Salem County showdown

Schalick visits Pennsville Friday in its only scheduled game with Salem County foe this season; where once everybody played each other, only five such matchups are scheduled this season

SALEM COUNTY FOOTBALL
Friday’s games
Glassboro at Woodstown, 7 p.m.
Schalick at Pennsville, 7 p.m.
Saturday’s games
Penns Grove at Haddon Heights, 11 a.m.
Salem vs. Cedar Creek at SHI Stadium (Rutgers), 3 p.m.

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – There are certain games on everybody’s football schedule that bring a little more anticipation than others; the ones that draw that big, bold circle as soon as its announced.

Maybe it’s a game that got away the year before. Maybe it’s a key game with a division rival and playoff implications. Or one with all the pageantry, like Homecoming or Senior Night.

Schalick and Pennsville play one of those games Friday night that carries even more importance and intensity.

It’s a game between county rivals and when there are only five teams in the county those games mean just a little bit more.

“These kids know each other playing sports against each other their whole lives,” Pennsville coach Mike Healy said. “You usually feel like it’s a little more competitive in terms of the environment and atmosphere.

“It is really for bragging rights because they play each other in everything, especially with social media now, how connected some of these kids are. It’s really important to us. We want respect in general, but having the bragging rights in the county is always something you want to have. You want to be the best of the bunch, for sure.”

Sadly, while there are enough teams and enough slots on the schedule to play an annual county series, they don’t all play each other anymore. Used to, but not anymore.

Everybody has at least one in-county game this season. Penns Grove plays the most – three, the first of which was last week at Salem. Penns Grove, Salem and Woodstown all get at least two because they’re all in the West Jersey Football League Diamond Division.

The traditionalist in Schalick coach Mike Wilson, a self-proclaimed history nerd, would like to see all five county teams play each other, but the realist in him understands with the WJFL’s desire for competitive balance in scheduling it’s not possible.

Woodstown was the last team to schedule all four of the other county teams and made it a point to play all four every year but one from 2004 to 2020. All five programs did it in 2018 and 2019, with Penns Grove going 10-0 over that stretch (including playoffs), Woodstown 6-5 and Salem 6-4.

“County games are always bigger than other games because these kids grow up playing each,” Wilson said. “It’s just a county thing. It’s county bragging rights. I think it’s huge that way.

“And the kids know each other. When kids really know each other it’s different. When we play at Riverside, they don’t know who Riverside is. When we play Wildwood, they don’t know Wildwood kids. We play Cape May, they don’t know Cape May kids. But these kids they know, so anytime you know the kids it’s a bigger game to them. A lot of these kids have probably been playing football against each other since they were 8 years old.”

There’s a lot on the line for both teams, too.

Schalick, No. 2 behind Woodstown in the South Jersey Group I power rankings, is looking to keep the train rolling and its undefeated record intact on the road against a team that’s improved from the one it beat by five touchdowns a year ago.

But they’re likely to be doing it without leading rusher Reggie Allen Jr., who took a big hit in last week’s win over Riverside. Wilson declined to comment on the status or availability of the player who called just last week the backbone of his team.

Pennsville, meanwhile, is looking to take another step forward after bouncing back from a flat second game to get its second win last week, doubling its win total of a year ago.

“Last year we didn’t put forth what we wanted to so there’s a little extra to this because we’re trying to get back to where we want to be and expect to be,” Healy said. “To be able to do it against a county team would just be that much better. Not only that, the kids are aware this is a 4-0 team we’re playing and No. 2 in the UPR rankings, so getting this win would be huge for us for what our goals are at the end of the season.”

Wilson knows that makes the Eagles a dangerous team.

“We are truly the hunted and we have to learn how to take that now,” he said. “We’re no longer the underdog in a lot of these games. The kids have to understand how to handle success and how to take care of business. It’s a huge game for us.”

Salem County Head-to-Head

TEAMS	PGRV	PVILLE	SALEM	SCHAL	WOODS
PENNS GROVE	—	10-4 (36-27-4)	9-8 (56-45-6)	9-0 (27-7)	8-6
PENNSVILLE	4-10 (27-36-4)	—	5-7	4-2 (16-8)	6-7
SALEM	8-9 (45-56-6)	7-5	—	3-4 (24-13-1)	9-5 (64-39-10)
SCHALICK	0-9 (7-27)	2-4 (8-16)	4-3 (13-24-1)	—	1-11 (9-24)
WOODSTOWN	6-8	7-6	5-9 (39-64-10)	11-1 (24-9)	—

Since 2010, includes playoffs; all-time series in parenthesis

GLASSBORO (1-2) at WOODSTOWN (3-0): The Wolverines, the No. 1 team in the South Jersey Group I power rankings, face their most physical opponent to date without their most dynamic player. Senior running back James Hill, a 3,000-yard career rusher, underwent surgery Thursday for a non-contact, non-football knee injury and will miss the rest of the season just when he was set to return from surgery on the other knee.

The Wolverines’ approach really doesn’t change much with the news. They went into the season with Bryce Belinfanti and Alex Torres the Nos. 1 and 2 running backs until Hill’s return and have elevated their games in the meantime. The only difference now is they’ll remain in those top tier spots the rest of the year.

Belinfanti has rushed for 413 yards and six touchdowns in the Wolverines’ first three games. Torres went for a career-high 120 yards and two touchdowns last week at Deptford.

“I don’t think it changes much because we had to prepare for not having (Hill) starting the season,” Adams said. “Bryce came into the season knowing he was the first running back and Torres knew he was the second running back and that’s been their mindset all along, so I don’t think anything really changes in that aspect.

“We said going into the season we needed to be able to execute the passing game better and last week we really showed that. We just need to keep that going and doing what we’re doing.”

As for being the early No. 1 in the SJ-I power rankings, the potential No. 1 seed in the sectional playoffs, Adams said the Wolverines don’t get caught up in all that, but admits it does change the way future opponents look at them.

“We don’t get wrapped up into it too much,” Adams said. “What it does for us is we know our opponents are looking at that going if we beat Woodstown we can get a lot of power points.

“We kind of talk to it from that aspect. We’ve got a bulls eye on our back and people are looking to beat us to jump up in their rankings … It’s a long season. We use it as everybody’s going to give you their best because they know it’s worth a lot to them if they can get a W over us.”

SATURDAY’S GAMES
PENNS GROVE (1-3) at HADDON HEIGHTS (2-1): The Red Devils go into another game with playoff implications experiencing life the week after playing a longtime rival and coming off a win.

it’s the first time this year they go into a game after a win and they did that only twice last year. They haven’t won back-to-back games since Oct. 30-Nov. 6, 2021.

And every game they’ve played this year seems to carry some kind of playoff implication. The opener against Burlington City has tiebreaker potential because the winner last year eventually was in and the loser was out. It was suggested the winner of last week’s game with rival Salem was in a good spot to make the playoffs. It’ll be more of the same this week.

The Red Devils are currently No. 18 in the South Jersey Group I power ratings, right behind Pennsville and currently on the outside of the playoff cutline. Haddon Heights is No. 20 in SJ-II.

“It’s a huge game, both teams need the game,” Penns Grove coach John Emel said. “I’m telling our kids with our schedule we win this game we’re clinching a playoff spot. We got in last year with two (wins) and to get two this early in the season and having a heads-up win over Salem and over Haddon Heights with three wins we can start working toward getting a home playoff or some of the goals we set throughout the year.

“I know our kids are excited to be coming off a win. It’s been a while since we came off a win, so I’m excited with how hungry our kids show up to be Saturday.”

The Garnets have a dynamic passer in Drew Harris who three for three touchdowns last week and is expected to provide a big test for the Red Devils’ young secondary of freshmen Karon Ceaser and Jayden Days, Knowledge Young and Kylee Goodson.

“We’re better than we’ve been the last couple years on the back end, but we’re young,” Emel said. “Those guys have gotta play big for us to have a chance to win.”

A late-developing intangible impacting the game is the weather. Haddon Heights officials have been considering an alternate site or moving the date if it looks like the expected weekend storms will make it too difficult to play the game as scheduled. A decision is likely to come sometime Friday.

(UPDATE: At 10:20 a.m. Friday, Haddon Heights officials told Riverview Sports News the game will be played as scheduled.)

SALEM (0-4) vs. CEDAR CREEK (3-1): The Rams will be seeking their first victory of the season against the No. 7 team in the South Jersey Group III power rankings in the Rumble on the Raritan at Rutgers’ SHI Stadium. It’ll be their second game in a college facility this season, having opened the year against Executive Education Academy at Lafayette College.

2023 SALEM COUNTY SHOWDOWNS
Penns Grove 21, Salem 6
Schalick at Pennsville, Friday
Salem at Woodstown, Sept. 29
Pennsville at Penns Grove, Oct. 13
Woodstown at Penns Grove, Oct. 21

Cover photo by Lorraine Jenkins

Hill suffers setback

Just when Woodstown senior running back appeared set for a courageous return from knee surgery, he faces injury to other knee

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – Just when it looked like Woodstown running back James Hill was all set for a courageous return from off-season knee surgery, an injury to his other knee has surfaced to threaten his senior season.

The 3,000-yard career rusher was set to make his 2023 debut Friday night at Deptford, but he watched from the sidelines in street clothes as the coaches held him out for precautionary reasons after feeling something uncomfortable in his left knee jumping over a ball in a mid-week gym class.

The rumor making the rounds is a torn anterior cruciate ligament, but Wolverines’ coach John Adams urges caution and await the results of additional tests that could come as early as Monday.

“He jumped up in phys-ed and just felt like some grinding and it freaked him out because of what he just went through with his other knee,” Adams said. “We’re playing it cautious. We’re playing it very, very cautious. One doctor saw him and then referred him to go get evaluated again; let’s go get it double checked.

“There are some rumors flying around school. Guys, just pump the breaks. Let’s make the doctors make decision … but it’s up in the air right now is it good or bad news.”

Hill suffered a torn ligament in his right knee jumping in the wrestling room last winter, then spent the last six months aggressively rehabbing after surgery and beat the traditional timeline for such an injury by nearly three months. His teammates were amazed with the regimen he put himself through to be there for his team.

If a similar surgery is required for this latest injury, provided he’s up for a similarly aggressive rehab program, he would miss all of the football season and most of the wrestling season. The typical timeline for such an injury is six to nine months.

The impact any of that would have on his college recruitment is uncertain.

The running back was excited about the prospects of returning to the field earlier in the week, but Adams described him as “in the dumps a little bit” Thursday when he was held out of practice. By Friday night he was on the sideline excitedly supporting his team in a 49-7 victory, a game he likely would have been out by halftime given the nature of the game.

“I just feel bad; it’s a setback for him again,” Adams said. “We were really, really excited to get him back and now we don’t have him right now. You feel more for him as a player. He was itching to get back. Even last year it was always get back for the Glassboro game and then when we saw he could get back earlier it was (exciting), and then to have something come up again you feel bad. How many setbacks can a kid handle?”

While Hill’s presence is a big piece of the Wolverines’ offense, softening the blow of his now extended absence is the productivity of the backs who have kept them moving while they awaited his return.

Bryce Belinfanti has rushed for 413 yards and six touchdowns on 46 carries in the Wolverines’ first three games. He only had six carries Friday because they had gotten so far ahead so early. Back Alex Torres had a career-high 120 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries against Deptford.

“I even said that to the team,” Adams said. “It’s different when you won several games and then you lose a guy and then you have that will the players be able to understand they can win without that guy in there? For us to start the season off without him and win, not having him last night, it wasn’t a foreign thing for them. They already prepared coming into the season knowing they weren’t going to have him. It was like let’s go to work – and obviously we did last night.

“I’ve been through seasons where midway through or towards the end of the season you lose a guy and it mentally can take a whole toll on the team and take the wind out of your sails. But for us, we’ve had to step it up without James, we had no other choice. Our team had time mentally to prepare to be playing without him and I think they’ve done a good job since.”

Closing ceremonies

Penns Grove wins final high school football game on Salem’s Walnut Street Field, beating the Rams with a former Salem starter at the helm

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

SALEM – Penns Grove football coach and Salem alum John Emel did not pick up a handful of dirt or stick a commemorative clump of turf in his pocket on the way out of Walnut Street Field Saturday. The good feeling of getting the team’s first win of the season would have to be a sufficient enough memento of the historic day.

PENNS GROVE 21
NEXT: Penns Grove
at Haddon Heights,
Saturday, 11 a.m.

Emel’s Red Devils took control of the game early and then closed out the Rams 21-6 in what likely will be the final high school football game played at Walnut Street Field, where Emel played his home games as a Salem starting lineman back in the day.

The Rams are scheduled to move into a new on-campus stadium next month, a project precipitated by the city condemning the decades-old wooden bleachers at The Nut. City officials were working to bring the field back for its youth teams, but ramped up their work for the high school after the Rams ran into a conflict with a Labor Day weekend neutral site game.

SALEM 6
NEXT: Salem
vs. Cedar Creek,
Rumble on the Raritan,
SHI Stadium, Rutgers,
Saturday, 3 p.m.

The facility held up well enough for the Rams to move their Penns Grove game back there with, ironically, Emel providing the opposition for the venue’s final high school game. Salem’s on-campus stadium is schedule to host its first game Oct. 7.

“I did not grab any dirt in the moment,” Emel said. “Like I said before, it’s not something I make a habit of. My AD (Anwar Golden, also a Salem alum) came up to me at halftime and said it’s kind of sad this is the last game here, right. I said yeah, but we want to go out with a win.”

The Rams wanted to lock the gates for the final time with the same reward.

“Unfortunately we couldn’t get it done for the city and our seniors’ last ride there,” first-year Salem coach Danny Mendoza lamented.

Penns Grove took advantage of Salem’s continuing shortcomings on special teams to build a 15-0 halftime lead.

The Red Devils (1-3) blocked two punts. Isaiah Upshur snuffed one on the first series and almost returned it for a touchdown. Bryce Wright caught the second one in midair and he did return it for the game’s first score and then ran in the conversion to make it 8-0.

Wright scored the second touchdown with less than 90 seconds left in the half on a short run that capped a long drive. Anthony Brown kicked the extra point. Freshman Karon Ceaser scored their final touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

Wright finished with 118 yards rushing on 18 Carrie’s. Ceaser had 109 yards on 17 carries.

“Every time we’ve gone there, whether it was a big win or a heartbreaking loss, we always started fast and, really, that’s the key to beating those guys every time, because Salem is known to be a second-half team,” Emel said. “So, you have to really jump out on them and then hang on for dear life. That’s always how we played them.”

The Rams (0-4) made it interesting when Daveon Jackson scored on a short run with 10:01 to play. Jackson also recovered a fourth-down fumble on Penns Grove’s ensuing drive, but the Rams couldn’t take advantage of the turnover.

“Daveon Jackson is probably the heart and soul of our team and we should be inspired by his play,” Mendoza said. Expect to see more of Jackson next Saturday when the Rams play Cedar Creek in the Rumble on the Raritan at Rutgers’ SHI Stadium, he added.

“They’re athletic, they’re dangerous, so keeping those guys out of the red zone is a big key to defending them,” Emel said. “When you’re playing Salem, they’re notorious for big play.”

But the Rams couldn’t turn any on this historic day. They’ve scored only two touchdowns in their last three games. The biggest play they made Saturday was Ramaji Bundy’s run on third-and-9 from the 13 to keep the chains moving on their touchdown drive.

“We’re just so hot and cold,” Mendoza said. “We just haven’t put together four quarters of football. We have to understand it’s an 11-man game; sometimes we do, sometimes we don’t.

“We’ve just got to keep chomping at the bit. We’ve got to understand it’s a four-quarter game. The fun part of the game is the battling, it’s the fight, and we’ve got to learn to keep fighting. I still think this team has the talent to win some games and beat some teams on our schedule, but we’ve got to do our talking with our pads and play for four quarters. That’ll be the make or break.”

Penns Grove 21, Salem 6

Penns Grove (1-3)	0	15	0	6 –	21
Salem (0-4)	0	0	0	6 –	6

Scoring plays
PG – Bryce Wright 15 blocked punt return (Bryce Wright run)
PG – Bryce Wright 5 run (Anthony Brown kick)
S – Daveon Jackson 5 run (pass failed)
PG – Karon Ceaser 25 run (kick failed)

Complete domination

Wolverines strike quickly, take control early, get starters out and turn it over to the rest; Hill held out for precautionary reasons

By Riverview Sports News

DEPTFORD – Woodstown went on the road, took control of the game early and got the chance to get a lot of players meaningful minutes.

The Wolverines scored four touchdowns on their first six plays and rolled over Deptford 49-7 for their third straight win.

“Complete execution like I have never seen us have,” Woodstown coach John Adams said. “It was insane. I was like we just scored four touchdowns in six plays; we don’t even do that in practice.”

The Wolverines’ starters played most of the first half, with the second unit going in late in the second quarter and playing the entire second half.

That situation gave cousin quarterbacks Max Webb and Jack Holladay the chance to play significant minutes in the same game. Webb completed all six of his pass attempts for 140 yards and three touchdowns.

“Max Webb was just on fire,” Adams said. “Orlandini the one time was wide open, but all the other ones Max just like threaded the needle. They had good coverage on us, he just made the right decisions, stepped up in the pocket and then halfway through the second quarter the varsity was out.”

While the starters were in the game, lead back Bryce Belinfanti had six carries for 95 yards and two touchdowns. Backup Alex Torres followed him with 12 carries for a career-high 120 yards and two touchdowns. Zach Bevis caught two touchdown passes and the Wolverines’ defense collected four takeaways, including opening the game with an interception.

“It was awesome,” Adams said of getting so many players in the game. “We got to get our next quarterback in for a series with our varsity guys and then we started subbing in a lot of other seniors who we have who don’t start. And then our JVs were in there for a good portion of the second half and they played really well, too.”

It wasn’t all rosy, however. Wolverines’ star running back James Hill was on the sideline in street clothes and did not play. He was set to start Friday in his first game back from off-season surgery on his right knee, but the coaches held the 3,000-yard career rusher out for precautionary reasons after he felt something uncomfortable in his left knee jumping to avoid a ball in gym class earlier in the week.

Woodstown 49, Deptford 7

Woodstown (3-0)	28	14	0	7 –	49
Deptford (0-3)	0	0	0	7 –	7

Scoring plays
W – Carter Orlandini 38 pass from Max Webb (Jake Ware kick)
W – Bryce Belinfanti 12 run (Jake Ware kick)
W – Bryce Belinfanti 51 run (Jake Ware kick)
W – Zach Bevis 46 pass from Max Webb (Jake Ware kick)
W – Zach Bevis 8 pass from Max Webb (Jake Ware kick)
W – Alex Torres 13 run (Jake Ware kick)
W – Alex Torres 24 run (Jake Ware kick)
D – 57-yard run (kick good)

**Woodstown backup quarterback Jack Holladay hands off the ball to Bobby Donahue during Friday’s game at Deptford. Inset photo: The Wolverines celebrate another TD. (Photos by Ellen Sickler)**

Schalick football

Cougars wear down Riverside, go to 4-0 and grab share of Horizon Division lead

By Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE – Four games into the season two things have become quite clear about the Schalick football team: The Cougars are getting closer to the complete game coach Mike Wilson is seeking and their work in the weight room is giving them an edge that simply wears people down.

That’s what they did Friday night in a 42-18 victory over Riverside for their fourth victory of the season.

“Four games in that’s who we are,” Wilson said. “We just wear on them and kind of wore them down. We just had more bullets than they did.”

Reggie Allen rushed for 172 yards and scored three touchdowns for the second game in a row. Quarterback Kenai Simmons rushed for 109 yards and two touchdowns and threw an 82-yard touchdown pass to Jake Siedlecki.

Riverside got as close as 14-12 in the third quarter, then the Cougars outscored them 28-6 the rest of the game.

“Our identity is in the weight room and I think it shows in games like that,” Wilson said. “We just wear on them. We wore them out tonight.”

The Cougars have now nine division games in a row.

Schalick 42, Riverside 18

RIV (18)		SCH (42)
18	1st Downs	16
36-170	Rushing	30-291
9-22-1	Passes	4-8-0
118	Passing	145
0-0	Fumbles-lost	0-0
1-29.0	Punts-avg	0-0
9-85	Penalties-yds	4-36

Riverside (2-1)	0	6	6	6 –	18
Schalick (4-0)	14	0	7	21 –	42

Scoring plays
S – Reggie Allen 49 run (Hunter Dragotta kick)
S – Kenai Simmons 17 run (Hunter Dragotta kick)
R – Justin Mary 4 run (PAT failed)
R – Justin Mary 13 run (PAT failed)
S – Reggie Allen 13 run (Hunter Dragotta kick)
S – Reggie Allen 15 run (Hunter Dragotta kick)
R – Justin Mary 19 run (PAT failed)
S – Kenai Simmons 55 run (Hunter Dragotta kick)
S – Jake Siedlecki 82 pass from Kenai Simmons (Hunter Dragotta kick)

Coming to life

Pennsville scores three quick touchdowns in the second half to beat Gateway, 23-7

By Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – It’s amazing how the script can flip when a team cuts out its mistakes and starts building a little momentum.

Pennsville got off to a balky start Friday night, but wiped the cobwebs and scored three touchdowns in a 3 minutes, 30 second stretch over the third and fourth quarters to beat Gateway 23-7.

“We were moving the ball in the first half up and down the field, but we weren’t able to finish on drives,” Eagles coach Mike Healy said. “But we were able to refocus and get done what we needed to get done and come out with the win. It feels great to get and happy for the kids.”

The Eagles were beset with missed blocks, dropped passes and penalties in the first half and trailed 7-0 at halftime. They finally broke through on Robbie McDade’s 11-yard run with 1:30 left in the third quarter and took the lead on Sky Eppes’ two-point conversion run.

They got the ball back when Conner Ayers recovered a fumble on the first play after a touchback on the ensuing kickoff and Eppes extended the Eagles’ lead on a 10-yard run and conversion with seven seconds left in the quarter.

They made it 23-3 less than two minutes into the fourth when Eppes ran it in from the 4 and Jackson Leino kicked the extra point.

“In the second half we settled down,” Healy said. “The kids did a great job doing their jobs and doing what needed to be done. I think that’s what we’re capable of doing. It made me real happy to see the team in the second half come back out, correct the mistakes and do what we’re supposed to do.

“At halftime it was more about fixing the little things that were stopping us from being successful offensively and we managed to get that done. The score shows for itself that when we take care of our mistakes, we’re able to score points and defensively we’re able to stop people.”

Eppes rushed for 155 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. McDade rushed for 62 yards and was 8-of-22 passing for 109 yards. Malik Rehmer caught five passes for 87 yards. Ayers led the defense with seven total tackles.

The win snapped a six-game WJFL division losing streak for Pennsville. It’s the earliest the Eagles have earned their second victory of the season since starting 2-0 in 2020.

Pennsville 23, Gateway 7

Gateway (1-2)	7	0	0	0 –	7
Pennsville (2-1)	0	0	16	7 –	23

Scoring plays
G – Aiden Bender 14 pass from Sean Simmons (PAT kick), 1:41 1Q
P – Robbie McDade 11 run (Sky Eppes run), 1:30 3Q
P – Sky Eppes 10 run (Sky Eppes run), 0:07 3Q
P – Sky Eppes 4 run (Jackson Leino kick), 10:01 4Q

Cover photo by Lorraine Jenkins

One last hurrah

Part of John Emel’s family legacy is playing football on Salem’s Walnut Street Field; Saturday he brings his Penns Grove team to play there in the facility’s final high school game

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

SALEM – John Emel has never taken dirt from another team’s field either as a player or a coach, but this time he might make an exception.

The Penns Grove football coach is genuinely going to miss Walnut Street Field.

After serving as the home field for the Salem High School football team for decades, The Nut will host what likely will be the last high school football game Saturday when, ironically, Emel brings his Red Devils (0-3) to play the Rams (0-3) in what is always a big game for both teams regardless of their records.

“For starters, it’s a great place to play a game,” Emel said. “You know, people get hung up in the facilities and the weight room and the locker room and things like that and that place doesn’t have that, but it’s an awesome place to play and coach a big game. There have been a lot of big games there over the years.”

The field holds a lot of memories for him. Five generations of Emel men have played on it. His great-great grandfather, great grandfather, grandfather and dad all played there. John Emel was a starting lineman for the Rams when he played there from 1998 to 2001. His brothers played there, as well as several cousins and uncles. His uncle Dave, a two-way starting lineman on Salem’s 1983 championship team, is a member of the chain crew there now.

As other long-standing schools have moved their athletics program into more modern facilities on their campuses, facilities like Walnut Street have remained vigilant gatekeepers of bygone days. Sadly, many have fallen into disrepair.

The field has virtually been unchanged since 1962, but there was a time before that when it looked a lot different. It actually ran diagonally to its present configuration to accommodate a baseball field. The current design has the scoreboard, entrance gates and concession stand on the Walnut Street end of the stadium.

“There are just a lot of memories there,” Emel said. “I haven’t been there since the bleachers came down, but to me what made it so unique was the big old-style home bleachers.

“The field is always in awesome shape. The Salem field playing surface, to be honest, is as good as any around. I’ve played there over the years in wet, sometimes rainy, conditions, all types of conditions, and no one ever complained about the playing surface.”

Some of Emel’s fondest members as a player and a coach have been created on that field.

His two fondest memories as a player were his first-ever start against Glassboro and winning his final home game.

The start came as a sophomore against one of the best Glassboro teams ever in a game that was forced to a Monday by the arrival of Hurricane Floyd; ironically, he would be blocking for his future Penns Grove athletics director Anwar Golden, then Salem’s senior starting running back and safety, in that game. Glassboro won 33-14, pulling away from a game that was tight for a while and going on to be 12-0, but Emel played one of his better games and it “helped further my love of football.”

His final home game was Senior Day against Pennsville. The Rams won and went on the road for the playoffs the next week. “I felt the year before against them I didn’t play that well and came back and played one of my better games,” he said. “That year I got to play with my brother on the field a little and other guys I was really close with. It was just special.”

Two of his fondest memories as a coach are the last two times he took a team to Salem. In 2016, an 0-2 Red Devils teams trekked down Rt. 49, held future NFL All-Pro Jonathan Taylor out of the end zone and beat the Rams 20-8. In 2018, they were the best two teams in Group I and the Red Devils prevailed again 26-20 and then beat their rivals in the rematch at Penns Grove for the South Jersey championship to cap an undefeated season.

In the interest of full disclosure, Emel admitted a couple of his toughest losses came on Walnut Street as well, including a playoff loss to the Rams his first year as Penns Grove’s coach.

“I want to end up a high note,” he said.

It looked like Walnut Street had seen its final days last season when the city condemned the old wooden bleachers. That decision led Salem school officials to start building an on-campus facility, but with that project on-going it also was going to force the football team with a new coach to play all of its games on the road until October.

The city continued to work to make the field ready for its youth team, but It picked up the pace when logistical issues at Abessinio Stadium in Wilmington forced Salem and Camden to pull its game out of the Mid-Atlantic Classic without a place to go. The city got Walnut Street put together well enough to host the game and it worked so well Salem moved the Penns Grove game back there as well.

The Rams are expected to open their on-campus facility Oct. 7.

Not even some off-the-field drama following the Camden-Salem game that forcing Saturday’s contest to be played without outside fans in attendance due can put a damper on the significance of the day.

“I don’t think I’m crying like (Eagles head coach) Nick Sirianni during the national anthem of the Super Bowl,” Emel said. “But football is an emotional game. You want to play with emotion and coach with emotion.

“I want to win every game, but I really want to win this one because not only is it the next one, but it’s Salem, it’s a rivalry and the fact that it’s the last game on Walnut Street it would make some of these other memories coaching that I mentioned that much sweeter. We want to close it out with a victory.”

Because the field means so much to him, perhaps when no one is looking Saturday, maybe as he walks through the gates for the final time, Emel will reach down and sneak a little souvenir to remember it by.

“I’ve never taken dirt from any other stadium,” he said. “Maybe this one should be the first.”

He’s ba-a-a-ck

County football preview: Woodstown’s Hill eager to play first game; Schalick, Pennsville focused on the details

SALEM COUNTY FOOTBALL
Friday’s games
Riverside at Schalick, 6 p.m.
Woodstown at Deptford, 6 p.m.
Gateway at Pennsville, 7 p.m.
Saturday’s game
Penns Grove at Salem, noon

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – Woodstown running back James Hill has been looking forward to Friday night’s game at Deptford for six months. So has Wolverines’ coach John Adams. The rest of the WJFL, because they know the impact, not so much.

Hill makes his long-awaited season debut against the Spartans, six months removed from the knee injury and surgery during wrestling season.

He was cleared to return for football with limitations in late August and was cleared for full contact last week in time to fulfill his six padded practice embargo in time to play Friday night.

“I’m looking forward to it – a lot,” Hill said. “It’s been the last 6-7 months of rehabbing really strong. Every day I look at the clock and it just inches closer and closer. It’s kind of like Christmas and a birthday put together. No one wants to get older, but everyone wants to get the gifts.”

The plan is to rotate him between inside and outside linebacker this week and ease him into the offense where they need him. Hill has repped at multiple positions this week and, coach John Adams says, “knows the playbook from couple different spots.” Just don’t look for him to be running between the tackles on the Spartans’ artificial turf in his first game back.

He has rushed for more than 3,000 yards and 31 touchdowns over the last two seasons.

“It’s tremendous (to get him back),” Adams said. “He’s a two-time captain, so getting his athleticism on the field is going to be phenomenal, him getting some of the rust out and stuff like that and get some confidence back in his leg will be big for him, but for us, having that leadership on the field is huge.

“The last two weeks he’s been doing everything he could from the sideline and having that leadership on the field is going to be really, really big for us.”

Hill said he has “no fear in playing football” coming back and is hoping for a big game capped by a victory.

“I just want to individual feel 100 percent confident in everything,” he said. “I don’t want to have any worries about making a cut. I just want to go out there and run around and play a high school football game and not have two thoughts of my ACL was torn seven months ago.”

**Schalick’s Reggie Allen (4), coming off a game in which he rushed for 144 yards and three touchdowns, is emerging as the backbone of the Cougars’ offense. (Photo by Heather Popiano)**

RIVERSIDE (2-0) at SCHALICK (3-0): In an early-season battle of unbeatens this week is all about details for the Cougars – the I-dotting and T-crossing things that take a good team to great and a great team to special.

It’s things like finishing drives and finishing blocks that lead to bigger runs, winning first down, locking up on tackles and reading keys, and staying focused on extra points.

“That’s what we’ve been preaching all week in practice and that’s what we’re trying to accomplish,” Cougars coach Mike Wilson said. “Getting better at the little things.”

Through three games, junior running back Reggie Allen is emerging as the backbone of the team. He rushed for 144 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s victory at Wildwood and has done most of the heavy lifting on the Cougars’ scoring drives.

He now had 246 yards on 52 carries this season after his 144-yard, three touchdown game last week. He already has half as many touchdowns as he had a year ago, when losing two games to an injury robbed him of a 1,000-yard season.

“Reggie is legitimately our unsung hero,” Wilson said. “I said this his freshman year: Reggie gets lost in the shuffle a little bit, and I don’t know why. Reggie is the backbone of this team. I know a lot of people talk about (quarterback) Kenai (Simmons), but Reggie is the lynchpin of this team, I really believe that.”

Depending on what else happens around the division, this winner could come out of the week in sole possession of first place in the Horizon Division and be its last undefeated team standing.

GATEWAY (1-1) at PENNSVILLE (1-1): The Eagles stand in a bit of a crossroad. A year ago, they won their opener, lost their second game and didn’t win again. They face the same scenario this week after a flat game in their home opener, but this time are confident of flipping the script with the proper approach.

It’s all about players doing their job and trusting the player next to them. Last week’s 28-7 loss to Lower Cape May was about a lot of players trying to do too much that took them out of position.

This week, back to a regular practice schedule in the first full week of school, it’s all about getting back to basics.

“This whole year is really about getting respect back for the program and we need to show we can consistently play at a high level and go out there and compete like we can as opposed to last week,” Healy said. “We did not show who we really were, I felt like.”

Last year’s Gateway game got away from them and was the turning point in their season. It has the potential to be the springboard for this year as well.

“They’re 1-1 right now, same as us, so we can’t go in there, especially after last week how we played, thinking too much of ourselves,” Healy said. “We’ve got to understand we’re both even going into this game so we’ve got to show up.”

Coming next: Penns Grove’s Emel reflects on Salem’s Walnut Street Field on the eve of its final game

Salem seats (updated)

Rams’ football rivalry with Penns Grove will be played at Walnut Street Field Saturday with crowd limitations

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

SALEM – The football rivalry between Penns Grove and Salem will be played as scheduled Saturday at Salem’s Walnut Street Field but with restrictions on the number of fans who can pass through the gates.

The game, which will be the final high school game played on the field before the Rams move into their on-campus stadium in October, is scheduled to kickoff at noon.

“We are able to go ahead and get the game in,” Salem athletics director Darryl Roberts said.

Administrators from both school districts met Monday to talk about tickets, access and operations for the game after reports of a threat surfaced after last week’s Camden-Salem game and recommendations were made by local police.

The schools plan to put out a statement Tuesday regarding the particulars about spectators, but Riverview Sports News has learned students from either school with proper ID will be admitted and the schools will do a Salem-heavy 60/40 split on 500 presale adult tickets. Officials said there is really nothing they can do about spectators lining the fence outside the gate.

The Salem School District’s statement read in part “Due to a set of incidents in the community, the school district is going to limit the number of fans from the general public.”

Tickets for entry will be provided by the Athletic Directors or coaches representing each school. Attendance will be limited to three groups of people: Staff, currently enrolled Salem and Penns Grove High School students, and Parents/Grandparents of players.

No one else from the general public will be permitted on the premises.

The idea of playing the game without fans in attendance Roberts said was “something that was suggested, but just an idea considering some of the concerns that were out there.”

He declined to comment on those concerns.

The police presence at the field is expected to be similar to a normal game day operation.

Because of the Rams’ stadium project, the game – Salem’s home date – was moved to Penns Grove’s stadium, but it was officially moved back to Walnut Street earlier this month after city officials got the facility back into shape.

Penns Grove football coach John Emel played on the field as a Salem High starter during his high school career, as did most of his football-playing family members.

Both teams will be looking for their first victory of the season. It will be Salem’s Diamond Division opener.

This week’s schedule

Here is the schedule for Salem County high school sports for the week of Sept. 11-16

Sept. 11
BOYS SOCCER
Penns Grove at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Salem at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Salem Tech at Salem, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Glassboro at Salem, 4 p.m.
Penns Grove at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Pitman, 4 p.m.

Sept. 12
FIELD HOCKEY
Pennsville at Salem, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Deptford Twp., 4 p.m.

Sept. 13
BOYS SOCCER
Clayton at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Penns Grove at Salem, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Gloucester Catholic at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Clayton, 4 p.m.
Salem at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Salem Tech at Woodstown, 4 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Overbook at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Salem, 4 p.m.

Sept. 14
FIELD HOCKEY
Pennsville at Glassboro, 3:45 p.m.
Salem at Deptford Twp., 4 p.m.
Schalick at Clearview, 4 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Penns Grove at Palmyra, 4 p.m.

Sept. 15
FOOTBALL
Gateway at Pennsville, 7 p.m.
Riverside at Schalick, 7 p.m.
Woodstown at Deptford Twp., 7 p.m.

FIELD HOCKEY
Cumberland at Woodstown, 4 p.m.

BOYS SOCCER
Buena at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Pitman at Woodstown, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Gateway at Salem, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Cherry Hill West, 4 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Woodstown at Cumberland, 4 p.m.

Sept. 16
FOOTBALL
Penns Grove at Salem, noon

GIRLS SOCCER
Schalick at Delsea, 10 a.m.