Category: FOOTBALL

The lost weekend

Anything that could go wrong did early for the Red Devils and they fall tp Deptford, leaving Salem County football with a rare winless weekend

SATURDAY’S SCORE
Deptford 27, Penns Grove 6

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNS GROVE — Salem County football needed a win to avoid a historic shutout. Penn Grove was its final hope for the week Saturday and playing a team it had handled the year before.

But anything that could go wrong early did for the Red Devils and they never recovered, eventually falling to Deptford on a hot day at Jim Devonshire Field 27-6, bringing an end to an ignominious week for county football fortunes. All five Salem County teams lost this week, giving the county its first winless weekend in more than 20 years.

“It tells you the state of Salem County football,” Red Devils coach Marc Maccarone scoffed.

One has to go past the 2003 season, the last year records are publicly available, to find the last time Penns Grove, Pennsville, Salem, Schalick and Woodstown all lost on the same weekend. (The results of this weekend’s games are listed below.)

“It shows you the quality of the programs over the years, especially recent years; it’s an anomaly (what happened this week),” said John Emel, the longtime Penns Grove coach whose current West Deptford team took down one of those Salem County teams Friday night. Look what it took, a lot of close games that went the other way. It’s more of an aberration; it doesn’t happen often. I think there’s a lot of talent in the county and I think you’ll see teams improve dramatically as the year goes on.”

It was a tough start for the Red Devils. They picked up the opening kickoff late thinking it might roll into the end zone and started deep in their end, then fumbled away their first snap from scrimmage. It took three plays for the Spartans to score.

Their second possession ended in a safety when punter Mello Erickson-Hubbard was tackled in the end zone after a high snap, which Maccarone said in hindsight was a pretty good decision on the senior’s part.

It’s the kind of thing Deptford coach Patrick Landis said used to befall the Spartans. They’re 2-0 for the first time since 2022 after winning only one game each of the last two seasons.

“It’s funny you say that,” Landis said. “We as a staff have talked about it. Over the last couple years we’ve been in a lot of close game where those things have gone against us … and we come out on the losing end. It seems like a little bit of luck always helps.”

The Red Devils finally caught a break on the first play of the ensuing possession when Erickson-Hubbard recovered a fumble, but couldn’t capitalize as Luke Vilary broke up their fourth-down pass in the end zone.

Even when they did something good, they took a step back. Nazeer Painter hooked up with Erickson-Hubbard on a 49-yard pass play, then spiked the ball in the end zone drawing a personal foul that kept the Red Devils from tacking on the tying conversion.

It stayed that way until the closing minute of the first half when David Pearson stepped in front of an Erickson-Hubbard pass and returned it 47 yards for a touchdown that gave Deptford a 15-6 halftime lead.

“We were looking for answers a little bit at the end of the first half,” Landis said. “(Pearson) was able to get back on the field before the end of the half and make a huge play for us going in and that kind of opened things up for us.”

Kaden Roane scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to complete the scoring. The first came on an 18-yard pass from Noce and the second on a 1-run run in the final minute, capping an 80-yard drive against what Maccarone described as a “tired” team. Roane had a 51-yard run in the drive.

Roane finished with 98 yards rushing, but had 75 in the fourth quarter. The Red Devils’ defense held the Spartans to 29 yards rushing and 49 yards total through the first three quarters and had three takeaways in the first half.

“I thought the defense played well,” Maccarone said. “We gave up one defensive touchdown. I’ve got no complaints with the defense.”

Penns Grove will have a new quarterback when they play Glassboro, in a game moved to Thursday night. Maccarone said Brayden Lattig will get the call when the Red Devils face the coach’s former team and defending Group I state champion.

Lattig entered Friday’s game with 2:44 in the third quarter after Erickson-Hubbard took a big loss on a scramble and played the rest of the game.

“It’s not a give, it is (getting the shot); that’s who it is,” Maccarone said. “He came in cold, we were able to move the ball a little bit with him, did a fine job. No complaints.”

Deptford 27, Penns Grove 6

DEPT (27)PG (6)
61st Downs8
24-111Rushing23-87
7-12-1Passing (C-A-I)7-22-1
38Passing yds85
3-2Fumbles-lost1-1
5-40.0Punts-avg6-37.5
6-35Penalties-yds12-113
Deptford (2-0)87012-27
Penns Grove (0-2)0600-6

SCORING SUMMARY
D: David Noce 1 run (kick failed), 10:34 1Q
D: Safety, punter tackled in end zone, 9:13 1Q
PG: Nazeer Paynter 49 pass from Mello Erickson-Hubbard (pass failed), 6:31 2Q
D: David Pearson 47 interception return (Luke Vilary kick), 34.5 2Q
D: Kaden Roane 18 pass from David Noce (pass failed), 10:17 4Q
D: Kaden Roane 8 run (PAT failed), 37.7 4Q

WJFL Standings

DIAMOND DIVISIONALLDIV
Glassboro2-00-0
Woodstown1-10-0
Penns Grove0-20-0
Salem0-20-0
Schalick0-20-0
Woodbury0-20-0
PATRIOT DIVISIONALLDIV
Collingswood2-01-0
West Deptford2-01-0
Paulsboro2-01-0
Camden Catholic0-10-0
Audubon0-10-1
Overbrook1-10-1
Pennsville0-20-1

Thursday’s Games
Cinnaminson 3, Salem 0
Friday’s Games
Cumberland 14, Schalick 7
Delsea 35, Woodstown 7
Glassboro 52, Haddon Heights 0
Haddonfield 41, Woodbury 0
West Deptford 42, Pennsville 7
Collingswood 27, Overbrook 14
Saturday’s Games
Paulsboro 28, Audubon 14
Deptford 27, Penns Grove 6
Newmann Goretti (Pa.) at Camden Catholic

Tough night on road

All three Salem County football teams in action Friday night were on the road and lost; includes WJFL Diamond, Patriot division standings

FRIDAY’S SCORES
Cumberland 14, Schalick 7
Delsea 35, Woodstown 7
West Deptford 42, Pennsville 7

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WEST DEPTFORD — The circumstances producing it may be different, but when you look at where they stand today, the Pennsville football team is in the same spot it was this time last year and things turned out all right. So they have that to consider as they look to bounce back from another 0-2 start.

The Eagles dropped their second straight game to open the season Friday night, 42-7 at West Deptford. They started last season 0-2, too, then rebounded to get into the South Jersey Group 1 playoffs and played two rounds.

Of course, those were two close games against Gloucester and West Deptford last year. The ones this season against the same opponents were not and that’s the worrisome part.

“Record-wise, we’re in the same position, but we’ve got to figure it out as a whole unit,” Pennsville coach Mike Healy said after explaining it to his team in a 20-minute post-mortem in the far end zone. “(Have to) better understand why are we out here, why are we doing what we’re doing.

“It’s very frustrating for all of us. We know deep down we are not putting out what we are right now and we’ve got to figure out how to find that within the kids, how to get the best of us on the field because right now we’re just not doing it.

“It’s a long season. We still have time to pull it together and accomplish our goals, but we’ve got to get it done. We can’t let it keep going like this. We have got to get it figured out and get started going. We don’t want to let the opportunity slip and then it be too late and we don’t have the opportunity any more.”

West Deptford, meanwhile, came into the game wanting to play better against Pennsville than it did in last year’s game when it needed a Sports Center highlight touchdown in the final minute from a backup quarterback pressed into action two minutes earlier to win.

The homestanding Eagles dominated this one for their second win of the season. They rushed for 366 yards (234 in the first half), racked up 22 first downs and held Pennsville to four first downs and less than 85 yards of net offense.

They scored touchdowns on four of their first five possessions and six of nine in the game. Zamir Davis rushed for 185 yards and three touchdowns. Cole Paskiewicz scored the first two touchdown of the game.

The seized the momentum from the very start. Pennsville fumbled the first snap of the game. West Deptford recovered and turned it into Paskiewicz’ first touchdown of the game.

“We looked for improvement from a year ago,” said West Deptford coach John Emel, who personally beat Pennsville for the ninth straight time. “A year ago they outplayed us.

“I told them before the game this year I want to play better than we did last year against them. I know we’re a better team, but our goal every day is to play better and I want to play better today.”

The highlight of Pennsville’s night was Perry’s Pic-Six, an 85-yard interception return for a third-quarter touchdown by senior defensive lineman Perry Meranti.

“That was nice,” he said. “That’s my first ever career touchdown, so that was a big moment for me. I definitely would have dreamed I was going to get (the first one) on offense more than defense.”

He certainly was in the right place at the right time, taking advantage of the coaches call to turn players loose in the second half for a chance to show what they can do.

West Deptford was on the verge of opening the second half with another touchdown, taking the kickoff and driving to the Pennsville 11. Quarterback Brady Cobb rolled right with the snap and for a moment looked like he was going to run it. Then all of a sudden he pulled up as he got closer to the line of scrimmage, tossed it and Meranti was there to pick it. 

“Sometimes the only wrong decision is indecision,” Emel said. “He kind of looked like he wanted to run and at the last second tried to make a mountain out of a molehill and it cost us six points. He’s a smart kid, but that was not a smart play.”

The way the play flowed it didn’t take long for Meranti to clear traffic and once he got into the open field nobody was going to catch him.

“The wing, he rolled out trying to reach me, so I was just doing my job like we practice all week,” the senior said. “I’m trying to stretch the play out and I saw the QB cut up, so I tried to cut in and take him for a sack and he tried to dump it over the top and I kind of just caught it. It was just there.

“I was just trying to stay ready as much as I could. The second he pulled the pin I kind of broke for it.”

Meranti knows what has to happen for his team to get back on track.

“We have a really good team this year within us,” he said, “but us seniors, even me, we need to step up and take a role of leadership. I’ll say what our coaches said: Our leadership graduated last year and we need to take a big step forward and step up. Last year it was an internal change. We had people step up.”

Top photo: Pennsville’s Perry Meranti snags the interception he returned 85 yards for the Eagles’ only touchdown against West Deptford. (Photo by Amory Alleyne)

West Deptford 42, Pennsville 7

PMHS (7)WDEPT (42)
41st Downs22
27-53Rushing40-366
3-8-0Passing (C-A-I)5-9-1
29Passing yds60
1-1Fumbles-lost1-1
4-33.8Punts-avg0-0
7-58Penalties-yds2-15
Pennsville (0-2)0070-7
West Deptford (2-0)141468-42

SCORING SUMMARY
WD: Colę Paskiewicz 4 run (Brady Cobb kick), 8:41 1Q
WD: Cole Paskiewicz 8 pass from Brady Cobb (Brady Cobb kick), 1:15 1Q
WD: Zamir Davis 48 run (kick failed), 10:12 2Q
WD: Zamir Davis 6 run (Colę Paskiewicz pass from Brady Cobb), 25.3 2Q
P: Perry Meranti 85 interception return (Danny Knight kick), 9:33 3Q
WD: Zamir Davis 2 run (kick failed), 2:20 3Q
WD: Kameron Simpkins 5 run (Bryce Wynn run), 9:05 4Q

Delsea 35, Woodstown 7

FRANKLINVILLE — Delsea did what Delsea does and what it didn’t do when the teams played a year ago.

The Crusaders rushed for a whopping 465 yards as a team, with three backs each going for more than 100, to avenge their low-scoring, one-point overtime loss to the Wolverines in last year’s season opener.

Milo Gebhard led the crush with 143 yards on nine carries. He scored the first two touchdowns of the game as Delsea opened a 21-0 halftime lead. Nasir Hart had 122 yards and two TDs on five attempts, while Imair Chester had 120 yards on seven carries and the game’s final touchdown.

Freshman quarterback Frankie Hoerst scored Woodstown’s only touchdown, a 6-yard run in the third quarter that answered the coaches’ challenge at halftime. Hoerst had 25 yards rushing and completed six passes for 71 yards.

Cole Ware had an interception for the Wolverines.

“I was happy with the way our kids fought tonight,” Woodstown coach Frank Trautz said. “They (Delsea) were very physical and for our young team to get a taste of that tonight it was good for us. We can take a lot of good things away from it. I do think this will be a positive for us moving forward.”

Delsea 35, Woodstown 7

WOOD (7)DEL (35)
101st Downs17
26-62Rushing32-465
6-17-1Passing (C-A-I)1-2-1
71Passing yds23
2-0Fumbles-lost1-0
2-40.0Punts-avg0-0
8-51Penalties-yds10-100
Woodstown (1-1)0070-7
Delsea (2-0)71477-35

SCORING SUMMARY
D: Milo Gebhard 1 run (Logan Cordero kick)
D: Milo Gebhard 59 run (Logan Cordero kick)
D: Nashi Hart 8 run (Logan Cordero kick)
WO: Frank Hoerst 6 run (Frank Hoerst kick)
D: Nasir Hart 46 run (Logan Cordero kick)
D: Imair Chester 37 run (Logan Cordero kick)

WJFL Standings

DIAMOND DIVISIONALLDIV
Glassboro2-00-0
Woodstown1-10-0
Penns Grove0-10-0
Salem0-20-0
Schalick0-20-0
Woodbury0-20-0
PATRIOT DIVISIONALLDIV
Collingswood2-01-0
West Deptford2-01-0
Paulsboro1-00-0
Audubon0-00-0
Camden Catholic0-10-0
Overbrook1-10-1
Pennsville0-20-1

Thursday’s Games
Cinnaminson 3, Salem 0
Friday’s Games
Cumberland 14, Schalick 7
Delsea 35, Woodstown 7
Glassboro 52, Haddon Heights 0
Haddonfield 41, Woodbury 0
West Deptford 42, Pennsville 7
Collingswood 27, Overbrook 14
Saturday’s Games
Audubon at Paulsboro
Deptford at Penns Grove
KIPP at Camden Catholic

WJFL scoreboard

Here are Friday night’s scores in the West Jersey Football League

FRIDAY WJFL SCORES
Cumberland 14, Schalick 7
Delsea 35, Woodstown 7
West Deptford 42, Pennsville 7
Atlantic City 26, Millville 21
Atlantic Tech 20, Vineland 19
Burlington Township 40, Nottingham 7
Camden 26, Kingsway 21
Cedar Creek 42, Absegami 0
Collingswood 27, Overbrook 14
Glassboro 52, Haddon Heights 0
Gloucester 28, Lower Cape May 7
Haddonfield 41, Woodbury 0
Holy Cross 25, Wildwood 6
Holy Spirit 34, Oakcrest 13
Hopewell Valley 59, Robbinsville 21
Lawrence 26, Maple Shade 6
Mainland 42, Hammonton 7
Rancocas Valley 20, Pleasantville 8
St. Augustine 26, Paul VI 0
St. Joe (Hamm.) 27, Egg Harbor Township 13
Seneca 35, Moorestown 0
Shawnee 24, Williamstown 21
Sterling 48, Pitman 13
Timber Creek 37, Notre Dame 8
Triton 43, Middle Township 14

Why Salem? Why now?

Stars seem to be aligned for Salem CC to start football, but decision after consultant’s report rests with board

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – The secret to taking a concept and turning into reality, whether it’s on the football field or in the board room, is striking when the iron is hot.

Why else do you think football teams almost immediately go up top after coming up with a momentum-swinging turnover?

ACCORSI

As Salem Community College explores the feasibility of bringing a football to its lineup of sports offerings, the landscape seems inexorably right. Maybe even the perfect storm.

Even college president Mike Gorman acknowledged when bringing the concept to the board for consideration at its most recent meeting “if we’re going to do it, this is our window of opportunity.”

The same elements – and questions – exist that were around when the school looked into it before. This time, there might be a more receptive ear on the inside.

Two weeks ago the board took a big step towards making it happen, giving the go-ahead to bring on Jay Accorsi as a consultant on a two-month contract to do a deep dive on the feasibility of football on Hollywood Avenue.

It is not Accorsi’s place to tell the board what decision to make, just provide them with as much detail as possible to make an informed decision on whether football fits. The internal vibe seems positive, but it was the last time Salem looked at the issue, too.

“Having the need for it is one thing, being able to do it is a whole different situation,” Accorsi said. “The need for it is certainly there, it’s just piecing everything together. There are a lot of things that will take care of itself, there’s a lot of other little things that need to be worked out to make sure it fits.”

Accorsi has long been intrigued by the absence of junior college football in New Jersey, given the quality of the high school game in the state. He just needed an opportunity to tell someone. That window opened last April when he retired after 30 years at Rowan, the last 22 as its head football coach.

He became even more convinced it could work after looking at what Sussex County CC was doing in the sport while his own Profs program was shut down by the COVID pandemic.

If it could work there, he wondered, why weren’t more New Jersey JUCOs following suit. If it could work at Sussex, he thought, surely it could work elsewhere under the right conditions.

The conditions seem right for Salem. The Mighty Oaks would basically be the only game in the region and have a deep pool of potential players to recruit from.

Sussex is still the only NJCAA member school in New Jersey playing the sport. When Lackawanna transitions to NCAA Division II, Pennsylvania will have none. Delaware has none. There are trade schools in Pennsylvania and Delaware that sponsor the sport and could become a potential opponent, but those are specialized institutions outside the NJCAA umbrella. That means there is only one JUCO program in the East between Central New York and Louisburg, N.C.

As it was, Sussex, which offers scholarships and dorms, drew players from Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington in addition to more homegrown talent.

“There’s a huge void there,” Accorsi said. “I had always thought in my mind and heart that there should be junior college football in New Jersey. I moved here in the early 90s. I was shocked that there wasn’t because of how great New Jersey high school football was and … there were a lot more junior college football programs back then than there are now.

“Then you would see all these Jersey kids have to leave the state to go to all these other places to play. It always kind of was in the back of my mind. I saw there were pay-for-play (prep) schools and I saw they were charging like $22,000 a year and they (players) got no academic benefit by going to those schools.

“When I looked at the rosters, they had 40, 50, 60 players and most of them were New Jersey kids. And when I looked at most of the rosters of the junior colleges, most of them were New Jersey kids. I said it’s crazy.”

Accorsi continued to investigate the JUCO game, privately keeping a file on his research that was the basis of the pitch he would take to Salem. He enhanced it with what he already knew of what it was taking to play the game at Rowan.

He considered making the pitch to other junior colleges in South Jersey, but he was familiar with Gorman and his athletics background and one day emailed to see if Salem might be interested in what he had to say. They had about a half-hour face-to-face meeting where Accorsi presented some “extensive” and “very detailed” research and it got the ball rolling.

Accorsi didn’t make his research available for media and didn’t address Salem’s situation specifically, but much of the information related to finances, expenses, coaching salaries and player participation are available in the comparative school’s Equity in Athletics report that is available to the public. Gorman estimated Salem’s start-up outlay would be about $500,000.

Salem looked into bringing football to campus when it was reviving the athletics program in the twenty-teens, and although the sense then was it could work, the school decided not to launch at that time.

“I thought this might be a fit because of what Sussex did being a small college I think it really fit a need for a lot of things they wanted to do,” Accorsi said. “I think if you go to a bigger college it may not have the same effect, and I wasn’t interested in that. I was interested in making it something that was going to be hopefully really important.

“I told (Gorman) I’m just interested in serving New Jersey. I think it’s a shame all these New Jersey high school students leave the state to go to all these other places to play and pay a lot of money and in some instances don’t get any academic benefit. They’re just going to play, to get film, and spend a lot of money. That’s just, to me, bad.”

If the Mighty Oaks are going to pull the trigger in time to start in 2026, Gorman told the board a decision should be made by mid-October. The clock is ticking.

“There is a lot you need to do, a lot of groundwork, and a lot of things to take an idea from concept to reality,” Accorsi said. “You want to make sure it fits and is the best thing for the student athletes, the best thing for the student, the best thing for the institution, which I think make it very unique.

“I happen to be at the right place at the right time with the right institution and the right president and athletic director and people. So, things have kind of fit a little bit early, but there’s a lot of things you’ve got to cover and go through that we will in the next few months to make sure that whatever decision it is it’s the right one whether it is to proceed or not to proceed. I think that’s important.”

This week’s schedule

Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of Sept. 2-6; x-scrimmage

TUESDAY, SEPT. 2
FIELD HOCKEY
Haddon Heights at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Bridgeton, 4 p.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Glassboro at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
Penns Grove at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.
Overbrook at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Salem at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 3
FIELD HOCKEY
x-Gloucester City at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
x-Salem at Overbrook, 4 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
x-Camden Academy Charter at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.
x-Salem at Gloucester City, 4 p.m.
x-KIPP at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
x-Salem Tech at Pennsville, 3:30 p.m.
x-Cumberland at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Pennsville at Bridgeton, 3:45 p.m.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 4
WJFL FOOTBALL
Salem at Cinnaminson, 6 p.m.
FIELD HOCKEY
Salem Tech at Sterling, 4 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Washington Twp. at Schalick, 4 p.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Gloucester Catholic at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Penns Grove at Overbrook, 4 p.m.
Wildwood at Salem, 4 p.m.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 5
WJFL FOOTBALL
Schalick at Cumberland, 6 p.m.
Pennsville at West Deptford, 7 p.m.
Collingswood at Overbrook, 7 p.m.
Woodstown at Delsea, 7 p.m.
Haddon Heights at Glassboro
Woodbury at Haddonfield
FIELD HOCKEY
Schalick at Washington Twp., 4 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
x-Penns Grove at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Washington Twp., 4 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Bridgeton at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Paulsboro at Salem, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Audubon, 4 p.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Kingsway at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.
Woodstown at Clearview, 3:45 p.m.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 6
WJFL FOOTBALL
Audubon at Paulsboro, 11 a.m.
Deptford at Penns Grove, noon
KIPP at Camden Catholic

Photo credit: Julliana Love

Trying to make do

Penns Grove sees five starters go down in second quarter alone, then spends rest of the game shuffling personnel to get through the opener

SATURDAY’S SCORE
Paulsboro 36, Penns Grove 6

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNS GROVE – When a team doesn’t have a lot of players to begin with, the last thing anyone in the organization wants to see is somebody get hurt.

One injury at an important position (or to a key player) is disruptive enough. Now, have multiple players go down across a varsity of positions and it’s a recipe for disaster. It’s particularly concerning in Group I where most of the players are two-way guys.

That’s what the Penns Grove football team faced in its season opener Saturday.

The Red Devils lost five starters to cramping or worse in the second quarter alone of their 36-6 loss to Paulsboro. It forced them to put players in unfamiliar positions and throw younger players into key roles sooner than anticipated and hope for the best.

“You’ve got guys who now have to step up and play,” head coach Marc Maccarone said. “We had guys who were not offensive linemen get thrown into playing spots on the offensive line. We got guys who were down on defense, guys who were cramping for no reason.

“When you’re Group I and you have a small Group I squad everyone’s got to play the utility spot. We had to go to the well with that a lot today.”

Of all the injuries, the most impactful is the one to Ray Brown. The two-way lineman left with an ankle injury and didn’t return to the game. He was said to be on the way to a local hospital for tests.

Brown was projected to have a big year after 68 tackles and six sacks last season. The double-teams he was expected to command was a key element to the Red Devils’ defensive strategy.

“That’s a huge loss,” Maccarone said. “That’s a big loss to the team morale, too, a kid like that going down. He’s one of the big team leaders.”

The other players who were forced to the sideline moved in and out of the game as their conditions allowed, but it didn’t help whatever consistency the Red Devils hoped to have. They did play without having a turnover, though.

Maccarone had good things to say about the players who did plug the holes.

“I didn’t think we laid down,” he said. “We gave up a couple big plays that led to big touchdowns, but I don’t think we laid down even when the kids got hurt.”

Jameel Horace was determined to overcome it. He picked up the slack at running back and eventually scored the Red Devils’ lone touchdown on a 2-yard run in the final minute of the third quarter.

He got the Red Devils in the red zone with a 32-yard run up the middle one play after Terrell Thomas was carried off by teammates after an apparent leg injury. He rushed for 49 yards on nine carries.

“I was just trying to do what I had to do to get my team going,” he said. “I was trying to do anything to get the intensity up. I was just doing what I had to do.

“It was definitely chaotic, but that’s my job on the team as a senior, as a leader on the team. I’ve got to keep the guys’ heads straight. I’ve got to keep my mind on the prize. The prize when I walk on this field is to get the W and I’ve got to keep my mind on that. If my mind is on anything else it’s not going to work out.”

Malakhai McKenzie threw for two touchdowns and ran for another score and KyAire Harvey ran for 106 yards and two scores to lead Paulsboro.

McKenzie hit 6-of-9 passes for 161 yards. Most of his throws were short- and medium-yardage varieties, but his big throw was an 80-yard touchdown pass to Jamal Robinson that opened the scoring. The quarterback outraced Penns Grove’s heavy pursuit then found Robinson open along the sideline when a defensive back came up to help the rushers. Robinson made a move in front of the Penns Grove bench and then was gone.

“I was just trying to work on the short stuff because it’s usually open,” McKenzie said. “That (big pass) felt good. I already know I can get outside and they can’t keep up with me.”

Penns Grove quarterback Mello Erickson-Hubbard races to the corner in the first half against Paulsboro.

Paulsboro 36, Penns Grove 6

PAULS (36)PGROVE (6)
131st Downs7
23-138Rushing28-90
6-9-1Passing (C-A-I)3-11-0
161Passing yds15
1-1Fumbles-lost0-0
0-0Punts-avg3-25.3
7-61Penalties-yds7-55
Paulsboro (1-0)61488-36
Penns Grove (0-1)0060-6

SCORING SUMMARY
PB: Jamal Robinson 80 pass from Malakhai McKenzie (run failed), 1:13 1Q
PB: Malakhai McKenzie 8 run (Malakhai McKenzie run), 7:59 2Q
PB: KyAire Harvey 6 run (run failed), 5:02 2Q
PB: Marques Eli 18 pass from Malakhai McKenzie (Malakhai McKenzie run), 6:13 3Q
PG: Jameel Horace 2 run (pass failed), 50.6 3Q
PB: KyAire Harvey 4 run (Jay Mears run), 2:31 4Q

It’s about finishing

Rams’ season gets off to a rousing start, but they couldn’t keep it going and fell to Pleasantville

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

SALEM — The second season of Salem football under Kemp Carr couldn’t have gotten off to a better start. It was what happened next the Rams have to work on.

The Rams scored their first touchdown of the season less than 90 seconds into the game, but they didn’t find the end zone again and Pleasantville dominated the second half to hand the Rams a 20-8 loss.

The opening two minutes of the game gave the Rams hope they’d finally get their first win under Carr. And it was a bunch of newcomers that made the biggest impacts.

Transfer Makhye Murry recovered a fumble on Pleasantville’s first play from scrimmage. New quarterback Desmund Thomas immediately went up top for the end zone, but freshman Ahmed Tucker couldn’t bring in the pass. Undeterred, Thomas went deep two plays later and this time freshman Kyvion Parsons hauled it in for the score.

Thomas then tossed the conversion pass to Antwuan Rogers to make it 8-0.

Kyvion Parsons (11) celebrates with teammate Kaden Robinson after scoring his first career touchdown Saturday against Pleasantville. (Photos by Julliana Love)

“Catching my first touchdown for varsity in my first game, I was hyped,” Parsons said. “We felt we were going to blow them out, but we came out in the second half and just wound down. We can’t wind down on anybody.”

It was similar to their Cinnaminson loss in the second game last season when they scored on one of the first plays of the game, but didn’t have much success thereafter. While it was nice to have a lead, Carr knew it was way too much football to play to celebrate.

“A team’s got to finish, man,” he said. “It’s about finishing. It’s never how you start; you’ve got to finish games. We go three quarters without scoring. We move the ball, then we do something stupid.

“You get a big turnover down there, (then) you throw an interception right after it. Those are things we can’t do. We have to stay even keel, run our concepts, stay true to who we are and play through the clock.”

The Rams held the lead until the last minute of the quarter. The Greyhounds intercepted a softly thrown Thomas pass and brought it all the way back to the 2 with the Rams’ quarterback saving a touchdown. Pleasantville finally scored when Nazir Griffin ran in from the 7 and then caught the conversion pass from Semaj Dozier to tie the game.

It stayed that way until the final 30 seconds of the half when Jamil Hudson caught the first of his two touchdown passes from Dozier to put the Greyhounds ahead for good. The Rams had an interception by Tucker erased by a penalty early in the drive.

Hudson’s second touchdown catch capped a 70-yard drive that took up nearly nine minutes of the third-quarter game clock. It was highlighted by two big conversions – a 16-yard catch by Hudson on third-and-14 and the touchdown on fourth down.

The Greyhounds knew Thomas was the key to their offense and constantly had him on the run. He did complete 12 of 22 passes for 128 yards.

“Up front we had the advantage and just put the pressure on him,” said Pleasantville coach Elijah Glover, a winner in his first game as head coach with the water bucket shower to prove it. “If they wanted to keep the ball in his hands like they wanted to, then you’ve got to find a way to make it come out fast.”

Thomas looked to have beaten the pressure in the fourth quarter, scrambling out of the pocket and hooking up with Kaden Robinson for a 56-yard touchdown pass with 7:27 to play that would’ve gotten the Rams back within striking distance with plenty of time left. But the play came back because of an ineligible man downfield penalty from the other side of the field. The drive ended a few plays later on a dropped fourth-down pass steps from the end zone.

It was just a tough second half for the Rams. They were held to minus-10 yards net rushing and 28 yards total in the half.

“We’ve got some things to clean up,” Carr said. “We’ll get back in and do the right thing. The glass is shattered, but it ain’t broke. We’ll put some glue on it and get it back where we need to.”

PLE (20)SAL (8)
81st Downs9
30-69Rushing21-18
9-11-0Passing (C-A-I)12-22-1
130Passing yds128
4-1Fumbles-lost1-1
4-28.8Punts-avg4-29.0
10-75Penalties-yds6-55

Pleasantville 20, Salem 8

Pleasantville (1-0)8660-20
Salem (0-1)8000-8

SCORING SUMMARY
S: Kyvion Parsons 42 pass from Desmund Thomas (Antwuan Rogers pass from Desmund Thomas), 10:36 1Q
P: Nazir Griffin 7 run (Nazir Griffin pass from Semaj Dozier), 40.4 1Q
P: Jamil Hudson 30 pass from Semaj Dozier (run failed), 23.9 2Q
P: Jamil Hudson 26 pass from Semaj Dozier (run failed), 2:00 3Q

First in the books

Schalick jumps out to early in coach’s debut, but Group 3 visitors’ depth takes over in second half

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE – Matt Bloom and a couple of his Somerville assistants took the two-hour ride down the turnpike last Friday to check out Schalick’s final scrimmage of training camp. What they saw in the varsity half they watched didn’t really impact what they did in their game Friday night, but it never hurts to look.

They did pick up a tidbit or two during their visit, but it was more depth than play calls that played the biggest role in the Pioneers’ 34-17 win that spoiled by debut of Schalick head coach Kevin Leamy.

“You never take that for granted; you never know,” Bloom said. “It’s always being sure. New staff, lot of new players, a lot of things. We’ve never played anybody down in this part of the state, so it was one of those things we needed to make sure we got eyes on them from a first-hand experience.

“Plus, on film, they hadn’t played any offenses like our offense. Seeing them in person was crucial. I’m very glad we did (make the trip).”

From what they had seen in that very vanilla scrimmage, the Pioneers couldn’t have anticipated the way Schalick came out against them.

The Cougars were “ready for the moment,” jumped out to a 10-0 first-quarter lead with their first two possessions and led 17-14 at halftime. But it was all Somerville in the second half.

The Group 3 visitors scored three touchdowns with their punishing ground game and kept the Cougars out of the end zone while holding them to only 31 yards of offense. The Pioneers ran up 174 yards of offense in the half before taking three knees to run out the final 1:40 of the game.

“What I said in the locker room (at halftime) was it wasn’t going to be about what plays we called, what defensive fronts that we’re in, it’s all about how hard we play,” Bloom said. “That’s really what we showed in the second half. How bad do you want to win and how bad you want to impose your will on opponents.”

“I don’t think it was anything necessarily momentum,” Leamy said. “We were exposed with not having much depth and their offensive line, a lot of credit to them in the second half, came out and pushed us around a little bit. That offensive line really took over the game in the second half and I give them a lot of credit more than it is a negative to our kids.”

Sophomore Kenny Bartee drew Schalick’s opening-night start at quarterback and showed enough continue in that role. (Top photo) Kevin Leamy addresses the team after his first game as head coach. (Photos by Heather Papiano)

One thing the Somerville coaches were glad to get on their visit was a glimpse of Schalick sophomore Kenny Bartee playing quarterback because the Cougars hadn’t decided between Bartee and Gary Simonini as their starting signal-caller at the time.

Bartee was given the nod Monday morning and he showed his athleticism not only in the regular offense but also on special teams, returning the kickoff after Somerville’s first touchdown 89 yards for a score.

He rushed for 67 yards on 12 carries, completed a pass for 28 yards and comported himself well enough in his first varsity game at the position that Leamy said he is “probably that guy moving forward.”

“That was pretty clear and obvious he was the guy,” Bloom said. “I’m glad we came down here and saw that because you never know. He’s a good football player. They have some good kids, for sure.”

Leamy’s called the start of his first game as the Cougars’ head coach “really exciting … until it wasn’t.”

The Cougars built their 10-0 lead on a 47-yard touchdown run by David Stewart on their first play from scrimmage and a career-best 39-yard field goal by Hunter Dragotta to cap their second possession. Then the Pioneers came to life.

“There were a lot of ups and downs throughout the game, but you’re not defined by one game; no coach is defined by one game win or lose,” Leamy said. “We’re on to next week. The message to the kids is this is one step, this is Week Zero, and our goal is to be playing our best football when it matters in October and November.

“Yes, we lost, but we learned a lot. The kids realized what they’re really good at and what they need to work on. We’re going to be better off having played this team than scheduling a different game.”

David Stewart turns the corner on his 47-yard touchdown run on Schalick’s first play of the season. (Photo by Heather Papiano)
SOM (34)SCH (17)
151st Downs7
42-220Rushing27-124
6-10-1Passing (C-A-I)3-12-2
75Passing yds42
1-0Fumbles-lost1-1
4-34.8Punts-avg2-30.0
8-80Penalties-yds11-58

Somerville 34, Schalick 17

Somerville (1-0)014137-34
Schalick (0-1)10700-17

SCORING SUMMARY
SC: David Stewart 47 run (Hunter Dragotta kick), 10:00 1Q
SC: Hunter Dragotta 39 FG, 3:29 1Q
SO: Aiden Bush 1 run (Austin Rynearson kick), 7:19 2Q
SC: Kenny Bartee 89 kickoff return (Hunter Dragotta kick), 7:02 2Q
SO: Justin Bowen 1 run (Austin Rynearson kick), 4:55 2Q
SO: Justin Bowen 2 run (kick failed), 4:40 3Q
SO: Aiden Bush 41 run (Austin Rynearson kick), 1:44 3Q
SO: Aiden Bush 1 run (Austin Rynearson kick), 7:08 4Q

Schalick’s Jace Volovar reaches for a pass during the second half of Friday’s game with Somerville. (Photo by Heather Papiano)

WJFL scoreboard

FRIDAY’S GAMES
Pleasantville 20, Salem 8
Somerville 34, Schalick 17
Bridgewater-Raritan 35, Notre Dame 20
Camden 28, Martinsburg (WV) 0
Central Regional 27, Steinert 6
Collingswood 27, Clayton 20
Hightstown 9, Matawan 7
Maple Shade 27, Wildwood 0
Monroe 41, West Windsor-Plainsboro South 0
Montgomery 35, Hopewell Valley 28
Princeton 20, Lawrence 7
Robbinsville 41, South Brunswick 34
St. Augustine at Canton McKinley (Ohio)
Sterling 45, Buena 0
Watchung Hills 9, Moorestown 7
Willingboro 35, Rahway 33

Battle at the Beach, Rowan
West Deptford 51, KIPP Cooper Norcross 14
Washington Township 43, Hillsborough 12
Rancocas Valley 33, Millville 14

Pigskin Classic, Wilmington, Del.
Atlantic City 25, Mainland 8

Mountaineer Classic, West Orange
Burlington Township vs. Passaic Tech