Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of Sept. 23-28; all games 4 p.m. unless noted, all football games 7 p.m. unless noted
MONDAY BOYS SOCCER Paulsboro at Pennsville (Foglein Bowl) GIRLS SOCCER Pennsville at Paulsboro FIELD HOCKEY Clayton at Salem Pennsville at Woodstown Schalick at Overbrook GIRLS TENNIS Pitman at Woodstown Schalick at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m. Cumberland at Penns Grove, 6:30 p.m.
TUESDAY BOYS SOCCER Glassboro at Schalick Gloucester Catholic at Salem Overbrook at Woodstown Wildwood at Pennsville Pitman at Penns Grove, 6:30 p.m. Salem Tech at Clayton, 7 p.m. GIRLS SOCCER Penns Grove at Pennsville Salem at Gloucester Catholic Schalick at Glassboro Woodstown at Overbrook Salem Tech at Clayton, 5 p.m. GIRLS TENNIS Glassboro at Pennsville Penns Grove at Gloucester Catholic Schalick at Pitman Woodstown at Salem FIELD HOCKEY Bridgeton at Pennsville
WEDNESDAY FIELD HOCKEY Deptford at Schalick, 6 p.m. Gloucester Catholic at Salem Overbrook at Woodstown GIRLS SOCCER Overbrook at Penns Grove, 6:30 p.m. GIRLS TENNIS Woodstown at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m. GIRLS VOLLEYBALL Triton at Salem Tech
THURSDAY BOYS SOCCER Clayton at Pennsville Penns Grove at Overbrook Salem Tech at Gloucester Catholic Schalick at Pitman Wildwood at Salem Woodstown at Glassboro GIRLS SOCCER Glassboro at Woodstown Gloucester Catholic at Salem Tech Pennsville at Schalick Salem at Wildwood GIRLS TENNIS Overbrook at Schalick Penns Grove at Pennsville Salem at Gloucester Catholic Woodstown at Cedar Creek CROSS COUNTRY Salem Tech at Burlington Tech GIRLS VOLLEYBALL Kingsway at Salem Tech
FRIDAY FOOTBALL Woodbury at Glassboro, 6 p.m. Woodstown at Penns Grove, 6:30 p.m. Pennsville at Camden Catholic FIELD HOCKEY Schalick at Cumberland GIRLS TENNIS Woodstown at Kingsway BOYS SOCCER Salem at Overbrook
SATURDAY FOOTBALL Collingswood at Haddon Twp., 10:30 a.m. Overbrook at Paulsboro, 11 a.m. West Deptford at Audubon, 11 a.m. Schalick at Salem, noon BOYS SOCCER Schalick at Cinnaminson, 11 a.m. GIRLS SOCCER Schalick at Cinnaminson, 9:30 a.m. CROSS COUNTRY Schalick at Six Flags Great Adventure, 9 a.m.
Melo Erickson and his Penns Grove teammates play another Salem County rival Friday night when they host Woodstown. (Photo by Heather Papiano)
Senior transfer makes a splash in season debut, helps Schalick end 14-game losing streak over 18 years to Penns Grove; McDade has big game in Pennsville rout, Belinfanti breaks out for Woodstown
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PITTSGROVE – Roneem Thomas has been waiting all summer for Friday night to get here. When he finally got the chance to play, he definitely made an impression.
THOMAS
Thomas had to sit Schalick’s first three games of the season to satisfy the state’s senior transfer rule, so his senior debut came Friday against Penns Grove. He was a factor on both sides of the ball and played a big role in helping the Cougars win 21-2 and end 18 years of frustration against the Red Devils.
It was Schalick’s first win over Penns Grove since Oct. 7, 2006 (a span of 6,558 days) and snapped a 14-game losing streak in the series.
“That’s nice to know, history and stuff like that,” Cougars coach Mike Wilson said, “but it’s all about winning tonight; that’s what matters.”
Thomas was back on familiar ground when he joined the Cougars. He went to school with most of the current players on the team through eighth grade (he’s the cousin of junior slot/safety Levi Feeney-Childers). He moved away to Brunswick, Ga., came back to New Jersey last year and played at Williamstown, then returned to Schalick this summer so he could finish his high school career with the players he started with.
Wilson knew the versatile 5-foot-7, 170-pounder was going to be a factor on offense — he had a run for 3 yards and a catch for 13 Friday — but Thomas made his biggest impact in his first game on defense.
Pressed into a start at MIKE linebacker because of an injury, Thomas was credited with 10 tackles, two assists and stopped Penns Grove quarterback Melo Erickson on back-to-back runs inside the 3 early in the fourth quarter. The last one stymied Erickson on fourth down short of the goal line to keep it a 7-0 game. He got the defensive game ball for his efforts.
“I just was hungry, man,” he said. “That senior transfer (rule) kind of stuck me back a little bit, but I was just ready, ready to go.
“I was just locked in. I stayed locked in, stayed focused, stayed to my grind, stayed with my keys, just focused. My coach told me I know you’ve been waiting for this moment, stay focused and be ready to play.”
He showed he was right from the start. On his first play on defense he came up and put a big hit on the center. From that point on, safety Reggie Allen knew the Cougars had something special in Thomas.
“He’s a ballplayer,” Wilson said. “He grew up playing with these guys before he moved to Georgia. Came back, got hit by the senior transfer rule – not his fault – and he’s a big part of the team now.”
Schalick’s Reggie Allen (4) rushed for more than 100 yards and a touchdown against Penns Grove. On the cover, senior transfer Roneem Thomas (25) watches the action before going into his first game with the Cougars. (Photos by Heather Papiano)
Penns Grove was position to get the tying touchdown after a bad punt snap was smothered at the 6 with 1:35 left in the third quarter. On second-and-goal from the 3, Allen anticipated the dive and stopped Knowledge Young for no gain, setting the stage for Thomas’ two big stops on Erickson.
The Red Devils did score out of the exchange. With the Cougars backed up against the goal line, the Devils wrapped up quarterback Kenai Simmons in the end zone for a safety to make it 7-2 with more than 10 minutes to play.
Schalick went 11-1 last year and earned a promotion into the tougher WJFL Diamond Division as a result. But the Cougars have struggled out of the gate and lost to their two most difficult opponents causing folks to wonder if the move was too big for them.
Cougars coach Mike Wilson rebuffed that assertion, saying the Cougars just had to “learn to play in bigger games every week.”
“It’s just the maturity of the program,” he said. “When you’re playing playoff competition every week, you have to be able to meet that level of expectation every game. We did that today. Now, we have things to clean up, but overall we played much better tonight than we have all year.”
“We showed everybody that we could play with anybody,” Allen said. “They’ve been doubting us from Woodstown, Cedar Grove. Those were two tough losses, but we bounced back tonight. It was a big win.”
The Cougars came to life in the fourth quarter, scoring two touchdowns, collecting three of their four interceptions and making their goal line stand. They held Penns Grove’s struggling offense to 75 total yards, but the Red Devils also were missing two key pieces, Isaiah Hill and KaRon Ceaser.
Schalick’s touchdowns came on a 15-yard run by Allen and a 53-yard pass from Simmons to Nylan Sutton. Allen rushed for 104 yards on eight carries and had Schalick’s three biggest gains of a night where yardage was hard to come by for either team before Sutton’s touchdown play.
“We’re usually a second half team,” Allen said. “We might score a touchdown or two (early), but then we’ll come out the second half and dominate them because we finally realize what we have to do.”
“We just wore them out as the game went on,” Wilson said.
The Red Devils had an 81-yard touchdown called back by a penalty in the first quarter. When the Cougars took possession they went 58 yards in 12 plays and two negative penalties capped by Simmons walking on from the 1 for the game’s first touchdown one play after being stopped at the 1 by Najee Paynter.
Schalick 21, Penns Grove 2
PG (2)
SCHAL (21)
4
1st Downs
10
24-57
Rush-yards
32-146
6-18-4
Passing (C-A-I)
6-10-0
18
Passing yds
95
1-0
Fum-lost
5-2
4-26.3
Punts-avg
1-38.0
6-40
Pen-yds
7-55
Penns Grove
0
0
0
2-
2
Schalick
7
0
0
14-
21
SCORING SUMMARY S-Kenai Simmons 1 run (Hunter Dragotta kick), 2:38 1Q PG-Safety, Kenai Simmons tackled in end zone, 10:49 4Q S-Reggie Allen 15 run (Hunter Dragotta kick), 5:55 4Q S-Nylan Sutton 53 pass from Kenai Simmons (Hunter Dragotta kick), 1:33 4Q
Schalick’s David Stewart (0) tries to get past Penns Grove’s Knowledge Young (7) with one of his two interceptions with Kylee Goodson in hot pursuit. (Photo by Heather Papiano)
Pennsville 46, Audubon 0
PENNSVILLE – Eagles head coach Mike Healy called it “the closest to a complete game” his team has played this season.
Quarterback Robbie McDade threw three touchdown passes, Malik Rehmer had a TD run and catch, Rylan Hardy ran for two scores, Jovanni Rios had a pick-six and the defense pitched its first regular-season shutout since 2021.
“We just did a great job playing how we feel we were capable of,” Healy said. “We’ve still got some stuff to fix, but if felt great to kind of get things rolling finally.”
The three touchdowns by McDade were a career high. They went to Cole Campbell, Luke Wood and Rehmer. For Wood and Campbell, they were the first TD catches of their careers.
“We’ve been rushing the ball great, but we were not effective in the passing game,” Healy said. “But tonight (McDade’s) passes downfield were on point; we were able to take advantage of some stuff and just really be more balanced on offense. He played great tonight. That’s what we needed to be able to do to go forward.”
The Eagles scored a shutout over Keansburg in last year’s regional consolation final, but Friday was their first in the regular season since blanking Cumberland in October 2021. It was their widest margin of victory against an opponent since beating Penns Grove by 49 on Thanksgiving Day 2013.
Given Camden Catholic’s win over West Deptford, the win pulled the Eagles into a three-way tie for second place in the WJFL Patriot Division and they have division-leading Camden Catholic next week.
“Winning your division is one of our goals preseason and the fact now we still have a chance to do it hopefully it’s a little extra motivation for the kids because that’s something we want to be able to do,” Healy said. “The ability to still be in the division race is awesome. Losing that first game (to West Deptford) took things out of your hands is tough, but it’s awesome to heard we’re still in it.”
Woodstown’s Bryce Belinfanti (3) rushed for 200 yards against Woodbury for the second year in a row. His only 200-yard games have come against the Thundering Herd. (Photo by Ellen Sickler)
Woodstown 28, Woodbury 16
WOODSTOWN – New Woodstown coach Frank Trautz has a pretty good ride home after football Friday nights so anything that makes those rides enjoyable is a plus. The last three weeks that ride has been quite enjoyable.
Bryce Belinfanti rushed for 204 yards and scored three total touchdowns and the defense posted a shutout in the second half as the Wolverines rallied to turn back Woodbury 28-16 for their third straight win to open the season.
“It was close the whole game, it was a dogfight, for sure,” Trautz said. “We just made some adjustments (at halftime) on what I wanted to do and attack them offensively with. The kids came out and executed what we talked about both offensively and defensively.
“It was a real physical, tough football game, kind of like the games we’ve played with them in the past. It was a fight to the end. To get a win against an opponent of that quality is awful big.”
The Wolverines, 3-0 for the third year in a row, led twice in the first half, but each time the Thundering Herd answered to take the lead.
Belinfanti had an 85-yard TD run to open the scoring, but the Wolverines missed the extra point. The Herd answered with a 24-yard touchdown pass to go up 8-6.
Belinfanti’s second touchdown, a 37-yard pass from Jack Holladay, put Woodstown up 13-8, but Woodbury answered with a big pass play right before the half to take a 16-13 lead into the break. Woodbury quarterback Tim Holmes was 16-of-29 passing for 272 yards.
Belinfanti rushed for a career-high 204 yards on 27 carries. It was the second year in a row he rushed for more than 200 yards against the Herd. He went for 203 yards and three TDs on s career-high 30 carries against them last season.
“Wow, I didn’t even know I had 200 because the stat keeper couldn’t make the game,” he said. “We came in the game knowing Woodbury was going to take big shots.”
It was all Woodstown in the second half. The defense bottled up the Herd’s offense. Belinfanti scored his third touchdown on a 13-yard run and the Wolverines put it away on an 8-yard shuttle pass from Holladay to Garrett Leyman that capped a long fourth-quarter drive.
“Coming out of halftime I knew I was going to have to hit bit for sure and we took a lot of time off the clock,” Belinfanti said. “The score that put the game away was an amazing call by Coach Trautz.”
One of those type things that give you a warm and fuzzy feeling for a long ride home.
Woodstown 28, Woodbury 16
WBURY (16)
WTOWN (28)
8
1st Downs
14
21-1
Rushing
37-224
16-29-0
Passes
3-6-1
272
Passing
90
2
Fumbles
1
4-25.0
Punts
3-37.0
6-54
Penalties
2-15
Woodbury
0
16
0
0-
16
Woodstown
6
7
7
8-
28
SCORING SUMMARY WT-Bryce Belinfanti 85 run (kick failed) WB-Elijah Young 24 pass from Tim Holmes (Thomas Lewis run) WT-Bryce Belinfanti 37 pass from Jack Holladay (Jake Ware kick) WB-Shiwoe Varpilah 74 pass from Tim Holmes (Tim Holmes run) WT-Bryce Belinfanti 13 run (Jake Ware kick) WT-Garrett Leyman 8 pass from Jack Holladay (Brett Rowand pass from Jack Holladay)
Woodstown’s Bump Carter (71) brings down Woodbury quarterback Tim Holmes for a sack. The Wolverines’ defensive line was particularly stout in the second half. (Photo by Ellen Sickler)
WJFL DIAMOND DIVISION
DIV
ALL
Glassboro
2-0
3-0
Woodstown
2-0
3-0
Schalick
1-1
2-2
Woodbury
1-1
1-2
Penns Grove
0-2
1-3
Salem
0-2
0-4
THURSDAY’S GAMES Glassboro 46, Salem 0 FRIDAY’S GAMES Schalick 21, Penns Grove 2 Woodstown 28, Woodbury 16
WJFL PATRIOT DIVISION
DIV
ALL
Camden Catholic
2-0
3-0
West Deptford
2-1
2-2
Paulsboro
2-1
3-1
Pennsville
2-1
2-2
Collingswood
1-2
2-2
Audubon
0-2
1-2
Overbrook
0-2
2-2
THURSDAY’S GAME Paulsboro 47, Collingswood 7 FRIDAY’S GAMES Overbrook 26, Florence 0 Pennsville 46, Audubon 0 Camden Catholic 38, West Deptford 20
Glassboro takes momentum from Salem early in game, Foster comes off bench to lead Bulldogs’ offense, regain QB1 spot
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
GLASSBORO — Football is such a momentum game. Salem had it early Thursday night after a huge drive-stopping takeaway in the end zone, but Glassboro took it right back with an equally big defensive play and kept Ol’ Mo on its side it the rest of the night.
Salem got the momentum late in the first quarter when William Dunn made an incredible one-handed interception two steps deep in the end zone and returned it out near the 25.
But all that good fortune was taken away when the Rams were hit with a block in the back right as Dunn exited the end zone. So, instead of the offense setting up with some comfortable field position, the Rams had to start from their own 1.
And then on the first play they jumped offside moving the ball back even closer to the goal line. When they finally got set, Glassboro’s defense smothered Terrance Smith in the end zone for a safety.
The Bulldogs returned the free kick to the Salem 33 and three plays later Jack O’Connell hit Amari Sabb for a 15-yard touchdown on the final play of the first quarter for the game’s first touchdown in an eventual 46-0 victory.
Interestingly, the Bulldogs (3-0) scored touchdowns on the final play of the first, second and third quarters.
“That was the game changer,” Salem coach Kemp Carr said of the safety. “We make a nice play (then) we get penalized. That causes an avalanche. We make an interception in the end zone, we get penalized. We return it to the 24 and we get backed up and they get a safety on the half-inch line.
“You know this game is about momentum. We were playing well up to that point; we caused three turnovers. That was the game changer. Come on, you get a safety down there? We aren’t a team that wants to play from behind. We haven’t had any success this year. You can’t play from behind.”
Salem junior William Dunn (0) snatches the ball away from Glassboro’s Amari Sabb with an incredible one-handed interception in the end zone in the first quarter.
But even after that frustrating start, the offense showed signs of life. They held the ball for most of the second quarter and in one six-minute drive got down to Glassboro 11 before DayShaun Day blocked Andrew May’s 29-yard field goal attempt inside the final minute.
The Rams (0-4), who have scored only one touchdown in their first four games, had only 100 yards of net offense. Half of that came on two plays in the second half – a 31-yard catch by Smith and a 14-yard run by Jamaal Shockley on their final play of the game.
“We’ve got to get some things getting better,” Carr said. “We’ve got to get in the end zone, man.”
The first-quarter touchdown pass notwithstanding, Glassboro didn’t really move the ball with O’Connell at quarterback. The Rams intercepted him twice, recovered a ball he fumbled and held Glassboro to 59 net yards in the first quarter and a half he directed the offense.
Sophomore Kristopher Foster replaced him on the Bulldogs’ final possession of the second quarter (after the blocked field goal) and threw three touchdown passes and directed four straight touchdown drives the rest of the game. He completed 8 of 13 passes for 137 yards with scoring strikes of 31 and 55 yards to Xavier Sabb on either side of halftime and 13 yards to Day in the fourth quarter.
Foster was basically the only quarterback the Bulldogs had last year and he passed for 1,036 yards and 13 touchdowns in their run to the state finals, but he was beaten out by Gateway transfer O’Connell in a tight battle this summer in camp.
“All practice I knew (O’Connell) was going to start, but in my head I was thinking if I get in I’m going to make it worthwhile,” Foster said. “I put trust in my teammates and my coaches and once I got in I just showed out. I don’t think we could’ve scripted it up better than that.
“I wasn’t sure (if he’d get another shot), but I knew I was going to keep working hard, doing what I do, studying the playbook, practicing hard, and all that.”
Glassboro coach Timmy Breaker said after the game the Bulldogs have “two varsity quarterbacks,” but the resiliency Foster showed in fighting for his spot and his poise and play against the Rams earned him the start next week against Woodbury.
“We always tell them we have two great quarterbacks, and tonight was just Kris’ night,” Breaker said. “We have two really good quarterbacks, two varsity quarterbacks, we are blessed to get two of them, and either night it could be either of their times and you saw Kris put on a masterful performance.
“Tonight, he showed a resiliency; he showed how to battle back. Even when he didn’t get the call he came to practice to work. I tell them all the time you never know when it’s your time, just be ready when it’s your time; you’ll never have to get ready if you stay ready, and this week has been his best week at practice. He’s the guy next week. He earned that. He outright earned that.”
NOTES: Kaden Robinson had Salem’s other interception and Antwan Robinson had the strip sack and fumble recovery … Day had a 36-yard pick-6 for Glassboro’s final touchdown … The Bulldogs will add to their offensive arsenal next week when Hammonton transfer Kenny Smith becomes eligible. Smith rushed for 1,473 yards and 16 TDs last season and 3,143 yards and 37 TDs over the last two. “I’m excited to have him,” Breaker said. “The stuff he does in practice I can’t wait for everyone to see” … Salem is hoping to see the return of Omarion Pierce and Jared Pew from injuries next week. “We’re going to keep getting better,” Carr said. “It’s a long season. Once we get in, we’ll be a different team. We’ve got three key guys out right now – a coverage guy, a couple receivers – that makes a difference. We’re going to be fine. We’ve just got to get healthy.”
Glassboro 46, Salem 0
SAL
GLASS
8
1st Downs
11
28-56
Rush-yards
15-92
4-12-1
Passing (C-A-I)
13-24-2
44
Passing yds
188
1-1
Fum-lost
1-1
3-30.3
Punts-avg
1-28.0
4-36
Pen-yds
3-15
Salem
0
0
0
0-
0
Glassboro
8
8
16
14-
46
SCORING SUMMARY G-Safety, runner tackled in end zone, 1:30 1Q G-Amari Sabb 15 pass from Jack O’Connell (kick blocked), 0:05 1Q G-Xavier Sabb 31 pass from Kristopher Foster (Amari Sabb run), 0:00 2Q G-Xavier Sabb 55 pass from Kristopher Foster (Hakim Theresa run), 10:18 3Q G-Amari Sabb 8 run (DayShaun pass from Kristopher Foster), 0:32 3Q G-DayShaun Day 13 pass from Kristopher Foster (DayShaun Day pass from Kristopher Foster), 9:26 4Q G-DayShaun Day 36 interception return (PAT failed), 5:10 4Q
WJFL DIAMOND DIVISION
DIV
ALL
Glassboro
2-0
3-0
Woodstown
1-0
2-0
Woodbury
1-0
1-1
Penns Grove
0-1
1-2
Schalick
0-1
1-2
Salem
0-2
0-4
THURSDAY’S GAMES Glassboro 46, Salem 0 FRIDAY’S GAMES Penns Grove at Schalick, 7 p.m. Woodbury at Woodstown, 7 p.m.
WJFL PATRIOT DIVISION
DIV
ALL
West Deptford
2-0
2-1
Camden Catholic
1-0
2-0
Paulsboro
2-1
3-1
Pennsville
1-1
1-2
Collingswood
1-2
2-2
Audubon
0-1
1-1
Overbrook
0-2
1-2
THURSDAY’S GAME Paulsboro 47, Collingswood 7 FRIDAY’S GAMES Overbrook at Florence, 6 p.m. Audubon at Pennsville, 7 p.m. West Deptford at Camden Catholic, 7 p.m.
Glassboro takes ‘couple steps forward’ in getting its offense right, Pennsville scores its first win of the season, Salem staying positive
SALEM COUNTY SCORES Glassboro 24, Penns Grove 0 Pennsville 39, Overbrook 22 Woodbury 25, Salem 0
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNS GROVE – This week was all about cleaning up the offense for the Glassboro football team.
It got a little closer to where the Bulldogs would like it Saturday, but when you’ve got the Sabb brothers in the mix and play defense the way they do, what they had was good enough to get by a team like Penns Grove, itself a team trying to find an offensive identity.
Xavier Sabb grabbed a touchdown pass, Amari Sabb had a touchdown run and Brandon Simmons fell on a blocked punt in the end zone — all in the first half — to give the Bulldogs control of an eventual 24-0 victory over the Red Devils and their former coach Mark Maccarone.
“We took some steps today,” Bulldogs coach Timmy Breaker said. “We were hitting on all cylinders. It just comes down to execution. I tell them all the time we’ve got to execute at a high level and make the plays that are supposed to be made.
“There were a couple plays that were left on the field that obviously could have blown this game wide open, but it’s something you can fix. But we did turn a corner today. We did take a couple steps forward.”
The thought at the start of the year was the Bulldogs were going to have their way with Haddon Heights in their season opener and they did jump out to a 22-0 lead, but they didn’t score any more after that early surge. They still won the game, but had only 237 yards of offense in the game, 63 on the ground.
They got off to a fast start against the Red Devils, too, finding the end zone on two of their first three possessions, but they managed just 265 yards for the game. Unlike the week before, they did have 199 yards on the ground.
Penns Grove, meanwhile, managed only 87 yards on offense, and most of it came on a 13-play drive in the fourth quarter that reached into the red zone before being thrown back by two losses.
“We were outphysicalled, which is about as plain as I can put it on the offensive side of the ball,” Maccarone said.
Breaker could sense his offense turning the corner on the opening drive when Xavier Sabb hauled in a 20-yard touchdown pass from Jack O’Connell. The Bulldogs added another touchdown later in the quarter when Amari Sabb ran in from the 5.
Amari Sabb rushed for 74 yards on seven carries. Davon Barr had 67 yards on six carries. And freshman Hakim Theresa had 78 yards on 10 carries. Xavier Sabb had three catches for 21 yards.
Quarterback Melo Erickson was Penns Grove’s leading rusher with 22 yards. He also completed seven passes, including one to himself on a batted ball, for 50 yards.
The turning point of the game came on the final play of the first half when DayShaun Day snuffed a punt and Brandon Simmons fell on the loose ball in the end zone for a touchdown with no time left on the clock. It was the worst possible outcome for the various options the Red Devils had for the situation.
“DayShaun blocked it, it just bounced off the ground and went right into my hands,” Simmons said. “It was like early Christmas.”
It was the third year in a row the 270-pound junior defensive tackle has scored a defensive touchdown and the second time he did it against the Red Devils at Jim Devonshire Field. He had a 30-yard scoop-and-score in the fourth quarter of the 2022 game here as a freshman and a 10-yard fumble return last year against Deptford.
“I’m trying to get at least one every year,” he said.
With his team pinned against its end zone and only six seconds left in the half, Maccarone said he contemplated just taking the safety and letting the clock run out, then decided to punt figuring to go into the break down only 12-0.
Day broke through up the middle to block the kick. He was looking for the ball after the play but couldn’t find it. That’s because Simmons had already fallen on it.
Breaker said the players called the block and he was OK with granting it as long as they could explain to him what they were doing and why they wanted to do it.
“The kids called me and we talked about it yesterday,” he said. “I said if they’re backed up we’ll go for it. DayShaun Day was the one who was like, ‘Coach, I think it’s that time.’”
It stayed an 18-0 game until the final 20 seconds when Jack O’Connell hit Mekhi Parker with a 37-yard touchdown pass against a makeshift Penns Grove secondary that had three of its starters injured on the sideline.
Glassboro 24, Penns Grove 0
GLASS (24)
PG (0)
17
1st Downs
4
29-199
Rush-yards
18-37
8-24-1
Passing (C-A-I)
7-15-1
66
Passing yds
50
1-1
Fum-lost
1-1
1-22.0
Punts-avg
5-24.0
14-125
Pen-yds
15-133
Glassboro (2-0)
12
6
0
6-
24
Penns Grove (1-2)
0
0
0
0-
0
SCORING SUMMARY G-Xavier Sabb 20 pass from Jack O’Connell (run failed), 8:56 1Q G-Amari Sabb 5 run (kick failed), 2:24 1Q G-Brandon Simmons recovered block punt in end zone (PAT failed), 0:00 2Q G-Mekhi Parker 37 pass from Jack O’Connell (pass failed), 0:17 4Q
Laurels to Hardy
PINE HILL – After coming close in each of its first two games, Pennsville broke through for its first win of the season, pulling away in the fourth quarter to turn back Overbrook 39-22.
“After that unfortunate loss last week it was really good to come back and show what we can do,” junior running back Rylan Hardy said. “I knew it was going to happen. I knew what we were capable of.”
And he was a big part of it. Hardy scored three touchdowns for the second week in a row and had two huge runs in the fourth quarter after the Rams pulled within 27-22 with 6:35 to play.
His 78-yard run set up Jovanni Rios’ 2-yard touchdown run to give Pennsville a 33-22 lead. He broke off a 28-yard touchdown run with 2:58 to play for the final score of the game. His first score tied the game in the first quarter.
“Rylan is very instinctive with just finding space to run to,” Eagles coach Mike Healy said. “He just finds the area to go to. His vision and his ability to find the open area is incredible.”
“I’ve been waiting to show what I can do out there,” Hardy said, adding he’s just been following his blockers. “I think it’s showing that I am capable of doing some great stuff out there.”
Malik Rehmer scored a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter to give the Eagles a 20-14 halftime lead. His second was an 89-yard pass play from Robbie McDade.
The Eagles came into the season with high expectations, returning a veteran team and moving into a more competitive division to help enhance their playoff posture. But they lost their first games – a 14-0 dud at Gloucester and their home opener against West Deptford after leading 20-7 in the third quarter.
“Obviously last week was a heartbreaker; we played well for the most part and thought we played well enough for a win, but that’s football,” Healy said. “Coming back this week and not having a letdown after that and being able to come out and get done what we know we can do, I’m very proud of the kids.
“As a coach anytime you start off 0-1 you have a slight worry, but on the other side you also know what your team is capable of and you know we are better than our record might show. I thought we had our best week of practice this week and it showed in the game. We knew we were good enough to win some games, we just have to keep working, keep getting better every week.”
Pennsville 39, Overbrook 22
Pennsville (1-2)
6
14
7
12-
39
Overbrook (1-2)
6
8
0
8-
22
SCORING SUMMARY O-Teriq Moore run (run failed) P-Rylan Hardy run (kick failed) P-Malik Rehmer run (Luke Wood kick) P-Malik Rehmer 89 pass from Robbie McDade (Luke Wood kick) O-Axcel Bailey 6 pass from Teriq Moore (Teriq Moore kick) P-Rylan Hardy run (Luke Wood kick), 6:53 3Q O-Axcel Bailey 80 run (Teriq Moore run), 6:35 4Q P-Jovanni Rios 2 run (kick failed), 6:03 4Q P-Rylan Hardy 28 run (kick failed), 2:58 4Q
Salem still searching
WOODBURY – Kemp Carr finds himself in some uncharted territory, but he isn’t discouraged. If anything, it’s made him more determined.
Carr has never been 0-3 as a head coach before, but that’s where he is with his new Salem team after the Rams fell at Woodbury 25-0. In fact, in all his years as a head coach, he’s only had losing streaks of three or more games four times.
Though the score looked one-sided, the Rams gave their hosts a battle. They moved the ball all day between the 30s, but just couldn’t get it in the end zone. Pop Jackson rushed for 133 yards.
The teams played to a scoreless first quarter and it was 7-0 at halftime and 13-0 after three quarters. Marquis Taylor scored the Herd’s first two touchdowns, on a 22-yard run late in the second quarter after a short Salem punt and a pick-six.
“The guys are playing hard, they can see they’re playing hard,” Carr said. “We have all the pieces to be successful. I think they’ve got to believe.”
Woodbury 25, Salem 0
Salem (0-3)
0
0
0
0-
0
Woodbury (1-1)
0
7
6
12-
25
SCORING SUMMARY Wo-Marquis Taylor 22 run (kick good), 2:22 2Q Wo-Marquis Taylor interception return (PAT failed), 4:43 3Q Wo-Elijah Young 42 pass (PAT failed), 6:55 4Q Wo-TD run (PAT failed)
WJFL DIAMOND DIVISION
DIV
ALL
Woodstown
1-0
2-0
Glassboro
1-0
2-0
Woodbury
1-0
1-1
Penns Grove
0-1
1-2
Salem
0-1
0-3
Schalick
0-1
1-2
FRIDAY GAMES Woodstown 26, Schalick 0 SATURDAY GAMES Woodbury 25, Salem 0 Glassboro 24, Penns Grove 0 NEXT WEEK’S GAMES THURSDAY Salem at Glassboro, 6 p.m. FRIDAY Penns Grove at Schalick, 7 p.m. Woodbury at Woodstown, 7 p.m.
WJFL PATRIOT DIVISION
DIV
ALL
West Deptford
2-0
2-1
Camden Catholic
1-0
2-0
Paulsboro
1-1
2-1
Collingswood
1-1
2-1
Pennsville
1-1
1-2
Audubon
0-1
1-1
Overbrook
0-2
1-2
FRIDAY GAMES Audubon 8, Bordentown 7 West Deptford 46, Collingswood 6 SATURDAY GAMES Camden Catholic 29, Paulsboro 28 Pennsville 39, Overbrook 22 NEXT WEEK’S GAMES THURSDAY Paulsboro at Collingswood, 6 p.m. FRIDAY Overbrook at Florence, 6 p.m. Audubon at Pennsville, 7 p.m. West Deptford at Camden Catholic, 7 p.m.
Woodstown takes advantage of Schalick’s special teams miscues, wins Diamond Division opener, extends winning streak in series to 12
SALEM COUNTY FOOTBALL FRIDAY GAMES Woodstown 26, Schalick 0 SATURDAY GAMES Glassboro at Penns Grove Pennsville at Overbrook Salem at Woodbury
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – If you grew up Down South watching football, especially in the state of Alabama where the sport just means more, there are certain games that just resonate through generations.
One of the most memorable is the 1972 Iron Bowl in which Auburn stunned No. 2 Alabama 17-16, blocking two punts in the fourth quarter and returning both for touchdowns to win a game that is forever known as “Punt, Bama, Punt.”
Woodstown staged its own version of “Punt, Bama, Punt” Friday night, taking advantage of several Schalick miscues in the punting game to win its WJFL Diamond Division opener and extend its dominance in the series with their nearest county rival, 26-0.
All of the Wolverines’ points came as a result of shortcomings on the Cougars’ special teams. There was a safety off a bad punt snap to open the scoring, a short-field touchdown drive with the ensuing free kick, a short-field touchdown drive off a 7-yard punt, a field goal off another bad punt snap and a touchdown off another short punt They almost had another touchdown after a long punt return into Schalick territory, but turned it over on downs after getting inside the 10.
“Special teams is such an emphasis for us,” Woodstown coach Frank Trautz said. “We put a huge emphasis on it every week and take it very seriously.
“Any time you can get a special teams turnover it drastically swings momentum and it gives you a real good shot at winning a football game, so that was very big for us in terms of helping us get this one.”
The Wolverines (2-0) gained control of the game early. They went up 2-0 when a snap sailed over punter Shawn Kelly’s head and he ended up falling on it in the end zone after a 27-yard loss. They took Schalick’s free kick near midfield and after Bryce Belinfanti softened up the defense with three hard runs, Alex Torres took a shuttle pass from Jack Holladay and went 35 yards for the game’s first touchdown.
“It’s always about setting the tone and that safety really set the tone for us,” said linebacker Anthony Bokolas, who chased down Kelly in the end zone.
A 7-yard punt gave the Wolverines another short field on their next possession and Belinfanti capped that drive with an 11-yard touchdown run. Another bad punt snap set them up at the Schalick 20 shortly before halftime and kicker Jake Ware salvaged that possession with a 29-yard field goal to make it 19-0.
“On film we did see that their punt team was a little off and we knew if we attacked them, just played physical, they were going to mess up,” Belinfanti said.
Belinfanti scored the game’s final touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter when he caught Holladay’s pass wide open across the middle and scored from 35 yards out. That drive was set up by a 12-yard punt.
Belinfanti finished the game with 85 yards rushing on 17 carries and the one catch for 35 yards. Holladay was 8-of-13 passing for 108 yards and two touchdowns.
“Honestly, I’m unsatisfied,” Belinfanti said. “I’m happy that we won, but I know I’m way better than that. I think I could’ve touched the end zone three times today. The best is yet to come for me.”
The game left Schalick looking for answers. It was a first chance for the Cougars to show they had what it took to play in South Jersey Group I’s toughest division after gaining traction as the beast of a lesser division last season. But the Wolverines never gave them a chance to get going and the special teams mistakes kept them at a disadvantage all night.
With the two bad punt snaps sapping a lot of their yardage, the Cougars were held to negative net rushing yardage and 12 yards total in the first half. They managed only 65 net yards in the game. Their deepest penetration into Woodstown territory in the first half was the 32 and that ended in a Garrett Leyman interception. Their most sustained drive came in the opening possession of the second half and reached the Woodstown 22 but ended with a missed field goal attempt.
“The kids played hard all game, they didn’t quit,” Cougars coach Mike Wilson said. “We just couldn’t get out of our way. We spotted them 19 points.
“You can’t have bad snaps like that against good football teams. You have to play clean football in all three phases; we did not do that tonight. We were constantly in bad positions. We’re doing uncharacteristic things.
“I want to play good clean football. We’re giving them points, we’re giving them plays, we’re putting ourselves in bad position. We played on our side of the field all night. I don’t care what level of game, you can’t play like that. You’ve got to play good in all three phases and right now we’re not.”
The win was Woodstown’s 12th in a row in the series. It has been 5,103 days since the Cougars last tasted victory in the rivalry and will be at least another 365 before they have a chance to try again.
Woodstown’s Anthony Bokolas (25) chases down Schalick punter Shawn Kelly for the first-quarter safety that got it all started for the Wolverines Friday night. On the cover, quarterback Jack Holladay and coach Frank Trautz talk over a play on the sideline. (Photos by Ellen Sickler)
Woodstown 26, Schalick 0
SCH (0)
WOO(26)
6
1st Downs
13
28-45
Rush-yards
31-120
4-6-1
Passing (C-A-I)
8-13-0
20
Passing yds
108
2-0
Fum-lost
0-0
4-24.3
Punts-avg
2-43.0
1-0
Pen-yds
6-45
Schalick (1-2)
0
0
0
0-
0
Woodstown (2-0)
9
10
0
7-
26
SCORING SUMMARY W-Safety, punter tackled in end zone, 5:38 1Q W-Alex Torres 35 pass from Jack Holladay (Jake Ware kick), 2:34 1Q W-Bryce Belinfanti 11 run (Jake Ware kick), 6:16 2Q W-Jake Ware 29 FG, 1:28 2Q W-Bryce Belinfanti 35 pass from Jack Holladay (Jake Ware kick), 11:52 4Q
WJFL DIAMOND DIVISION
DIV
ALL
Woodstown
1-0
2-0
Glassboro
0-0
1-0
Penns Grove
0-0
1-1
Salem
0-0
0-2
Woodbury
0-0
0-1
Schalick
0-1
1-2
FRIDAY GAMES Woodstown 26, Schalick 0 SATURDAY GAMES Salem at Woodbury, 10:30 a.m. Glassboro at Penns Grove, noon
WJFL PATRIOT DIVISION
DIV
ALL
West Deptford
2-0
2-1
Paulsboro
1-0
2-0
Collingswood
1-1
2-1
Camden Catholic
0-0
1-0
Audubon
0-1
1-1
Overbrook
0-1
1-1
Pennsville
0-1
0-2
FRIDAY GAMES Audubon 8, Bordentown 7 West Deptford 46, Collingswood 6 SATURDAY GAMES Camden Catholic at Paulsboro, 10 a.m. Pennsville at Overbrook, 11 a.m.
Woodstown’s Bryce Belinfanti looks to make a move around Schalick’s Dylan Sheehan Friday night. (Photo by Heather Papiano)
Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of Sept. 9-14; all events 4 p.m. unless noted
SEPT. 9 FIELD HOCKEY Paulsboro at Pennsville GIRLS SOCCER Camden County Tech at Salem GIRLS TENNIS Woodstown at West Deptford
SEPT. 10 FIELD HOCKEY Schalick at Triton GIRLS TENNIS Glassboro at Penns Grove Gloucester Catholic at Woodstown Salem at Schalick Wildwood at Pennsville BOYS SOCCER Penns Grove at Gloucester Co. Christian, 3:45 p.m. GIRLS SOCCER Gloucester Co. Christian at Penns Grove Woodstown at Wildwood
SEPT. 11 GIRLS SOCCER Salem Tech at Cape May Tech GIRLS TENNIS Triton at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m. Salem at Wildwood
SEPT. 12 FIELD HOCKEY Deptford at Woodstown Glassboro at Schalick Salem at Pennsville BOYS SOCCER Clayton at Salem Salem Tech at Pennsville Schalick at Overbrook Woodstown at Penns Grove GIRLS SOCCER Overbrook at Schalick Pennsville at Glassboro Pitman at Salem Tech Salem at Clayton Penns Grove at Woodstown GIRLS TENNIS Penns Grove at Woodstown Pennsville at Schalick, 3:45 p.m. GIRLS VOLLEYBALL Salem Tech at Gloucester Catholic
SEPT. 13 FOOTBALL Audubon at Bordentown, 6 p.m. Collingswood at West Deptford, 7 p.m. Schalick at Woodstown, 7 p.m. GIRLS TENNIS Penns Grove at Lindenwold Pennsville at Lower Cape May
SEPT. 14 FOOTBALL Camden Catholic at Paulsboro, 10:30 a.m. Salem at Woodbury, 10:30 a.m. Pennsville at Overbrook, 11 a.m. Glassboro at Penns Grove, noon FIELD HOCKEY Woodstown at Washington Twp., 10 a.m. CROSS COUNTRY South Jersey Open, Dream Park, 8:30 a.m. Woodstown at Belmont Plateau, 10:30 a.m.
Cover photo of Woodstown kicker Jake Ware’s game-winning overtime PAT against Delsea by Ellen Sickler.
Despite second straight loss, Salem coach Carr sees signs of improvement and doesn’t have to dig for them
WJFL DIAMOND DIVISION FRIDAY’S GAMES Penns Grove 34, Deptford 0 Schalick 23, Cumberland 0 Woodstown 14, Delsea 13 SATURDAY’S GAME Collingswood 14, Salem 7 Glassboro 22, Haddon Heights 12 Haddonfield 21, Woodbury 20
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
SALEM – The players on the Salem football team slowly and sullenly made the long walk back from the field to the locker room after their second straight loss to open the season. There wasn’t a lot to feel good about it.
The post-game conversation was likely to center on the things that haven’t gone right for the Rams in the first two games of the season. There was some of that, but instead of whipping up on the shortcoming of a 12-7 loss to Cinnaminson Saturday, Rams coach Kemp Carr started his post-mortem on something much more upbeat.
“We took a step forward,” he said. “Several degrees we took a step forward.”
And then, when prompted, he proceeded to list all the things the Rams did better in Game 2 than they did in their 35-0 season-opening loss to Willingboro a week ago.
* They scored. * Gave up fewer points. And yards. * Got off the field more times on third down, forcing the Pirates to punt five times. * Had short-field situations in the second half that they didn’t have last week.
“It’s development; they’re all marginal things you can look at,” Carr said. “I don’t take moral victories. I’m not happy (with the loss). I’m far from satisfied … but you’ve got to make sure you give the guys something positive, so in the game you can find some things.”
Alas, there still are things the Rams need to fix. They didn’t execute in the short-field situations. They were 0-for-9 on third down, 0-for-4 on fourth. They gave up a long touchdown pass over the top in a prevent defense.
“They’re the things we need to fix,” Carr agreed. “We need to execute on offense a little better. We don’t want to be in second-and-long, third-and-long. We want to avoid those because probability-wise, according to anybody’s assessment, they’re not good positions to be in.
“You’re always tweaking. When you don’t execute there’s always things to tweak. We’ll watch the film. We’ll get better. There’s a whole lot of things to do to … make … us … bet-ter. But again we took strides. We just let it slip through our fingers.”
It did start good for the Rams. On the third snap of the game Pop Jackson broke those two waves of traffic close to the line, then bolted 62 yards for the Rams’ first touchdown of the season 65 seconds into the game.
“Everybody was excited, everybody was jumping up and down,” sophomore center Wyatt Irvine said about the early score. “You can see in the end zone, everybody was having a party.”
But that was basically the extent of Salem’s offense. The Rams had 80 yards of offense in the three-play series, but only 26 yards and zero first downs in their 33 plays that followed. In the second half, they had minus-5 yards of net offense, minus-19 rushing. Twenty of their total plays went for zero or negative yards.
Of course, it’s hard to generate much offense when you only have 15 plays in the half. Cinnaminson, while not the offensive juggernaut either, did manage to eat up big chunks of clock when it had the ball, moving it with dives and powers. The Pirates ran 26 offensive plays in the second half.
The Pirates answered Salem’s opening salvo with a 54-yard touchdown drive to tie the game, capping it with an 11-yard Dylan McAndrews TD pass to Jackson Machado. It remained 7-7 until McAndrews beat Salem’s prevent defense in the final minute of the first half with a 58-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Palladino on third-and-long.
Salem’s defense kept the Rams in the game. The unit recovered three fumbles, one in the end zone to keep it a 7-7 game and one by Irvine at the 40 with 2:29 to play to give the Rams one more shot at a game-tying score.
But they never moved the chains after any of the takeaways. They turned one of the possessions over downs, punted with another and with the last one took a 12-yard sack and had their final play fall incomplete.
“I was extremely happy (getting that final takeaway),” Irvine said. “I thought we had a big push there. I thought we had a lot of momentum going into that, but unfortunately it didn’t (pan out). Things just kind of fell apart, but next week we’ll fix that and we’ll get the W.”
The Rams open their Diamond Division schedule next week at Woodbury, a 21-20 loser to Haddonfield on Saturday.
Cinnaminson 14, Salem 7
CINN (14)
SAL (7)
9
1st Downs
2
40-79
Rush-yards
17-48
5-10-0
Passing (C-A-I)
7-18-1
134
Passing yds
58
4-3
Fum-lost
1-0
5-27.4
Punts-avg
5-35.0
3-10
Pen-yds
6-40
Cinnaminson (1-1)
7
7
0
0-
14
Salem (0-2)
7
0
0
0-
7
SCORING SUMMARY S-Pop Jackson 62 run (Andrew May kick), 10:58 1Q C-Jackson Machado 11 pass from Dylan McAndrews (Aedan Burk kick), 7:26 1Q C-Tyler Palladino 58 pass from Dylan McAndrews (Aedan Burk kick), 0:51 2Q
WJFL DIAMOND DIVISION
DIV
ALL
Glassboro
0-0
1-0
Penns Grove
0-0
1-1
Salem
0-0
0-2
Schalick
0-0
1-1
Woodbury
0-0
0-1
Woodstown
0-0
1-0
NEXT WEEK’S SCHEDULE FRIDAY GAMES Schalick at Woodstown, 7 p.m. SATURDAY GAMES Salem at Woodbury, 10:30 a.m. Glassboro at Penns Grove, noon
Woodstown wins OT thriller over defending state champs in Trautz’ first game as head coach; Schalick, Penns Grove get back in win column
WJFL DIAMOND DIVISION Penns Grove 34, Deptford 0 Schalick 23, Cumberland 0 Woodstown 14, Delsea 13 SATURDAY’S GAME Glassboro at Haddon Heights, 11 a.m. Haddonfield at Woodbury, 11 a.m. Collingswood at Salem, noon
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – No matter how long Frank Trautz stays in the coaching game or how many games he wins along the way, he’ll never forget his first one.
Bryce Belinfanti and Jake Ware hand-delivered their new coach his first win in his first game in overtime, running for a touchdown and nailing the extra point, respectively, to lift Woodstown over defending Group 3 state champion Delsea 14-13.
“I’ll remember this for the rest of my life, that’s for sure,” said Trautz, promoted from quarterbacks coach in the offseason to succeed John Adams who retired from coaching after 14 seasons. “It’s been a very emotional day; I just wanted to get to the game. I was just so proud of the kids, proud of my staff, all the work that they put in; that’s what made this win possible.
“To be able to celebrate that with all them was such a cool moment.”
The Wolverines led from the moment Jack Holladay threw his first career touchdown pass with his second career completion in the second quarter. Delsea forced overtime with a touchdown with 3:21 left in regulation and missed a game-winning field goal with 46 seconds left.
The Crusaders got the ball first in overtime and Dan Russo scored on a 22-yard run on the second snap. But they barely missed the extra point to the left, opening the door for Woodstown to win on the ensuing possession.
The Wolverines didn’t waste any time. Belinfanti took the first snap and went 25 yards to tie the game and Ware drilled the extra point for the win. Belinfanti, a 1,700-yard rusher a year ago, ran for 97 yards in the game.
Holladay had waited his entire life to be the Wolverines’ starting quarterback and seized the opportunity when presented to him. He hadn’t thrown a pass in a varsity game, but connected with Garrett Leyman for his first career touchdown. He was 3-for-5 for 43 yards.
“It was huge for him, huge for his confidence,” Trautz said. “I told him I have confidence in you to open the playbook and we’re going to let it rip, and he did a great job. I know getting that first touchdown pass out of the way is a big deal for a quarterback, so I was very happy for him.”
Carter Orlandini preserved the 7-0 halftime lead when he intercepted a pass at the 2 and the Wolverines stopped Delsea’s seven-minute opening drive of the second half.
“Our defense came up huge all night in a game that was an incredibly physical game and obviously Delsea is such a great team,” Trautz said. “To come up with that interception right there at the end of the half was huge.”
The new coach won’t have a lot of time to enjoy his first win. The Wolverines open their WJFL Diamond Division schedule next week.
“I’m going to go enjoy it with my wife tonight and we’ll celebrate the win,” he said, “and tomorrow it’s back to work and we’re going to get ready for Schalick.”
Woodstown 14, Delsea 13 (OT)
DEL (13)
WTN (14)
40-143
Rush-yards
23-102
2-14-0
Passing (C-A-I)
3-5-1
121
Passing yds
43
Delsea (0-1)
0
0
0
7
6-
13
Woodstown (1-0)
0
7
0
0
7-
14
SCORING SUMMARY W-Garrett Leyman 19 pass from Jack Holladay (Jake Ware kick), 6:28 2Q D-Luke VanAuken 12 pass from Jimmy Reardon (Zack Greer kick), 3:21 4Q D-Dan Russo 22 run (kick failed), OT W-Bryce Belinfanti 25 run (Jake Ware kick), OT
Jack Holladay made the most of his first varsity start. The senior threw his first career touchdown pass and directed the Woodstown offense to an overtime victory. On the cover, the Wolverines celebrate after winning. (Photos by Ellen Sickler)
Simmons returns in Schalick win
PITTSGROVE – Senior quarterback Kenai Simmons returned to the Schalick lineup Friday night and helped the Cougars exorcise the demons of last week’s dud in the Battle at the Beach, 23-0 over Cumberland.
“This week was all about getting a win, that’s all that mattered,” Cougars coach Mike Wilson said. “It didn’t matter how we won or how we looked, it was just about getting our mojo back and getting a W.”
It’s the first time in two years the Cougars faced that kind of adversity and the resiliency of bouncing back from an in-season setback. They haven’t lost back-to-back games since mid-October 2021. Since then, they have gone 22-5.
“It says a lot about the kids’ fortitude, a lot about them being mentally strong, a lot about their work ethic and bouncing back and being honest about what they had to do,” Wilson said.
Simmons returned after a full week of practice and ran for a pair of short-field touchdowns. Reggie Allen scored on a 20-yard run early in the third quarter. Allen rushed for 135 yards.
The defense recorded the Cougars’ first shutout in the series since 2016. They held the Colts to 86 net yards, had four interceptions (two by game MVP David Stewart) and a safety. Riley Papiano led the unit with eight tackles and was in on the safety with Thomas Hymer. Alec Bramell had six tackles.
“In my (five) years here that’s probably the best we played defensively overall,” he said.
It’s the first time either team has won back-to-back games in the Battle for the Hars-Lake Trophy since Schalick won in 2018-19. The Cougars have won 11 of the last 15 meetings.
CUMB (0)
SCHAL (23)
6
1st Downs
10
23-79
Rush-yards
41-123
3-16-4
Passes (C-A-I)
2-4-0
7
Passing
14
0-0
Fum-lost
1-1
12-95
Penalties
6-74
A convincing first win
DEPTFORD – Penns Grove needed a win and got it in convincing fashion.
The Red Devils bounced back from their season-opening loss with a convincing 34-0 win on the road over Deptford Twp. for head coach Mark Maccarone’s first win at the head of the program.
Melo Erickson threw a career-high three touchdown passes – to Knowledge Young, Kylee Goodson and Karon Ceaser – and a two-point conversion to Tre Brown. Ceaser played tailback most of the game and ran for two scores and the defense kept the Spartans out of the end zone.
“I’m happy for the kids,” Maccarone said. “It gives them a confidence build. They start to see the system works. When we say to do X, Y and Z and they do X, Y and Z, it results in good things. You saw when they don’t do what they’re being asked to do, the outcome is not good.
“It was a good win, a good team effort by everybody. It’s a good one for the program … a good win to build confidence in what the system is and how I run a program, how my brother runs an offense and how I run a defense.”
The Red Devils open their WJFL Diamond Division gauntlet next week against Glassboro, where Maccarone was the head coach for seven seasons (2011-17).
“Coming back as a head coach for the first time against Glassboro, not an assistant coach, it’s definitely going to be different for me,” he said. “The current head coach at Glassboro was a player under my brother when I was an assistant coach in 2008.
“It’s going to be different. I don’t really know how to describe it. I really haven’t given much thought to it other than it’s another game on the schedule. I probably would feel different if we were playing them there. It’s been seven years since I’ve been around Glassboro.
“It is going to be different for my brother (Gary). It’s the first time he’s coaching against the guys he coached last year, the kids that he has in class. It’s going to be more (nostalgic) for him than me.”
Penns Grove (1-1)
14
7
0
13-
34
Deptford (0-2)
0
0
0
0-
0
DIAMOND DIVISION
DIV
ALL
Glassboro
0-0
0-0
Penns Grove
0-0
1-1
Salem
0-0
0-1
Schalick
0-0
1-1
Woodbury
0-0
0-0
Woodstown
0-0
1-0
Woodstown’s Bryce Belinfanti rushed for 97 yards and scored a touchdown in overtime that sent the Wolverines to a 14-13 win over Delsea. (Photo by Ellen Sickler)
West Deptford sophomore quarterback pressed into emergency duty with game on the line, throws winning TD pass on fourth down with 34 seconds to play to spoil Pennsville’s home opener
WJFL PATRIOT DIVISION Camden Catholic 36, KIPP Cooper Norcross 0 Collingswood 12, Overbrook 6 West Deptford 29, Pennsville 26 SATURDAY’S GAMES Paulsboro at Audubon, 11 a.m.
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE — John Emel may have moved on to another program, but he didn’t forget to take his magic over Pennsville with him.
Emel ran his personal coaching winning streak over the Eagles to eight games Friday night when backup quarterback T.J. Cross hit Zamir Davis on a 32-yard fourth-down touchdown pass with 34 seconds left to give his new West Deptford team a 29-26 win in their WJFL Patriot Division opener.
Before moving to West Deptford in the offseason, Emel won the last seven games his Penns Grove team played against Pennsville.
“Every year’s different, different kids; tonight it was magic,” he said. “West Deptford football is always about the next man up. You hope it’s not fourth-and-6 on the road when you’re oh-and-1 looking for your first win.”
Of the eight, this one may have been the hardest to get. West Deptford trailed 20-7 midway through the third quarter but started putting together big plays and engineered their winning drive with a quarterback who had never completed a varsity pass.
Cross was pressed into action with 2:21 left — right after Pennsville regained a 26-21 lead — because starter Brady Cobb injured his surgically repaired collarbone on the previous possession that gave West Deptford its first lead of the game.
Cobb actually reaggravated the injury earlier in the drive, but it popped back into place allowing him to continue only to pop out again on his two-point conversion pass that put his team ahead 21-20 with 7:19 to play.
“They told me to get ready and I was ready to step up,” Cross said. “I’ve been practicing, I’ve been a quarterback for a while, and I was just ready to step up. My guys had my back. I just wanted to get the job done.”
Despite never playing a varsity game at quarterback before, Cross, a sophomore, got his team inside the Pennsville 30 with about a minute left, but the Pennsville defense stood its ground with back-to-back 1-yard losses to leave West Deptford to face a do-or-die fourth-and-4. Davis was wide open along the West Deptford sideline and Cross dropped the pass into his arms perfectly.
“There’s a lot of strategy that goes on at the end of the game,” Emel said. “When there was like three minutes left we were saying we got to let them score. Forget the fact that my backup quarterback was in. I feel like we can score if we have enough time. “I told (Cross) in the huddle it’s called split red 79 post wheel (and) he’s gonna be wide open. I don’t know if you can make the throw, but he’s gonna be wide open. That’s what we said and we didn’t lie; he was wide open. Just don’t drop it.”
“That kid won us that game today,” Cobb said. “He took the team on his back. He took his moment and rode with it. I’ve never seen anything like that. That was awesome.”
Pennsville had a chance for its own magical ending, but the bid ended when Davis intercepted Robbie McDade’s fourth-down pass with two seconds left.
The loss spoiled an exceptional outing from Pennsville running back Rylan Hardy that was part of an improved overall team effort from the week before. The junior rushed for 157 yards on 20 carries and scored three touchdowns. And he had another 44-yard run that would’ve given his team a 27-13 lead called back by a holding penalty.
And when the Eagles used Hardy as a decoy, McDade broke through for big gains. McDade scored on a 6-yard run to give his Eagles a 20-7 lead and finished with 86 yards rushing.
“He just flies around the field – on offense and defense,” Pennsville coach Mike Healy said. “He keeps his feet moving. He’s not the biggest kid but he runs physical. He’s very good at finding the hole. He knows what to do. He was awesome today.”
It was just spoiled by a bitter defeat.
“I told the kids there was nothing I can say to make you feel better after that,” Healy said. “That was just a gut punch.”
Cover photo: West Deptford quarterback T.J. Cross (7) goes through the handshake line after leading the Eagles to victory with a last-minute touchdown pass.
West Deptford 29, Pennsville 26
WDEPT (29)
PVILLE (26)
12
1st Downs
13
32-185
Rush-yards
42-258
6-8-0
Passing (C-A-I)
3-7-1
74
Passing yards
46
1-0
Fum-Lost
1-0
2-36.5
Punts-avg
1-37.0
3-15
Penalties
4-35
West Deptford (1-1)
0
7
6
16-
29
Pennsville (0-2)
7
6
7
6-
26
SCORING SUMMARY P-Rylan Hardy 10 run (Luke Wood kick), 0:00 1Q WD-Michael Joseph 16 pass from Brady Cobb (Aiden Paskiewicz kick), 5:30 2Q P-Rylan Hardy 5 run (kick failed), 1:22 2Q P-Robbie McDade 3 run (Luke Wood kick), 7:39 3Q WD-Zamir Davis 32 run (kick failed), 2:11 3Q WD-Cole Paskiewicz 46 run (Zamir Davis pass from Brady Cobb), 7:19 4Q P-Rylan Hardy 10 run (pass failed), 2:21 4Q WD-Zamir Davis 31 pass from T.J. Cross (Logan Rivell run), 0:34 4Q
Jack Holladay takes over as Woodstown’s quarterback, getting his shot to lead the offense after learning behind cousin Max Webb
FRIDAY’S SALEM COUNTY GAMES Penns Grove at Deptford, 6 p.m. Cumberland at Schalick, 7 p.m. Delsea at Woodstown, 7 p.m. West Deptford at Pennsville, 7 p.m. SATURDAY’S GAME Cinnaminson at Salem, noon
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – It may be a little hyperbole, but Jack Holladay has been waiting for tonight all his life.
Ever since he got to high school, Holladay has dreamed and worked for the day he would become Wolverines’ starting quarterback. The day comes tonight when the Wolverines host Delsea in the first game of Frank Trautz’ tenure as head coach.
The last couple years Holladay’s been on the team but on the quarterback depth chart he was behind his cousin Max Webb as the Wolverines’ lead signal caller.
Well, Max has moved on after leading the Wolverines to three straight deep playoff runs and now it’s Holladay’s time to step up and shine.
“I’ve been thinking about it a lot,” Holladay said over the summer. “Since freshman year I’ve wanted to be the quarterback. I know that’d be behind Max, but I was just learn from him and do what I can in practice and I knew I’d be ready for my senior year.
“It’ll be different (now as the starter), but I think the coaches will have me prepared and I think I’m ready for it.”
It was always been like that as the two were coming up. Webb would be the starter because he was older and the next year Holladay would follow because Max would move up to the next level.
Holladay always felt he “did good” in the seasons he immediately followed his cousin.
He doesn’t have a lot of game statistics to show for the work he’s put in behind Max because his cousin was so durable – he hasn’t thrown a pass in varsity two seasons and has been credited with just five career carries – but he’s said to have a big upside.
Trautz said every time the Wolverines needed to put the 6-1, 170-pound Holladay in a game they were “completely confident” in his ability.
He’s shown a strong arm in the summer and an even disposition to combat the pressure of his elevated circumstances. In his first 7-on-7 game his first pass was intercepted, then he went 7-for-7 on the next series, culminating in a touchdown to Anthony Bokolas, and ultimately completed eight in a row.
“I’m really excited to see what Jack’s gonna do this year,” said Trautz, Holladay’s quarterback coach before being promoted to succeed John Adams last spring. “He’s a great athlete. He’s got all the tools you want in a quarterback. He can make every throw. He’s a really good athlete, so he’s going to be able to help us out as well in the run game a little bit. I’m excited about the direction this offense can go with him under center.
“He’s definitely ready for this. He got a ton of reps last year in practice and already what I’ve seen from him early on in the summer is a lot of good stuff. I think the sky’s the limit for him. He could have a real special year.”
So tonight’s game has been a lifetime in the making.
When Holladay did allow himself to think of what it would be like to step into the starting role, his dream covered the total package.
“Just playing in front of everyone, the students, everyone at the game,” he said. “I thought that would be fun throwing touchdowns and just winning. I want to win a championship.”
AROUND THE COUNTY: There has been no change in Schalick quarterback Kenai Simmons’ status, coach Mike Wilson said Thursday, so it appears sophomore Ayden Jenkins will draw his second straight start in tonight’s home opener with Cumberland. Jenkins was under center the entire 41-3 loss to Cedar Grove in the Battle at the Beach. “We will be making sure to call the correct stuff to help him,” Wilson said. Tonight’s neighborhood rivals have split the last four games in the battle for the Hars-Lake Trophy, once a staple of the Thanksgiving Day slate … West Deptford coach John Emel may have moved onto a new team this season, but he’ll be looking for a same result when his Eagles take on Pennsville’s Eagles in tonight’s WJFL Patriot Division opener. Emel was 8-2 with a current seven-game winning streak against Pennsville when he was head coach at Penns Grove … Last week was a rarity in Salem County football. It was the first time in more than 20 years the county was shut out of the win column on the opening weekend with four or more teams playing. The county schools went 0-4 last week with Woodstown idle.
Riverview Sports News 