Horner scores 3 touchdowns, Kimani has 3 interceptions and Pennsville pounds Pitman
By Riverview Sports News
PITMAN — Pennsville played its most complete game of the season Friday night and it produced a 41-0 shutout of Pitman.
The Eagles (2-1) moved the ball on the ground and in the air, and it defense was relentless.
“We did a lot of good stuff today,” Pennsville coach Mike Healy said. “It was nice being able to get the run game going a little bit, which we hadn’t been able to yet. Defensively we played very well, so I can’t complain about that. We took care of business tonight.”
It started from the get-go. Jake Layfield passed for 147 yards in a long first quarter, including a 50-yard screen pass to Chase Johnson for a touchdown on the second play of the game. Layfield also threw a screen pass to Tristan Horner for a score.
Once they established the lead, the Eagles then turned things over to the running game. Horner ran for two more touchdowns and Aiden Collazo had a 1-yard touchdown rush after getting it down there on a 70-yard run.
“My performance was simple,” Layfield said. “We ran the ball a bit today so there weren’t as many passing attempts. My backfield and line did amazing today with run blocking and giving time. The defense played amazing and (with) a lot of heart.”
The defense was impressive. They intercepted four passes, three by Jacob Kimani, one of which he brought all the way back for a score. Grady Sanders had the other pick. The Eagles have posted a shutout in each of the last four seasons.
“The defense tonight was great,” linebacker Dante Cummings said. “We were downhill and physical. We were swarming to the ball every play. The D-line was getting in the backfield and getting to the quarterback and the DBs were all over the wide receivers.
“We were hungry and we wanted to play a full four quarters as a unit. Yes, we made some mistakes, but I would choose to play with those boys every day of the week.”
Pennsville’s Jacob Kimani (6) steps in front of Pitman’s Dwayne Gland III for one of his three interceptions. Top photo, Eagles linebacker Dante Cummings gets in the backfield to stuff a fourth-and-2. (Photos by Lucky Shots)
Here are the scores and highlights from Friday’s Salem County sports calendar
FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE FIELD HOCKEY Bridgeton at Salem BOYS SOCCER Gloucester at Salem Salem Tech 1, Camden Academy Charter 0 GIRLS TENNIS Pennsville 3, Haddon Heights 2 Trenton at Penns Grove VOLLEYBALL Salem Tech 2, Highland 0
By Riverview Sports News
NEWARK, Del. — Woodstown’s Abby Marino finished second and David Farrell placed third in their respective races at the White Clay Creek Cross Country Invitational that drew more than 50 schools from the four-state area.
Marino ran through the White Clay Creek State Park course a 20:18.9 to finish second in the junior girls race behind Tatnall’s Krissa Woods (19:28.8). Farrell ran a 17:04.5 to finish third in the senior boys race, about a second behind runner-up Carter Brown of Newark Charter.
Also in the senior boys race, Woodstown’s Pacey Hutton finished 17th (19:03.4) and Salem Tech’s Anthony Morano was 21st (19:20.9). Woodstown’s Anabel Schaal was 21st in the senior girls race (25:41.1).
In the junior boys race, Woodstown’s Torsten Duva was 11th (19:23.1) and teammates John Hearst and Jackson Perry finished in the top 25. Salem Tech’s Joseph MacNeil was 25th.
Salem Tech’s Levin Seals was 13th among sophomore boys. Woodstown’s Reese Madiraca was 13th among the freshmen girls.
BOYS SOCCER
SALEM TECH 1, CAMDEN ACADEMY CHARTER 0: Logan Pace scored on a pass from Lucca Picci in the second half for the only goal of the match. Aiden Bobo made six saves in recording his second straight shutout. The Chargers are 2-0 for the first time in the history of their program.
VOLLEYBALL
SALEM TECH 2, HIGHLAND 0: Jadelynn Stiffen had seven kills, Shelby Liber had 10 digs and Cecelia Venello had 13 assists for the Chargers. Venello and Liber both had three aces. The set scores were 25-17, 25-10.
LOGAN TWP. — Salem CC’s Izzy Saulin ran a 21.27.54 for 4000 meters to finish 24th in the women’s race of Bill Fritz Open at Dream Park. The Pennsville product set the school record at 5000 meters in her last race and this was the team’s first race at 4K. Eliyah Smith was 29th.
In the men’s 6K race, Danny Zellner and Mu’adh Johnson-Ibn Jabbar led the Mighty Oaks across the line with top 10 finishes. Zellmer ran 28:12.3 for ninth and Johnson-Ibn Jabbar ran 28:13.9 for tenth.
Schalick wraps up Woodstown 41-0 for first shutout since 2024, Cougars 3-0 for first time since 2023
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – For the first two weeks of the season much of the love being thrown at the Schalick football team has been directed towards the offense. The defense hadn’t been playing badly. Quite the contrary. It’s just been overshadowed by some of the prodigious offensive numbers.
Make room for the defense, boys. Coming through.
The defense has been good all year, but it was at its best Friday night. Going back to the defense they played against Maple Shade in the season-opener, the Cougars held Woodstown to less than 100 net yards and nowhere close to the end zone in a 41-0 win. It was their first shutout since 2024, a year they had three and came within a safety of a fourth.
“The kids deserve all the credit in the world,” Cougars coach Kevin Leamy said. “They had a gameplan and it wasn’t overly complicated, they just executed. They were relentless. They gang tackled. There were 11 hats to the ball. It was phenomenal team defense.
“I think we’ve been playing (good) defense all year. I think we’re just starting to stay more focused. Last week we had a shutout until 40 seconds left; we just took a play off at the end of the game. These kids weren’t taking any plays off tonight.”
The Cougars’ defense has given up only 12 points all season and has scored 12 points themselves, including Gage Brown-Smith’s fumble recovery in the end zone on the last play of the third quarter here, so their plus-minus for the year is a net zero.
Through three games they have allowed a total of 307 yards — 130 rushing (on 66 carries), 170 passing. And the two touchdowns they did give up, both were bolts from the blue. Linebacker Nick Lopergolo called them “spoofs … should’ve never happened.” One came on a 39-yard pass with two missed tackles three plays into the season and the other came on an 80-yard mistake with 40 seconds left in their second game.
“No matter how much attention we get we know that our defense is the best part of our team,” linebacker Ayden Jenkins said. “it has the most chemistry and Leamy puts us in the best possible position every single week. I don’t think any team is going to really be able to hang with us just because they’re not going to be able to score.”
Woodstown never got close. The Cougars limited their hosts to just two first downs and for as much as the Wolverines worked Cole Ware they had only 52 yards rushing. Their biggest play of the night was a 15-yard gain by Ware in the second quarter. They only ran seven plays in Schalick territory and one of those was a fourth-and-1 stopped cold by Evan Elliott.
“We just didn’t get the job tonight,” Woodstown coach Frank Trautz said. “We flat out just did not get the job done. It was just one of those nights. I did not expect it to go like this tonight.”
“Our defense plays so intense,” Lopergolo said. “We just fire off the ball. It’s 100 percent full throttle every single play, and we have kids behind us who play with the same intensity. That’s what really helps our defense, knowing that whoever’s in we can trust.”
Schalick’s offense, however, did its usual thing. The Cougars scored on their first two possessions with David Stewart opening the scoring with a 5-yard touchdown run and Kenny Bartee scoring from the 2 after Stewart returned an interception inside the 5.
The Cougars have started each of their first two games with a interesting first play and they sort of did this week with a reverse on their first play from scrimmage. But they saved the real razzle-dazzle for the last play of the half when Jenkins threw a 23-yard halfback pass to Gio Alicea to make it 21-0.
“We’ve run that play for the last couple years,” Jenkins said. “We ran it against Glassboro last year; it worked pretty well. It was just a perfect time to run that play.”
“The kids just like having that element of old-fashioned back-yard football,” Leamy said. “Just have something up your sleeve that’s fun that they can practice during the week. Like I said last week, we’re going to be aggressive if the opportunity presents itself.”
The end of the half marked the end of the night for Bartee. He was lifted for purely precautionary reasons after aggravating a couple parts of his body in the first half.
The Cougars added three touchdowns in the third quarter – a 3-yard run by Jenkins, a 7-yard pass from Gary Simonini to Elliott that put the game in running clock mode, and Gage-Brown’s fumble recovery in the end zone after Elliott dislodged the ball from Woodstown quarterback Mason Middlemiss.
SCHAL (41)
WOODS (0)
12
First Downs
2
32-225
Rushing
25-52
5-10-0
Passes
1-5-1
61
Passing Yards
4
0-0
Fumbles-Lost
1-1
2-40.0
Punts-Avg.
4-37.3
7-55
Penalties-Yards
9-68
Schalick
14
7
20
0-
41
Woodstown
0
0
0
0-
0
SCORING SUMMARY S-David Stewart 5 run (Shawn Kelly kick), 6:13 1Q S-Kenny Bartee 2 run (Shawn Kelly kick), 3:05 1Q S-Gio Alicea 23 pass from Ayden Jenkins (Shawn Kelly kick), 0:03 2Q S-Ayden Jenkins 3 run (Shawn Kelly kick), 9:20 3Q S-Evan Elliott 7 pass from Gary Simonini (Shawn Kelly kick), 4:39 3Q S-Gage Brown-Smith fumble recovery in end zone (kick blocked), 0:00 3Q
Mighty Oaks come through open week after making corrections, adjustments to inaugural game loss, ‘host’ Nassau CC at Schalick Saturday
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT – Everyone knows the adage: A team makes its greatest improvement from Game 1 to Game 2. Salem CC football coach Jay Accorsi is hoping that’s the case with his new team as it has spent the last two week trying to make that a reality.
The Mighty Oaks have come through the most important open week in the program’s young history in preparation for its second ever game, a “home” date Saturday against Nassau CC at Schalick High School. Kickoff has been moved back to 12:30 p.m.
Salem lost its inaugural game 26-18 to now-No. 4 Hudson Valley and spent most of the last two weeks making the necessary corrections and invariable changes.
“We started Aug. 3, that was a long time up to the (first) game time,” Accorsi said. “There’s a lot of days there, so it was a lot. It was grind for the new coaching staff, new players, it was a lot.
“So, when I created the schedule I wanted to get an open date (early) just to assess where we were, where do we need to go, what do we need to work on. Just to take a breath of fresh air and get the players and coaches time off. I think we all needed to take a step back and take a deep breath and kind of assess where we’re at and what we’re doing and fix as many things as we can.”
The first game taught them a lot of things about the team and game operations that only a first game can To that end, perhaps the most recognizable change is the decision to bring offensive coordinator Chris Crowley down on the field to call plays and move offensive line coach Nick Santosuosso to the press box.
“We changed practice around,” Accorsi said. “It’s a new coaching staff. Montclair was a false sense of security for coaches because it was really just offense and defense and punt, so there wasn’t a lot of changeover. It wasn’t like a real game, it was kind of like a practice, which I look back and kind of regret, because there are lot of things as coaches we need to fix and I need to fix. Being in charge of special teams one of the things I need to do communication wise with offense and defense. There’s a lot of that behind-the-scenes stuff I think you do as coaches just to make the overall operation clean.”
Player decisions continue to be work in progress. A starting quarterback hadn’t been determined at the beginning of the week and it’s likely they’ll play multiple QBs against the Lions (1-1), who are coming off a 28-0 loss to an Army Prep team the Mighty Oaks will play at West Point Sept. 25.
Cam Wright was the last-minute starter in the inaugural game and he played the first quarter, moving the offense between the 30s in the most sustained drive of his appearance. Malakhai McKenzie entered in the second quarter, scored a touchdown and played all the way to the final two minutes, when Aidan Hill sent the crowd home buzzing over a 44-yard touchdown pass to Jahfarri Payne on the final play of the game.
Still, the offense generated just 163 net yards, was 4-of-13 on third down and gave up six sacks. They ran 10 fewer plays than Hudson Valley, but held the ball two minutes longer.
“Playing three quarterbacks the first game is kind of a juggling act,” Accorsi said. “You’re trying to see what they can do, what they can’t do, what they’re good at, what you’re asking them to do, where they are with other players. I thought we’d probably play three, might play three again, that’s just the nature of it. Offenses this time of year are always behind the defense. I think that’s just going to be the nature of what we’re trying to do is figure that out. That’s going to be one of those things game day or right around game day.”
The way the Mighty Oaks played in the second half and fought through what could’ve been a demoralizing stretch in the third quarter when the Vikings answered Salem’s touchdown to regain a 14-point lead was Accorsi’s biggest takeaway from the game. “I thought we were competitive,” he said.
“That last play kind of shows the character of our team,” offensive lineman Jacob Hand said. “Even thought we’re in the last seconds, we’re down by two touchdowns, like we know we’re not coming back to win this game, but it’s a win with pride type of thing to really stick it to them. Yeah, we lost to you guys, but you know who we are.”
The Mighty Oaks are expecting a team similar to what they faced in Hudson Valley. The Lions started their season with a win over the Wagner JV in which quarterback Elijah Outlaw threw for 288 yards four touchdowns and the defense came up with four interceptions. Army Prep held them to 34 yards rushing and 110 yards of net offense.
“My hope is some of the breakdowns we had defensively will correct and we can get an offense that’s more fluid and can be more consistent,” Accorsi said. “It’s going to be a challenge for us to see where we have improved, if we have from Week 1 to Week 2, and can we play a little bit cleaner. That’s going to be the key for us.
“I’ve always believed I don’t think it’s so much the other team it’s more of what your team does, how they perform and how they play. That’s just going to be the difference for us. Can we play more cleaner offensively. Can we play more cohesively. Can we generate some drives. Can we not turn the ball over. Can we not put ourselves in harm’s way by taking large sacks. Part of that is us learning what we need to be.”
Schalick soccer bounces back after rare season-opening loss; roundup includes results and highlights from Thursday’s Salem County sports calendar
BOYS SOCCER Clayton 3, Pennsville 0 Overbrook 2, Woodstown 1 Salem at Salem Tech, ppd. Schalick 7, Penns Grove 0 GIRLS SOCCER Pennsville 3, Clayton 2 Salem Tech 7, Salem 1 Schalick 8, Penns Grove 0 Woodstown 5, Overbrook 0 FIELD HOCKEY Salem Tech 6, Gloucester Catholic 0 Pennsville 4, Salem 1 Woodstown 2, Schalick 0 GIRLS TENNIS Woodstown 4, Pennsville 1 Schalick 5, Salem 0
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT – Mano Massari’s Penns Grove soccer team was coming off an inspiring season-opening win looking forward to getting off to a good start. Then he looked at the schedule.
There was Schalick on the next line. Massari knew what that meant, but it was going to be even more challenging than usual. This was a Schalick team coming off a loss. He’d seen this movie before.
The Cougars are a tough out under normal conditions, but don’t get them when they’re mad.
In three of the previous four regular-season meetings between the teams Schalick came into the Penns Grove game reeling from a loss or a tie and handled the Red Devils pretty well. It happened again Thursday, 7-0.
Last year the Cougars came to Penns Grove off a loss to rival Woodstown — and back-to-back losses at that — and won 7-1. In the return game, they were coming off a scoreless tie with the Wolverines and won 4-0. The year before they beat them 5-0 coming off a loss to Cinnaminson. They have now won eight in a row in the series.
“Schalick is Schalick,” Massari said. “I think there’s a big gap between us right now. I think there has been for a few years. They’re a talented group. You can tell they’re very well coached. They listen, they’re very disciplined and they execute. They finish their opportunities; that’s something we need to be better at. We had little to no opportunities today.
“They proved they’re still a top dog. They’re the measuring stick for us right now. We knew it was going to be tough. I think the last couple times we’ve played them they’ve come in off of a loss. I don’t know if they have extra motivation because they’re coming off of a loss, but they really have been our Kryptonite for the last few years.”
Schalick coach Joe Mannella called it purely coincidental Penns Grove has fallen as the next team on the schedule so many times after a rare Schalick loss, but the Cougars were very much in need of a win to get their season started. They were coming off a season-opening 3-0 loss to Delran, the first time since 2022 they lost a season opener and the first time since 2018 they were blanked in one. You have to go back before 2010 to find the last time they started a season 0-2.
“We finally scored,” Manella said. “We had a bunch of scrimmages and the Delran game we weren’t scoring goals. Scoring goals and winning games cures a lot of ailments and we started to question our confidence, question ourselves and wonder how good are we. This helps. We’ve still got a lot to do, but this certainly is what we needed.
“To most competitors your pride gets bruised (in a loss) and you want to get out there and prove yourself. We certainly made a point that we wanted to get the taste of that loss Tuesday out of our mouth and start feeling good about ourselves. We don’t want to hit a losing streak or anything like that so you definitely dig down a little bit, try a little harder, and don’t give them anything.”
The Cougars went right at their hosts. Sophomore Josh Stecher scored their first goal of the season and the first of his two in the game when he buried a shot from the right side of the box into the far left corner two minutes into the match. He was credited with the game’s second score 17 minutes later when his crossing pass caromed home off a Penns Grove defender into the goal. Connor McQuade and Nolan O’Toole made it 4-0 with two quick goals in the 23rd minute.
Marco Spinnato scored two goals a minute part in the second half and Jake Sepers scored on a penalty kick. Stecher scored the Cougars’ first two and Spinnato scored their last two.
“We knew we could win this game by a lot and we just wanted to smash this team because of what happened to us last year,” Stecher said. “Every time we play this team we play very well. I don’t know why we play really well against this team, but we always play pretty good.”
The Cougars could’ve had a lot more. Penns Grove freshman keeper Ruben Torres Saenz stoned Luke Price and Spinnato three times one-on-one between Stecher’s two goals and the Cougars hit the post three times in the game. The goalie was credited with 30 saves on the reporting form.
“I’m very happy with how my keeper performed today,” Massari said. “I think a lot of their goals were second opportunities. I think he made really good saves and my defense was caught lacking. I think as a freshman going against that team and showing what he showed today, he showed a lot guts. I think he shows he can play with these guys.
“He’s a calm kid every day and I don’t think he gets rattled very much. He knew we were playing a very good team. I don’t think he realized how good, but I think he stepped up and showed us something. Dwayne (Guzman) left a big hole for us and last year I didn’t know what we were going to do. I had nobody and now we have this kid, who, quite frankly, looked better as a freshman his first game than Dwayne did. It’s the first game of the season, but it’s promising. That was the one bright spot for us today.”
Top photo: Penns Grove’s Esvin Padilla (5) slides in to deny Schalick’s Marco Spinnato a scoring chance in the first half.
CLAYTON 3, PENNSVILLE 0: Jonathan Rehm scored all three goals in the battle of TCC Classic Division contenders. Rehm scored early in the first half and then converted a pair of King Mosley passes in the second. Justin Delaney made 10 saves in recording the shutout.
OVERBROOK 2, WOODSTOWN 1: Brian Reyes broke a 1-1 tie with a goal eight minutes before halftime and the teams slugged it out in a scoreless second half. Don Milhomme scored Woodstown’s game-tying goal in the 18th minute. Woodstown peppered the goal with 24 shots, but couldn’t get the equalizer.
Girls soccer
PENNSVILLE 3, CLAYTON 2: Sloan Marquette bent a corner kick around the near left post with 3:16 left in the first overtime to bring the Eagles the victory.
The Eagles fell behind 1-0, but took a 2-1 lead on a pair of goals less than two minutes apart late in the first half. Karson Cooksey tied the game with 8:19 left in the half off another Marquette corner kick. Abby Marandola made it 2-1 with 6:31 left in the half.
Clayton’s Madi Traister tied the game with her second goal with 22:18 left in regulation.
SCHALICK 8, PENNS GROVE 0: Nicolette Bloomer and Mackenzie Talarico both scored a pair of goals for the second game in a row and Kyleigh Cutler had a goal and three assists to lead the Cougars. Emily Miller, Karlie Bakley and freshman Giuliana Martin, notched Schalick’s other goals.
WOODSTOWN 5, OVERBROOK 0: Freshman Korynn Hernandez scored her second hat trick in three games. Bella Lucas and Krysten Dussault had the Wolverines’ other goals and Hailey Kucharczuk dished three assists. Mazie Mazzoni made three saves in recording her second shutout.
“She’s a threat anywhere on the field and capitalizes on all her opportunities,” Woodstown coach Kieran Keyser said of Hernandez. “She’s very technically sound, aggressive, fast, and just has a knack for finding the back of the net.”
SALEM TECH 7, SALEM 1: Allie Wentz and Abigail Leuallen each scored a pair of goals and the Chargers tied the program record for goals in a game while winning their season opener for the first time in school history. Kapri Holmes, Olivia Blais and Peyton Pratt scored the Chargers’ only goals and Bryn McLaughlin had two assists. Lyric Hayes scored Salem’s goal in the second half.
Field hockey
PENNSVILLE 4, SALEM 1: The Eagles scored their first goal of the season and gave coach Cass Massari her first official career coaching win.
Massari guided the Eagles to three October wins during head coach Lisa Doran’s medical leave last season, but the win in Thursday’s home opener was all her own.
“It feels really good and it feels really good for the girls to have this under their belt, too,” Massari said. “They were coming off the 8-0 loss to a win; it felt very good to them. They kept their spirits up even though they were coming off that loss and they wanted it today.”
Junior Brianna Hill, one of 10 Eagles playing the sport for the first time, scored the Eagles’ first goal of the season. Massari brought defender Addy Hitt up after the goal as a reward for her impressive early-season stick work and the sophomore responded with the game’s second goal. Kendall Hoyt and Polina Wright scored their other two goals.
“We played well,” Massari said. “We have a very inexperienced team. We have 17 girls on our roster and 10 of them have never played before. We have a ton of girls who this is their first year ever picking up a stick. They’re learning, but they’re learning quick, which is good, because they want to learn. They’re all very motivated to learn the sport, learn the game, and they have positive attitudes.”
WOODSTOWN 2, SCHALICK 0: Joey Foote and Lexi Taylor both scored goals on first-half penalty corners and the Wolverines snapped a five-game winless streak in the series. Kendall Higgins made three saves in posting the shutout.
It’s starting out to be a different kind of year for the Cougars. They fell to 0-2 for the first time since 2013 and have yet to score a goal.
SALEM TECH 6, GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 0: Hazel Eachus and Hayden Crispin each scored a pair of goals as the Chargers bounced back from a season-opening loss. Araya DiGregorio and Jessilynn Chambers scored the other goals.
Abigail Beals had a pair of assists and senior goalie Caroline Tighe made five saves in recording the shutout, with a defensive assist from Chambers to keep the sheet clean. The Chargers won nine games in their inaugural season last year, eight by shutout, so the trend continues.
Girls tennis
SCHALICK 5, SALEM 0 Olivia Lunemann (SC) def. Heaven Jones-McCullough, 6-3, 6-0 Sebrina Bradford (SC) def. JaNye Hubbard, 6-1, 6-0 Jasmine Hunt (SC) def. Erica Brewer, 6-0, 6-0 Janae White-Abigail Sotela Hernandez (SC) won by forfeit River Wojcik-Brooke Brown (SC) won by forfeit Records: Schalick 4-1, Salem 0-3.
Mighty Oaks fall to DelTech in three sets, roundup includes results from Wednesday’s Salem County high school sports calendar
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT — When you’re starting a program from scratch you can expect more ups and downs than a rollercoaster. Take a step forward, then move a step back. It’s the dance card on the way to consistency.
For the upstart Salem CC volleyball team Wednesday night qualified as a step back, although the Mighty Oaks were starting to take step forward in the final set of the night.
The Mighty Oaks remained winless in their maiden season after Delaware Tech dispatched them 3-0 in 58 minutes. They lost the first two sets 25-5 and 25-1, but came back to a grab an early lead in the third set before falling 25-13.
“We saw Del Tech, they were our very first scrimmage of the season, and they are very solid and really good,” SCC coach Andrea Bartlett said. “Absolute kudos to them; they are a fantastic team, and I think the girls were intimidated. Even though they know they put the work in and they know they’ve gotten better, they were still intimidated from the get-go.
“Our game is such a mental game we took longer than anticipated to get through that mental block. We started turning things around a little bit in the third set.”
The Mighty Oaks (0-4) scored only two points on their own serve in the first two sets. They fell behind in the first set 11-1 and Del Tech (3-4) closed it out with 14 of the last 15 points. The visitors scored the first 18 points of the second set before a serving error ended their run and gave Salem its only point.
The Mighty Oaks could have packed it in after nearly being shutout in the second set, but they were determined to make something of the evening. They held leads in the third set of 6-4, 9-5 and 11-9. A kill by Kelianne Swartz gave them a 12-10 lead, then DelTech stormed back with 15 of the last 16 points to close out the match.
“We are working on those mental skills,” Bartlett said. “Mental skills are just as important as the physical skills, so we have to practice working through that because we are going to run into situations like that and it’s how we prepare for them so we are able to push through like we did in that third set.
“I keep telling them we have 11 personalties here that we are trying to put into a six-piece puzzle. Some nights it works, some nights it doesn’t work. Some nights I’ve got to flip the puzzle around. We are still figuring out what works for each player. But they’re still working, they have not given up. They’re all in.”
Prep volleyball
TRITON 2, SALEM TECH 0: The Mustangs won a tight second set to complete the sweep and remain undefeated. The set scores were 25-13, 25-23. No other details were available. The loss snapped the Chargers’ two-game winning streak.
Girls tennis
SEWELL — The Minutemaids won three third-set tiebreakers to sweep the Wolverines.
WASHINGTON TWP. 5, WOODSTOWN 0 Jillian Lai (WT) def. Madison LaPalomento, 6-2, 6-3 Julia Agli (WT) def. Emma West, 6-3, 6-4 Taylor Minchin (WT) def. Angelina Lindenmuth, 6-4, 1-6, 12-10 Julianna Delosso-Kourtney Spina (WT) def. Elliana Norman-Emilee Kehr, 5-7, 7-5, 10-4 Hannah Thomas-Emily DeVecchio (WT) def. Isabella Lindenmuth-Eleanore Lawson, 5-7, 6-2, 10-7 Records: Washington Twp. 1-2, Woodstown 2-3.
Cross country
PILESGROVE — Woodstown’s David Farrell and Abby Marino were the top Salem County finishers in their respective races at the Tri-County Batch Meet at Marlton Park.
Farrell ran 18:25.20 to finish 15th in the boys race. Marino ran 23:15.85 to finish 11th in the girls race. Trevor Szilier of Washington Twp. won the boys race (16:52.44) and Kingsway’s Ava Buchanan won the girls race (20:21.15).
Here are the fastest runners from the other Salem County teams at the meet:
BOYS: 24. Levin Seals, Salem Tech, 19:02.75; 30. Aidan Cain, Schalick, 19:13.84; 48. Carter Marts, Pennsville, 19:59.59; 81. Aidan Dominguez, Penns Grove, 21:15.58; 82. Dominic Finfinger, Salem, 21:16.25.
GIRLS: 25. Emma Wilbur, Schalick, 24:35.85; 28. Sawyer Slad, Pennsville, 24:47.53; 84. Paityn Harrington, Salem Tech, 31:38.94.
Penns Grove freshman Thomas makes impressive high school debut, has third-best game in state last week; includes Salem County football leaders through Sept. 5
THIS WEEK’S GAMES Friday’s Games Schalick at Woodstown, 6 p.m. Pennsville at Pitman, 7 p.m. Saturday’s Games Audubon at Salem, noon Lindenwold at Penns Grove, noon
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT – Jaivon Thomas may have surprised the world in his first ever high school football game last Friday night, but the folks around the Penns Grove football program have known the freshman was special for a long time.
“Ever since he was 5 years old he was good,” Red Devils coach Damian Ware said.
Thomas burst on the scene with the third-best rushing performance in the state last week in the Red Devils’ 48-20 win at Buena. He ran for 290 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries, threw a touchdown pass and had an interception on defense. Only Gateway’s Lamar Smith (30-344-3) and Camden Catholic’s Nymir Daily (31-305-4) had more yards on the ground last weekend..
The Red Devils’ leading rusher all last season only collected 293 yards.
Ware called Thomas a “future phenom” when he talked about him in the preseason, but the 5-6, 145-pound freshman showed the future is now against the Chiefs. He has the potential to have another big night this week when the Red Devils play Lindenwold Saturday.
Thomas scored on runs of 17, 70 and 60 yards and had another 59-yard burst that didn’t reach the end zone, often squirming his way through traffic to break into the open field. He threw a 65-yard TD pass to Jerry Wooton. His interception came at the 1, then he covered the 99 yards going the other way on the next two plays.
“He has some instincts and some things he does and his understanding of the game when you talk to him about it … he’s a different type of player,” Ware said. “During a timeout I was throwing it out there that I think I want to run the halfback pass. He looked at me and said, ‘yeah, yeah, run it coach. I’m gonna dime that thing.’ He definitely dimed it. It was right on stride, Jerry caught it and kept running.”
The last freshman running back to make such an impact on the Red Devils’ program was Karon Ceaser, and he was the program’s first true freshman skill position starter in nearly 20 years when he started against Burlington City in the 2023 opener. Ceaser ran for 155 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries in that game on his way to a 1,000-yard season.
Thomas made his developmental bones with the Olympus youth football program. That group produced several Penns Grove natives currently starring in other programs in the region, but Thomas is “locked in” to his hometown school.
“We knew who he was, he had a reputation coming into high school,” Ware said. “He came up to me in the beginning of the summer and said, ‘Coach I’m staying here. I don’t want to play anywhere else. I want to play for Penns Grove.’ He was locked in from the start.
“Everybody wanted him. Everybody still wants him. He’s going to have great success in Penns Grove. It’s not about where you’re at, it’s about what you do where you’re at.”
Here are the scores and highlights from Tuesday’s Salem County sports calendar
BOYS SOCCER Cumberland 9, Pennsville 0 Penns Grove 4, Gloucester Catholic 2 Delran 3, Schalick 0 Woodstown 1, Gateway 1
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE — This year’s Pennsville soccer team may be better than some of coach Derek Foglein’s early teams and it may catch up to last year’s division champion in time, but on this day they were overwhelmed by a superior force on this day.
Izzy Benigno got a hat trick and a water bottle shower, captain Fernando Santiago scored twice and Brodey Willis and JV call-up Cristian Villagomez scored their first career goals to lead Cumberland over the Eagles 9-0 Tuesday. The Colts scored their nine goals on 17 shots and had chances for three other goals (offsides, two posts).
Sam Hassler had perhaps the Eagles’ best attempt at a goal when his semi-breakaway and shot across the box four minutes into the second half was turned away at the right post.
“What I just told them in the circle was that I think this year’s team beats the first team that Coach Joe (Mecholsky) and I had eight years ago 9-0 and I think it shows how far our program has come,” Foglein said, “but at the same time if you want to be an elite soccer program in South Jersey we’ve still got a long way to go.
“And that’s OK. It just reminds us that when we’re in practice, the basics matter. We have to do the basics with intensity, we have to compete with intensity and we have to move the ball with intensity. They’re a fantastic team. Yes, they have great kids, but they were a fantastic team. We’ll learn.”
Top photo: Cumberland’s Andrew Rebollo heads the ball away from Pennsville’s Brant Regner (2) during Tuesday’s game.
Cumberland (2-0)
6
3-
9
Pennsville (0-2)
0
0-
0
GOALS — Fernando Santiago (CR), 5:22; Izzy Benigno (CR), penalty kick, 14:14; Ruben Lopez (CR), 15:13; Izzy Benigno (CR), 17:07; Fernando Santiago CR), 23:02; Izzy Benigno (CR), 32:43; Brodey Willis (CR), 42:00; Matt Lucas (CR), 47:48; Cristian Villagomez (CR), 54:55.
PENNS GROVE 4, GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 2: Juan Ortiz got his junior season off to a rousing start, scoring all four of the Red Devils’ goals, including two in the final 25 minutes after the Rams rallied to tie the game.
Ortiz, who scored six goals last season and 11 in his first two seasons, staked his team to a 2-0 halftime lead. The Red Devils came out of the break a little complacent and the Rams scored twice to tie it. Ortiz put Penns Grove back on top and then added an insurance goal by curling a corner kick into the top corner.
“He’s a special player, there’s no doubt it,” Red Devils coach Mano Massari said. “Sometimes he tries to do too much and his play drops when he tries to do too much, but when he lets the game come to him and plays his game, I always put him as one of the top players on the field at all times.
“He’s still maturing on the field … but I think when he plays poised and calm and lets the game come to him his game goes to another level and I think today was a good showing of that.”
After giving up the two goals early in the second half, freshman keeper Ruben Torres Sinz kept the Rams out of the net the rest of the game.
WOODSTOWN 1, GATEWAY 1: Both teams scored in the first half and then battled through a scoreless second half and overtime. Jake Lewis scored Woodstown’s goal and Vincent Toner lit the lamp for the Gators. Eddie Fuller made six saves in the Woodstown goal.
The Wolverines played to four draws last season.
DELRAN 3, SCHALICK 0: Three different players scored as the Bears handed the Cougars their first season-opening loss since 2022. The Cougars tied Washington Twp. in last year’s season opener and went on to play in the South Jersey Group I championship game.
Girls soccer
TUESDAY’S GAMES Schalick 7, Deptford 2 GCIT 3, Woodstown 2 Paulsboro at Salem Tech
PITTSGROVE — Schalick coach Will Kemp has gotten excited about a lot of teams he’s had over the years, but he’s starting to develop a special kind of affinity for the one he has this season. It all goes to the way they go about their business.
Freshmen Nicolette Bloomer and Mackenzie Talerico each scored two goals and Kyleigh Cutler had a goal and two assists to help the Cougars open their season with a 7-2 win over Deptford.
“This one of those squads I’m actually really excited for,” Kemp said. “I don’t have any type of nerves for, it’s just like pure excitement. Everyone understands it now. The culture is fully established within. We have a lot of selfless players who are focused on rebuilding the tradition and legacy of what Schalick soccer used to be. The work ethic is through the roof. It’s been really nice.”
The Cougars led wire-to-wire, but broke it open with three straight goals from Karlie Bakley, Talerico and Cutler to take a 5-2 halftime lead. Cecilee Bell and Bloomer scored in the second half. It was their first opening day win since 2023.
“The ladies really showed up for the first part of the season, dominated the whole entire game,” Kemp said. “Obviously there are a few things we still need to work on, but for the most part they came to play today, which was really good to see.”
GCIT 3, WOODSTOWN 2: The Cheetahs scored three goals in the first half and held on to hand the Wolverines their first loss of the season. Jorja Widmer scored twice and Khloe Leacott once for GCIT. Hailey Kucharczyk and Korynn Hernandez scored Woodstown’s goals.
GCIT led wire-to-wire, but the Wolverines put up a fight against a team that beat them 3-0 last season. Kucharczyk got them on the board with a left-footed goal from the left side. The Cheetahs made it 3-1, but right back Sadie Moore kept it close with a nice defensive save off a corner kick.
Hernandez scored Woodstown’s second goal off a Delia Hahn free kick with about 10 minutes left to bring the Wolverines within one. She brought it down to her foot, made a move to create space and ripped a shot past GCIT keeper Gwen Marvil from 22 yards out to make it 3-2.
Even in the last minute the Wolverines had a chance to tie. Freshman Bella Lucas put a long throw-in into the box with 10 seconds left, but they couldn’t get a shot on net.
“We were pressing; if we had five more minutes …,” Woodstown coach Kieran Keyser said. “It was a hard-fought battle for our girls. They beat us 3-0 last year, so to go 3-2 and be there with some of South Jersey’s Group 4 good strong teams is definitely a win.”
Field hockey
TUESDAY’S GAMES Audubon 8, Pennsville 0 St. Joe (Hamm.) 5, Woodstown 0 Highland 9, Salem 0
AUDUBON 8, PENNSVILLE 0: The Green Wave scored three goals in each of the first two quarters to spoil the official coaching debut of Pennsville’s Cass Massari.
Massari guided the Eagles to three wins last year filling in during coach Lisa Doran’s medical leave, a stretch that included a division-clinching win, and was promoted following Doran’s retirement.
HIGHLAND 9, SALEM 0: Kiersten Heverly scored the first four goals of the game and the Tartans scored three goals in each of the first three quarters to hand the Rams their second straight 9-0 loss.
Girls tennis
TUESDAY’S MATCHES Overbrook 4, Penns Grove 1 Pennsville 5, Salem 0 Schalick 3, Glassboro 2 Woodstown 5, Timber Creek 0
PENNSVILLE 5, SALEM 0 Graillyn Weber (P) def. Heaven Jones-McCullough, 6-0, 6-0 Naomi Hess (P) def. JaNye Hubbard, 6-0, 6-0 Jaisley Weber (P) def. Erica Brewer, 6-1, 6-2 Audrey Sauermilch-Mariangela Rangel (P) won by forfeit Marissa Dowell-Juliana Thomas (P) won by forfeit Records: Pennsville 2-1, Salem 0-2.
Here is this week’s Salem County sports schedule for the week of Sept. 7-12; all events 4 p.m. unless noted
TUESDAY, SEPT. 8 BOYS SOCCER Cumberland at Pennsville Gloucester Catholic at Penns Grove Schalick at Delran Woodstown at Gateway GIRLS SOCCER Deptford at Schalick GCIT at Woodstown FIELD HOCKEY Pennsville at Audubon St. Joe (Hamm.) at Woodstown Salem at Highland GIRLS TENNIS Glassboro at Schalick Penns Grove at Overbrook Woodstown at Timber Creek CROSS COUNTRY TCC Batch Meet at Kingsway, 3:30 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 9 VOLLEYBALL Triton at Salem Tech, 5:15 p.m. COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL Delaware Tech at Salem CC, 6 p.m.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 10 FOOTBALL Clayton at Haddon Twp., 6 p.m. Atlantic City at Eastern, 6 p.m. Williamstown at Washington Twp., 6 p.m. Vineland at Pennsauken, 6 p.m. Hopewell Valley at Burlington City, 6 p.m. Lenape at Cherokee, 6 p.m. Trenton at Northern Burlington, 6 p.m. Delran at Cinnaminson, 6 p.m. Gloucester Catholic at WW-Plainsboro, 6 p.m. Woodbury at Gateway, 6 p.m. Hightstown at Moorestown, 6 p.m. Shawnee at Cherry Hill East, 6:30 p.m. Egg Harbor at Clearview, 7 p.m. Princeton at Robbinsville, 7 p.m. Mainland at Seneca, 7 p.m. FIELD HOCKEY Gloucester Catholic at Salem Tech Salem at Pennsville Woodstown at Schalick BOYS SOCCER Overbrook at Woodstown Pennsville at Clayton Salem at Salem Tech Schalick at Penns Grove GIRLS SOCCER Clayton at Pennsville Penns Grove at Schalick Salem Tech at Salem Woodstown at Overbrook GIRLS TENNIS Woodstown at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m. Schalick at Salem
FRIDAY, SEPT. 11 FOOTBALL Schalick at Woodstown, 6 p.m. Pennsville at Pitman, 7 p.m. Buena at Mastery Camden, 6 p.m. Paulsboro at West Deptford, 7 p.m. Highland at Overbrook, 7 p.m. Bordentown at Steinert, 3:45 p.m. Timber Creek at Triton, 6 p.m. Deptford at Oakcrest, 6 p.m. Burlington Twp. at Willingboro, 6 p.m. Lower Cape May Cumberland, 6 p.m. Cherry Hill West at Lawrence, 6 p.. Allentown at Collingswood, 6 p.m. Palmyra at Florence, 6 p.m. Riverside at Holy Cross, 6 p.m. Notre Dame at Ewing, 6 p.m. Cedar Creek at Pleasantville, 6 p.m. Rancocas Valley at Kingsway, 6 p.m. Atlantic Tech at Middle Twp., 6 p.m. Haddon Heights at Maple Shade, 6 p.m. Hammonton at Bridgeton, 6 p.m. Holy Spirit at St. Augustine, 6 p.m. Winslow at Glassboro, 6 p.m. Camden Catholic at Bishop Eustace, 6:30 p.m. Sterling at Gloucester, 7 p.m. St. Joe (Hamm.) at Paul VI, 7 p.m. Haddonfield at Delsea, 7 p.m. FIELD HOCKEY Bridgeton at Salem BOYS SOCCER Gloucester at Salem Salem Tech at Camden Academy Charter GIRLS TENNIS Haddon Heights at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m. Trenton at Penns Grove VOLLEYBALL Highland at Salem Tech, 5:15 p.m. COLLEGE CROSS COUNTRY Salem CC in Bill Fritz Open, Dream Park
SATURDAY, SEPT. 12 FOOTBALL Audubon at Salem, noon Lindenwold at Penns Grove, noon KIPP at Wildwood, noon Pemberton at Nottingham, noon FIELD HOCKEY Woodstown vs. Delsea, Rowan, 2:30 p.m. COLLEGE FOOTBALL Nassau CC vs. Salem CC, Schalick H.S., noon
Here is this week’s schedule and scores around the West Jersey Football League; Salem County, WJFL Diamond, Independence Division games listed first
SATURDAY’S GAMES Paulsboro 8, Salem 6 Haddon Heights 36, Collingswood 12 Deptford 44, Mastery Camden 0 Maple Shade at KIPP, noon Pemberton 35, Holy Cross 0 St. Augustine vs. Atlantic City
FRIDAY’S GAMES Schalick 28, Burlington City 6 Penns Grove 48, Buena 20 Woodbury 53, Pitman 8 Bordentown 28, Florence 6 Bridgeton 35, Highland 0 Burlington Twp. 28, Cherokee 0 Camden 24, Holy Spirit 15 Camden Catholic 26, Riverside 20 Clearview 62, WW-Plainsboro 7 Ewing 56, Hightstown 10 Glassboro 38, Mainland 6 Hamilton West 25, Lawrence 16 Hammonton 21, Atlantic Tech 7 Northern Burlington 35, Lenape 0 Notre Dame 38, Nottingham 0 Princeton 17, Allentown 16 Sterling 28, Audubon 21 Rancocas Valley 47, Delsea 0 St. Joe (Hamm.) 19, Cumberland 7 Steinert 34, Robbinsville 12 Triton 20, Cherry Hill West 15 Washington Twp. 39, Millville 20 West Deptford 21, Willingboro 6 Winslow 38, Kingsway 0
THURSDAY GAMES Overbrook 28, Pennsville 26 Woodstown 7, Clayton 6 Paul VI 13, Delran 0 Camden Eastside 35, Gloucester 0 Eastern 24, Cherry Hill East 13 Egg Harbor 28, Lower Cape May 13 Gateway 38, Bishop Eustace 37 Haddon Twp. 15, Palmyra 8 Hopewell Valley 21, Trenton 12 Middle Twp. 41, Gloucester Catholic 0 Moorestown 17, Cinnaminson 7 Oakcrest 40, Absegami 20 Ocean City 6, Cedar Creek 2 Pennsauken 14, Williamstown 6 Seneca 34, Haddonfield 0 Shawnee 28, Pleasantville 14 Vineland 40, Timber Creek 36
