South Jersey Group I playoff brackets in football, field hockey and soccer are official; some interesting matchups, for sure
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP 1 PAIRINGS SOUTH JERSEY FOOTBALL (8) Audubon (2-5) at (1) Glassboro (9-0), Thursday (5) Salem (5-4) at (4) KIPP (6-2), Saturday (6) Schalick (3-6) at (3) Pennsville (5-4), Friday (7) Woodbury (3-6) at (2) Paulsboro (8-1), Saturday BOYS SOCCER (16) Woodbury (6-9-2) at (1) Haddon Twp. (13-5-1) (9) Pennsville (10-6-2) at (8) Glassboro (7-10-1) (12) Clayton (11-7) at (5) Pitman (10-5-2) (13) Palmyra (8-6-3) at (4) Woodstown (10-3-4) (14) Wildwood (8-9) at (3) Audubon (13-3-1) (11) Maple Shade (8-6-2) at (6) Riverside (11-3-2) (10) Gateway (9-6-2) at (7) Penns Grove (8-4-3) (15) New Egypt (7-12) at (2) Schalick (13-3-2)
GIRLS SOCCER (16) Paulsboro (0-17) at (1) Schalick (12-5-1) (9) Glassboro (8-8) at (8) Pitman (10-7-1) (12) Buena (7-9-2) at (5) Audubon (9-8-1) (13) Wildwood (6-9-2) at (4) Palmyra (11-5-1) (14) Woodbury (4-8-2) at (3) Clayton (12-5) (11) Maple Shade (3-13-1) at (6) Haddon Twp. (8-9-1) (10) Pennsville (9-8) at (7) Woodstown (13-3-1) (15) Cape May Tech (2-14-1) at (2) Gateway (14-1)
FIELD HOCKEY (16) Collingswood (3-12-1) at (1) Shore (18-0-1) (9) Woodstown (9-7-1) at (8) Haddon Heights (8-8-1) (12) Bordentown (8-9) at (5) South Hunterdon (13-3) (13) Lower Cape May (6-6-1) at (4) Gloucester (11-8) (14) New Egypt (7-9-1) at (3) Haddon Twp. (11-6) (11) Florence (7-7) at (6) Schalick (12-6) (10) Gateway (8-7-2) at (7) Audubon (11-5-2) (15) Pennsville (7-8-1) at (2) West Deptford (15-2)
Here are the leaders among Salem County’s five football teams based on statistics posted to the state sports reporting service
Rushing
PLAYER, SCHOOL
ATT
YDS
TD
Rylan Hardy, Pennsville
130
889
12
Robbie McDade, Pennsville
108
704
8
Kenny Bartee, Schalick
86
503
7
Cashmir Parsley, Salem
65
368
2
Troy Carey, Salem
35
326
4
Desmund Thomas, Salem
48
308
2
Terrell Thomas, Penns Grove
73
293
2
Jameel Horace, Penns Grove
45
290
1
David Stewart, Schalick
51
269
3
Frank Hoerst, Woodstown
54
224
6
Evan Elliot, Schalick
42
166
0
Adrian Alleyne, Pennsville
31
165
3
Zane Thomas, Penns Grove
41
158
0
Torryn Ransome, Salem
31
153
3
Aidan Collazo, Pennsville
27
108
3
Passing
PLAYER, SCHOOL
COM
ATT
INT
YDS
TD
Desmund Thomas, Salem
80
144
4
1114
13
Frank Hoerst, Woodstown
31
72
1
510
4
Robbie McDade, Pennsville
47
85
6
484
6
Kenny Bartee, Schalick
13
48
9
302
2
Gary Simonini, Schalick
21
41
2
177
1
Receiving
PLAYER, SCHOOL
REC
YDS
TD
Kaden Robinson, Salem
19
353
6
Kyvion Parsons, Salem
19
239
1
Rylan Hardy, Pennsville
17
164
0
Dylan Sheehan, Schalick
11
107
1
Adrian Alleyne, Pennsville
9
90
2
Aidan Collazo, Pennsville
7
50
0
Jerry Wooten, Penns Grove
7
44
0
Quimere Bergen, Salem
6
118
2
Sherrod Jones, Schalick
6
118
1
KaiSiere Muhammad, Salem
6
107
2
Ayden Jenkins, Schalick
6
67
0
David Stewart, Schalick
5
108
1
Ahmad Tucker, Salem
5
60
1
Cashmir Parsley, Salem
5
35
0
Tackles
PLAYER, SCHOOL
S
TFL
TOT
Dezyon Purnell, Schalick
3.5
13
80
Antwuan Rogers, Salem
13
13
74.5
Troy Carey, Salem
0
11
69
Dylan Sheehan, Schalick
1
7
63
Kemal Chatum, Salem
6
11
60
Isaiah Upshur, Penns Grove
0
6.5
55
Gary Simonini, Schalick
1
6.5
53.5
Luis Colon, Penns Grove
1
10
52
Ray Brown, Penns Grove
4
11
49
Torryn Ransome, Salem
0
5
40
Robert Daly, Schalick
0.5
4
39
Dante Cummings, Pennsville
0
0
38
Nazeer Painter, Penns Grove
1
3
38
JaKai Ingrim, Penns Grove
2
9
37
Mahkye Murray, Salem
2
8
37
Rylan Hardy, Pennsville
1
3
34
Eric Sulik, Schalick
3.5
4.5
33
Kaden Robinson, Salem
0
0
32
Aiden Torres, Schalick
3
2
31
Jovanni Rios, Salem
3.5
6
31
TACKLES FOR LOSS 13: Dezyon Purnell, Schalick; Antwuan Rogers, Salem 11: Ray Brown, Penns Grove; Troy Carey, Salem; Kemal Chatum, Salem 10: Luis Colon, Penns Grove 9: JaKai Ingrim, Penns Grove 8: Mahkye Murray, Salem 7: Dylan Sheehan, Schalick 6.5: Isaiah Upshur, Penns Grove; Gary Simonini, Schalick 6: Jovanni Rios, Salem 4.5: Eric Sulik, Schalick 4: Ray Brown, Penns Grove; Evan Elliot, Schalick; Terrell Thomas, Penns Grove;
SACKS 13: Antwuan Rogers, Salem 6: Kemal Chatum, Salem 3.5: Dezyon Purnell, Schalick; Jovanni Rios, Salem; Eric Sulik, Schalick 3: Aiden Torres, Schalick
INTERCEPTIONS 3: Dylan Sheehan, Schalick; David Stewart, Schalick 2: Savior Allah, Penns Grove; Quimere Bergen, Salem; William Dunn, Salem; Jerry Wooten, Penns Grove
First round of the South Jersey Group I football playoffs, sectional XC at DREAM Park highlight the Salem County sports schedule for the week of Oct. 27-Nov. 2
MONDAY, OCT. 27 FIELD HOCKEY Pennsville at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m. BOYS SOCCER Salem at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m. Salem Tech at Paulsboro, 4 p.m. Woodstown at Triton, 4 p.m. GIRLS SOCCER Triton at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
TUESDAY, OCT. 28 FIELD HOCKEY Pennsville at Clayton, 4 p.m. Woodstown at Glassboro, 4 p.m. BOYS SOCCER Audubon at Schalick, 4 p.m. GIRLS SOCCER Paulsboro at Pennsville, 4 p.m. GIRLS VOLLEYBALL Highland at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 29 FIELD HOCKEY Vineland at Woodstown, 4 p.m. Mainland at Schalick, 4:15 p.m. BOYS SOCCER Gateway at Woodstown, 4 p.m. Penns Grove at West Deptford, 7 p.m.
THURSDAY, OCT. 30 FOOTBALL South Jersey Group I playoffs Audubon at Glassboro, 6 p.m. GIRLS SOCCER Woodstown at Gateway, 4 p.m.
FRIDAY, OCT. 31 FOOTBALL South Jersey Group I Playoffs Schalick at Pennsville, 7 p.m.
SATURDAY, NOV. 1 FOOTBALL South Jersey Group I Playoffs Salem vs. KIPP Woodbury at Paulsboro, noon CROSS COUNTRY NJSIAA Sectionals at DREAM Park
SUNDAY, NOV. 2 COLLEGE BASEBALL Salem CC Alumni Game, noon
Dragotta kicks record FG, Schalick opens up in second half, beats Woodbury to snap losing streak, solidify playoff spot
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODBURY – Hunter Dragotta said when he set the Schalick career record for extra points back in September he was gunning for the school-record field goal next and it was “coming soon.”
It didn’t come as quickly as he had hoped, but he did get it – in Saturday’s final game of the regular season.
The senior booted a 43-yard field goal in the first quarter to open the scoring and help the Cougars beat Woodbury 24-12 to snap a four-game losing streak and solidify their spot in the South Jersey Group I football playoffs.
The old field goal record was 42 yards, set by Erick Wilson as their only points in a season-ending loss to Cumberland in 2007.
“I had my eye on this record since I was a freshman,” Dragotta said. “I was hoping it would happen this year (but) I started to lose faith.
“I wasn’t having a great year with field goals; I just had troubles connecting with the ball. But this one, I had a bad day in warmups and went out there, wasn’t nervous, just lined up, remembered I was in practice, kind of changed my routine a little bit, took a deep breath and just connected with the ball.”
As much as he wanted this particular record, he didn’t realize he’d broken it until the PA announcer said It was a 43-yarder.
Dragotta was just 1-of-3 on his field goal attempts this year coming into the game, but he hadn’t tried one since the third game. He’s now 10-of-16 on career field goals (and 90-of-100 on PATs).
His previous long before Saturday was 39 yards, this year against Somerville. He had a 42-yard attempt that would have tied the record hit the top of the left post his sophomore year against Audubon.
This one was true and produced the only points of the first half.
“We were like third-and-4 and Coach (Kevin) Leamy called out for ‘field goal ready,’” Dragotta said. “I went over, grabbed my block and I was ready. My teammates were like c’mon we’re going to make sure nobody gets through, we’ve got you, just put it through.’ The snap was there, the hold was down, I just kicked the ball. The O-line gave me a great chance to hit it cleanly.”
“I’m so happy for him,” Leamy said. “It’s one of those things you never know if you’re going to get the opportunity to actually attempt it. It was early in the game,. It was like fourth-and-8, so it was one of those things let’s give hit a shot, early on, 0-0, and he drilled it.”
The Herd took a 6-0 lead when quarterback Nico Jimenez broke two tackles and unloaded a 73-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Young. Jimenez was 21-of-34 for 303 yards passing and Young caught 10 passes for 199 yards.
But then Schalick scored 21 straight points to take control of the game.
The Cougars retook the lead on speedster David Stewart’s 45-yard pick-six with 8:28 left in the third then added another score in the fourth quarter on Kenny Bartee’s 16-yard touchdown pass to Dylan Sheehan after another Stewart interception. The Cougars had four picks in the game.
“Having him back adds an extra element that we’ve been missing offensively,” Leamy said of Bartee, who had been out in concussion protocol.
Celebrating was the order of the day and that’s exactly what Sheehan did after his score. He produced a rousing Sherrod Jones-style backflip, which, of course, drew the penalty, which Leamy really didn’t seem to mind.
“This week, Coach Leamy was like I want you guys to go out there and have fun,” Dragotta said. “And I want you guys to get a 15-yard celebration penalty, because we can afford it. We all went out there and all had a ball today.”
The Cougars went up 24-6 on Jase Volovar’s 9-yard touchdown run. It was the senior’s second career touchdown and first rushing. The Herd scored a touchdown against the Schalick twos for the final margin.
“This is exactly what we needed, a little bit of momentum going into the playoffs,” Leamy said. “Things are starting to come together. Some of the plays we were missing on earlier in the year we hit on today. The defense played phenomenal. It was really good.
“The first half we had a lot of chances, moved the ball really well between the 20s. We were moving the ball well, so we knew if we could put it together in the econd half that were going to have success. To the kids’ credit they did exactly that.”
The win allowed Schalick to jump Woodbury in the South Jersey Group I playoff standings despite finishing one spot behind the Thundering Herd in the UPR. That placed the Cougars sixth in the section, to play third-seeded Pennsville in the opening round. Woodbury became the seventh seed and will play second-seeded Paulsboro.
“We have a ton of momentum, especially coming off the Glassboro game,” Dragotta said. “The score doesn’t say it but we played great against (Glassboro) and they just kind of ran up the score at the end. We played great against them, we had very high morale and we carried it over with a win today, so we have a ton of momentum going into the playoffs.”
Schalick 24, Woodbury 12
Schalick (3-6)
3
0
14
7-
24
Woodbury (3-6)
0
0
6
6-
12
SCORING SUMMARY S – Hunter Dragotta 43 FG W – Elijah Young 73 pass from Nico Jimenez (kick failed) S – David Stewart 45 interception return (Hunter Dragotta kick) S – Dylan Sheehan 16 pass from Kenny Bartee (Hunter Dragotta kick) S – Jase Volovar 9 run (Hunter Dragotta kick) W – Mark Martin 8 pass from Nico Jimenez (pass failed)
Top photo: Schalick kicker Hunter Dragotta reacts after hitting a school-record field goal Saturday. (Photo by Heather Papiano)
Here are the weekend scores in the West Jersey Football League for the final week of the regular season before the power points cutoff; Salem County games in bold
SATURDAY’S GAMES Burlington City 66, Palmyra 0 Cherry Hill West 37, Vineland 13 Delran 38, Moorestown 7 KIPP Cooper Norcross 22, Bishop Eustace 12 Maple Shade 7, Florence 6 Mastery Charter 52, Gloucester Catholic 14 Paulsboro 42, Clayton 6 Rancocas Valley 34, Lenape 0 Riverside 26, Lawrence 22 Salem 27, Penns Grove 6 Schalick 24, Woodbury 12 Steinert 16, Nottingham 13
FRIDAY’S GAMES Bordentown 35, Pemberton 0 Buena 41, Wildwood 0 Cherry Hill East 29, Bridgeton 20 Cumberland 13, Absegami 10 Delsea at Mainland, 6 Eastern 33, Highland 12 Ewing 30, Hamilton West 24 Gateway 28, Pitman 16 Glassboro 47, Woodstown 0 Haddonfield 24, Paul VI 7 Holy Cross 15, Lindenwold 12 Hopewell Valley 34, Hightstown 16 Kingsway 43, Williamstown 20 Lower Cape May 28, Oakcrest 20 Millville 28, St. Augustine 21 Northern Burlington 28, Haddon Heights 17 Notre Dame 38, Allentown 6 Ocean City 20, Cedar Creek 17 Pennsville 36, Collingswood 15 Pleasantville 34, Gloucester 23 Princeton 35, WW-Plainsboro South 0 St. Joseph 41, Middle Twp. 0 Sterling 28, Haddon Twp. 8 Trenton 28, Robbinsville 0 Triton 35, Deptford 0 Washington Twp. 38, Timber Creek 0 West Deptford 21, Overbrook 6 Winslow 41, Cherokee 6
Thomas perfect in second half, finishes game with 4 TD passes, surpasses 1,000 season yards, as Rams solidify playoff spot; Penns Grove coach says he’s not returning
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
SALEM — The Tush Push is beloved in Philadelphia and generally reviled by everyone else who follows the NFL. But that’s just the thing: It’s a play for the NFL and doesn’t fly in the high school game.
Not that folks won’t try it, or something that looks like it.
Salem lined up at the 10 on its first play of the third quarter Saturday looking to grab some second-half momentum against Penns Grove and sent wrecking ball running back Troy Carey careening towards the end zone.
Carey was surrounded by a mass of bodies as he got closer to the goal line and the surge pushed him into the end zone for an apparent score to extend his team’s slim lead.
Not so fast. The flags came out and the Rams were called for assisting the runner. Yet another Salem touchdown called back by a penalty.
No matter. The Rams were back in the end zone the next play, this time without a helping hand, as Desmund Thomas hit Kaden Robinson for a 12-yard score that pushed their tushes to their fourth win in five games, 27-6.
“I definitely felt a little push at the end,” Carey said. “We kind of joked about it a little bit. He said they flagged him for pulling the pile or whatever. I couldn’t really tell. But I ended up punching it in on another two-point conversion, which was way harder than the first one.”
“It wasn’t like a Tush Push,” Thomas said. “It was like our teammate needed help (and) we had his back.”
Rams coach Kemp Carr agreed it wasn’t a Tush Push, because center Wyatt Irvine was caught pulling the running back into the end zone instead of nudging him in from behind, and got off his tush to set the record straight. Still, it was hard not to make the Eagles’ connection seeing the play unfold.
“You’re allowed to push,” Carr said. “Assisting the running is when he grabbed him by the uniform and tried to pull him in. You can push from behind. As you’ve seen, not many times the pile stops and then guys go up and push in high school. It wasn’t that. He didn’t push him from behind. He picked him up and took him in the end zone. I thought the Tush was only from the tush.”
Nevertheless, it was a big play and a big win for the Rams. It got them over .500 for the first time since 2022 and earned them the ninth spot in this year’s South Jersey Group I power points standings and a No. 5 seed in the South Jersey playoff bracket. They are slated to play at KIPP in the opening round.
The loss, meanwhile, left Penn Grove 0-9 for the season, its first winless campaign in modern memory. After the game, Red Devils coach Mark Maccarone told his players he was not returning next season. Not because of the 0-9, but because of the demands of his day job.
The Red Devils played like they wanted their coach to stay on. Defensive back Messiah Allah snatched a ball out of the air that caromed hard off Carey’s pads and raced 95 yards for the game’s first touchdown. There were other situations that gave the impression fate was smiling on them this day. They only trailed at halftime 7-6.
“It was a hard fought game; they didn’t quit,” Maccarone said. “It was a ball game. Two big pass plays changed the dynamic of the game.”
The pick-six and a 2-for-9 second quarter did something to Thomas. The junior quarterback came out in the second half and was perfect. He was 7-of-7 through the air for 113 yards and three more touchdowns – a 377.03 passer rating – surpassing 1,000 yards passing for the first time in his career in the process.
He threw the second-half touchdown passes to Robinson, Quimere Bergen and Ahmad Tucker in the half. The Rams outgained Penns Grove 132 yards to 45.
“The second half was just me not being focused on all the stuff that was being said and me getting into my game,” Thomas said. “Not to let anything get in my way, not to let anything get in our team’s way. It was just clearing everything up, being empty-minded and playing my game.”
The TD pass to Robinson after the helping penalty put him over the 1,000-yard plateau, and that made Robinson happy. He’s the Rams’ first 1,000-yard passer since Jahki Coates in 2022.
“Me being a senior and the No. 1 wide receiver, I wanted him to hit his 1K with me,” Robinson said.
Once the Rams grabbed the momentum, they never let it go.
“I wasn’t happy at all with how we played the first half, but we played in the second half a lot better,” Carr said. “We played good, solid Ram football in the second half and we were able to dictate what we wanted.
“It’s a game for 48 minutes; the last 24 we played well enough to be a decent football team. The first half we looked like we were chasing our own tails. We can’t do that. Football is a game of momentum. We want to grab it, hold onto it, and never let it go.”
Photos by Julliana Love
Salem 27, Penns Grove 6
PG
SAL
5
1st Downs
8
26-20
Rushing
18-89
3-10-1
Passing
10-18-1
2
Passing yds.
157
2-2
Fumbles-lost
1-1
5-20.0
Punts-avg
3-25.3
14-78
Penalties
12-110
Penns Grove (0-9)
6
0
0
0-
6
Salem (5-4)
7
0
14
6-
27
SCORING SUMMARY PG – Messiah Allah 95 interception return (run failed), 8:42 1Q S – Kaden Robinson 34 pass from Desmund Thomas (Johnathan Bower kick), 8:06 1Q S – Kaden Robinson 12 pass from Desmund Thomas (kick failed), 9:23 3Q S – Quimere Bergen 41 pass from Desmund Thomas (Troy Carey run), 2:12 3Q S – Ahmad Tucker 35 pass from Desmund Thomas (kick failed), 2:00 4Q
WJFL Standings
DIAMOND
ALL
DIV
Glassboro
9-0
5-0
Salem
5-4
4-1
Schalick
2-6
2-2
Woodbury
3-4
2-2
Woodstown
2-7
1-4
Penns Grove
0-9
0-5
PATRIOT
ALL
DIV
West Deptford
8-1
6-0
Paulsboro
8-1
5-1
Overbrook
6-3
3-3
Pennsville
5-4
3-3
Collingswood
5-4
2-4
Audubon
2-5
1-4
Camden Catholic
0-8
0-5
FRIDAY’S GAMES Pennsville 36, Collingswood 15 Glassboro 47, Woodstown 0 West Deptford 21, Overbrook 8
SATURDAY’S GAMES Paulsboro 42, Clayton 6 Salem 27, Penns Grove 6 Schalick 24, Woodbury 12
Penns Grove coach cites demands of his outside profession for ending his two-year stint with the Red Devils
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
SALEM – Mark Maccarone says he’s “at peace” with a decision that’s usually fraught with emotion.
The long-time coach, who had some great teams at Glassboro and some not-so-great teams at Penns Grove, coached his final game as a high school coach Saturday when Penns Grove wrapped up its regular season at Salem.
He told the 25 players who stuck out the season in the post-game huddle after their 27-6 loss to complete a winless regular season he was not going to be their coach next season.
He cited the demands of his outside profession as the reason for his decision. For the past two seasons Maccarone has been coming to Penns Grove to coach the Red Devils after his 9-to-5 as a high-level administrator in the Camden County Technical school system.
“I’m a district-level administrator in charge of curriculum at two different high schools,” Maccarone said. “It’s too much to try and do this and do that. That takes precedence. That’s what puts food on the table.
“They were good enough to work with me last year at my district. They thought I was going to step down last year. I asked to coach one more season and they worked with me, but it’s time. My career in education is what pays the bills. It’s time to walk away.”
Penns Grove athletics director Anwar Golden says the Red Devils would play a consolation game for non-playoff teams next week if Maccarone were the coach and Maccarone told the players there could be the possibility of another game, but before Saturday’s game he didn’t sound too confident about his involvement.
Maccarone, 43, is 45-49 in nine years as head coach at Glassboro and Penns Grove. He has two South Jersey Group I titles with the Bulldogs and played in the semis two other times. He is 2-16 in his two years at Penns Grove, including this year’s 0-9, the school’s first winless season in memory.
Interestingly, he was the first of three head coaches hired in Salem County during a three-day stretch in March 2024, one day before Frank Trautz at Woodstown and two days before Kemp Carr at Salem. Ironically, Maccarone’s head coaching career started in 2011 with a loss against Kemp at Penns Grove (54-0) and apparently it will close with a loss to Kemp at Salem (27-6).
“He beat me in a big one though,” Kemp said. “He beat me in a championship game at Rowan. I like Mac. Anytime I invite you over to my house they must be good people. Not a lot of people go past my threshold, so I like him as a person.”
There was a lot of anticipation around the school board building the night Maccarone was approved. Talk of what could and needed to be, but some of the plans and support systems just never materialized.
“When I took the position I didn’t realize the midget program had folded the way it had and there was really a lack of support system among the town,” he said. “Everyone thinks it’s easy to win, but no one wants to actually put in the work to win.
“When you don’t have a feeder program and you have kids who for the first time are playing high school football and it’s their first exposure to football or they’re playing in a midget program somewhere else and it’s a hot spot you can’t be successful. Until that changes, it’ll be the concern of someone who is following me.”
Golden said he understood Maccarone’s decision and appreciated the honesty, professionalism work the coach has done in his two seasons at the school.
He said the Red Devils are going to “move swiftly” in their search for a successor and have been putting opportunities in place since Maccarone told them of his plans at midseason. They already have some interest in the opening from as far away as Tennessee and Utah, he said.
With this chapter of his life is ending, Maccarone said he wouldn’t rule out coaching in college, where he got his start, but he’s done with the high school game.
“When I left Glassboro I didn’t leave on my own terms, so there was still a part of me that kind of wanted to get back into it in the right situation,” Maccarone said. “I can say definitively with where high school sports is going right now, where the NJSIAA is right now, where the officiating is right now, I will never pick up a whistle and coach high school football again.”
Penns Grove football coach Mark Maccarone tells his players in the post-game huddle Saturday he won’t be their coach next season.
McDade passes for 4 TDs, intercepts a pair of passes and Pennsville rolls over Collingswood for fifth win in six games; turnaround gets them a home playoff game
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
COLLINGSWOOD – Robbie McDade is literally doing it all for the Pennsville football team this season and Friday night he basically did.
The senior quarterback, linebacker and special teams blocker threw four touchdown passes and had two interceptions as the Eagles swamped Collingswood 36-15 to finish the regular season with a winning record and presumptively procure a home game in the opening round of the South Jersey Group I playoffs.
Not bad for a team that started the season 0-3.
“We came in today and we executed in all three phases of the game,” McDade said. “The O-line played a great game and the receivers came up big and made big-time plays.
“Defensively, I had to step up and make big-time plays when we needed them most.”
McDade threw a pair of touchdown passes to Perry Meranti and one each to Adrian Alleyne and Kane Green. The touchdown throws covered 25, 43, 21 and 60 yards.
“He’s been coming back from surgery and his arm is getting better,” Eagles coach Mike Healy said. “It’s a huge difference that we can now throw the ball, push the ball downfield, compared to earlier this year.
“Obviously, we’re a running football team. Now we can take advantage of teams trying to stop the run and win some matchups. That’s gonna be a huge help.”
McDade’s first interception was as big a play as any of his touchdown throws. He stopped a potential go-ahead drive inside the 10 with the Eagles leading 14-8, Then he turned around on offense and directed a 95-yard drive that gave the Eagles a 20-8 halftime lead.
“Robbie doesn’t just play offense and defense, Robbie plays everywhere,” assistant coach Ryan Wood said. “He’s even a blocker on our kickoff team.”
“The only thing he’s not on is PAT and punt – and we don’t do much of either right now,” Healy said.
The Eagles went into the game ranked sixth in the South Jersey Group I power points standings and a projected 3-seed in the South Jersey bracket after a big jump the week before. The official GridironNJ UPR index won’t be updated until after Saturday’s games, but the Central Jersey Sports Radio projection that’s as good as any entity’s has them still sixth after Friday night’s results. (It also has Salem 9 and Schalick 13, but both play Saturday)
“The way we’ve matured offensively and defensively, we’re playing much better now; in a much better position,” Healy said. “Kind of the same thing we did last year, but this year we’re going to get a home playoff game out of it.”
Pennsville 36, Collingswood 15
Pennsville (5-4)
8
12
8
8-
36
Collingswood (5-4)
8
0
0
7-
15
SCORING SUMMARY P – Kane Green 60 pass from Robbie McDade (pass good) CO – John Antrilli 1 run (Semaj Trotman pass from John Antrilli) P – Perry Meranti 25 pass from Robbie McDade (run failed) P – Adrian Alleyne 21 pass from Robbie McDade (run failed) P – Perry Meranti 43 pass from Robbie McDade (Kane Green pass from Robbie McDade) P – Rylan Hardy 4 run (Robbie McDade run) CO – Terrance Goffney 34 run (Lino Bataloni kick)
Woodstown to miss playoffs for first time since 2010 after 47-0 loss to projected No. 1 Glassboro, although coach believes it’s worthy; O’Connell sets Glassboro TD pass record in win
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – Things will look a lot different around Clint Ware Field these next couple weeks than it has been at this time of year for nearly a generation of Woodstown football players.
For the first time since 2010 – before many of the current players were even born – the Wolverines will miss the South Jersey playoffs after ending their regular season Friday with a 47-0 loss to undefeated Glassboro.
It’s just been a tough season for the Wolverines (2-7). They came into the year with a young team as it was, having graduated another strong senior class that included the majority of their skill position players, and then were gutted by an historical spate of injuries.
They fell out of the top 16 of the power points standings for the first time since the inception of the OSI after their Oct. 9 loss to Haddon Heights and went into Friday night 20th in the South Jersey Group I rankings. They were last in the rankings after two games in 2018 under the old Born Power Index, but made the playoffs that year at 2-6.
“Our goal’s every year is to get to the playoffs; it’s disappointing, it really is,” Woodstown coach Frank Trautz said. “When you kind of look around at the whole landscape of football in South Jersey, I don’t think we should be out of the playoffs. Given, especially, the schedule we have played and everything, I think 100 percent we deserve a shot in the playoffs.
“I understand the system is the system and it is what it is. We’ve got to abide by it and that’s the situation. At the end of the day we’ve got to get more wins to get in. At the end of the day it’s on us. I’d love for these kids to get a shot to compete in the playoffs, but it didn’t work that way, but I’m super proud of them.
“We’ve got a lot of guys coming back and I think it’s going to be a special group. We’ll play our consolation game (likely Thursday) and hopefully try to end on a positive note.”
This Woodstown-Glassboro matchup has been one of the best games in the state the last couple years, but it wasn’t much of a contest Friday.
As if it needed any extra hype, amped by the season return of senior lineman Tyler Bright, the Bulldogs’ “stifling” defense smothered the Wolverines, holding them to minus-38 yards of net offense and one first down. That came on sophomore Mason Middlemiss’ 14-yard run in the third quarter, the Wolverines’ only play over two yards from scrimmage..
“Glassboro is a great team and we just tried our best to get the farthest we could on the field,” said Middlemiss, who played the whole game at quarterback with freshman Frankie Hoerst in concussion protocol. “Props to our line for battling. I’m really proud of them, especially Aiden (Taulane). He tried his best to protect me back there.”
“That’s one of the best front sevens you’re going to see in Group I, probably the best front seven you’re going to see in Group I football this year and they might be one of the best front sevens in most groups in New Jersey,” Trautz said. “I thought our kids fought, they were fighting and scrapping and clawing for every yard they could and that’s all we can ask of them.”
The Glassboro offense didn’t have it easy. The Wolverines held it to 139 yards and 19 points in the first half and made them look as uneasy as they did last week against Schalick. They fumbled away each of their first two possessions inside the Glassboro 25, but the Bulldogs only got one touchdown out of it and needed seven total plays in the two possessions to get that.
“It was best (effort) we’ve ever given; I was really happy about it,” said Taulane, who shut down several Glassboro plays in the first half. “Obviously, the score wasn’t too good, but it was a great defensive effort. It took everything. They just put us in tough situations.”
“That was the challenge for today, go out and fight and just keep fighting until you can’t do it anymore,” Trautz said. “The message was if you can do that for 48 minutes then you’re going to be able to look yourself and your teammates in the eyes and be proud of the job you did tonight. They answered. They came in and they were ready to fight and scrap.”
Bulldogs coach Timmy Breaker chalked up his offense’s balkiness to the learning curve that comes with getting comfortable with new plays and rotations for a long postseason run.
Glassboro quarterback Jack O’Connell threw five touchdown passes to break Sakeen Wright’s 25-year-old single-season school record for passing touchdowns (27); he now has 31, 49 in two years as a Bulldog.
He was 14-of-23 for 199 yards in the game, an NCAA-style passer rating of 205.29, 8-of-10 for 108 yards and three TDs in the second half. Amari Sabb and Xavier Sabb each caught two of the tournament passes and JoJo DeLecce ran for two scores. Amari caught six passes for 111 yards and had a 31-yard run.
“He did a great job today,” Breaker said of his quarterback. “Battled a little adversity in the beginning, but for him to battle back in that second half and have the game he did in the second half and lead that offense that was great to see. You don’t get to see that sometimes throughout the year, but to see it at the last game was beautiful because you’re going to the playoffs with that momentum. Tonight was a big night for him.”
It was the Wolverines’ fourth straight loss, by a combined score of 161-6.
Glassboro (9-0) has now won 22 in a row and is 30-2 since dropping back-to-back games in early 2023 – a run that started with a 13-7 overtime win at Woodstown. The Bulldogs are expected to be the overall No. 1 in the South Jersey Group I super section and the No. 1 seed in the South Jersey Group I playoff bracket.
Glassboro 47, Woodstown 0
GLASS
WOOD
12
1st Downs
1
9-100
Rushing
22-(-37)
14-23-0
Passing
1-5-2
199
Passing yds.
(-1)
0-0
Fumbles-lost
2-2
0-0
Punts-avg
3-20.3
6-40
Penalties
3-30
Glassboro (9-0)
13
6
14
14-
47
Woodstown (2-7)
0
0
0
0-
0
SCORING SUMMARY G – Amari Sabb 12 pass from Jack O’Connell (Sal Esgro kick), 6:38 1Q G – JoJo DeLecce 25 run (kick failed), 1:22 1Q G – Amari Sabb 43 pass from Jack O’Connell (kick failed), 8:33 2Q G – Mekhi Parker 9 pass from Jack O’Connell (Davon Barr run), 10:18 3Q G – Xavier Sabb 12 pass from Jack O’Connell (kick failed), 2:10 3Q G – Xavier Sabb 16 pass from Jack O’Connell (kick failed), 7:00 4Q G – JoJo DeLecce 19 run (Mekhi Parker pass from Jack O’Connell), 1:14 4Q
WJFL Standings
DIAMOND
ALL
DIV
Glassboro
9-0
5-0
Salem
4-4
3-1
Schalick
2-6
2-2
Woodbury
3-4
2-2
Woodstown
2-7
1-4
Penns Grove
0-8
0-4
PATRIOT
ALL
DIV
West Deptford
8-1
6-0
Paulsboro
7-1
5-1
Overbrook
6-3
3-3
Pennsville
5-4
3-3
Collingswood
5-4
2-4
Audubon
2-5
1-4
Camden Catholic
0-8
0-5
FRIDAY’S GAMES Pennsville 36, Collingswood 15 Glassboro 47, Woodstown 0 West Deptford 21, Overbrook 8
SATURDAY’S GAMES Clayton at Paulsboro Penns Grove at Salem Schalick at Woodbury
Riverview Sports News 