Category: FOOTBALL

Rams dominate

Salem unloads on KIPP, rolls in South Jersey Group I playoff opener for first playoff win since 2022; Paulsboro, Woodbury brawl in their playoff opener, could impact Schalick semifinal

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I PLAYOFFS
Quarterfinals
Glassboro 41, Audubon 0
Salem 47, KIPP 0
Schalick 21, Pennsville 16
Paulsboro 38, Woodbury 0
Semifinals
Salem at Glassboro, Friday, 6 p.m.
Schalick at Paulsboro, Saturday, noon

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CAMDEN — It takes a certain mindset to navigate the perils of a long regular season. Then, after getting through that, teams that make it into the playoffs are asked to compress all that urgency into each specific week knowing that game could be its last.

Streaking Salem really locked into the playoff mentality Saturday and gave an absolutely dominant performance in their 47-0 rout of KIPP in the 4-5 game of the South Jersey Group I quarterfinals. The Rams (6-4) now visit top-seeded Glassboro in the sectional semifinal Friday.

They have won three in a row and five of their last six.

Dominant is the operative word. The Rams ran 37 of their 44 offensive snaps on the Titans’ side of the field. The deepest they were backed into their own territory all game was their 38 – in the third quarter after a punt with a lot of roll – and then it only took them one play to get back to the other side of the field.

Meanwhile, the defense didn’t let the Titans breathe. They had amassed 2800 yards and scored 270 points in their first eight games, but had only 52 net yards and never got close to the end zone against the Rams. Their deepest penetration was the Salem 46. KIPP ran just two total plays on the Salem side of the field and both of those produced interceptions.

“It does change,” Rams coach Kemp Carr said of the approach. “It’s a new season. It’s mental toughness. One and done. There’s no tomorrow.

“We talked about mental toughness all week long  I was beating that in their head. You’ve got to let the bad things that happen to you expire quickly and get back to the next play. The mentality is we’re trying to play every down like it’s our last down and we’re never going to get to play football again. That’s got to be the mentality in the playoffs.”

Salem’s Antwuan Rogers (44) draws a bead on KIPP quarterback Davion Ross-Ways in his relentless pursuit of the Rams’ sack record.

Senior defensive lineman Antwuan Rogers certainly embraced the mentality. Facing the prospect of playing his final high school game if the Rams didn’t win, the Temple commitment took up residence in the Titans’ backfield. Carr called him “relentless.”

He was credited with seven sacks in the game, breaking Amare Smith’s 2021 single season school record. Rogers now has 20 sacks this season with at least one more game to play. 

“I saw I was close; I had 13,” Rogers said. “At first I was like I’m probably just going to try to get three (Saturday) and try to finish it out the next game, but then I’m like no, we can go home today, you never know, so I’m like I’ve got to get it today.

“We got super locked in. This is the first time we’ve been in the playoffs in a couple years so we were coming to dominate. We came in with the mindset that we were going to be dominate, so nobody on KIPP Cooper could mess with us – at any position. We came and dominated every position. That’s why we won the game.”

Salem sophomore Izaiah Santiago (25) had the best game of his career in Saturday’s South Jersey Group I playoff opener against KIPP.

Sophomore Izaiah Santiago also played a huge role keeping the season alive. He scored three touchdowns. Santiago scored on runs of 1 and 3 yards and two plays after his second rushing touchdown he anticipated an out route, picked it off and returned it 50 yards for another score. 

“He was locked in on a different mindset,” Carr said. “Whoever fed him make sure they give that to him for the rest of his life.”

“It was just hearing number called,” Santiago said. “All week in practice, running through the plays, getting ready for the game. It was just coming out here and doing what I was supposed to do. I’m just thankful for Coach Carr calling my number.”

The Rams’ domination commenced right from the start, when KIPP touched its game-opening onside kick before it had traveled 10 yards. It took the Rams three plays to get in the end zone and the rout was on.

It was 20-0 at halftime and easily could have been 35-0 with a little more sharpness. Quarterback Desmund Thomas ran for two scores. Freshmen Cashmir Parsley ran for their first touchdown and Kyvion Parsons ran for their last one. Quarterback Desmund Thomas ran for two scores in between.

“I thought we played pretty well,” Carr said. “We left some plays out there; we’ve still got some things we need to execute up front. At first I wasn’t happy with the way we were able to establish the run and then we were able to get it going.

“We’re just trying to figure it out. We’re just tryng to get better every week. Like I said at the beginning of the season I thought we would be pretty good at the end of the season and we are.”

SCHALICK WATCHING: The Schalick football program will be watching closely for any ruling that may come down as a result of the brawl that ended the Woodbury-Paulsboro playoff game Saturday but is going forward with its plan to play a game next week.

The Cougars are scheduled to play the winner (Paulsboro) in the next round Saturday, but the status of that game (and opponent) is potentially in jeopardy after the fight broke out on the Paulsboro sideline after Red Raiders quarterback Malakhai McKenzie was hit out of bounds. Paulsboro was leading the game 38-0 when both benches emptied as a fight erupted on the field. The officials called the game with 4:41 to play.

Reports indicate there were several late hit penalties on Woodbury before the incident that sparked the fight

The NJSIAA is awaiting further information on the incident.

“It’s obviously something you never want to see in high school football,” said Schalick coach Kevin Leamy, who was not at the game. “Whatever the circumstances are you never want to see those type of incidents with that many players involved, people running off the bench. That’s not what any coach wants and I feel bad for both of those staffs that have to deal with that.

“You never know what the results are going to be. The state comes in and makes rulings on these things. Usually, they don’t make the quickest ruling either … We’ll be preparing tomorrow and Monday like we’re playing Paulsboro next Saturday. Until that changes we are preparing for Paulsboro.”

Repercussions could include both teams get kicked out of the playoffs — giving Schalick a bye into the sectional final against the Salem-Glassboro winner in two weeks — multiple player suspensions with the game to continue as scheduled, and even a change to a neutral site.

In any event, the Cougars are going forward with business as usual until they hear otherwise.

“We’ve got to prepare like we’re playing,” Leamy said.

Last year’s Schalick-Paulsboro regular-season game got caught up in a threat that forced officials to postpone the game, at Paulsboro, until the following Monday afternoon.

Salem 47, KIPP 0

SALEMKIPP
131st Downs3
28-97Rushing20-14
7-14-0Passing4-13-3
105Passing yds38
0-0Fumbles-lost1-1
0Punts-avg3-33.0
8-60Penalties8-62
Salem146207-47
KIPP0000-0

SCORING SUMMARY
S-Cashmir Parsley 48 run (Desmund Thomas run), 10:42 1Q
S-Desmund Thomas 15 run (PAT failed), 0:28 1Q
S-Izaiah Santiago 1 run (kick failed), 4:25 2Q
S-Desmund Thomas 9 run (kick failed), 7:22 3Q
S-Izaiah Santiago 3 run (pass failed), 1:44 3Q
S-Izaiah Santiago 50 interception return (Jonathan Bower kick), 0:07 3Q
S-Kyvion Parsons 4 run (Jonathan Bower kick), 5:03 4Q

GROUP I PLAYOFFS
NORTH I
Butler 42, Hawthorne 7
New Milford 35, Bogota 21
Kittatinny 12, Wallkill Valley 7
Kinnelon 26, Park Ridge 7
NORTH II
Mountain Lakes 42, Brearley 0
Cedar Grove 35, Glen Ridge 20
New Providence 38, Secaucus 0
Hasbrouck Heights 45, Wood-Ridge 14
SOUTH
Glassboro 41, Audubon 0
Salem 47, KIPP 0
Schalick 21, Pennsville 16
Paulsboro 38, Woodbury 0
CENTRAL
Burlington City 49, Bound Brook 0
Manville 35, Asbury Park 0
Pt. Pleasant Beach 42, Riverside 14
Shore 34, New Egypt 0

Salem’s Makhye Murray (9) sets the tone for the Rams’ defense by dragging down KIPP running back Torey Jones on the first defensive play of the game. (Photo by Julliana Love)

Cougars claw back

Schalick puts together strong second half to take a Halloween thriller from Pennsville in their South Jersey Group I playoff opener

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I
Quarterfinals
Glassboro 41, Audubon 0
Salem at KIPP, Saturday
Schalick 21, Pennsville 16
Woodbury at Paulsboro, Saturday
Semifinals
Salem-KIPP winner at Glassboro
Schalick vs. Woodbury-Paulsboro winner
Finals
Nov. 14 at highest seed

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – It’s nights like this that Kevin Leamy was thinking about when he was approved as Schalick’s new football coach way back in March.

Even when the Cougars bogged down with a four-game losing streak in the middle of the season the first-time head coach was confident if they could get it turned around and play their best ball when it counted most they could do something special.

They delivered on that Friday, putting together a big second half defensively and making big plays offensively to knock off third-seeded Pennsville 21-16 in the opening round of the South Jersey Group I playoffs.

“I knew coming into the season that we were going to struggle early because there are a lot of new things … so there was going to be an adjustment period,” Leamy said. “But the message from that very first time I saw them was if you keep improving and we’re playing our best football when we need to, we can make some noise. And that’s what these kids are doing.

“They did exactly what I wanted them to do; they should be really proud of themselves. Hats off to them for coming out and playing the way they needed to in the second half.”

The sixth-seeded Cougars (4-6) now await the winner of Saturday’s Woodbury -Paulsboro game to determine their second-round plans. If second-seeded Paulsboro wins, the Cougars will be there next Saturday. If Woodbury pulls the upset, the Cougars will host Friday.

The night didn’t start off well for them. Pennsville, hosting its first playoff game since 2016, put together two time-consuming 80-play drives to take a 16-7 halftime lead.

The Eagles did it all on the ground; they didn’t throw a pass in the first half. They rushed for 165 yards in the first two quarters and Rylan Hardy had 133 of it.

”They were really running all over us,” defensive back David Stewart said. 

But the break gave the Cougars a chance to make some adjustments and they came out a different team in the second half. They held their hosts to just 22 yards rushing, 53 yards total and two first downs in the second half.

“We dared them to do whatever they wanted because we were going to come at them any way we could,” linebacker Dezyon Purnell said.

“It’s hard to make adjustments on the fly,” Leamy said. “We knew we just had to get to halftime and if we could get there we could make the adjustment we need to and then shut the run down in the second half. We knew if we could stop them, we had enough offensive firepower to win the game.”

The Cougars showed that firepower midway through the third quarter when Kenny Bartee hit Stewart with a 54-yard bomb on third-and-15 to get within 16-14 with 7:20 left in it. Stewart put them ahead in the final minute when he fell on a loose ball in the end zone after Bartee fumbled inches from the goal line after a 9-yard gain.

“My guts dropped completely,” Bartee said describing his reaction to the fumble. “I tried to lean the ball over and he just punched it out; it was a great play by the kid. I give my thanks to David Stewart. He came in the clutch and got it back for me.”

“I just thought I had to get there as quick as I could,” Stewart said. “It was moving around a little bit and I just grabbed it as hard as I could and laid on it. I was nervous. I really thought they were going to get on the ball and capitalize on it, but I just made a play on it.”

The teams battled through an intense but scoreless fourth quarter.

Not to be overlooked in the loss was the play of Pennsville backup quarterback Jake Layfield. The junior was pressed into action on the opening possession when four-year starter Robbie McDade sustained a foot injury on a pass Dylan Sheehan tipped, picked and returned for a touchdown but later overturned by penalty and played the rest of the game.

Like a batter stepping in for another hitter mid-count, Layfield completed the Eagles’ opening drive, burrowing in from the 1 for his first career touchdown. He then flawlessly directed the Eagles on his own 12-play, 80-yard drive with Hardy scoring on a 12-yard run. Eagles coach Mike Healy said he “cannot be more impressed” with the job his quarterback of the future did.

“You always have to imagine the possibility,” Layfield said. “When you’re the next man up you have to know there’s always a situation where you’re going to go in, whether you’re second, third, fourth. They were big shoes to fill. I don’t think I filled them up enough ultimately and it led us to fall short.

“I started in a little better than I finished. I started with good field position and drove down and scored; that got me fired up. Halftime kind of cooled me off a little bit. It would’ve been better if there was no halftime, to be honest.”

The Eagles started their last possession near midfield with 6:08 to play. As much as McDade wanted to get back in the game, Healy said it “wasn’t in the books” for the 3,000-yard passer to return for a potential heroic finish, so the comeback rested with Layfield.

They got it moving, but another ill-timed penalty threw them back. Ayden Jenkins ran down Layfield for a loss on third down and then Stewart knocked away a deep fourth-down pass to Hayden Sherman.

“We made mistakes in the second half that set us being the sticks and behind where we wanted to be,” Healy said. “But the bottom line is they made the big plays tonight and we didn’t. We knew they were a good team going in and they executed better tonight.”

After the fourth-down pass fell incomplete, the Cougars took over and ran out the final three minutes plus to keep their season alive.

“it was a hell of a win,” Purnell said. “I’m glad we got this for our team, glad we got this for the Cougars, glad we got this for our coach.”

“We’re getting hot at the right time, all our pieces are falling into place at the exact right time,” added Jenkins. “This is where it all comes together and I think we’re going to go and beat whoever we play next week and play even better.”

Pennsville’s Jake Layfield was pressed into action in the first quarter because of an injury to starter Robbie McDade, played the rest of the game and led the Eagles on two long early touchdown drives.
(Photo by Amory Alleyne)

Schalick 21, Pennsville 16

SCHPV
141st Downs14
30-136Rushing37-187
8-14-0Passing2-4-0
147Passing yds.31
0-0Fumbles-lost1-1
1-19.0Punts-avg1-23.0
3-25Penalties5-45
Schalick70140-21
Pennsville8800-16

SCORING SUMMARY
P – Jake Layfield 1 run (Adrian Alleyne run), 4:18 1Q
S – Kenny Bartee 7 run (Hunter Dragotta kick), 0:03 1Q
P – Rylan Hardy 12 run (Perry Meranti pass from Jake Layfield), 6:35 2Q
S – David Stewart 54 pass from Kenny Bartee (Hunter Dragotta kick), 7:20 3Q
S – David Stewart fumble recovery in end zone (Hunter Dragotta kick) 0:27 3Q

GROUP I PLAYOFFS
NORTH I
Butler 42, Hawthorne 7
New Milford 35, Bogota 21
Kittatinny at Wallkill Valley, Saturday
Kinnelon 26, Park Ridge 7
NORTH II
Mountain Lakes 42, Brearley 0
Cedar Grove 35, Glen Ridge 20
Secaucus at New Providence, Saturday
Hasbrouck Heights 45, Wood-Ridge 14
SOUTH
Glassboro 41, Audubon 0
Salem at KIPP, Saturday
Schalick 21, Pennsville 16
Woodbury at Paulsboro, Saturday
CENTRAL
Burlington City 49, Bound Brook 0
Manville 35, Asbury Park 0
Pt. Pleasant Beach at Riverside, Saturday
Shore 34, New Egypt 0

Tale of the Tape

Here is a statistical breakdown of the two South Jersey Group I football playoff games involving Salem County teams

Schalick at Pennsville

FRIDAY, 7 p.m.RECRUSHPASSPFPASTR
Schalick3-61258525118195+1
Pennsville5-41965518241184+2
RUSHINGATTYDSTD
Rylan Hardy, Pennsville13088912
Robbie McDade, Pennsville1087048
Kenny Bartee, Schalick865037
David Stewart, Schalick512693
Evan Elliot, Schalick421660
Adrian Alleyne, Pennsville311653
Aidan Collazo, Pennsville271082
Dezyon Purnell, Schalick18670
Ayden Jenkins, Schalick11630
PASSINGCOMPATTINTYDSTD
Robbie McDade, Pennsville478564846
Kenny Bartee, Schalick134893022
Gary Simonini, Schalick214121771
RECEIVINGRECYDSTD
Rylan Hardy, Pennsville171640
Dylan Sheehan, Schalick111071
Adrian Alleyne, Pennsville9902
Aidan Collazo, Pennsville7500
Sherrod Jones, Schalick61181
Ayden Jenkins, Schalick6670
David Stewart, Schalick51081
Perry Meranti, Pennsville31002
Jase Volovar, Schalick3920
DEFENSESTFLTOTINT/TD
Dezyon Purnell, Schalick3.513800/0
Dylan Sheehan, Schalick17633/0
Gary Simonini, Schalick16.553.50/0
Dante Cummings, Pennsville00430/0
Rylan Hardy, Pennsville13420/0
Robert Daly, Schalick00390/0
Eric Sulik, Schalick3.54.5330/0
Jacob Hand, Pennsville02330/0
Aiden Torres, Schalick32310/0
Perry Meranti, Pennsville02302/1
Aidan Collazo, Pennsville00290/0
Robbie McDade, Pennsville13211/0
Jase Volovar, Schalick00181/0
David Stewart, Schalick00173/1
SCORINGPTSTD2PPATFG
Rylan Hardy, Pennsville8212500
Robbie McDade, Pennsville568800
Kenny Bartee, Schalick427000
David Stewart, Schalick365000
Adrian Alleyne, Pennsville335030
Perry Meranti, Pennsville283400
Hunter Dragotta, Schalick2100152
Aidan Collazo, Pennsville162200
Dylan Sheehan, Schalick122000

Salem at KIPP

SATURDAY, noonRECRUSHPASSPFPASTR
Salem5-412941114190113+2
KIPP6-215841268270168+3
RUSHINGATTYDSTD
Davion Ross, KIPP554125
Trey Jones, KIPP363867
Cashmir Parsley, Salem653682
Troy Carey, Salem353264
Desmund Thomas, Salem483082
Neo Echevarria, KIPP311961
Jykhai Boyd, KIPP61892
Torryn Ransome, Salem311533
Darnell Davis, KIPP131150
Ahmad Crosson, KIPP18932
Jyair Davis, KIPP10861
Isiah Santiago, Salem9812
PASSINGCOMPATTINTYDSTD
Desmund Thomas, Salem801444111413
Davion Ross-Ways6098410898
Darnell Davis, KIPP51421192
RECEIVINGRECYDSTD
Jykhai Boyd, KIPP213672
Kaden Robinson, Salem193536
Kyvion Parsons, Salem192391
Michael Morton, KIPP183475
Trey Jones, KIPP133343
Quimere Bergen, Salem61182
KaiSiere Muhammad, Salem61072
Ahmad Tucker, Salem5601
William Dunn, Salem41010
DEFENSESTFLTOTINT/TD
Antwuan Rogers, Salem131374.51/0
Troy Carey, Salem011690/0
Kemal Chatum, Salem611600/0
Torryn Ransome, Salem05400/0
Mahkye Murray, Salem28370/0
Kaden Robinson, Salem00320/0
Jovanni Rios, Salem3.56310/0
Quimere Bergen, Salem00282/1
KaiSiere Muhammad, Salem01241/1
Aidan Atkins, KIPP11241/0
Mekhi Moore, KIPP3.51240/0
Sincere Bethea, KIPP01170/0
Darnell Davis, KIPP00170/0
Michael Morton, KIPP01173/1
Jayden Simmons, KIPP00170/0
Torey Jones, KIPP10143/1
SCORINGPTSTD2PPATFG
Torey Jones, KIPP7212000
Michael Morton, KIPP6810400
Kaden Robinson, Salem366000
Davion Ross-Mays, KIPP345200
Jykhai Boyd, KIPP325100
Troy Carey, Salem284200
Quimere Bergen, Salem183000
KaiSiere Muhammad, Salem183000
Torryn Ransome, Salem183000
Neo Echevarria, KIPP142100

Photo credits: Top photo, Heather Papiano; Salem photo, Julliana Love

Playoff brackets

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)

Football leaders

Here are the leaders among Salem County’s five football teams based on statistics posted to the state sports reporting service

Rushing

PLAYER, SCHOOLATTYDSTD
Rylan Hardy, Pennsville13088912
Robbie McDade, Pennsville1087048
Kenny Bartee, Schalick865037
Cashmir Parsley, Salem653682
Troy Carey, Salem353264
Desmund Thomas, Salem483082
Terrell Thomas, Penns Grove732932
Jameel Horace, Penns Grove452901
David Stewart, Schalick512693
Frank Hoerst, Woodstown542246
Evan Elliot, Schalick421660
Adrian Alleyne, Pennsville311653
Zane Thomas, Penns Grove411580
Torryn Ransome, Salem311533
Aidan Collazo, Pennsville271083

Passing

PLAYER, SCHOOLCOMATTINTYDSTD
Desmund Thomas, Salem801444111413
Frank Hoerst, Woodstown317215104
Robbie McDade, Pennsville478564846
Kenny Bartee, Schalick134893022
Gary Simonini, Schalick214121771

Receiving

PLAYER, SCHOOLRECYDSTD
Kaden Robinson, Salem193536
Kyvion Parsons, Salem192391
Rylan Hardy, Pennsville171640
Dylan Sheehan, Schalick111071
Adrian Alleyne, Pennsville9902
Aidan Collazo, Pennsville7500
Jerry Wooten, Penns Grove7440
Quimere Bergen, Salem61182
Sherrod Jones, Schalick61181
KaiSiere Muhammad, Salem61072
Ayden Jenkins, Schalick6670
David Stewart, Schalick51081
Ahmad Tucker, Salem5601
Cashmir Parsley, Salem5350

Tackles

PLAYER, SCHOOLSTFLTOT
Dezyon Purnell, Schalick3.51380
Antwuan Rogers, Salem131374.5
Troy Carey, Salem01169
Dylan Sheehan, Schalick1763
Kemal Chatum, Salem61160
Isaiah Upshur, Penns Grove06.555
Gary Simonini, Schalick16.553.5
Luis Colon, Penns Grove11052
Ray Brown, Penns Grove41149
Torryn Ransome, Salem0540
Robert Daly, Schalick0.5439
Dante Cummings, Pennsville0038
Nazeer Painter, Penns Grove1338
JaKai Ingrim, Penns Grove2937
Mahkye Murray, Salem2837
Rylan Hardy, Pennsville1334
Eric Sulik, Schalick3.54.533
Kaden Robinson, Salem0032
Aiden Torres, Schalick3231
Jovanni Rios, Salem3.5631

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

Kicking

PLAYER, SCHOOLFGPATPTS
Hunter Dragotta, Schalick2-415-1821
Frank Hoerst, Woodstown0-04-54
Adrian Alleyne, Pennsville0-03-33

Scoring

PLAYER, SCHOOLPTSTD2PPATFG
Rylan Hardy, Pennsville8212500
Cole Ware, Woodstown7813000
Robbie McDade, Pennsville569400
Kenny Bartee, Schalick497000
Frank Hoerst, Woodstown406040
David Stewart, Schalick366000
Kaden Robinson, Salem366000
Adrian Alleyne, Pennsville335030
Troy Carey, Salem284200
Perry Meranti, Pennsville263400
Hunter Dragotta, Schalick2100152
Quimere Bergen, Salem183000
KaiSiere Muhammad, Salem183000
Torryn Ransome, Salem183000
Aiden Collazo, Pennsville162200
Rushing TDs: Hardy 12, Ware 13, McDade 8; Receiving TDs: Robinson 6

This week’s schedule

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

Cougars have fun

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) 30147-24
Woodbury (3-6)0066-12

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)

WJFL scoreboard

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

THURSDAY’S SCORES
Atlantic Tech 33, Egg Harbor Twp. 7
Burlington Twp. 21, Cinnaminson 0
Pennsauken 40, Clearview 6
Seneca 28, Willingboro 21
Shawnee 21, Hammonton 0

Salem surging

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

PGSAL
51st Downs8
26-20Rushing18-89
3-10-1Passing10-18-1
2Passing yds.157
2-2Fumbles-lost1-1
5-20.0Punts-avg3-25.3
14-78Penalties12-110
Penns Grove (0-9)6000-6
Salem (5-4)70146-27

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

DIAMONDALLDIV
Glassboro9-05-0
Salem5-44-1
Schalick2-62-2
Woodbury3-42-2
Woodstown2-71-4
Penns Grove0-90-5
PATRIOTALLDIV
West Deptford8-16-0
Paulsboro8-15-1
Overbrook6-33-3
Pennsville5-43-3
Collingswood5-42-4
Audubon2-51-4
Camden Catholic0-80-5

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

Maccarone steps aside

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.