Category: FOOTBALL

Legacy opener

Schalick has a lot of history with opening-night opponent Gloucester City; Cougars to recognize 2003 title team, former player

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE – If Mike Wilson weren’t coaching football, chances are you’d find him wandering around some old Civil War battlefield soaking in all the history it has to offer.

He’s been to almost all of them. The self-described “history nerd” could probably give you a tour of Gettysburg off the top of his head and make it just as real as if he were standing under a witness tree watching the battle unfold in front of him.

Friday: Gloucester City
at Schalick, 7 p.m.

History is a big part of the talks he gives his Schalick football team and it’s the underlying theme as the Cougars open their season at home Friday night against Gloucester City.

The teams may be 30 miles apart but have a rich history together. The Cougars have played the Lions more than any team in their football history (43 times). You could look it up. Assistant coach Frank Amar did. 

“One of the coaches said we’ve played them so much how come they’re not our trophy game,” Wilson said. 

The teams have played almost continuously since 1977, missing only in 1989 and 1990 and 2018-21. Gloucester won the first meeting 12-0 and leads the series 29-13-1, but the tide has turned in recent years with Schalick winning 12 of the last 18. The Cougars’ first win came in 1984.

There’s more history than that surrounding this game and this season. The Cougars will recognize the 20th anniversary of their 2003 South Jersey Group I championship team and honor the memory of former player and local legend Anthony Allen, who lost his battle with cancer during the offseason.

No Schalick player will wear Allen’s jersey number this season and the team will wear a commemorative “42” decal on the back of their helmets in tribute to a player whose legacy in the community goes beyond the football record book. 

“I think it’s important to remember history,” Wilson said. “We talk about that a lot with the kids, the history of our program. It’s important for the kids to know what came before them so they can build on that.”

The Cougars will be out to make some new history Friday night. They haven’t won a season opener since 2019 (Palmyra 30-8) – the year before Wilson became head coach – and lost to the Lions in last year’s opener 21-0 when the series renewed after a four-year break.

“We’ve been preparing for this game probably the past month,” fullback Riley Papiano said. “We’re more than ready for this game, getting every single player as we can the most ready we can be for any team we’re going to be playing.”

It’s certainly not an easy opener. The Lions are a hard-nosed, blue-collar type team that went 9-3 last year and return 13 starters from a group that lost to Willingboro in the Central Jersey Group II final.

“We felt looking at our division schedule and our goal is to play playoff football; we needed to somebody with a higher strength index,” Wilson explained. “They were junior heavy last year, we were kind of senior heavy and this year we’re switched. They were last year what we are right now.”

The Cougars may be a little younger than their opening-night opponent, but they have a returning group Wilson says “who can play with anybody.” They’ve also added a dimension the Lions didn’t see last year. 

They have injected enough of a passing element to their offense to make teams respect that part of their game and Kenai Simmons has come along to become an effective dual threat. Simmons says it will make them “way harder” for teams to stop them this season.

“We’re ready,” Wilson said. “As a coach you always want more preparation, but we’re ready to go.”

Photo: Kenai Simmons (L) has moved to quarterback with an increased role as a passer for the Cougars and Riley Papiano is in a new role at fullback.

Salem-Camden moving

Logistical issues within the event prompt move of Mid-Atlantic Pigskin Classic game to a yet-to-be-determined alternate site

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

SALEM – The Salem Rams were looking forward to another early-season game on a big stage, but now find themselves in a game without a home.

Logistical conflicts at the site prompted a change in game times that will prevent the Rams’ Sept. 2 game with Camden from being played in the Mid-Atlantic Pigskin Classic at Abessinio Stadium in Wilmington.

“It’s just unfortunate,” director of operations John Schmid said. “We had to make some logistical changes because of the streaming and the stadium and we were unable to work out a time that fit both schools.”

The changes would have prompted a time change to 11 a.m. or 2 p.m., but the schools couldn’t agree on a compromise. It was originally scheduled for a noon start.

The game is Salem’s home game, but the Rams are still working on their stadium so it can’t be played there, so an alternate site must be found.

It is still expected to be played Sept. 2 at its original noon start time, but at a site to be determined. Several nearby college and high school sites are being considered, making an already lengthy team travelogue that much longer.

“Right now we’re trying to find a place to play since technically it’s our home game,” Salem athletics director Darryl Roberts said. “If we can’t find anywhere to host, we’ll play at Camden.”

The Rams already are putting nearly 350 one-way miles on their team bus this season, not counting last weekend’s scrimmage in Wilmington. Camden’s home stadium is 18 miles farther from Salem than Abessinio Stadium.

The Rams open their season Friday night at Lafayette College’s Fisher Stadium against Executive Education Academy of Allentown, Pa. Later this season they will play at Rutgers University.

This story will be updated.

Cleared, but cautious

Woodstown RB Hill will rejoin team Tuesday without contact, isn’t likely to play until third game

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – The news wasn’t exactly what James Hill hoped to hear, but it was at least on the positive end of what he could have expected.

The senior Woodstown running back was cleared by his doctors Monday morning to return to football practice, but without contact. He was hoping to return without restrictions, but he also could have been held out longer.

“I got cleared to go to practice and everything, but me and my mom and my family and my doctor have waited on a decision of returning ASAP,” Hill said.

Hill, a 3,000-yard career runner, tore an ACL jumping in the Wolverines’ wrestling room this past winter. Typical recovery time is between six and nine months. His aggressive approach to recovery, which impressed both his coaches and his teammates, got him back on the front end of the window.

Wolverines coach John Adams was the first person Hill called after getting the report. He was “very excited” about the news Hill can return.

Despite taking the conservative approach, Hill called it “definitely a great day.”

“For the past couple weeks, all camps, I’ve been sitting at practice watching everybody,” he said. “Now I’m able to participate and push everybody else hard as I want to push. Push but don’t push over their limits.”

He plans to be at 8 a.m. practice Tuesday and participate in non-contact drills and be in uniform with his team for Thursday’s home scrimmage with Delsea, but it’ll be at least three weeks before he’ll see live action. His next doctor’s appointment is Sept. 13 and that, he says, is “my (date to) go play high school football.”

That means he’ll miss at least the Wolverines’ first two games against Haddon Heights and Paulsboro. He rushed for 540 yards and five touchdowns on 56 carries in those two games last season. In that scenario, his season debut would be Sept. 15 at Deptford.

“I said before Bryce (Belinfanti) and Bobby (Donahue) and everybody can take care of them, so I really didn’t need to rush myself back for them,” he said. 

Adams has said throughout Hill’s rehab the plan was to go slow with the player’s return. Hill was expected to start out playing defense before being thrown into the rigors of the Wolverines’ WJFL Diamond Division schedule.

“When he first got surgery they said probably Week 4 as a timeline of getting him back and then he was doing great so we got our hopes up for Week 1,” Adams said. “The doctor said he looks amazing, but doesn’t want to jump the gun and now we are looking at having him out only two games, which is still tremendous and ahead of the original timeline.

“It gives us a chance to ease him back in more and make sure he’s ready. In the end I think it is what is best for him and his future.”

Defense isn’t resting

Pennsville defense moving in right direction after offseason overhaul; Eagles show overall improvement in scrimmage with Buena

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – As a defensive coach at heart, it absolutely gored Pennsville head coach Mike Healy to see what was happening to the Eagles’ defense last year.

Since defense wins championships, Healy knew things had to change for his team to get back in a position to do just that.

He took things to the extreme, breaking down tackling technique to the most minute of details. He brought in new coaches to change the mindset and drill the concepts. Just as big a factor was the players, most of them freshmen and sophomore starters by the end of the season, got older.

“Last year we were not good on defense, or offense; it was just a frustrating year all around,” Healy said. “I knew for my own sanity in order to come back there had to be some changes in how we were going to do things. I brought guy in for the offense who does a great job and I had to rework things on defense to get us in a better position regularly.

“We changed up what we’ve done in practice, we’ve added some things. Schematically we changed some things we do to help us better and the way we practice it has helped us and made us much better. We’re still kind of toying with some things out there and seeing what works, what we like, but overall I’m very happy with the direction of our defense. We’re going in the right place.”

There was a marked difference in the Eagles’ scrimmage Monday with Buena. In three quarters of varsity action, Pennsville held the Chiefs to 164 net yards, out of the end zone in seven of eight possessions and made three fourth-down stops, including sophomore Hunter Hiles’ second interception in as many scrimmages.

The only thing that spoiled their day was a 60-yard burst in the second half shortly after the teams returned to the field from a simulated halftime.

Buena ended the Eagles’ season in last year’s regional invitational tournament, 28-14.

The offense, meanwhile, opened the game with a 80-yard touchdown drive, scored twice and moved the ball enough for more but stalled under the weight of some self-inflicted wounds. Sky Eppes rushed for 163 yards and scored both touchdowns, but lost the handle at the end of a 28-yar run that cost him another score. Quarterback Robbie McDade was 9-of-13 passing for 128 yards, but was intercepted on a pass over the middle that killed another drive.

“Overall we did better than we did in the first scrimmage (against Bishop Eustace and Pemberton); we had a lot of improvement on places,” Healy said. “We did good today the first two quarters and once we got to the third quarter we struggled. We’ve just got to understand we’re going to be playing four full quarters and we’ve got to be ready to go mentally.”

The Eagles were 1-8 last year, their worst year since 2004. They won their season opener by outscoring Lindenwold 34-26, but in the weeks that followed the offense had a hard time scoring and the defense continued giving up points.

“Last year, egos were a big thing,” 6-6 senior defensive end Daniel Saulin said. “The first game was fine, everyone was on the same page, then egos started getting in the way, stuff outside the team started getting in the way. This year we’re changing that. We’re all in the same spot. We’re all starting at the beginning. We’re all trying to work towards a goal and that’s going to the playoffs and win state. We want that state title.”

It didn’t take long for Hiles to notice the change.

“It’s gotten way better,” he said. “In the beginning of the season we were still trying to figure out alignment and assignments and this year when camp started we knew what we were doing for the most part. Over the practices we’ve gotten way better.

“Last year, we did a lot of it to ourselves. This year we’ve got that all figured out it seems like. It seems like everybody’s having more fun.”

The Eagles scrimmage again in three days against Group II Haddon Heights. It’s a game-like 6 p.m. Thursday scrimmage to keep the Eagles on track for their season opener the following Thursday.

“I’m excited because it’s another step up for us in competition,” Healy said. “We know if we can compete with them and play well then we’re going in the right direction for the season.”

Photo: Pennsville’s Perry Meranti (30) stops a Buena ballcarrier in his tracks during Monday’s scrimmage.

Pennsville’s Hunter Hiles races upfield with his second interception in as many scrimmages. (Photo by Lorraine Jenkins)

This week’s schedule

Here is the Salem County high school sports schedule for the week of Aug. 20-26. The football games of Aug. 25 are regular-season openers, everything else listed is a scrimmage

Aug. 21
FOOTBALL
Buena at Pennsville, 10 a.m.        

Aug. 23
GIRLS TENNIS
Millville at Schalick, 9 a.m.
Vineland at Pennsville, 10 a.m.

Aug. 24
FOOTBALL
Haddon Heights at Pennsville, 6 p.m.
Delsea at Woodstown, 7 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Pleasantville at Penns Grove, 10 a.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Salem at Deptford Twp., 9 a.m.
Woodstown at Triton Regional, 9 a.m.
West Deptford at Pennsville, 10 a.m.

Aug. 25
FOOTBALL
Burlington City at Penns Grove, 10 a.m.
Gloucester City at Schalick, 7 p.m.
Salem vs. Executive Education Academy at Lafayette College, 7 p.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Penns Grove at Pleasantville, 10 a.m.
Pennsville at Millville, 10 a.m.

Cover photo by Ellen Sickler

Rams settle in

Salem’s only preseason scrimmage before season opener nets good results for new coach Mendoza; Schalick, Woodstown also scrimmage Saturday

TRI-STATE SCRIMMAGE
at Thomas McKean HS, Wilmington
McKean 8, Olney 0
Salem 0, Olney 0
Salem 14, McKean 0

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WILIMINGTON, Del. – It was about an hour before the not-so-meaningless preseason scrimmage and new Salem football coach Danny Mendoza was standing in the end zone inspecting the field on which his team was about to play.

As he watched the other two teams on the program – Philly’s Olney High and host Thomas McKean – warm up, he didn’t mind saying he was feeling butterflies for the first time in a while. It was a lot like the feeling he had before his first spring game as a head coach in Florida.

Here he was, a new coach with a new team, teaching a whole new offense and defense to a team that was about to face a couple outside opponents in live action for the first time – and only time before opening the season for real next week. What was there to be nervous about?

“It’s the new beginnings, taking over a program with the tradition that we have here,” Mendoza said. “It’s the unknown right now and seeing if they bought into what we were selling and what we were doing and hoping all the work we put and the belief that we have in them showed and it came to fruition.

“That’s always the deal. Not nervous for myself, more nervous for them and it worked out well at the end.”

Outside of the usual glitches that accompany a first time on stage, the Rams acquitted themselves well in their two halves of action.

They dominated Olney in their first half and by rights should have scored two touchdowns, but had to settled for a scoreless tie after two fumbles from inside Trojans territory killed their possessions. They came back and beat McKean 14-0, yielding only 31 net yards, with most of those coming on one disputed pass completion late in the game.

“I think they were a little nervous going out there and once we warmed up a little bit and got it going … we definitely saw what we wanted to see in the second half,” Mendoza said. “The offense we’ve got to clean some stuff up, kind of believe in what we’re doing, but at the end of the day solid performance from everybody. Without the mishaps, we should be a team to be reckoned with.”

Salem QB Ramaji Bundy watches his defense at work in Saturday’s scrimmage.

One of the more intriguing parts of Mendoza’s first camp in Salem is implementing a new offense while replacing an All-Diamond Division quarterback with an All-Diamond receiver.

Ramaji Bundy, who has nearly 1,500 receiving yards the last three seasons, has been handed the keys to the Rams’ offense and even though he’s learning on the go, it’s as if he’s never left.

“I like it well,” Bundy said of the transition. “I played quarterback all my life since pee-wee league, so coming up playing quarterback again, it’s not really too hard. I just have to get that experience again because it’s on the high school level this time.

“(The offense) kind of fits me well. We’ve got a 50-50 pass-run offense and we’re mixing in a lot of stuff. Everything is running well, to be honest. It’s like the Baltimore offense and (he’s like) Lamar Jackson … I’m a big Lamar fan, but I like Jalen Hurts better.”

Bundy was 1-for-5 passing in the scrimmage with a 36-yard completion to Omarion Pierce against Olney, and had a couple other nice throws that didn’t connect. He rushed for 57 yards in the two halves and scored on a 13-yard run against McKean. He would’ve had more against Olney, but was charged with a big loss when he lost the handle preparing to pass and tried to kick the ball out of bounds.

“He’s a ballplayer and we knew that coming into it,” Mendoza said. “We saw a hell of a player that’s going to have a hell of a season and we just look forward to watching that kid shine.”

Terrance Smith scored the first touchdown of the Mendoza era with a 25-yard burst in the first series against McLean. Ethan Young kicked both extra points. Smith rushed for 38 yards and Jared Pew had 44.

The defense made several big plays with Markhai Brown delivering a bone-jarring hit, Kyree Little packing a sack, Detric Simmons making life miserable for opposing ballcarriers and Kaden Robinson snaring an interception. The Rams held their two opponents to a combined 1 net yard rushing on 10 total carries.

“Seeing guys fly around like that, I’m excited for our defense,” Mendoza said.

The Rams play their first real game of the Mendoza era Friday in Lafayette College’s Fisher Stadium against Executive Education Academy of Allentown, Pa.

Terrance Smith (4) is congratulated by his teammates after scoring Salem’s first touchdown for new coach Danny Mendoza in Saturday’s scrimmage.

Cougars come alive

DEPTFORD – Schalick played two live-ball varsity quarters against Deptford Twp. and after a slow start scored on its last two possessions to win that portion of the scrimmage 14-6.

Deptford opened the scrimmage with a 19-play drive, pushing it in from the 1, and then held the Cougars to a three-and-out. Once the Cougars got comfortable, they came alive.

Quarterback Kenai Simmons found the end zone from the red zone and Reggie Allen scored from the goal line. The defense had a three-and-out and takeaway on downs after the opening drive.

Sophomore kicker Hunter Dragotta hit both extra points, including a long first one backed up by a celebration penalty. Dragotta was 19 of 23 on PATs last season and at one point made 16 in a row.

“We kind of woke up a little bit, shook the cobwebs off and generated a lot of pressure,” Schalick coach Mike Wilson said. “We could’ve played a whole game today. Our kids aren’t even tired. I like our conditioning. We’re definitely in football shape.

“We’ve got to clean stuff up, there’s things we have to get better, but for a game scrimmage we got better since Wednesday. Just get better next week and get ready for when it gets real.”

The Cougars open their season at home Friday 7 p.m. against Gloucester City.

Woodstown focuses on passing

PINE HILL – Woodstown continues to work towards enhancing its passing game and that was its main focus at Overbook. During some evenly matched 10-and-10 segments with the 1s, the Wolverines ran it only a couple times.

“We threw the ball a ton,” Wolverines coach John Adams said. “We really didn’t work our run game in much and when we did work our run game in we had some good runs.”

Garrett Leyman caught a touchdown pass from Max Webb and had another big play on a nice screen.

“I thought we got what we wanted out of it,” Adams said. “We really wanted to see the on film the route running, making sure our spacing’s correct, the timing’s correct, the O-line pass block a lot and set the pocket for Max and I thought we did really, really well with it.”

The defense also continued its progression. For the second scrimmage in a row it didn’t give up a live-ball touchdown.

“The last scrimmage was more split, pass and run, this one was more pass and the next one (Thursday against Delsea) will be more game-like, like calling it in the flow of the game,” Adams said.

Top photo: New Salem football coach Danny Mendoza gives his team a thumbs up after it dominated two opponents in Saturday’s scrimmage.

Familiar feel

Salem goes through its only preseason scrimmage Saturday in a jamboree format embraced by new Rams coach

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

When it’s the only scrimmage you’re going to have in the preseason you want to make sure it suits your needs to a tee.

Much like he did with his Week Zero game, new Salem football coach Danny Mendoza had a devil of a time finding a good preseason scrimmage for his team.

He didn’t want the usual 10-and-10 exercises followed by some situational work. He could get that in a typical practice. He wanted something that would simulate a game.

When he found a spot in Saturday’s tri-state scrimmage at Wilmington’s McKean High School, he suggested a style he favored from his days coaching in Florida – a preseason jamboree similar to a spring game.

Each team will play two 12-minute quarters of real football against each other. McKean and Philly’s Olney Charter will start it off at 5 p.m., followed by Salem and Olney, then Salem and McKean.

“When I talked to (McKean head coach Avery McMullin), he didn’t really know about the idea, but I thought it would be great for us to get that game scrimmage feeling,” Mendoza said. “We’ve got a Week Zero game, so we need that.

“I don’t do the tri-scrimmages. I don’t do quad stuff. The only reason I did them when I was here before was because I wasn’t the head coach. Now that I’m the head coach I want to do it how I’ve always done it: Have a kickoff classic, which is a preseason exhibition, and then we get into our season.

“Playing all these quads among all these other teams doesn’t really benefit me. I lose a day of practice. We don’t want everyone to see our stuff and we don’t want to give guys free film pretty much. I’ve never been a fan of that, so I got an opportunity to do it this way. Coach McMullin was on board.”

Mendoza found the scrimmage the same way he found the Rams’ Week Zero opponent, Executive Education Academy Charter School of Allentown, Pa.: On an Eastern Pennsylvania football website that lists team’s open dates. He called it “unfortunate” the Rams couldn’t get something with an in-state team, but a “blessing” they were able to find something.

“It’s just as important as any other game,” Mendoza said. “Obviously, it’s a game that doesn’t count, so it’s a game you just want to get better at and get your guys as much live looks and different scenarios that you can within a non-controlled scrimmage. We’d rather do this moreso than anything else and it worked out just the way we wanted to.

“This will let us know where we stand and what we need to work on and correct before we go up to Lafayette (for the opener) and it counts for real. It’s super important, our kids are fired up for it and we’re going to make the most of it.”

Several players are emerging as ones to watch since Mendoza opened his first camp. Senior RaMaji Bundy has moved from being the Rams top returning receiver to replace an All-Diamond Division quarterback and has picked up the offense well. Detric Simmons, a 6-3, 320-pound senior, has shown explosive quickness and a mean streak on the line, junior Jarred Pew has shown flashes of being a special talent at running back and junior Daveon Jackson is developing into a leader on the defense.

On the cover: New Salem football coach Danny Mendoza

Fingers crossed

Dynamic Woodstown running back looking forward to a positive report from doctor for return to practice from offseason knee injury

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN — James Hill is looking forward to Monday as much as any Opening Day he’s ever had before.

That’s the day he, his coaches and the South Jersey football world should learn whether the dynamic Woodstown running back gets to return to the field for his senior football season — six months after a devastating knee injury that threatened his high school playing career.

If he gets the positive report, the 3,000-yard career rusher could be back on the field as soon as the Wolverines’ Monday afternoon practice — 10 days before their season opener against Haddon Heights.

The options are return to football with no restrictions, return to football with no contact, or wait a while longer. He anticipates a good report and is eager to return.

“Monday will be my return back to sports,” Hill said. “I knew I had a great sophomore year, junior year, and I knew my senior year would be my breakout year, my time to go rush for 2,000 yards, go break more records than I’ve already broken.

“I broke the record I set last year but that wasn’t good enough for me. I knew my senior year was a make or break year, especially recruiting. People were skittish (after the injury) but now I have to prove to them I’m the same James Hill you were recruiting my junior year. I’m actually better than I was.”

He was pretty good then, rushing for 1,636 yards and 16 touchdowns. Then a few months later it all changed.

Hill tore an ACL jumping around in the wrestling room. Conventional wisdom suggests a recovery time of six to nine months. He was in therapy the day after his surgery and has continued an aggressive rehab for a return in an amazing six months.

Coaches and teammates have marveled at his commitment to rehab, which often has included three- and four-times-a-week therapy sessions. “Crazy recovery,” quarterback Max Webb told Riverview Sports News in July. “There’s not too many guys, even at the professional level, who are recovering in six (months).”

Hill’s most recent testing indicates only a three-percent difference in strength between his two knees and if the surgically repaired knee matches or exceeds the other in Monday’s test, he should be good to go.

He got around pretty good at Thursday’s scrimmage, where he was on the sidelines serving in a support role. Shortly before the start of the exercise, he checked something on his phone, then ran as naturally as ever down the path, over the pedestrian bridge and back to the school building before returning with two racks of water bottles. 

“Right after surpery I had PT the next day and that day I knew I could make it to come back,” he said. “I knew that being James, I’m a kid of perseverance, I’ll battle through anything to get back to high school football because I love playing high school football. I love playing football in general.

“When I got told recovery time is between six and nine months I knew I’d be that type of athlete who’s gonna be making it back in six because I have trust in everybody around me. I knew it was going to be tough. It’s all a mental battle and if you’re mentally strong you’ll be able to do it and I was able to do it because I was mentally strong.

“I’ve had tons of people tell me you’re going to be able to do it James and I believed them because they believed in me.”

The plan for his return to the lineup will be a measured one. It likely will involve starting out on defense only to work back into in the game before subjecting his knee to the pounding that goes with being an elite back.

They won’t be giving him 28 carriers in each of the first two games like they did last year, when he rushed for 540 yards and five touchdowns. Saying he’s “1000 percent confident” in his knee, he’s OK with that, just as he’s confident in the other guys in the running backs room to keep the offense on track until his full return.

“We’ve got to take it day by day,” Wolverines coach John Adams said. “We’re gonna make sure he’s there by the end of it.”

“I’m fine with that; as long as I’m playing high school football,” said Hill. “Sometimes you’ve got to go slow to win the race. You can’t go speeding because if you go speeding you might blow a tire.

“I’ve got eight games. I know we’re going to make the playoffs as a good team, so there’s no reason to rush and go rush for 312 yards a game (like he did in last year’s season opener) where I know that the rest of my running back crew is going to be able to just handle it just as well.”

And just in case you’re wondering about wrestling, where he was undefeated at the time of the injury, he’ll be back on the mat this winter as well.

Photo: Woodstown running back James Hill works the Wolverines’ sideline in a support role during a recent scrimmage as he awaits his return to practice.

The James Hill File

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20204118319600
202116613741551102
202223716361671103
TOTAL444319332212805
Career defense: 135 tackles, 3 interceptions (2 TDs)

Tall targets

Woodstown plans to pass the football a bit more this season and has two big targets for QB Webb to locate; RB Hill hoping for good news Monday

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – The day Woodstown football coach John Adams told Max Webb he had every intention of throwing the football more this season the senior’s eyes got real wide and a broad smile crossed his face. What quarterback wouldn’t want the chance to air it out, especially when he has a couple 6-4 and 6-6 targets on either end?

It’s not like the Wolverines are going to air it out 30 times a game, maybe half that much depending on the circumstances, but enough to make opponents respect that part of the offense. They put that part on display in Thursday’s scrimmage with St. Joe of Hammonton and weren’t shy about showing it.

The most visible of their receivers is 6-foot-4 veteran Garrett Leyman and 6-6 newcomer Rocco String. If you can’t recognize them coming off the bus, you’re just not paying attention.

In the three 10-and-10 segments with the first two units, the Wolverines threw it 10 times. Webb threw it five times in the opening set alone, completing three for 56 yards and had another in the numbers dropped in the end zone. His first completion was nice downfield throw to Leyman for 33 yards after just missing on the play before.

“I saw he had a step on his corner and just gave him a chance and he finally jumped for a ball and made it look easy,” Webb said.

It’s the kind of pass you can complete when you’ve got guys with that kind of size.

“They can go get it where most of the other guys in high school can’t get it,” Webb said. “They’re more open with their height, you can just put it up above everybody else.”

If you think the quarterback is excited about the prospects of bringing more passing to the offense, imagine how the receivers feel. 

Woodstown receiver Rocco String hauls in a pass during Thursday’s scrimmage with St. Joe of Hammonton. (Photo by Ellen Sickler)

“It’s going to be more exciting for all of us,” String said. “It gives us way more power, more confidence in order to go far in the playoffs and make the big step to where we’re trying to reach our goals.”

“It’s definitely going to make our offense a lot harder to defend,” Leyman said.

Leyman is a proven commodity. He played on last year’s 8-2 team and had five of the Wolverines’ 54 total receptions for 57 yards. He caught two balls from Webb Thursday for 45 yards and maybe even more impressive provided the main blocking for Bobby Donahue’s 34-yard run.

String is a little more unknown. He is back on the football field for the first time since the seventh grade. He was a 6-1 right tackle and defensive end then, but hung up the helmet through high school to concentrate on baseball. He returned this year because he “wanted to hit someone” and every day urging from Adams in Algebra II class. 

He may become even more impactful as a rush end on defense, but he’ll make an appealing option for the Wolverines to move the chains.

String hasn’t caught a ball in a game ever, but he hasn’t dropped many in practice. He caught a 5-yard pass from backup QB Jack Holladay and missed one on the next play but more because he got tangled up in his route than any hands of stone; he still got his hands on it, though.

“We knew what Leyman had, he was starter for us last year and he’s gotten faster, runs smoother, catching the ball better, so he definitely progressed as the year went on,” Adams said. “But Rocco was a big question mark. He didn’t play since middle school, we had no clue what he could do and we get him out here running routes and stuff and he’s catching everything you throw to him.

“You just put that ball up a little bit, he’s so tall he can go up over anybody and get it. He’s also coming along in the blocking game, so we’re really excited about the ability to use him.”

Garrett Leyman (R) lines up to run a route in Thursday’s scrimmage.

To the point they just moved a tight end who had been in that mix to tackle to provide more depth and competition in that slot.

As for the scrimmage, the Wolverines saw everything they wanted. They moved the ball well — through the air and on the ground) – didn’t give up much on defense, got players lined up in the right spots and even rolled out a new legacy kicker who is sure to be a weapon this season. Even though they only scored one touchdown, the 1s twice were deep inside the red zone when they ran out of plays

Even running back James Hill was on the sideline in a supporting role as he moves closer to a potential return from his offseason knee injury next week. The Wolverines are hoping for some good news on that front Monday when Hill returns to his doctor for clearance, a date he confidently calls “my return to sports.”.

He’s likely to experience a measured return when he is allowed back, but he expressed confidence in the rest of the running back corps keeping the offense moving. The Wolverines showed plenty of capable ballcarriers in the scrimmage. Donohue had 59 yards on six carries, Bryce Belinfanti had 50 and a nice spinning touchdown on seven carries and Alex Torres had 28 on four carries.

The first two defenses held St. Joe’s offense to only 28 yards in 30 plays with Torres and Anthony Ford-Dale grabbing interceptions. And kicker Jake Ware, a mid-year transfer from Delaware whose grandfather’s name is on the field, showed a big and consistent leg in both placements and kickoffs.

“I was really pleased with our guys,” Adams said. “Every set of 10 that we ran, we ran 10 different formations with different things out of them, so I was glad we got lined up right. I was glad with how fast they were coming off the ball. I thought our backs ran the ball hard. I thought Max threw the ball pretty well 

“Defensively we were flying to the ball. When they were out on defense I thought we were pretty stout against them not giving up anything big. I thought our first string on both sides did really, really well.”


The Wolverines scrimmage again Saturday at Overbrook.

Woodstown quarterback Max Webb looks for one of his tall receivers downfield during Thursday’s scrimmage. (Photo by Ellen Sickler)

Top photo: Woodstown receivers Rocco String (L) and Garrett Leyman (R) talk things over with quarterback Max Webb during Thursday’s scrimmage with St. Joe of Hammonton.

An overall good one

Pennsville has a positive first scrimmage, sophomore QB McDade has made ‘huge strides’ from last year; Penns Grove, Schalick also scrimmage Wednesday

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – It was only one play early in the second series of the first scrimmage of fall camp but it was a perfect example of how far Robbie McDade has come in one year as Pennsville’s QB1.

The sophomore smoothly sucked Pemberton’s defense into the pocket, then softly deposited a screen pass into the waiting hands of Skye Eppes, who took it 41 yards to get the Eagles across midfield on the way to their first touchdown of the scrimmage with Pemberton and Bishop Eustace.

A year ago that play wouldn’t have happened. Not because McDade couldn’t necessarily pull it off, but with the kind of team they had at the time the Eagles wouldn’t have even called it. Now, with a more confident McDade pulling the trigger it’s part of the mix.

“He’s definitely taken huge strides and the biggest thing with him is the amount of work he’s put in in the offseason and how much he’s worked to step into that job and take a leadership role from there,” Eagles coach Mike Healy said. “He’s still a sophomore and making some mistakes, but he is, to me, doing way better than last year.

“I’m very happy with his progress so far and he’s getting better every day.”

McDade split time at quarterback with Randy Hall last year, but his time increased as the year went along. He wound up completing 25 of 52 passes for 363 yards and two touchdowns. When Hall decided not to return, McDade won the position by default, but he still had to show his stuff.

The scrimmage Wednesday was his first opportunity with the offense in his hands alone and he was looking forward to the experience. He completed 10 of 15 passes for 152 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Malik Rehmer.

“I was really excited,” the quarterback said. “Coming off a bad year last year I really wanted to step it up this year and show everybody what we’ve got. I knew what we had to get done and we did it. We’re just going to keep building on it and get better and better.”

The Eagles got the best of both opponents in the varsity portion of the scrimmage and Healy proclaimed it “overall a good scrimmage.” In addition to McDade’s numbers, Rehmer caught three passes for 54 yards and scored once against each team, and Eppes had 105 yards rushing and receiving. The first-team defense gave up 21 yards, didn’t allow a touchdown and Hunter Hiles had a 25-yard pick-six against Eustace.

“Scoring touchdowns is a lot of fun,” McDade said. “We’ve got to keep it up.”

Of course, it wasn’t perfect, but even when there was a negative play McDade bounced back with a positive result. 

He fumbled rolling out on the first play against the Eustace defense, then came back with a 13-yard pass play to Eppes. Later in that aforementioned drive against Pemberton Eppes had a screen pass touchdown called back by a blindside block. The very next snap the Eagles called a wider screen and Rehmer took it to the house for his first touchdown.

“That was something I was really happy to see today because last year that’s not something we would have done,” Healy said. “We would have been upset and angry and then not executed the next play. That’s what we really needed to work on. Whether it’s a good call or a bad call, the call’s made, there’s nothing we can do, bounce back, get to the next play, make up for it and that’s what we did.”

The Eagles scrimmage again Monday at home against Buena. That 10 a.m. exercise will be more drive-driven as they work towards a dress rehearsal scrimmage with Haddon Heights Aug. 24.

Pennsville quarterback Robbie McDade (3). (Top photo) McDade floats a soft pass over the Pemberton defense to Skye Eppes that goes for 41 yards.

Schalick: Little bit of everything

LINWOOD – The Cougars saw “the good, the bad and the ugly” as they rotated a lot of players in their four-way exercise with West Deptford, Lower Cape May and host Mainland Regional.

They got 30 minutes with each team and saw “in limited small bursts what we wanted,” coach Mike Wilson said.

“It wasn’t all good, it wasn’t all bad and there were some ugly parts to it,” Wilson said. “Our goal was to get reps in by many people, get in and out healthy. It was exactly what a scrimmage was. We needed to get kids on tape.”

They had a big run against Group IV power Mainland called back for holding and scored against the other two teams. Quarterback Kenai Simmons played a limited number of snaps against each team but was “efficient” in the Cougars’ growing passing game with one incompletion.

“The last three years we could not do what we did today,” Wilson said.

Dylan Sheehan made two big catches, scoring a long touchdown against Lower Cape May and taking a slant for 60 yards against West Deptford.

“He was exactly what we thought he would be,” Wilson said of the sophomore receiver. “He was a freshman last year and played a little varsity at the end. We saw it in practice, but we really wanted to see it against other people and he stepped up and had a good day today.”

They’ll game scrimmage again Saturday 10 a.m. at Deptford Twp. The starters are expected to play at least two full quarters.

Penns Grove: ‘Happy with work we got’

MAPLE SHADE – The Red Devils were already back home by the time either of the other two county teams finished their scrimmages and by all accounts dominated their day.

Both teams got four series in the 8 a.m. exercise before doing situational work. The Red Devils were “a little sloppy” on offense, but their decision-making was adequate, had some big plays and they scored on their first two possessions. The defense coach John Emel called “as good as anybody in Group I in the state” was solid throughout against a scheme similar to what they’ll see in the season opener in nine days.

“It looked like a first scrimmage,” Emel said. “All in all, I was happy with the work we got. It’s a building block for the next one.”

The Red Devils will scrimmage again 10 a.m. Friday at Highland Regional, where Emel says they’ll be “trying to get game-quality reps but not try to show too much” to come out healthy for the opener.

Woodstown: Looking for ‘normal’ first one

WOODSTOWN – The Wolverines expect to do and see “normal first scrimmage things” in Thursday’s 9 a.m. workout with their visitors from Hammonton – 10 and 10 with the first and second groups and then some special teams work.

“We are just looking for the kids to execute our basic stuff,” Wolverines coach John Adams said. “We’re not going to show a lot, (just) see how they are hitting and facing another opponent.

“We want to see the quarterback command the offense, make sure people are in the right spots, make sure timing on motions and all are good and the line is blocking the right guys. Defensively, we want to make sure we are sound in getting lined up and making our standard checks and just see the kids play fast and physical.”

You know, normal first scrimmage stuff.