Category: FOOTBALL

‘Downright gritty win’

Short-handed Woodstown takes gutsy win from Penns Grove, Pennsville holds off Camden Catholic

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – An injury-riddled Woodstown team came within 72 seconds of posting one of the most unusual winning scores in all of football Friday night. But time and circumstances wouldn’t let it happen, so the Wolverines just went ahead and finished it off.

Quarterback Frankie Hoerst ran in from the 6 with a minute left to close out a 9-0 victory over Penns Grove that could only be described as “gritty.” But for the longest time it looked like the game would end 2-0, courtesy of Lucas Fulmer’s safety in the second quarter.

Players are coaches were convinced they’d finish it 2-0. It stayed that way until the Wolverines took over at the 6 with 1:12 to play after the Red Devils’ fourth-down Hail Mary fell incomplete.

Ordinarily, coach Frank Trautz would haven taken a couple knees in the victory formation to run out the clock in that situation, but Penns Grove still had timeouts to use and there wouldn’t have been enough snaps to exhaust all of what little time remained. Football teams have lost 3-2 before.

So, the Wolverines ran a play and Hoerst took it in on the first snap, then kicked the extra point to make a more traditional score and put a miracle finish by the Red Devils out of reach. There’s no such thing as a nine-point touchdown.

“We just wanted to put this one away,” Trautz said. “We couldn’t kneel it out, there was going to be some time left. 

“I’ve seen way too many crazy things happen on football fields that if you can’t take the knee and kneel it out, I don’t care if there’s 99 yards or one yard, if you give a team a shot to win a game at the end, you never know what can happen. When we knew we couldn’t take a knee, we had to run a play, and it happened to be the first play we scored the touchdown.”

Hoerst was the star of the game, but for more than being the winning quarterback at the helm of a watered-down offense. He’s also the Wolverines’ punter and his first four punts pinned the Red Devils deep in their end. 

The first one was picked up near the goal line and returned to the 15. The next three had the Red Devils starting at their 3, 5 and 7. The one at the 5 led to the safety.

“I told him he controlled the whole game, and I meant that,” Trautz said. “He controlled our offense, he controlled the kicking game. Those four punts are huge. It’s unbelievable to just control that field position all night. Big, big punts.”

And it became a battle between the 20 the rest of the night where the players knew one big play would make all the difference in the outcome.

“I’ve never been in that much of a dogfight before,” junior lineman Bradley Snitcher said. “It was intense.”

That’s how close Woodstown came to winning its game with Penns Grove Friday night with only a safety being scored. The Wolverines punched in a touchdown about a minute later for a more traditional score.

It was a courageous win for the Wolverines. They went into the game reeling in their first three-game losing streak since 2018 with seven starters either sidelined with injuries or gone – and they lost two more during the game: Fulmer and Anthony Costello. 

With such limited resources available, the Wolverines kept it simple and on the ground. Costello and Hoerst provided the running game in the first half, then when Costello he went out, Noah Chiu, who hadn’t taken running back snaps in practice until this week, became the lead back.

Costello rushed for 35 yards on 11 carries, Chiu had 28 yards on nine carries. Chiu also blocked a punt in the third quarter when it was still 2-0.

“It’s a downright gritty win,” Trautz said. “I knew our kids were going to come out and fight tonight because they have too much pride not to. It was our whole backs against the wall and we came out and just fought. I said we were going to scrap and scrap and where the chips fall at the end of the night they fall, but I knew these kids were going to fight because that’s what they’ve got in them.

“You talk about one of the tougher wins I’ve been a part of and that was this. We had guys playing out of position, guys doing whatever they had to do to just try to win a football game. It’s the beauty of high school football, man. You don’t see that in college, you don’t see that in the NFL where guys are just like, hey, put me at this position, I’ll figure it out for that night, and that’s what they did.

“They just kept fighting – and it was awesome to see.”

Trautz is hopeful some of the walking wounded will return for Thursday’s game at Pleasantville, which had its own offensive struggles in beating Haddonfield Friday 6-3.

Fulmer was one of those guys playing out of position, but he overcame any indecisiveness it might have created and was responsible for the only points of the game until the last minute.

One of Hoerst’s paralyzing punts had the Red Devils backed up on their 5. On the first snap of the series, Penns Grove quarterback Mello Erickson-Hubbard rolled to his right, then drifted into the end zone trying to escape the pressure and Fulmer was there to wrap him up. Bradley Snitcher came in on the back side to help clean it up.

“It was my first time ever playing outside linebacker,” Fulmer said. “I just went back to what our defensive coordinator was telling me all week. I saw the lineman go down. I reacted up for run. I see (Erickson-Hubbard) bounce outside and I just ran. I made a play.

“We just wanted it. After losing the last three games we wanted this one bad. I’m just extremely proud of every single guy on our team. We had a lot of guys step up this year, a lot of guys who never played varsity before. It takes a lot of guts to come out here and put on a show, and that’s what we did tonight.”

Woodstown 9, Penns Grove 0

 PG WOOD
71st Downs7
27-89Rushing38-103
3-14-0Passing0-2-0
38Passing yds0
2-0Fumbles-lost0-0
4-40.3Punts-avg7-34.9
6-50Penalties4-20
Penns Grove0000-0
Woodstown0207-9

SCORING SUMMARY
WO-Safety, quarterback tackled in end zone, 5:51 2Q
WO-Frankie Hoerst 6 run (Frankie Hoerst kick), 1:00 4Q

Eagles win another tight one

PENNSVILLE – Pennsville is making a habit of making things interesting.

For the third week in a row the Eagles played a game that went down to the wire. Fortunately for them, they’ve won the last two.

The Eagles overcame a slew of turnovers, but held on to beat Camden Catholic 18-16, with Robbie McDade intercepting a pass in the closing seconds to preserve the victory.

In the two previous weeks, the Eagles had two shots at a winning touchdown in the final eight seconds fall incomplete against Overbrook and last week scored a touchdown in the final 10 seconds to beat Audubon.

“We have made the last couple games interesting, but the big thing I can take away from the last two games is our kids have definitely learned how to keep fighting until the end of the game,” Pennsville coach Mike Healy said. “We need to do a lot of things better still, but it’s good to know they keep going until the end of the game.”

The Eagles (2-3) scored the first two touchdowns of the game and took a 12-8 lead into halftime. They went up 18-8 ion a McDade touchdown n the third, but the Irish brought it back to 18-16 early in the fourth quarter.

They gave the Irish a chance to go-ahead late in the fourth quarter when they fumbled near midfield with less than a minute to play. McDade killed the threat with his interception with 15 seconds to play.

“We made it a little more difficult on ourselves than we needed to, but we kept going, kept showing back up, got the stops we needed to get them and finish the game,” Healy said.

Camden Catholic0808-16
Pennsville01260-18

WJFL Standings

DIAMONDALLDIV
Glassboro5-03-0
Salem2-32-1
Schalick2-32-1
Woodbury1-41-2
Woodstown2-31-2
Penns Grove0-50-3
PATRIOTALLDIV
West Deptford5-04-0
Paulsboro5-04-0
Pennsville2-32-2
Overbrook3-21-2
Collingswood3-21-2
Camden Catholic0-50-3
Audubon0-40-3

THURSDAY’S GAMES
Salem 26, Schalick 13
Paulsboro 26, Overbrook 16
West Deptford 29, Audubon 0

FRIDAY’S GAMES
Pennsville 18, Camden Catholic 16
Woodstown 9, Penns Grove 0
Collingswood 36, Haddon Twp. 0

SATURDAY’S GAMES
Glassboro 52, Woodbury 13

OCTOBER 2
Woodstown at Pleasantville, 6 p.m.

OCTOBER 3
Glassboro at Deptford, 6
Paulsboro at Schalick, 6
Pennsville at Penns Grove, 6:30
Collingswood at Sterling, 7
Haddonfield at West Deptford, 7
Overbrook at Clayton, 7

OCTOBER 4
Gateway at Woodbury, 10 a.m.
Audubon at Gloucester Catholic. 11
Camden Catholic at Haddon Heights, noon
Salem at Middle Township, noon

Second-half surge

Salem puts together a strong second half, takes down Schalick in a Thursday night special; includes WJFL Diamond, Patriot Division standings

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE — The athletic director handed Kemp Carr a game ball after his Salem football team snapped a 13-game losing streak with his first win in the program two weeks ago. He promptly tossed it to a lineman in the huddle after the game proclaiming the unit as most deserving of the prize.

They tossed him another game ball after Thursday night’s 26-13 win over Schalick. This time, the coach left the stadium with the reward tucked securely under his arm, just like his ballcarriers had done throughout most of the game.

Truth be told, the game ball they gave him on this night was a painted and signed ball commemorating that initial win over Woodbury, but the sentiment it represented was the same.

“I don’t think they wanted something with somebody else’s name on it,” Carr said of holding onto this one. “Any time you get presented with something for a team, when the team does something, it’s always rewarding. But we’re not satisfied with this. I’d like that thing to have a championship on it.”

One step at a time. The Rams (2-3) used a dominant second half on both sides of the ball and pulled away from a halftime tie to take over second place in the tough WJFL Diamond Division.

After rushing for just 12 yards in a first half in which neither team generated much offense, the Rams committed to the run in the second half and their fortunes took off. They rushed for 177 yards after halftime and controlled the ball for more than 15 minutes.

Defensively, they held the Cougars to 92 yards of offense, 73 of which came on one big scoring play in spirited trade of touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

“The first half was rocky,” senior receiver Kaden Robinson said. “In the locker room we talked and in the second half we toughed it up. As Coach Carr would say the second half has to be better than the first. We have to finish and that’s what we did – we finished.”

Schalick coach Kevin Leamy had a simpler explanation for the difference. 

“We didn’t play very well,” he said. “We didn’t play well in the second half, they played better. That’s what it comes down to.”

Salem quarterback Desmund Thomas (7) accounted for all four of the Rams’ touchdowns Thursday night against Schalick. (Photo by Heather Papiano)

Rams quarterback Desmund Thomas, who only played four minutes in last week’s loss to Glassboro for reasons neither the player nor coach wanted to discuss, returned to the lineup and accounted for all four of their touchdowns. He had touchdown runs of 49 and 39 yards and threw a pair of touchdown passes to Robinson.

“It made me do a lot of thinking, a lot of mental reps,” Thomas said of his absence. “I was more confident. I believed in myself. I believed in our team. We did a lot of great things today.”

Thomas rushed for 96 of his 99 yards in the second half. The Rams also got 57 silky yards from 13-year-old freshman Cashmir Parsley.

The team that didn’t win a game at all last season moved into ‘good team’ territory Thursday when it answered Schalick quarterback Kenny Bartee’s 73-yard touchdown pass to David Stewart with a score on the ensuing possession.

Thomas threw a touchdown pass to Robinson between two defenders in the end zone, Schalick answered with Bartee’s strike to Stewart and then Thomas broke off his 39-yard run to give the Rams breathing room with 7:52 to play. All that scoring took place in about a minute and a half.

That’s the kind of thing good teams do, Carr said. The kind of thing they give game balls for.

“I can never forget 2012 (when he was Penns Grove’s head coach),” Carr said. “We hadn’t given up a point in eight weeks. Woodbury comes down and scores (in the South Jersey Group I finals). We go right down and score, get the ball and go down and score, get the ball and go down and score. I said at halftime that’s what good team do.

“Now you’ve probably knocked the fight out of them. That’s what you need to do. When teams score on you, you’ve got to answer the bell. At least flip the field. You’ve got to get something out of it. And that’s what good teams will do.”

Schalick’s David Stewart (0) catches a pass behind Salem’s Kamal Chatum before turning upfield to complete a 73-yard touchdown play that got the Cougars within a touchdown in the fourth quarter Thursday night. (Photo by Heather Papiano)

Salem 26, Schalick 23

 SAL SCH
131st Downs8
39-189Rushing32-117
11-17-0Passing2-9-1
162Passing yds76
1-1Fumbles-lost0-0
3-23.3Punts-avg5-28.6
9-80Penalties4-55
Salem06614-26
Schalick6007-13

SCORING SUMMARY
SC: David Stewart 16 run (kick failed), 8:05 1Q
SA: Kaden Robinson 24 pass from Desmund Thomas (kick failed), 6:03 2Q
SA: Desmund Thomas 49 run (pass failed), 8:39 3Q
SA: Kaden Robinson 18 pass from Desmund Thomas (kick failed), 9:26 4Q
SC: David Stewart 73 pass from Kenny Bartee (Hunter Dragotta kick), 9:05 4Q
SA: Desmund Thomas 39 run (Troy Carey run), 7:52 4Q

WJFL Standings

DIAMONDALLDIV
Glassboro4-02-0
Salem2-32-1
Schalick2-32-1
Woodbury1-31-1
Woodstown1-30-2
Penns Grove0-40-2
PATRIOTALLDIV
West Deptford5-04-0
Paulsboro5-04-0
Overbrook3-21-2
Pennsville1-31-2
Collingswood2-21-2
Camden Catholic0-40-2
Audubon0-40-3

THURSDAY’S GAMES
Salem 26, Schalick 13
Paulsboro 26, Overbrook 16
West Deptford 29, Audubon 0

FRIDAY’S GAMES
Haddon Twp. at Collingswood
Camden Catholic at Pennsville
Penns Grove at Woodstown

SATURDAY’S GAMES
Glassboro at Woodbury

Salem quarterback Desmund Thomas (7) looks towards the sideline for a play during Thursday night’s game. (Photo by Julliana Love)

This week’s schedule

Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of Sept. 21-27

SUNDAY, SEPT. 21
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC at Camden CC, noon

MONDAY, SEPT. 22
BOYS SOCCER
Gloucester Catholic at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Overbrook at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Salem at Wildwood, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Salem Tech at Clayton, 5 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Glassboro at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Penns Grove at Overbrook, 4 p.m.
Schalick vs. Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Wildwood at Salem, 4 p.m.
Salem Tech at Clayton, 7 p.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Kingsway at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
Pennsville at Overbrook, 4 p.m.
Timber Creek at Schalick, 4 p.m.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 23
FIELD HOCKEY
Winslow at Salem Tech, 3:45 p.m.
Pennsville at Audubon, 4 p.m.
Salem at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Deptford, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Overbrook, 4 p.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Pennsville at Penns Grove, 3:45 p.m.
Gloucester Catholic at Salem, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Overbrook, 4 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 24
FIELD HOCKEY
Schalick at Seneca, 4 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Pennsville at Salem, 4 p.m.
Salem Tech at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Gloucester Catholic at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.
Penns Grove at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Salem at Pitman, 4 p.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Moorestown Friends at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
Gloucester Catholic at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.
Penns Grove at Palmyra, 4 p.m.
Pitman at Salem, 4 p.m.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 25
WJFL FOOTBALL
Salem at Schalick, 6 p.m.
Paulsboro at Overbrook, 6 p.m.
Audubon at West Deptford, 7 p.m.
FIELD HOCKEY
Clayton at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Glassboro at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Salem at Gateway, 4 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Woodstown at Pitman, 4 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Pennsville at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Woodstown at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.
Salem at Wildwood, 4 p.m.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Timber Creek at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.
CROSS COUNTRY
Salem Tech in NJTAC Championships at Medford Tech, 4 p.m.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 26
WJFL FOOTBALL
Haddon Twp. at Collingswood, 6 p.m.
Camden Catholic at Pennsville, 7 p.m.
Penns Grove at Woodstown, 7 p.m.
FIELD HOCKEY
Schalick at Eastern, 4 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Audubon at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Camden Academy Charter at Salem, 4 p.m.
Salem Tech at Cape May Tech, 4 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Cape May Tech at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.
GCIT at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Salem at Cumberland, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Hammonton, 4 p.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Haddon Heights at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Triton, 4 p.m.
COLLEGE CROSS COUNTRY
Salem CC at Caldwell

SATURDAY, SEPT. 27
WJFL FOOTBALL
Glassboro at Woodbury
FIELD HOCKEY
Woodstown vs. Delsea at Rowan, 3 p.m.
CROSS COUNTRY
Schalick at Six Flags Great Adventure
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC at Jefferson (2), noon
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Salem CC at Thomas Jefferson, noon

WJFL scoreboard

Here are all of this weekend’s scores in the West Jersey Football League, all 5 Salem County teams played Saturday

THURSDAY’S GAMES
Bridgeton 63, Deptford 0
Burlington City, 42, Riverside 8
Gloucester 25, Willingboro 15
Holy Cross 35, Buena 30
Pitman 28, Haddon Township 7
St. Joseph 13, Cumberland 3
Triton 26, ACIT 7

FRIDAY’S GAMES
Atlantic City 26, Ocean City 0
Bordentown 21, Lawrence 0
Burlington Twp. 50, Moorestown 2
Camden 28, Holy Spirit 14
Cedar Creek 41, Hammonton 7
Cherry Hill East 50, Egg Harbor 0
Delran 31, Northern Burlington 0
Eastern 28, Cherry Hill West 6
Ewing 31, Robbinsville 25
Haddonfield 14, Seneca 11
Highland 35, Clearview 0
Kingsway 36, Delsea 0
Mainland 42, Cherokee 21
Maple Shade 20, Pemberton 8
Notre Dame 49, Hightstown 21
Oakcrest 46, Middle Twp. 0
Overbrook 48, Florence 6
Pennsauken 33, Vineland 13
Pleasantville 6, Paul VI 0
Rancocas Valley 17, Shawnee 14
Steinert 30, Allentown 21
Sterling 35, Gateway 14
Timber Creek 26, Williamstown 7
Washington Township 21, Millville 10
West Deptford 58, Camden Catholic 16
Wildwood 35, Lindenwold 6
Winslow 19, St. Augustine 6

SATURDAY’S GAMES
Glassboro 42, Salem 0
Pennsville 22, Audubon 17
Schalick 28, Penns Grove 7
Woodbury 42, Woodstown 6
Bishop Eustace 40, Mastery Camden 6
Camden Eastside 26, Lenape 3
Cinnaminson 14, Haddon Heights 0
Clayton 40, Gloucester Catholic 0
Hopewell Valley 35, Nottingham 6
KIPP Cooper Norcross 48, Palmyra 0
Lower Cape May 33, Absegami 7
Paulsboro 48, Collingswood 28
Princeton 16, Hamilton West 14
Trenton 50, WW-Plainsboro South 7



Stepping up

Salem County Saturday: Pennsville makes good on its second chance for a first win; Woodstown, Salem fall; includes WJFL Diamond, Patriot standings

SALEM COUNTY FOOTBALL
Saturday’s Games
Glassboro 42, Salem 0
Pennsville 22, Audubon 17
Schalick 28, Penns Grove 7
Woodbury 42, Woodstown 6

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

AUDUBON – The folks in the stands might have thought Pennsville lost its chance to win Saturday when it fumbled near the goal line late in the fourth quarter, but the Eagles weren’t going to be denied. Given a second chance, they weren’t going to miss again.

Freshman Chase Johnson hauled in a 10-yard pass from Robbie McDade and crossed the goal line with 10 seconds to play to lift the Eagles over Audubon 22-17 for their first win of the season.

They had a chance to take the lead a few minutes earlier, but usually reliable Rylan Hardy fumbled at the 7 with the end zone in sight.

“The biggest thing for us this year is we struggle when things go bad getting back and playing the next play,” Pennsville coach Mike Healy said. “Today there were a lot of emotional swings, but our kids kept stepping up, coming back out and playing the next play and playing to the final play.”

The Eagles (1-3) didn’t hang their heads when it looked like their last-minute rally would fall sort for the second week in a row. Instead, their defense dug in and gave them another chance. They held strong after Hardy’s rare fumble and forced the Green Wave to punt.

“That was the big thing the whole day, things we didn’t get done and stepped back up,” Healy said. 

McDade went to work at the 40 with less than a minute left and all his timeouts in hand. The first two passes fell incomplete, then Kane Green hauled one in to get them to the 10. McDade finished off the drive with a slant over the middle to Johnson for the go-ahead score.

It was the senior quarterback’s first successful fourth-quarter game-winning drive of his career.

The Eagles led 6-3 at the half and 14-10 after three quarters. Audubon led 17-14 with 3:47 to play.

“My mindset was one play at a time and see where it gets us,” McDade said of the winning drive. “With a minute left all you’re thinking is next play, positive plays, positive plays, one on top of the other, and we got it done. All 11 guys had to do their job and they manned up and we got the outcome we wanted. It was very nice.”

The Eagles were in a similar position last week against Overbrook, but came up empty. They lost a 21-0 first-quarter lead, but had two shots at the end zone from the 34 in the final eight seconds and both fell incomplete.

This time they weren’t going to be denied. McDade agreed last week’s disappointment pushed them to finish this one.

“You’re just emotionally spent after both games, but one you’re excited and the other you’re just devastated,” Healy said. “The feeling after seeing the kids all excited was great.”

The quarterback seconded that emotion.

“It’s a lot better being on the other end of it, for sure,” he said.

Tough day for Wolverines

WOODBURY – When you’re a young football team learning to play on this level sometimes you just run into games like this.

Woodstown ran into a Woodbury team that hadn’t won a game all season and had scored only eight points in its last two, but that’s not the Thundering Herd the Wolverines got Saturday..

The Herd rushed for nearly 300 yards, scored the first five touchdowns of the game and swamped the Wolverines 42-6.

“I know I’m sounding like a broken record, but it’s a young team that is really learning how to play varsity football,” Woodstown coach Frank Trautz said. “We’re just not there yet. We’re going to be, we’re going to get there, but we’re learning how to play varsity football right now.”

The Wolverines’ spirit was rocked by devastating injuries to a pair of sophomore linemen in the first half.

Antonio Merendino sustained a serious knee injury chasing down Woodbury running back Dale Thomas , the eventual star of the game, on the Wolverines’ first defensive play of the game. 

A more frightening injury occurred midway through the second quarter when Abraxus (Rax) Hannah was knocked to the ground and was motionless for a brief period before being transported from the field by ambulance.

The Wolverines were chasing after Woodbury quarterback Nico Jimenez on a play from inside the 10 when the injury occurred. A broadcast of the play shows from just outside the frame Hannah appearing to take a frontal hit that knocked him backwards onto the field.

The game was delayed nearly 20 minutes while medical officials attended to him. He was said to have briefly lost consciousness on the field, but was moving and talking with Woodstown game personnel before being taken from the field.

“That was a very scary injury,” Trautz said. “Thankfully, though, he’s OK. I just talked to his parents. They have him up, walking, they’re going to discharge him from the hospital. Ultimately, that’s the most important thing, that he’s OK.”

Trautz agreed the injury to Hannah “took a lot of wind out of the sails.” The Wolverines managed just 116 yards of net offense and five first downs after the delay. Woodbury, meanwhile, ran for a touchdown on the first snap after play resumed and the Herd scored all four times it touched the ball in the second half, including returning the second-half kickoff for a touchdown.

Thomas rushed for 135 yards and four touchdowns in the game.

The Wolverines did what they could. They avoided the shutout when quarterback Frankie Hoerst threw a 67-yard touchdown pass to Sincere Cook-Reese in the closing seconds of the third quarter. The Wolverines only got five snaps in the fourth quarter because of the running block.

“Ultimately, our kids battled them; they just continue to fight,” Trautz said. “They’re leaving it all out there every week.

“I give them all the credit in the world. It’s tough when you’re on the wrong end of some of those games and it’s easy to quit at times, but our kids keep battling their butts off and they keep fighting. That’s all you can ask of them.”

Woodbury 42, Woodstown 6

 WOODS (6)WOODB (42)
71st Downs14
33-101Rushing27-297
3-8-0Passing (C-A-I)7-12-0
73Passing yds72
1-0Fumbles-lost3-0
3-44.3Punts-avg1-16.0
7-41Penalties-yds8-80
Woodstown (1-3)0060-6
Woodbury (1-3)68217-42

SCORING SUMMAR
WB-Dale Thomas 5 run (kick failed), 4:51 1Q
WB-Elijah Young 17 run (Nico Jiminez run), 6:12 2Q
WB-Samier Pettit 70 kickoff return (PAT run), 11:45 3Q
WB-Dale Thomas 71 run (run failed), 5:13 3Q
WB-Dale Thomas 7 run (Mark Martin kick), 1:42 3Q
WT-Sincere Cook-Reese 67 pass from Frankie Hoerst (pass failed), 12.5 3Q
WB-Dale Thomas 2 run (Mark Martin kick), 5:00 4Q

Glassboro overruns Salem

Glassboro 42, Salem 0

Glassboro (4-0)814200-42
Salem (1-3)0000-0

SCORING SUMMARY
G-JoJo DeLecce 21 run (Amari Sabb run)
G-Mehki Parker 2 pass from Jack O;Connell (pass failed)
G-Xavier Sabb 70 punt return (Junior Serrano pass from Amari Sabb)
G-JoJo DeLecce 9 run (run failed)
G-Xavier Sabb 55 pass from Mekhi Parker (pass failed)
G-Safety
G-Amari Sabb 47 run (run failed)

WJFL Standings

DIAMONDALLDIV
Glassboro4-02-0
Schalick2-22-0
Salem1-31-1
Woodbury1-31-1
Woodstown1-30-2
Penns Grove0-40-2
PATRIOTALLDIV
West Deptford4-03-0
Paulsboro4-03-0
Overbrook3-11-1
Pennsville1-31-2
Collingswood2-21-2
Audubon0-30-2
Camden Catholic0-40-2

FRIDAY’S GAMES
Overbrook 48, Florence 6
West Deptford 58, Camden Catholic 16

SATURDAY’S GAMES
Glassboro 42, Salem 0
Paulsboro 48, Collingswood 28
Pennsville 22, Audubon 17
Schalick 28, Penns Grove 7
Woodbury 42, Woodstown 6



Luck on their side

Schalick special on special teams, beats Penns Grove for second straight win; Dragotta sets school PAT mark

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNS GROVE – Sometimes a little luck goes a long way.

Dylan Sheehan was the luckiest soul at Jim Devonshire Field Saturday afternoon. Not in that the senior safety broke in and blocked a punt in the end zone, but that the oblong-shaped ball bounced right up to him like a basketball and all he had to do was grab it for a touchdown.

The play brought some much needed electricity to a WJFL Diamond Division game that up to that point was pretty sleepy and gave the Cougars some breathing room in an eventual 28-7 win over Penns Grove.

“I went in like I usually did all game, the guy stepped out to the right and didn’t block me, wide open, (ball) hit the palms of my hand, bounced it right back into my hands,” Sheehan said. “It’s luck, skill, a lot of things together.

“It feels good, but it feels a little bit undeserved because it’s luck at that point. Some things go your way, some things don’t … but it was definitely necessary to win the game. I’ll take luck any day. I’d like to think that it’s all me, but it’s not. It’s the way you play the game.”

The Cougars (2-2) were leading only 14-7 at the time. They had Penns Grove backed against its end zone thanks in part to a series of penalties that kept moving the Red Devils (0-4) back. Sheehan led a heavy rush against punter Mello Erickson-Hubbard, snuffed the kick and then hardly had to move to score, recovering the ball standing up.

They’ve blocked three kicks in the last two weeks.

“I wouldn’t say the play was lucky, but it was lucky that it came right back up and landed in his lap, it was lucky for the touchdown,” Schalick coach Kevin Leamy said. “I’m not surprised he blocked that kick, but I was surprised with the result.”

Good luck was on the side of Schalick kicker Hunter Dragotta, too. The former soccer player who made himself into a football kicker converted all four of his PATs in the game, setting the school record for career extra points.

He now is 10-of-11 on PAT this season, 29-of-30 over the last two seasons and 85-for-93 in his career. He broke the record with the extra point after Sheehan’s touchdown.

“It definitely took a lot of work, starting in eighth grade, going from a two-step approach to actually learning how to kick a ball,” Dragotta said. “I never really imagined playing football in high school, but here I am.”

“He’s been, especially the past two years, automatic,” Leamy said. “The only time he misses is if it’s blocked. It’s been like an automatic point; if we score we know we’re going to get a point because he’s that good. It’s nice having a weapon like that. Now we’ve got to get him the field goal record.”

That, Dragotta said, is “coming soon.” He hit a career-long 39-yarder earlier this season and has made longer in practice.

Schalick kicker Hunter Dragotta is recognized for breaking the school’s all-time PAT record in Saturday’s game against Penns Grove. (Schalick photo)

Quarterback Kenny Bartee again led the Cougars offense. The sophomore directed two touchdown drives behind an ever-improving offensive line and broke for another score on the first play of another possession. He passed for 100 yards, rushed for 46 and ran for two touchdowns.

“I’m getting more comfortable every week,” Bartee said. “My linemen are stepping up. I’m putting my faith in my linemen and they’re getting it done. Their linemen were very aggressive, very big, and I felt our linemen held it down for what they did.”

Terrell Thomas scored Penns Grove’s touchdown on a 48-yard burst early in the third quarter. It made the score 14-7. Beyond that, the Cougars held their hosts to 82 yards of net offense.

“The defense played phenomenal,” Sheehan said. “We’re definitely doing a lot more rotating on defense, just get some more guys in and out, but other than that our defense has been sound all season. We’re closing up the run game. No team has been able to pass on us. We’ll keep getting better.”

Schalick’s David Stewart scored the first touchdown of the game on a 10-yard run in the second quarter. Bartee’s first touchdown, a 2-yard run after getting down there with a 39-yard pass to Sherrod Jones, made it 14-0 at halftime.

Jerry Wooten kept the Red Devils in it to that point with a pair of interceptions. Penns Grove had three takeaways total.

“It wasn’t our best game today, but the goal is to go 1-0 (each week) and we achieved that goal,” Leamy said.

Schalick 28, Penns Grove 7

 SCH (28)PG (7)
101st Downs5
31-120Rushing26-128
3-7-3Passing3-8-0
100Passing yds2
0-0Fumbles-lost2-1
1-30.0Punts-avg5-26.6
11-55Penalties13-114
Schalick (2-2)014014-28
Penns Grove (0-4)0070-7

SCORING SUMMARY
S-David Stewart 10 run (Hunter Dragotta kick), 9:07 2Q
S-Kenny Bartee 2 run (Hunter Dragotta kick), 29.5 2Q
PG-Terrell Thomas 48 run (Mello Erickson-Hubbard kick), 7:55 3Q
S-Dylan Sheehan blocked punt recovery in end zone (Hunter Dragotta kick), 6:35 4Q
S-Kenny Bartee 31 run (Hunter Dragotta kick), 4:52 4Q

This week’s schedule

Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of Sept. 15-20; all 5 football teams play on Saturday

MONDAY, SEPT. 15
FIELD HOCKEY
Pennsville at Salem, 4 p.m.
Salem Tech at Cumberland, 4 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Paulsboro at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Clayton at Salem, 4 p.m.
Timber Creek at Schalick, 4 p.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Overbrook at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
Pitman at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.
Penns Grove at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Salem at Glassboro, 4 p.m.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
GCIT at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 16
FIELD HOCKEY
Schalick at Camden Catholic, 4 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Glassboro at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Overbrook at Salem, 4 p.m.
Penns Grove at Wildwood, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Clayton, 4 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Pennsville at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m.
Salem at Overbrook, 4 p.m.
Salem Tech at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Wildwood at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Schalick at Haddon Heights, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Audubon, 4 p.m.
CROSS COUNTRY
TCC Batch Meet at Salem Tech, 3:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 17
FIELD HOCKEY
Glassboro at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Haddonfield at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Overbrook at Salem, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Schalick at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
Pennsville at Overbrook, 4 p.m.
Pitman at Salem, 4 p.m.
Wildwood at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Triton, 4 p.m.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 18
BOYS SOCCER
Clayton at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Penns Grove at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Salem at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Glassboro, 4 p.m.
Wildwood at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Gloucester Catholic at Salem, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Overbrook, 4 p.m.
Salem Tech at Wildwood, 4 p.m.
Glassboro at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Pitman at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 19
WJFL FOOTBALL
Camden Catholic at West Deptford, 7 p.m.
Florence at Overbrook
FIELD HOCKEY
Overbrook at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Salem at Clayton, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Cherry Hill West at Schalick, 4 p.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Glassboro at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.
Salem at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
CROSS COUNTRY
TCC Batch Meet at Delsea
Woodstown at Stockton Univ. Showcase
VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Buena, 4 p.m.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 20
WJFL FOOTBALL
Collingswood at Paulsboro, 11 a.m.
Pennsville at Audubon, 11 a.m.
Woodstown at Woodbury, 11 a.m.
Glassboro at Salem, noon
Schalick at Penns Grove, noon
BOYS SOCCER
Bordentown at Schalick, 10 a.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Perth Amboy Tech at Salem Tech, 1 p.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC in RCSJ-Cumberland Showcase, 9 a.m.

Photo by Heather Papiano



Rams break the ice

Salem snaps 13-game losing streak with dominating 31-8 win over Woodbury, hands Carr his first win as its coach

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

SALEM — As a coach, Kemp Carr wasn’t so much focused on how long it’s been since he’s tasted victory on the football field. He was more concerned with its impact on more recent history.

Carr’s Salem football team got its first win of the season and snapped a 13-game losing streak that preceded him as its coach Saturday with a dominating 31-8 win over Woodbury.

It was the Rams’ first victory since Oct. 24, 2023, when they beat West Deptford 38-14 under then head coach Danny Mendoza. They had two-game losing streaks on either side of last year’s 0-9.

“It’s like it was a cycle and today we broke the cycle,” senior receiver Kaden Robinson said.

“We came here with the mentality we’ve got to win,” lineman Abdur Jenkins added. “We’re tired of losing.”

For Kemp the drought has been a lot longer — eight years, to be exact, Nov. 9, 2017, when he was coaching at Winslow. Of course, he was out of coaching in private business for seven years before taking the Salem gig last year.

Because it had been so long and it was his first win with the Rams, Salem athletics director Darryl Roberts tossed Carr the game ball. Then, in keeping with his “it’s not about me” mindset, the coach flipped the ball to Jenkins and praised the offensive line for its play in the game.

“It’s never about me,” he said from his office that used to be the team’s weight room when he played here. “I had my time. Those (memory) books over there, I’ve got like five of those books. They’re old. The papers are turning brown. It’s never about me, it’s about how can I move these kids forward and how can I make them get as close to understanding how to be a man. We’re team driven.

“We try to come in and work as hard as we can to win the day and the day we happened to win today. Not just a win on the scoreboard, but a good win for an emotional feeling. We got that good taste in our mouth. Everybody’s gonna sleep a little better. We responded the way this coaching staff is looking for those guys to respond.”

The Salem players celebrate their first win since 2023 after Saturday’s game with Woodbury goes final. (Photo by Julliana Love)

Even with four starters out for internal reasons, the Rams (1-2) dominated Woodbury in every phase.

The offense didn’t bleep this time, Carr’s description of it after they anemically lost to Cinnaminson last week 3-0. They racked up 363 yards of offense against the winless Herd (0-3) and scored five touchdowns in a game for the first time since their last win.

Desmund Thomas looked like a different quarterback than he had in the first two games, completing 12-of-19 passes for 217 yards and long touchdowns to Robinson and William Dunn. The ball to Dunn was particularly majestic, dropping it in over the receiver’s shoulder in stride behind the defense for a 78-yard bomb. Thomas also had a 5-yard touchdown run.

“I played my own game,” said Thomas, a Salem kid who was playing in Georgia when the Rams’ losing streak began. “Just being me, being who I am. That’s exactly what it was. I’m still listening (to the coaches), but it’s just feeling to be me.”

Salem QB Desmund Thomas (7) enjoyed his best game since joining the program, passing for 217 yards and 2 touchdowns and running for a third. (Photo by Julliana Love)

The Rams scored on their first possession, just like they did in their season-opening loss to Pleasantville and last year’s loss to Cinnaminson, but the difference between those games and Saturday was the offense kept scoring and the defense gave up nothing.

They led 18-0 at halftime. They already had almost 200 yards of offense, Thomas was 10-of-17 passing and the defense held the Herd to just one first down and minus-3 yards of net offense.

“I was extremely impressed,” Robinson said. “They played the way I know that they can play … Back in our groove.”

“I liked how we played the first half of football,” Carr said. “If we could play that first half like that I think we could play against anybody.”

Even in the fourth quarter they were stepping on the accelerator. Senior Troy Carey, the former quarterback, got his first turn at running back and rushed for 65 yards and the Rams’ last touchdown in the quarter.

The defense, meanwhile, was physical and relentless. They held the Herd to minus-49 yards net rushing by keeping quarterback Noel Huertas on the run all day, had at least nine sacks and by the middle of the third quarter had the Woodbury offensive line back-peddling with extended arms.

Of course there were some things that needed to be cleaned up. Like the senseless major penalties that cost them the shutout or took the Herd out of a third-and-51 hole deep in their own territory, but overall the positives of the day far outweighed the shortcomings. 

“We just hadn’t put it together; today we put it together,” Carr said. “I’m glad we broke the ice. Who knows where this goes from here.”

Photo: Salem AD Darryl Roberts tosses the game ball to football coach Kemp Carr after earning his first win as coach, and Carr promptly tossed it to a lineman in recognition of the line’s contribution to the win.

Salem 31, Woodbury 8

WOOD (8) SAL (31)
71st Downs17
17-(-49)Rushing32-146
10-28-2Passing (C-A-I)12-19-0
86Passing yds217
1-0Fumbles-lost1-0
5-21.2Punts-avg1-31.0
11-78Penalties-yds15-155
Woodbury (0-3)0008-8
Salem (1-2)61267-31

SCORING SUMMARY
S-Torryn Ransome 4 run (pass failed), 6:03 1Q
S-Kaden Robinson 44 pass from Desmund Thomas (pass failed), 4:03 2Q
S-Desmund Thomas 5 run (pass failed), 0:33 2Q
S-William Dunn 78 pass from Desmund Thomas (pass failed), 5:47 3Q
S-Troy Carey 7 run (Izaiah Santiago kick), 6:19 4Q
WO-Eli Young 13 pass from Noel Huertas (Thomas Lewis pass from Noel Huertas), 3:05 4Q

WJFL Standings

DIAMOND DIVISIONALLDIV
Glassboro3-01-0
Schalick1-21-0
Salem1-21-0
Woodbury0-30-1
Woodstown1-20-1
Penns Grove0-30-1
PATRIOT DIVISIONALLDIV
West Deptford3-02-0
Paulsboro3-02-0
Collingswood2-11-1
Overbrook2-11-1
Audubon0-20-1
Camden Catholic0-30-1
Pennsville0-30-2

Thursday’s Games
Glassboro 63, Penns Grove 0
West Deptford 48, Collingswood 0
Friday’s Games
Overbrook 22, Pennsville 21
Schalick 33, Woodstown 37
Paulsboro 38, Camden Catholic 20
Saturday’s Games
Salem 31, Woodbury 8
Bordentown 34, Audubon 14

Other Saturday WJFL Games
Allentown 22, Nottingham 6
Burlington City 60, Pemberton 34
Cedar Creek 45, Atlantic City 34
Rancocas Valley 21, Camden Eastside 6
Steinert 34, Hightstown 14
Ewing at Princeton
Trenton at Hamilton West

One that got away

Pennsville scores 3 TDs in first quarter, but can’t hold the lead, falls to Overbrook to remain winless

By Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE — Things couldn’t have started better for the Pennsville Eagles in their quest for a first win of the season and then the well went dry.

The Eagles looked well on their way to securing their first Friday night. They scored three touchdowns in the first 10 minutes of the game and opened a 21-point lead in the first quarter, then the points stopped coming and they lost to a Overbrook 22-21 at Lou D’Angelo Stadium.

The Rams (2-1) took the lead on Axcel Bailey’s 14-yard touchdown run and quarterback Tariq Moore’s two-point conversion run 62 seconds into the fourth quarter.

The Eagles (0-3) had three possessions to retake the lead but couldn’t find the end zone. They had two shots to the end zone from the 34 in the final eight seconds and both fell incomplete.

The Eagles took advantage of Overbrook mistakes to set up short fields and scored touchdowns on their first three possessions for a 21-0 lead with 2;22 left in the first quarter.

A botched punt snap set them up at the 10 and moments later Aiden Collazo scored from the 5.

The Rams failed to cover the ensuing kickoff and Pennsville set up at the 26  Six plays later Robbie McDade hit Adrian Alleyne with a 14-yard TD pass. McDade needed 101 passing yard to reach the 3,000-yard career mark and he threw for 53.

The Rams fumbled their next snap at the 30. Five plays and a fourth-down penalty later Rylan Hardy scored from the 5.

The Rams came to life at that point and scored on their next two possessions to make it 21-14 with 7:35 left in the second quarter. 

It stayed that way to halftime even though the Eagles had another possession that reached the Overbrook 21 before stalling.

Pennsville’s first 15 plays of the game and 23 plays in the half came in Overbrook territory.

Overbrook 22, Pennsville 21

OVER (22)PMHS (21)
101st Downs12
34-165Rushing38-122
5-10-0Passing (C-A-I)7-19-0
13Passing yds53
2-1Fumbles-lost0-0
3-28.0Punts-avg4-24.0
8-85Penalties3-20
Overbrook (2-1)8608-22
Pennsville (0-3)21000-21

SCORING SUMMARY
P-Aiden Collazo 5 run (Adrian Alleyne kick), 9:25 1Q
P-Adrian Alleyne 14 pass from Robbie McDade (Adrian Alleyne kick), 5:42 1Q
P-Rylan Hardy 1 run (Adrian Alleyne kick), 2:22 1Q
O-Tariq Moore 21 run (Nicholas Duval pass from Tariq Moore), 1:38 1Q
O-Axcel Bailey 23 run (run failed), 7:35 2Q
O-Axcel Bailey 14 run (Tariq Moore run), 10:58 4Q

Friday WJFL scoreboard

FRIDAY’S WJFL GAMES
Schalick 33, Woodstown 27 (3 OT)
Overbrook 22, Pennsville 21
Atlantic Tech 21, Deptford 0
Bergen Catholic 41, Winslow 14
Bishop Eustace 44, Lindenwold 0
Bridgeton 48, Egg Harbor Township 7
Burlington Twp. 41, Haddon Heights 14
Cherry Hill East 28, Triton 14
Cherry Hill West 42, Clearview 6
Clayton 48, Haddon Twp. 0
Cumberland 41, Oakcrest 34
Delran 35, Cinnaminson 0
Haddonfield 39, Willingboro 8
Holy Cross 28, Palmyra 6
Holy Spirit 32, Hammonton 7
Hopewell Valley 34, Notre Dame 14
Kingsway 36, Timber Creek 21
Lawrence 17, Florence 0
Lower Cape May 42, Middle Twp. 0
Millville 22, Mainland 21
Northern Burlington 35, Moorestown 7
Ocean City 22, Lenape 0
Paulsboro 38, Camden Catholic 20
Paul IV 30, Gloucester 14
Pitman 45, Gloucester Catholic 7
Robbinsville 56, WW-Plainsboro South 7
St. Augustine 35, Cherokee 0
Seneca 32, Pleasantville 6
Shawnee 21, Camden 20
Washington Township 40, Delsea 0
Williamstown 28, Chichester (Pa.) 13

Saturday’s Games
Bordentown at Audubon, 11 a.m.
Hightstown at Steinert, 11
Rancocas Valley at Eastside, 11
Allentown at Nottingham, noon
Burlington City at Pemberton, noon
Woodbury at Salem, noon
Atlantic City at Cedar Creek, 1:30 p.m.
Ewing at Princeton, 2 p.m.
Trenton at Hamilton, 2 p.m.