, SEPT. 14
FIELD HOCKEY
Schalick at Salem Tech
Woodstown at Deptford
BOYS SOCCER
Gloucester Catholic at Pennsville
Overbrook at Schalick
Penns Grove at Pitman
Salem Tech at Clayton
Woodstown at Glassboro
GIRLS SOCCER
Clayton at Salem Tech
Glassboro at Woodstown
Pennsville at Gloucester Catholic
Pitman at Salem
Schalick at Overbrook
Woodbury at Penns Grove, 6 p.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Schalick at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
Buena at Pennsville
Salem at Bridgeton
Timber Creek at Penns Grove
COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
Salem CC at Atlantic Cape, 6 p.m.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 15
FIELD HOCKEY
Clayton at Pennsville
Gloucester Catholic at Salem
GIRLS TENNIS
West Deptford at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
Pennsville at Penns Grove, 6 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at GCIT, 3:45 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 16
FIELD HOCKEY
Gateway at Woodstown
Pennsville at Schalick
Salem Tech at Overbrook
BOYS SOCCER
Gloucester Catholic at Woodstown
Pennsville at Glassboro
Salem Tech at Penns Grove
Schalick at Cumberland
GIRLS SOCCER
Cumberland at Salem
Glassboro at Pennsville
Penns Grove at Salem Tech
Woodstown at Gloucester Catholic
GIRLS TENNIS
Pennsville at Glassboro, 3:45 p.m.
Pitman at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
Penns Grove at Schalick

THURSDAY, SEPT. 17
FOOTBALL
Buena at Clayton, 6 p.m.
Pleasantville at Cherokee, 6 p.m.
Cumberland at Vineland, 6 p.m.
Gateway at Sterling, 6 p.m.
Bridgeton at St. Joe (Hamm.), 6:30 p.m.
Lindenwold at Haddon Twp., 7 p.m.
West Deptford at Paul VI, 7 p.m.
FIELD HOCKEY
Schalick at Delsea
BOYS SOCCER
Pennsville at Penns Grove, 6 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Cumberland at Salem
Penns Grove at Gloucester Catholic
Schalick at Cherry Hill West
GIRLS TENNIS
Pennsville at Millville
VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Gloucester Catholic, 5:15 p.m.
COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
Salem CC at Morris, 6 p.m.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 18
FOOTBALL
Salem at Schalick, 6 p.m.
Pitman at Penns Grove, 6:30 p.m.
Burlington City at Overbrook, 7 p.m.
Shawnee at Rancocas Valley, 6 p.m.
Eastern at Northern Burlington, 6 p.m.
Allentown at Trenton, 6 p.m.
Atlantic Tech at Lower Cape May, 6 p.m.
Absegami at Hammonton, 6 p.m.
Gloucester at Triton, 6 p.m.
Lenape at Williamstown, 6 p.m.
Mainland at Holy Spirit, 6 p.m.
Millville at Kingsway, 6 p.m.
Washington Twp. at Atlantic City, 6 p.m.
Pennsauken at Cherry Hill East, 6 p.m.
Lawrence at Notre Dame, 6 p.m.
Highland at Timber Creek, 6 p.m.
Maple Shade at Bordentown, 6 p.m.
Seneca at Willingboro, 6 p.m.
Camden at Ocean City, 6 p.m.
Oakcrest at Egg Harbor, 6 p.m.
Clearview at Deptford, 6 p.m.
Cinnaminson at Cherry Hill West, 6 p.m.
Middle Twp. at Wildwood, 6 p.m.
Collingswood at Bishop Eustace, 6:30 p.m.
Ewing at Hopewell Valley, 7 p.m.
Florence at Camden Catholic, 7 p.m.
Camden Eastside at Moorestown, 7 p.m.
Delran at Haddonfield, 7 p.m.
Burlington Twp. at Delsea, 7 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Salem at Woodstown
GIRLS SOCCER
Bridgeton at Pennsville
FIELD HOCKEY
Absegami at Salem Tech
Pennsville at Bridgeton
Salem at Winslow
GIRLS TENNIS
Pitman at Salem
Schalick at Timber Creek
Woodstown at Overbrook

SATURDAY, SEPT. 19
FOOTBALL
Woodstown at Woodbury, 11 a.m.
Pennsville at Paulsboro, 11 a.m.
Hightstown at Princeton, 11 a.m.
Mastern Camden at Holy Cross, 11 a.m.
Palmyra at Gloucester Catholic, 11 a.m.
Haddon Heights at Audubon, 11 a.m.
Nottingham at Steinert, 11 a.m. 
Riverside at KIPP, noon
WW-Plainsboro at Pemberton, noon
Glassboro at Cedar Creek, 1:30 p.m.
Robbinsville at Hamilton West, 2 p.m.
Buena at Clayton, 3 p.m.
Winslow at St. Augustine, 6 p.m.
FIELD HOCKEY
Haddon Twp. at Schalick
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Thaddeus Stevens vs. Salem CC, Penns Grove H.S., noon

Underdogs no longer

Penns Grove looked at in different light after opening season 2-0 for first time since 2021

By Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – Through two games of the season the Penns Grove football team is starting to see what coach Damian Ware has been telling it since the day camp opened.

The Red Devils crushed their opponent for the second week in a row, this time pummeling Lindenwold 47-6 Saturday.

Suddenly, the team that was winless a year ago and hadn’t won more than two games in a season since 2023 is now 2-0 for the first time since 2021 and has a winnable Homecoming Game next week against Pitman. They haven’t been 3-0 since 2019, when they went 12-1 and lost in the Group 1 state semifinals.

“I told them after the game you guys are starting to understand it now,” Ware said. “We’re to a point sometimes when I don’t have to say anything and they kind of know what’s supposed to happen, when it’s supposed to happen, as far as our practice habits. They’re starting everything themselves. That’s the goal, to get everybody moving in the same direction at the same time, and they’re feeling the success from the structure, the organization and the systems that we have in place.

“They’re starting to run the system itself. That’s the key to get the engine running. When the internal parts are running the engine all we have to do is steer it a little bit.”

Freshman running back Jaivon Thomas didn’t have as many rushing yards as he did in the breakout debut, but he was just as impactful. The freshman rushed for 45 yards and two touchdowns on five carries and returned an interception for another score. He also had two special teams returns for 72 yards.

The Red Devils didn’t have an overly impressive amount of yardage for the score because they were working with a short field most of the game. Senior Terrell Thomas was their top rusher with 103 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.

Quarterback Damion Robinson completed all three of his pass attempts for 39 yards with touchdown passes to Omari Robinson and Jerry Wooton. Savior Allah scored the Red Devils’ other touchdown on a 75-yard kickoff return to open the second half.

Omari Robinson also had a big game defensively. The sophomore had nine total tackles, six for loss, four sacks and a forced fumble. Jakai Ingram had eight tackles, three for loss and three sacks. They both were credited with a safety.

“It’s a start,” Ware said. “This is what we expected. It’s not that we didn’t expect to be 2-0, because we did expect to be 2-0 at this point. We have a lot of tougher opponents coming up on our schedule, so that’s where we’re really going to get tested and see if what we’ve been seeing and feeling is real or if we need to make some adjustments and keep learning.

“It’s going to be a learning process all the way through because a lot of these kids are young and they don’t have experience, they don’t know what it feels like to be successful. Now, it’s not like we’re the underdog. Now we’re 2-0, we’ve got a target on our back so it’s a different feeling now. So how do you handle that? Do you still come out and have that same hunger or do you start getting complacent. That’s the part of steering, not letting them get complacent and understand we have a higher standard to get to and this is just the start.”

Top photo: Terrell Thomas was Penns Grove’s leading rusher Saturday with 103 yards on 15 carries.

Coming up clutch

Salem rallies from early deficit to score its first win, denies tying conversion attempt in final minute of game

By Riverview Sports News

SALEM – They trailed by two touchdowns in the first half, but never gave up. Their diligence was rewarded with their first win of the season.

Salem came from 14 points down to take the lead, then denied Audubon a potential game-tying two-point conversion with 16.8 seconds left to preserve its first win of the season, 22-20.

“They were able to have a little resolve and showed a little fortitude when it came to being down,” Rams coach Kemp Carr said. “That’s something in the past we haven’t been able to do real well.”

The Rams (1-2) took a 22-14 lead with 1:45 to play when Kyvion Parsons threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Ahmad Tucker and KyShann Long ran for the two-point conversion. Audubon moved the ball back downfield with the help of a couple broken plays and quarterback Jude Cotter found the end zone with 16.8 to go.

Facing either overtime or a win on one play, the Rams lined up to defend the two-point conversion. Cotter threw under pressure from Myshon Barnes and Cashmir Parsley intercepted the pass to turn the Green Wave (0-2) away. 

“Everybody did their job, hit their keys,” Carr said. “The quarterback had to throw the ball because he was under duress and Cash just happened to be there to make the play. Being in the right place at the right time is always pivotal when it comes to this game and he was where he needed to be.”

There was still time for Audubon to pull off a last-second miracle, but Long recovered the onsides kick to effectively end the game.

Audubon scored its first two touchdown in short-field situations, one from the 1 when the Rams fanned on a punt against their goal line. But the Rams started their comeback after the second touchdown when Tucker returned the ensuing kickoff 76 yards to get them on the board and within a score at halftime.

“That gave us a little spruce right before the half,” Carr said. “It wasn’t in the driver’s seat, but not so removed from the game knowing you’re only a touchdown away from (being tied).”

Parsons, who started the game at quarterback, was back at the position in the third quarter and drew the Rams even with a 15-yard touchdown run on a broken play and Tucker made the conversion. It stayed that way until late the fourth quarter.

“I think he  got more comfortable as the game went on,” Carr said. “It comes down to if you’re willing to play that position you have to have mindset. It’s easy to play when you’re a frontrunner as a quarterback. When you’ve got to come from behind and the pressure’s on, the lights are a little different. I think he was able to withstand the bright lights today.”

Salem CC stumbles again

Mighty Oaks start off strong, grab first lead of the season, but couldn’t finish and falls to Nassau CC, 31-6

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE – The game started off with great promise, but it ultimately devolved into a frustrating lesson of what it’s like to be a startup junior college football program where everything, including learning how to win, is a work in progress.

Salem CC enjoyed its first ever lead early in Saturday’s game, but by the end of the day, under the weight of untimely penalties and mistakes that gutted their confidence, the Mighty Oaks left Schalick High School with a 31-6 loss to Nassau CC they were in for the better part of three quarters.

“Frustrated, disappointed,” Mighty Oaks coach Jay Accorsi said. “I thought we played better (than in the opener), but still just too many mistakes.

“I felt we played better in some areas, but you can’t have too many guys in the huddle as you’re driving down. You can’t have penalties on the kickoff return. You can’t have a personal foul as you’re driving the ball. It’s the struggle of junior college football is understanding the team that makes the least amount of mistakes is gonna win.”

The Mighty Oaks came out sharp on offense, having had two weeks of fix the shortcomings in the opener. After surviving a missed field goal attempt on Nassau’s opening drive extended by a fumbled punt, starting quarterback Aidan Hill took them 80 yards in 15 plays for their first lead in program history.

Demetris Williams ran in from 13 yards, but a bad snap cost them the extra point. All the yardage they gained in the drive came on the ground, including a big 14-yard burst up the middle by Hill on fourth down to keep it alive.

“The start started off well,” Hill said. “I was happy. I wanted to get back on the field and score again, but we didn’t get to do that.”

Things looked even better when Raheem Tomoney picked off Nassau quarterback Elijah Outlaw in front of the Salem bench, but the offense couldn’t take advantage of the turnover. The defense stopped the Lions again when Matt Bishop sacked Outlaw just in front of the goal line, forcing the visitors to punt from the back of the end zone.

Then it got crazy with penalties. Jeremiah Russell appeared to return to the punt to the Nassau 23, but a pair of personal foul penalties on the return brought it back to the Salem 47. The Mighty Oaks recovered from that and appeared to score a second touchdown on Hill’s 23-yard pass play with Jahfarri Payne, the same receiver he connected with on the last-play touchdown in the opener, but the score was called back for a block in the back on the block that sprung him.

They came up empty when Hill missed Russell over the middle on fourth down from the 26 with 7:22 left in the half.

That set the Lions in motion to score two touchdowns in the final two minutes of the quarter to sap the Mighty Oaks’ momentum and take a 14-6 halftime lead. They went in front with 1:52 left in the half when Mekai Henderson blasted in from the 10. Hill fumbled away Salem’s next possession and the Lions extended their lead when Outlaw eluded heavy pressure by Jermar Jones and hit tight end Justin Betz in the back corner of the end zone with 33 seconds left in the half.

“I thought (scoring on the opening possession) was really good,” Accorsi said. “Maybe we started too well early on and started to feel too good about ourselves because certainly we didn’t finish like we started. Again, you can’t make those mistakes.

“But, yeah, we showed flashes offensively of doing some stuff, which we didn’t even do anything two weeks ago. There’s a lot of plus things there. I still think it’s trying to get a bunch of individuals to play as a team … I have to do a better job of figuring out how to make us more of a team. I think the pieces are there, I think the players are there. There are some other things I think we need to do and I need to do to just get it better and more cohesive.”

Cam Wright started the second half at quarterback for the Mighty Oaks after Hill had an incident unbecoming of a leader in the locker room at halftime. Wright led the Mighty Oaks on two drives, the second of which almost produced a touchdown but ended when he got caught from behind on fourth down from the 15 short of the line to gain to end the third quarter.

The game was a homecoming of sorts for Salem tight end Robert Daly. The Mighty Oaks played their second “home” game at Daly’s high school, giving the freshman one more chance to play on a field he never thought he’d play on again.

The team gave him a chance to make it a special return, setting him up for a play in the red zone. Daly was wide open in the end zone and, although he had to come back for the pass, had the touchdown that could have tied the game in his hands, but couldn’t hold it.

“It was a go ball,” Daly said. “I found myself open in the end zone. Wide open. Wide open. Ball was a little short so I came back to it and just bobbled it a little low. Not the way I wanted to go. It was a catchable ball. I blame myself.”

It went downhill for the Mighty Oaks from there. Lions kicker Matias Perez Herrera kicked a 48-yard field goal on the ensuing possession to make it 17-6. 

Hill returned to quarterback in the fourth quarter, but just couldn’t generate the same kind of offense he did in the first half. He also threw two interceptions out of his comfort zone passing from behind. One the Lions nearly returned for a touchdown but scored a few snaps later and one they did bring all the way back that brought out the Mighty Oaks’ frustration with the day.

“I feel defeated right now,” said safety Mark Moore, who had a fourth-quarter interception to give the Mighty Oaks some hope. “It was slowly slipping away from us,. You could tell by the third quarter everybody’s energy was down. It just wasn’t good.”

“It was frustrating,” Hill said. “Honestly, we just collapsed as a team. Our momentum was there, but it wasn’t there all the way. It just wasn’t good enough. It wasn’t good.”

NCCSCC
10First Downs11
29-40Rushing40-
12-18-2Passes5-17-2
188Passing41
2-0Fumbles-Lost5-2
3-35.3Punts-Avg4-38.8
13-110Penalties-Yds11-105
Nassau CC (2-1)014314-31
Salem CC (0-2)6600-6

SCORING SUMMARY
S-Demetris Williams 13 run (kick blocked), 1:21 1Q
N-Mekai Henderson 10 run (Matias Perez Herrera kick), 1:52 2Q
N-Justin Betz 8 pass from Elijah Outlaw (Matias Perez Herrera kick), 0:33 2Q
N-Matias Perez Herrera 48 FG, 10:47 3Q
N-Tito Ruiz 3 pass from Elijah Outlaw (Matias Perez Herrera kick), 1:44 4Q
N-Antonio Washington 40 interception return (Matias Perez Herrera kick), 0:48 4Q

Top photo: Salem CC quarterback Aidan Hill (3) rears back to fire a pass in Saturday’s game with Nassau CC.


WJFL Scoreboard

Here is the West Jersey Football League scoreboard; it will be updated throughout the weekend

SATURDAY’S GAMES
Salem 22, Audubon 20
Penns Grove 47, Lindenwold 6
Wildwood 22, KIPP 18
Pemberton at Nottingham
Camden Estside 49, Hamilton West 0

FRIDAY’S GAMES
Schalick 41, Woodstown 0
Pennsville 41, Pitman 0
West Deptford 22, Paulsboro 0
Highland 20, Overbrook 14
Allentown 21, Collingswood 6
Atlantic Tech 27, Middle Twp. 6
Bishop Eustace 30, Camden Catholic 22
Bridgeton 20, Hammonton 6
Burlington Twp. 40, Willingboro 21
Florence 14, Palmyra 7
Gloucester 36, Sterling 10
Haddon Heights 16, Maple Shade 14
Haddonfield 31, Delsea 7
Holy Cross 19, Riverside 14
Lower Cape May 35, Cumberland 21
Notre Dame 16, Ewing 6
Oakcrest 19, Deptford 0
Paul VI 24, St. Joe (Hamm.) 14
Pleasantville 20, Cedar Creek 6
Rancocas Valley 28, Kingsway 0
St. Augustine 41, Holy Spirit 7
Steinert 34, Bordentown 7
Timber Creek 25, Triton 6
Winslow 21, Glassboro 7


THURSDAY’S GAMES
Atlantic City 47, Eastern 7
Buena 24, Mastery Camden 0
Clayton 50, Haddon Twp. 7
Delran 34, Cinnaminson 0
Egg Harbor 29, Clearview 20
Hopewell Valley 41, Burlington City 0
Lenape 3, Cherokee 0
Moorestown 35, Hightstown 0
Northern Burlington 43, Trenton 42
Princeton 34, Robbinsville 7
Seneca 41, Mainland 6
Shawnee 35, Cherry Hill East 13
Vineland 35, Pennsauken 17
Washington Twp. 21, Williamstown 0
WW-Plainsboro 18, Gloucester Catholic 14
Woodbury 22, Gateway 20