Scrimmage roundup

Salem beats former coach in ‘family feud,’ Schalick has surprise visitors, Pennsville takes road less traveled

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

SALEM – It might not go down as anything more than a footnote to the season in the long run, but when you haven’t won a game in a while, even a win in a scrimmage is worth celebrating.

The Salem Rams were feeling pretty good Thursday after scored their first win under full game-like conditions in 22 months when they blanked Haddon Heights 8-0.

“We talked about it (the impact of the win),” Rams coach Kemp Carr said. “I thought we had good energy all day, which is going to be important to the way we play … I think if we play the way we did in the third quarter it’s going to be a fun season.”

There was a fun element to the scrimmage. They were calling it a “Family Feud” on the sideline. Heights is coached by former Salem head coach Montrey Wright and seven of the Garnets coaches were coached by Carr.

Wright led the Rams to eight straight winning seasons (67-24) and two sectional titles from 2015 to 2022. He had this year’s Salem seniors as freshmen.

“It was (a family feud); I’m glad my food tastes better,” Carr quipped.

The Rams embraced it. They held the Garnets to 104 yards of net offense during the three varsity quarters and 138 yards total. They turned back three red zone threats. They scored the game’s only touchdown and had two others denied by a penalty and a quick whistle.

“If it takes me coming back to get those kids excited to play, that’s just what it is,” Wright said. “There’s no ill will; I love Salem. If I’ve got to come back to get those kids to play like I know they ought to can, then I’ll do it.”

Salem rush end Antwuan Rogers (44) and Haddon Heights coach Montrey Wright (L), the former Salem head coach, share a moment on the way off the field following the Rams’ 8-0 win. (Riverview Sports News photo)

Antwuan Rogers was inspired. The Temple pledge looked like he was trying to set the school’s single-season sack record all in one day. He wound up with four and kept Garnet quarterbacks on the run. He was a force all game long, but there was a particular three-play sequence late in the second quarter that really stood out.

Heights had taken over in the red zone after a turnover. Rogers sacked the quarterback on back-to-back plays for 12 yards in losses, then provided the heavy produced that led to Isaiah Santiago’s interception.

“My DB told me, ‘Tweeze, I need pressure from you; you give me pressure, make the quarterback throw a bad ball, and I’m going to get it,” Rogers said. “I gave him what he needed. I want to do whatever I can do for my team to win.”

“I need that all year,” Carr said. “I hope (teams) double-team him; it allows us to do some other things. If one guy can do two people’s job in any job in the real world you get more bang for your buck, so we feel like we’re going to get more bang for our buck. I thought he played hard and if you play hard you’re going to get good results.”

The whole defense was active and determined to get the shutout. Heights had it first-and-goal from the 5 on the final series of the scrimmage, but the Rams wouldn’t yield. They made a stop for no gain on first down and then they threw the Garnets for a 3-yard loss.

The next two plays went for the score. Kyshann Long broke up the pass on third down and then Long and Kyvion Parsons – Carr’s grandson – broke up the final play in the back of the end zone.

“That was all freshmen and sophomores out there (in that final possession),” Carr said. “One of the things we want to do is let them play a little bit together no matter how good or developed they need to be. We want them to play together so they can get a chemistry, a camaraderie and they can believe in each other. Now they know each other, so that was really good.”

Rogers and freshman Ahmad Tucker were named the Kings of the Game and had the hardware to go with it.

Tucker’s biggest play was a 60-yard touchdown catch that made quarterback Desmund Thomas look good. Thomas stayed in the pocket looking for a receiver and Tucker eventually gave him a target by deftly slipping behind the defense who weren’t going to catch him.

The game style “didn’t fit” Thomas on this day, but the quarterback still managed to complete 8 of 14 passes for 101 yards and a touchdown and rush for 51 yards on six carries. He had a 38-yard touchdown pass to Kaden Robinson blown dead by a quick whistle to protect the quarterback that probably wouldn’t occur in a real game.

The Rams also lost a touchdown to a holding penalty on their opening drive.

Salem quarterback Desmund Thomas extends his body for more yardage after being brought down by Haddon Heights. Top photo: Freshman Ahmad Tucker celebrates after scoring the scrimmage’s only touchdown. (Photos by Kaitlyn Khairzada)

Schalick’s surprise spectators

PITTSGROVE – Schalick coach Kevin Leamy looked around the stadium after he walked into Friday’s scrimmage with Buena and was a little surprised by who he saw.

Walking through the gate was the Somerville head coach and a couple of his assistants who made the 90 mile drive down the turnpike to see their opening game opponent up close and personal. The teams play Friday night at Schalick in a game that initially was part of the Battle at the Beach weekend..

“I went over and introduced myself and said ‘Hi,’ asked them how their drive was,” Leamy said. “That’s a long hike. That’s commitment, driving down and scouting us like that.

“I told the kids this is going to be a well-coached team. Any coaches who have that type of commitment, you know that they’re doing everything they can to try and win a game. A lot of respect for those guys who drive two hours to watch a scrimmage. It means they’re putting in a lot of work and taking us seriously.”

All they did by making the trip was beat the Hudl posting by six hours. It’s not like they really saw a lot because Leamy had already planned to be “very vanilla and conservative” in the scrimmage. The visiting coaches were gone after the Cougars’ starters finished their two quarters of work.

Neither team scored in the half and for the Cougars that’s two scrimmages without a touchdown. Because of the pace and style of the game, both Schalick quarterbacks effectively got a quarter to put some separation in their battle.

Sophomore Kenny Bartee appeared to get the best of it, but apparently not enough to distance himself from junior scrimmage starter Gary Simonini.

Bartee got the second possession and took the Cougars from their 46 to the 20. He moved the chains with an 11-run on fourth down and broke off another 27-yard burst to reach the red zone.

“He had a good day,” Leamy said. “He runs the ball really well. He’s hard to bring down. Once he gets out in space he’s very dangerous. He did a really good job.

“We’re going to meet as coaches (Saturday) and talk more about making a decision (on a starter). We’ll see what that decision is.”

Pennsville on the move

WOODSIDE, Del. – Pennsville took a ride over the bridge and came back feeling good about itself heading into Game Week.

Coach Mike Healy went searching after his Thursday scrimmage fell through at the last minute and Delaware’s Polytech answered the call. So did the Eagles.

“It was much better across the board (than Monday’s scrimmage with Salem),” Healy said. “More disciplined and aggressive.”

And efficient, too. The only drive they were stopped on was due to a fumbled handoff.

**Ahmad Tucker (4) and Antwuan Rogers show off their regal hardware after being named Salem’s players of the game for their effort in Friday’s scrimmage. (Riverview Sports News photo)**

Looking for a home

Among the many questions Salem CC faces in its exploration of bringing a football program to campus is where to play its games; two local sites come to mind

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

Salem Community College officials already have a lot of positive data as they explore the possibility of starting a football program, but as president Mike Gorman has said, “there are a number of questions that have to be addressed.”

Among them is where would the Mighty Oaks play their home games if the team becomes a reality. There is no permanent stadium on campus – all of the school’s current outdoor teams play at off-campus venues – so in the beginning at least the football team would be a band of barnstormers.

There are options, among them playing at one or several high school stadiums in the county until more permanent digs can be secured.

The two closest possibilities are Penns Grove and Pennsville high schools. The Mighty Oaks’ two spring sports play their home games at recreation complexes nearby so they already have relationships in those communities.

Pennsville talked about it when Salem looked into starting a program several years ago. Lou D’Angelo Stadium does have permanent lights and the Eagles play their home games on Friday nights, so it wouldn’t be difficult to schedule Saturday games there.

“I think with the relationship we have with the college we would be very open to welcoming them onto our campus,” Pennsville athletics director Jamy Thomas said. “We have a lot of space back there for practices and storage of equipment. I am sure there would be some benefits to our program that we would welcome through the process.”

Penns Grove’s Jim Devonshire Field does not have permanent lights so the Mighty Oaks would have to work around the Red Devils’ Saturday afternoon home games.

Penns Grove AD Anwar Golden said the prospect of having a college team playing in his stadium is “appealing on a lot of levels,” but added the ultimate decision rests with the school board and superintendent.

Both high school stadiums have natural grass playing surfaces.

First and long look

Salem CC gets board approval to hire consultant to explore feasibility of bringing football to campus, already has some ‘powerful’ data

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – Is there football in Salem Community College’s future?

The prospect has been discussed from time to time, but Thursday evening the junior college’s Board of Trustees took a formal first step towards finding that answer when it authorized hiring a consultant for the next two months “in pursuit of a football program.”

The board’s action is not a mandate to field a football team, only to learn the feasibility of bringing the sport to campus. College president Mike Gorman told the board if the school is going to approve the program it needs to commit by mid-October for the team to start playing in 2026.

“There are probably 143 steps to getting this thing off the ground, this is probably Step 12,” Gorman said. “I’m excited to see what the research brings us.”

The board approved a two-month contract for former Rowan head football coach Jay Accorsi as consultant on the project. Accorsi first approached Salem officials in May about the prospects of starting football and they’ve had “extensive” informal conversations with a lot of preliminarily positive data since. The consulting contract will run from Aug. 25 to Oct. 25 at a rate of $400 per day not to exceed $15,000.

Athletics director Bob Hughes also is looking forward to the report.

“I’m excited to explore what football could mean not just for the college but for Salem County as a whole,” he said. “I think this brings educational opportunities to young men who otherwise might not have them and can create a better sense of community on the college’s campus.”

The Mighty Oaks currently offer men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, softball and, new this year, cross country – programs that all were either started or revived within the past seven years.

They have never sponsored football before, but explored the possibility of bringing it on line shortly before the COVID pandemic. If the board gives the go-ahead this time, the program would be a true start-up, with all the political, institutional, financial and athletic considerations that go with it. The school would have to buy uniforms and equipment, hire coaches, recruit players, build a schedule and, of course, secure a place to play.

Gorman estimated it would take an initial outlay of $500,000 to get the program off the ground.

“There are a number of questions that have to be addressed,” Gorman said.

“We have a lot of data that tells us not just why to do it, but how to do it and now it’s a matter of putting a plan into place,” Hughes said. “Being someone who very much enjoys creating systems and figuring out ways to do things we’re going to find out what the first step is and we’re going to do that, then we’ll do step two. We’re not going to try to put the cart before the horse.”

There is an opportunity for the Mighty Oaks in the market. Currently, there are 121 two-year colleges across the country playing football – 54 aligned with the National Junior College Athletic Association – but only one in New Jersey, none in Delaware and soon-to-be none in Pennsylvania. The other 67 are affiliated with the California Community College Athletic Association.

Sussex County CC is the only two-year school in New Jersey that has football. Lackawanna CC is the only one in Pennsylvania, but it will be transitioning to NCAA Division II in 2026-27.

Recent changes to the NCAA’s eligibility clock related to the junior college experience also work in Salem’s favor.

“If we’re going to do it, in all honesty, this is our window of opportunity to do it,” Gorman told the board.

The Mighty Oaks would play as a Division III (non-scholarship) independent for the first two years at least, Gorman said. In addition to four reasonably close New York JUCOs, there are numerous four-year junior varsity programs and trade schools in the region that could be prospective opponents. Home games could be played at area high schools until the Mighty Oaks found a permanent home.

“We wouldn’t be going forward if things weren’t pointing in the north direction now,” Gorman said. “You keep going forward until something tells you OK, now stop. Right now our internal work and the statistics and research we have been able to do have said this is worth going to the next level to talk about. Not necessarily to commit to yet, but hopefully with the feedback we get from (Accorsi) we’ll be able to make a good decision.”

Studies have indicated the addition of football promotes increased student enrollment and changes the perception of the college as a whole. Gorman told the board the addition of football could increase enrollment by more than 100. It also would narrow the school’s gender gap, which is now about 70-30 female.

Gorman was confident there are enough athletes in the immediate area that will be the program’s recruiting base to successfully field a team.

“It will draw, I have no doubt about that,” he said. “They would be pouring out to do this.”

At least one high school football coach in Salem County is excited about the prospect of college football coming to the county.

“I think it’d be a great idea,” Pennsville’s Mike Healy said. “I’ve had players in the past who’ve wanted to and were able to play college football, but because of the cost they never got the opportunity. Others weren’t sure if college was the best route for them and chose community college over playing football at a four-year university.”

In other action, the board approved an updated job description for an athletic coordinator (allowing for, among other things, the hiring of a head coach for another potential new program), and ratified the one-year stipends for new women’s basketball assistants Jeremy Jeane and Kayla Chambliss.

Woodstown at work

Wolverines see plenty of good things, others that need work, typical of a scrimmage with a young team

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – The quarterback competition in Woodstown’s preseason camp might be “still close” after Tuesday night’s scrimmage with Audubon, but with just nine days before the season opener the young Wolverines may have found their running back.

Sophomore Brayden Hall showed the speed, power and agility required of a lead back against the Green Wave. He rushed for 80 yards and two touchdowns and accounted for 114 yards of offense in an exercise the Wolverines won 22-13.

“I think Brayden is a very special athlete,” Woodstown coach Frank Trautz said. “I think him and Cole (Ware), they’re going to be a really, really dangerous duo for us for the next three years. Both are really great kids, great athletes. Those are two of the most I’m excited to see.

“To speak on Brayden’s behalf, he’s a special athlete. He can do some things not a lot of kids can do.”

Trautz has been anticipating having Hall, Ware and the rest in the program since their not-too-long-ago days in youth football. Hall intended to play last year alongside his senior brother, but didn’t last the season. Tuesday night against the Green Wave he didn’t look like a player who hadn’t carried the ball in two years.

It didn’t start sharp. He was stopped for no gain on his first carry and lost four yards on a shovel pass the next time he got it. Trautz called the whole team out to midfield about that time to settle them down and it did the trick.

Hall accounted for 18 yards the next two times he touched the ball. He scored the first touchdown of the scrimmage on a 15-yard run 3:30 before the end of the varsity half and later on a 2-yard walk-in during the overtime drill. His 15-yard TD run came with a stutter step that froze the defenders. He also caught a 23-yard pass on fourth down to keep that OT drill touchdown drive alive.

“I just wanted to really get comfortable back there on the high school level, bigger kids, just get comfortable,” he said. “It’s a big step from Little League to up here. It’s a lot more competitive, a lot more heavy – heavy hitters, bigger people. There’s more speed. It’s more of a competition that you’ve got to get the job done when you’ve got to get it done.”

Woodstown’s Brayden Hall races towards the end zone for the first of his two touchdowns in Tuesday’s scrimmage. (Top photo) Quarterbacks Frankie Hoerst (12) and Mason Middlemiss (3) have staged a good battle in camp for the starting spot. (Photos by Erin Hoerst)

Going into the scrimmage Trautz was starting to get an idea who would be his starting quarterback on Opening Night against Pitman. When it ended he had a few more things to think about.

It’s been a tight battle between freshman Frankie Hoerst and sophomore Mason Middlemiss. They bring two different styles and a lot of upside to the game. Both did some good things in the scrimmage, but Middlemiss may have gotten the best of it.

Hoerst, a strong passer who already holds an offer from Syracuse, hit on nine of 10 passes for 91 yards and led a touchdown drive in the OT drill. He was 4-for-4 for 47 yards and had a 9-yard run to get inside the 10 in the two-minute drill at the end of the varsity half, but ran out of time before getting a shot at the end zone. He directed the offense to 150 net yards on 27 snaps.

Middlemiss, the runner who played last season at Absegami, produced 205 yards of offense on 32 snaps and directed a pair of 11-play touchdown drives. He was 3-for-3 for 68 yards passing in the JV third quarter and rushed for 57 yards total.

“I think it’s still close,” Trautz said of the race. “They both showed signs of doing things really well. They’re two different styles of quarterbacks, so I was happy with things they both did. It’s going to be one of those (situations) where we’re going to go look at the film and we’re going to have to have a discussion as a coaching staff because we’ve got to get ready to play a game next Thursday.”

He expects to have a better idea about the starter once Pitman makes its scrimmage film available and the Wolverines can start game planning for their August 28 opener. Both quarterbacks are expected to play in the game.

“We’re two different type players so it’s hard to decide as a coach and it’s very understandable,” Middlemiss said. “As a mobile quarterback, I can run. Frankie has a big arm. But we’re two good quarterbacks who could mix in the offense and it’d be harder for a defense to figure out what they’re going to do against us.”

Defensively, the Wolverines gave up only two touchdowns, both on plays they were milliseconds from stopping. The first came on a 71-yard fourth-down pass to an open receiver in the middle of the field with Bradley Snitcher bearing down on the quarterback. The second came in the OT drill when the Green Wave slipped past Woodstown sophomore Antonio Merendino’s potential fifth sack of the scrimmage, fourth of the drill and second of the series.

“Our defense over the years has always been a staple here; I see that continuing,” Trautz said. “We want to play an aggressive style of football, physical; that’s what Woodstown football is known for. Now it’s these kids’ turn to embrace that and continue that legacy here.”

**Woodstown’s Antonio Merendino (36) looks poised to pounce. He had four sacks in the scrimmage. (Photo by Erin Hoerst)**

Dead ringer

New Salem quarterback looks to a lot of people like a certain former NFL QB as he impresses in first scrimmage

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – It is no coincidence new Salem quarterback Desmund Thomas wears No. 7.

See the way he looks in the uniform and carries himself on the field. Watch the way he escapes the rush and eventually makes something happen. Look at the sidewinder way he slings the ball downfield. Follow him as he takes off to run.

If he doesn’t remind you of former Virginia Tech, Falcons and Eagles quarterback Michael Vick you haven’t been watching football very long.

Like he hasn’t heard that before.

“They call me ‘Baby Vick’ sometimes,” the junior said. “At first I didn’t even see it. But when people see I can actually throw and they see I can actually run that’s when that comparison came up.”

Thomas has never met Vick or seen him play live, but knows all about him even though he was born the year before Vick joined the Eagles. “I watched his whole documentary,” he said. Of all the Vick versions out there, he likes the Philly Vick the best.

He’ll tell you, though, his choice of jersey number has nothing to do with any comparison to the current Norfolk State head coach.

“It’s me, it’s just me,” he said. “I want to be the best of me.”

By all accounts he was pretty good Monday against Pennsville in his first padded action against outside competition since transferring to Salem from Georgia,

He directed the Rams to four touchdowns in their eight goal-line plays after Robbie McDade led the Eagles to three in their first four plays. Then he directed a five-play, 65-yard touchdown drive to start their 10-and-10 and lofted a touchdown pass to 6-2 KaiSiere Muhammad on the final play of the varsity portion of the exercise.

Altogether he was 12-of-17 for 137 yards and three touchdowns passing (and had another 6-yard TD pass nullified by a penalty) and rushed for 48 yards and two goal-line scores. One of his completions was a spectacular 45-yarder that Quimere Bergen laid all the way out for and one of his incompletions was a ball he eventually threw away after a long Vick-like run to escape Pennsville pursuit. His longest run went for 40 yards.

He looked a lot like he did while putting up some big numbers for Mt. Zion in Jonesboro, Ga., the last two years.

“I feel better since I’ve been here,” he said. “I feel more elusive in the pocket, I’m able to move around, trust my teammates when I’m on the run, extend the play, things like that. I’m glad to be here.”

“I was really impressed with him, and it wasn’t just his ability to scramble, it was his ability to keep his eyes downfield and still keep looking, trying to find the open player,” Pennsville coach Mike Healy said. “He’s a big handful, that’s for sure. He did a lot of good stuff.”

Despite all the good things Thomas did in the scrimmage, he still had some missteps Rams coach Kemp Carr said need to be corrected before he can become the truly great quarterback he believes he can be.

“I’m looking for him to be a complete player,” Carr said. “The sky’s the limit, but I need him to hit every phase and he missed two phases today. He showed he can do a lot of good things, but we’ve got hit the phases when we need to hit the phases.

“The game is about levels. We want every level to fill and he missed some levels today. But he did a good job being able to scamper and play off-schedule, which is good.”

Even Michael Vick wasn’t built in a day.

NOTES: Thomas threw his other touchdown passes to Antwuan Rogers and Jovanni Rios, a transfer from Pennsville. Rios caught three more passes and had a 14-yard run against his former team after they threw him for a 7-yard loss the first time he touched the ball … The three touchdowns Pennsville scored in the goal-line drill were the only ones they scored in the scrimmage. Their goal in the workout was to get a lot of players on film against outside competition and they achieved that with liberal substitutions … The Rams have added a Week Zero game to the schedule. They will open their season at home against Pleasantville Aug. 29 at 3:30 p.m.

Salem rush end Antwuan Rogers (44) sets his sights on Pennsville quarterback Robbie McDade during Monday’s scrimmage. (Top photo) Salem QB Desmund Thomas looks downfield for a receiver as the Pennsville defense closes in.

Schalick: QBs battle on

FRANKLINVILLE – The objective of Schalick’s first scrimmage of camp was to get some separation between its two quarterback candidates, but after a couple 10-and-10s at Delsea Monday morning the battle still rages.

Gary Simonini and Kenny Bartee got 10 plays each in the exercise to show what they could do in the option and the result was about a draw.

“I don’t think either one of them necessarily separated,” Cougars coach Kevin Leamy said. “They both showed signs and did things very well (and) they both showed me things they need to improve on.

“I think if we had to play a game tomorrow I think I would be comfortable playing both of them in a game. Neither one of them did bad, but as of right now I plan on using both of them because neither is necessarily separating above the other.”

Simonini, a junior, drew the opening assignment and had a somewhat balky start, but bounced back and accounted for 28 yards of net offense. Bartee, a sophomore, ran the final five plays of each set and accounted for 21 net yards. Both had a keeper in the option that went for more than 10 yards.

“I feel like I didn’t accomplish what I really wanted to,” Bartee said. “I wanted to show them who I was, but with the little drives I did have I think I did fine.”

“You always want to be better at everything I do,” Simonini said. “At the end of the day we’re both capable of playing this position. We both are good football players. At the end of the day we’re just out here to have fun playing a kids game.”

They’ll get another chance to show out in a more game-like scrimmage Friday against Buena. Leamy wasn’t sure after Monday’s exercise if he’d split the work series by series or quarter by quarter in the scheduled half of game action.

Then, too, he wouldn’t be opposed to playing two quarterbacks. He told both of them he wanted both to play in the opener against Somerville.

“I’ve watched a lot of Navy offenses that used two quarterbacks and did well,” Leamy said. “It’s not like it’s never been done before.”

As for the scrimmage overall, Leamy said, the Cougars did a “very good” job and “accomplished what we wanted to.”

The best play of the scrimmage was Simonini’s toss to David Stewart that opened their second 10-and-10 and went for 16 yards. The worst play was final play of their first defensive set when Delsea completed a play-action pass to a running back from midfield that went for the day’s only touchdown.

No hill for a climber

The Salem Rams, already with one mountain to climb, have found a secret hill to help them prepare for the football season ahead

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

SALEM — If opponents that had their way with the Salem football team a year ago suddenly find themselves locked in a fourth-quarter dogfight or woefully behind in the second half they only have The Hill to blame.

It’s one of the tools Rams coach Kemp Carr is using this year to get his team bigger, faster and stronger as they look to bounce back from a winless first season together. After swearing at it at first, the players now are swearing by it.

The players call it Death Hill. It’s on a remote stretch of road somewhere in Salem County – exact location undisclosed for secrecy sake – with about 150 feet of elevation change that gets the legs moving, the heart pumping and the adrenaline flowing. (It’s a win in itself to find such a place in a county Wikipedia says is “almost uniformly flat coastal plain with minimal relief.”

You’d think the idea would be to run up the hill to promote conditioning, but not surprising, Carr flips the script and has the Rams running downhill to promote both speed and control. Besides, what coach doesn’t love a downhill runner?

He first used the tactic for his track teams back in the day and it changed everything about their performances. It’s the first time he’s done it for football.

“You’ve gotta find ways to get an edge,” Carr said. “I use everything I have within my background to try to sharpen their skills, but also improve, no matter what position. That’s why we try to add as many additives to our program as possible to get versatile going forward.”

The exercise first began in June with eight hearty volunteers, a group that included rush end Antwuan Rogers and newcomers Desmond Thomas and Jovanni Rios. It quickly grew to 16, still voluntary, and then, as the benefits were becoming evident, mandatory for all and the rest, as they say, is history.

The first time they all ran it and helped each other through it, that’s when the players knew they had a different kind of mindset flowing within this year’s team.

It’s not just getting down The Hill in one piece or without wiping out the guys in front of you – “No one has, thankfully,” center Wyatt Irvine said. “That’d hurt.” – it’s getting down under a certain time depending on position and physical circumstance.

“It’s pretty awful,” Irvine said of his first experience. ”But we ran a lot and got a lot more used to it. In the beginning people were (grumbling) but I think they realized how much it helped. It’s definitely made practice a lot easier, condition wise. I feel like I can run a lot longer than regular practices now that we did the hills.”

“Our first day on The Hill I thought it was all right,” Rogers said. “I ran the first one, I felt good, I’m like all right, it’s just work. Then we run the second one and my eyes start getting black. Then we run another one after that and I was like, all right, I don’t like this. He (Carr) told us we were going to run 10, but once we got to three it was like I don’t know if I can make 10.”

There’s a story about a few players trying to skip out early in the process; they were driven out after practice to fulfill their obligation. No one escapes The Hill.

“I love the hills,” receiver Kaden Robinson said. “I love putting in hard work. It’s work. At the end of the day it’s getting everybody better, getting me better, getting the team better.”

And, after all, isn’t that, in the end, what it’s all about.

Top photo: The intrepid eight Salem football players who first braved coach Kemp Carr’s “Death Hill” training exercise during summer workouts. The group included Antwuan Rogers, Kaden Robinson, Kyvion Parsons, Desmond Thomas, Makye Murray, Jovanni Rios, Quimere Bergen and Amir Kornegay.
(Submitted photo)

This week’s schedule

Football scrimmages begin this week; here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of Aug. 18-23; x-scrimmage

MONDAY, AUG. 18
FOOTBALL
x-Schalick at Delsea, 10 a.m.
x-Salem at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.

TUESDAY, AUG. 19
FOOTBALL
x-Penns Grove, Cumberland, Haddon Twp. at Buena, 9 a.m.
x-Audubon at Woodstown, 6 p.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
x-Delsea at Pennsville, 10 a.m.

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 20
GIRLS TENNIS
x-Haddon Heights at Woodstown, 9 a.m.

THURSDAY, AUG. 21
FOOTBALL
x-Penns Grove at Collingswood, 6 p.m.
x-Triton at Pennsville, 6 p.m.

FRIDAY, AUG. 22
FOOTBALL
x-Buena at Schalick, 10 a.m.
x-Haddon Heights at Salem, noon
GIRLS TENNIS
x-Pennsville at Millville, 10 a.m.
x-Woodstown at Ocean City, 10 a.m.

All eyes forward

Salem looking to turn some heads with a renewed commitment that touches every part of the program

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

SALEM – The Salem football team is playing basically the same schedule it did last year in head coach Kemp Carr’s first season, but if those opponents think they’re going to get the same struggling Rams team they saw last year – the last two years, really – they’re in for a rude awakening.

With the addition of some dynamic newcomers, a renewed focus and aggressive approaches on both sides of the ball, the Rams promise to be bigger, stronger, faster than the group that struggled to score and went winless in 2024.

SALEM

Aug. 18: x-at Pennsville

Aug. 22: x-Haddon Heights

Aug. 29: Pleasantville

Sept. 4: at Cinnaminson

Sept. 13: Woodbury

Sept. 20: Glassboro

Sept. 25: at Schalick

Oct. 4: at Middle Twp.

Oct. 11: West Deptford

Oct. 17: at Woodstown

Oct. 25: Penns Grove

x-scrimmage

“We don’t try to talk about last year,” receiver Kaden Robinson said. “We want to erase last year. It’s a new year, new season. Bigger, faster, stronger. It’s a completely different team, completely different program.

“It makes me hungry. I’m glad we have the same schedule. Want to dominate every team we played last year when I look back. Got a lot to prove. If they sleep (on us), it’s time for them to wake up.”

The Rams had one of their toughest seasons in recent memory, going a depressing 0-9 for their first winless season since 2012. They scored nine touchdowns all season and held a lead only twice – the first touchdown of the Cinnaminson game and halftime of the Middle Twp. game.

They slammed the book on that chapter the minute their last game against Penns Grove went final and they haven’t looked back.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Carr said. “(Last year) is expired. It’s already expired. Everybody’s expired. Everybody.

“A team goes 8-3 doesn’t mean they’re 8-3 this year, or 0-9. It doesn’t matter (what last year was). You’re in the 2025-26 football season. A lot happens within a year. A lot happens. Depending on how you address your program, you can get better or you can get worst.

“The only thing I do know for sure, this team has gotten better – personnel wise, mentally wise, the social dynamic of how they handle each other. You can take good teams and be great or take great teams and only be good. It usually happens by the mentality of the senior leadership and how they carry themselves. I think we have a good (group) of guys wanting to do the right thing.”

And a lot has happened since the Rams last played a game. They committed to being better. They intensified their offseason workouts. They picked up some new players to address their shortcomings. And they put a lot of miles on the road to text themselves. Carr called the difference he’s seen between last year and this one “night and day.”

“We’re not here to make the playoffs,” Carr said. “We’re here to win a championship, but we’ve got to get off the schneid. We’ve got to get a taste of that win. It’s gotta happen fast.”

**Salem football coach Kemp Carr stands in front of the 3D Rams mural that adorns the wall of his office.**

The new mindset also is reflective of how the Rams will look on the field, having changed their approach on both sides of the ball. Think of it truly as basketball on grass, and the playbook has expanded accordingly to reflect the players’ abilities and aptitude.

The fast-break offense will have multiple options for dual-threat junior quarterback Desmond Thomas, who returns to his Salem roots after posting some big numbers in two varsity seasons in Georgia. He has looked impressive in the well-travelled Rams’ summer workouts and camps and will have as many as eight receivers and four running backs at his disposal.

“We’ve got a lot of depth, a lot of athletes,” Robinson said. “Anybody can play any position at any time. Everybody’s versatile.”

“We’ve definitely improved a lot,” center Wyatt Irvine said.

Carr called Thomas “the real deal.” The quarterback is smooth and fearless in the pocket, a strong runner and eager to get started.

“It feels great; I just wanted to be back home,” Thomas said. “I’m looking forward to a great season. I’m 10 times more excited (about this season starting). One, I’m being back home, being back with all my people. Ready to make history.”

On the other side of the ball, the Rams’ pressing defense will be rooted in chaos, with 6-5, 240-pound lineman Antwuan Rogers leading the charge. Captain Chaos, who committed to Temple earlier this summer, has his eye on the Rams’ single-season sack record (19) and he’ll be put in various spots to give that a better chance to happen.

That’s all right by him.

“I’m loving how everything is looking,” Rogers said. “We’re going to be good. We’re much more focused, locked in, working harder than ever. A lot of heads will turn. We’re going to shock the world.”

Attention getter

Schalick’s Dragotta marveled at NFL kicker’s 70-yard field goal

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE – Hunter Dragotta didn’t see it as it happened, but when he saw the clips of Jaguars’ kicker Cam Little’s 70-yard field goal against the Steelers Saturday he was awe-struck, excited and maybe even a little jealous.

Kickers like seeing kickers do good things and Dragotta, Schalick’s senior kicker and one of the best in South Jersey, was suitably impressed.

Little made his kick on the last play of the first half of the Jags’ preseason opener. Okay, so it was just an exhibition game and didn’t count as the NFL record, but it was 70 yards.

“It was a great kick,” Dragotta said Monday after the Cougars’ first practice of fall camp. “You see how (NFL record-holder) Justin Tucker added a little extra crow hop when he hit his 66, how much force he had to put into it. And then you have Cam Little go up with his normal steps and just boot it through like it was nothing.

“And he had like three, four extra yards on it, too, which is the crazy thing.”

There have only been eight other field goal attempts of 70-plus in the Super Bowl era. Kickers have been getting stronger and more flexible and their kicks have been getting longer, so it just seemed inevitable somebody was going to make one.

“You see high schoolers, they’re able to actually kick 70-yarders now,” Dragotta said. “Like some of the best high schoolers in the state, they can kick 70-yarders, so honestly it was only a matter of time before someone in the NFL actually tried it.

“I think now that one was actually kicked you’re going to see it a lot more this year.”

Dragotta says he can’t kick a 70-yarder – “not yet,” he added quickly.

He hit five field goals last season and is 8-of-12 in his career. He made a 57-yarder in practice once. The longest one he’s ever tried is 60. The longest he’s made in a game is 36.

“We have a nice breeze, you never know,” he said. “Anything can happen.”

New Cougars head coach Kevin Leamy wasn’t too sure about making such a bold attempt, but he won’t hesitate using his kicker from any other place on the field.

“I’d let him kick a 50-yard field goal, absolutely,” Leamy said. “His range is probably somewhere in between 50 and 55 right now. I’d say he’s probably money from 45 in so if we get the chance he’s going to kick some field goals this year. We will absolutely use that when we get a chance.”

Top photo: Schalick senior kicker Hunter Dragotta (12) has hit eight field goals and 75 extra points in his career. (Photo by Heather Papiano)

Whole lot of new

Salem County football: Schalick opens football camp with new head coach, new approaches on offense, defense

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE – Kevin Leamy has been going to the first day of football practice for 15 years. They all look the same, sound the same and all accomplish the same thing, but there was something just a little different about this one.

For the first time, it was Leamy’s practice to run. He was calling the shots. He was setting the practice schedule. He was making the groups. He decides the way the team was going to play this year.

SCHALICK

Aug. 18: x-at Delsea

Aug. 22: x-Buena

Aug. 29: Somerville

Sept. 5: at Cumberland

Sept. 12: Woodstown

Sept. 20: at Penns Grove

Sept. 25: Salem

Oct. 3: Paulsboro

Oct. 10: Gloucester

Oct. 17: at Glassboro

Oct. 25: at Woodbury

x-scrimmage

Leamy was promoted as Schalick’s head coach in March to follow Mike Wilson and Monday was his first official practice as a head coach. It was a red-letter day, for sure, but, frankly, it was a lot like the other 14 first days he’s gone through.

“It was just another day,” he said after the brisk two-hour workout under overcast skies that saw him bounce from station to station. “I slept fine last night; I was already prepared. I knew what we were going to do. I already had the scout team books and everything done ahead of time. For me, it was just another day.

“I don’t think I’ve felt any different than it was over the summer. The structure of what we did today is very similar to what we’ve been doing all summer; now we just have helmets on.

“As it goes on the biggest difference is going to be game planning. Once I do it in a game I think I’ll get some of that first time, first day of school, nerves and stuff like that.”

The Cougars actually did some of that the first day in preparation for their Aug. 29 season opener against Somerville.

The players said the first day of camp under the new coach didn’t feel any different than previous years. They even made Day One a defensive-themed practice.

“Expectations are a little bit different because the guys who are coming in this year don’t know what it’s like and they’re learning, but everything went smoothly,” senior receiver/safety Dylan Sheehan said. “We’ve been doing the exact drills for three months now. The guys are getting it. It feels good to put a helmet on.”

“We’re really locked in on the season,” receiver Jase Volovar added. “We’ve learned everything pretty good so far and we’ve been rolling pretty good, so I think we’ve just got to keep going and going and building.”

Kevin Leamy (R) calls out a play during an offensive drill in his first day of fall camp as Schalick’s head coach. (Top photo) Leamy brings the Cougars together at the conclusion of “a good first practice.”

Still, there’s a lot of new surrounding the Cougars besides the coach. There are new offenses and defenses they’re trying to install.

They’ve scrapped the 3-3-5 defense in favor of a 4-2-5 to lock down on the run and moved from the Gun-T to the Flexbone on offense to take advantage of the versatility of speedster David Stewart and take some pressure off the developing line.

“He gives us a lot of flexibility to put him in different places to get the ball,” Leamy said of Stewart. “Every time he’s out on the field teams are going to have to pay attention to him because if you don’t he’s gone in the blink of an eye.”

The Cougars needed to find a gamechanger after quarterback Kenai Simmons and running back Reggie Allen and Levi Feeney-Childers transferred. The quarterback spot this year is a two-man battle between left-handed junior Gary Simonini and sophomore Kenny Bartee. The running back spot is currently being run “by committee.”

“I just feel like we have doubters because we have a lot of new things and we lost a lot of players, but I feel like we can go far,” Stewart said. “Even though we lost a lot of players our guys are still good, I feel like we can match any team in our division.”