Playoff bound or missed cut?

Penns Grove remains optimistic about Group I playoff berth after shutting out Salem, awaits official calculations (UPDATE: Late update has Red Devils on the outside)

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNS GROVE — In college basketball, if a team on the bubble hits a buzzer-beater to win the opening game in its conference tournament they used to call it a $250,000 shot because that’s about what a first-round NCAA Tournament game was said to be worth.

Tre Brown delivered the high school football equivalent to Penns Grove Saturday — minus the monetary incentive, of course — in their regular-season game that they hope won’t be their final game of the year.

Brown’s 25-yard scoop and score in the second quarter was the defining play in the Red Devils’ 27-0 win over Salem that for all intents sent them to the South/Central Jersey Group I playoffs.

At least that’s the way the players felt about it as they left Jim Devonshire Field. In the post-game huddle they talked about playing “a red team or a green team” they had faced previously this season in next week’s opening round. Glassboro is expected to be the No. 1 seed in South Jersey.

“We have a shot; I think we made it,” sophomore running back KaRon Ceaser said.

First-year Penns Grove coach Marc Maccarone wouldn’t speculate on the Red Devils’ fate after the game because the formula for determining the qualifiers is so different than it was when he previously coached.

All of the projections have them landing a spot between 13 and 16 in the UPR ratings based largely on their strength of schedule. One numbers crunch has them landing at No. 15 and winning a tiebreaker over KIPP for the spot and playing Shore Regional in the first round of the Central Jersey bracket.

They went into game No. 16 in the official UPR ratings the state uses to determine the seedings and No. 17 in an unofficial Central Jersey Sports Radio ranking updated Friday night that’s proven to be just as accurate as the official standing. Saturday is the cutoff for calculations and presumptive pairings usually begin appearing in various media as the day wears on.

“Obviously, getting the win was definitely something we needed,” Maccarone said. “We’re down here trying to build a program and if the opportunity for us to get in the playoffs is there you can kind of put your record to bed because everyone is 0-0 going to the playoffs … and it’s not unheard of for a low seed to knock off a top seed. If we’re let into the playoffs, anything can happen.”

(UPDATE: In the 6:45 p.m. Saturday update on Gridiron NJ, the official state UPR source, Penns Grove missed the cut at 17. Projected Group I pairings from the official site are below:)

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP 1 TOP 16: Glassboro, Woodstown, Shore, Paulsboro, Schalick, Burlington City, Middlesex, Riverside, Haddon Twp., Pennsville, Woodbury, Manville, Audubon, KIPP Cooper Norcross, New Egypt, Point Pleasant Beach

SOUTH JERSEY
Point Pleasant Beach at Glassboro
Riverside at Haddon Twp. (Sat.)
Manville at Paulsboro (Sat.)
Audubon at Schalick

CENTRAL JERSEY
KIPP Cooper Norcross at Woodstown
Pennsville at Burlington City
Woodbury at Middlesex
New Egypt at Shore

Oh, there was pressure to get in. The Red Devils had to beat the Rams in order to gain the requisite minimum of two wins to qualify; lose and they wouldn’t have even been in the conversation and Salem could celebrate avoiding its first winless season since 2012.

The Red Devils (2-7) would have made things easier on themselves had they not blown a nine-point third-quarter lead against Woodbury last week or held on to several games that went sideways late.

“The pressure was there, it was there,” Ceaser said. “We felt pressure because we felt like this season could have gone a lot better, a lot better. We feel like we could be a team that could compete for the championship.

“In every game we lost we beat ourselves. Turnovers, missed tackles, penalties. We’re just cleaning everything up to get into the playoffs.”

Brown’s scoop and score came in the second quarter with the Red Devils already leading 7-0. It was his first career touchdown.

“That was nice,” he said. “It was a great play from my teammates who blew the play up and all that. I saw the ball on the floor, just picked it up and ran it in.

“It was really important, it boosted the team’s morale and all that, but just that play alone did not get us in the playoffs. It was all the plays the whole game, but that play was really important.”

“That scoop and score, that’s what really put us over the top and let us know we’ve got to go get this,” sophomore lineman Ray Brown said.

In addition to Brown’s score, the Red Devils got three touchdowns from Ceaser. The sophomore scored on runs of 6 and 27 yards and caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from Melo Erickson. He rushed for 151 yards in the game, leaving him 139 yards shy of a second straight 1,000-yard season.

Ceaser’s first touchdown capped a 65-yard drive that took up nearly the first eight minutes of the game. He carried it eight times in the 11-play drive.

“It’s good that you’re starting to finally see the fruits of all the hard work,” Maccarone said. “Changing an offense from last year to this year, being able to start to see really the last three weeks offensive production starting to come. The scoreboard wasn’t necessarily indicative of it, but the offense has been taking strides the last four weeks, so it was good to kind of see it come to blossom.”

Penns Grove’s Isaiah Upshur wraps up Salem quarterback Troy Cater for a sack Saturday. On the cover, Red Devils coach Marc Maccarone talks to his team after they shut out the Rams to enhance their playoff hopes.

Penns Grove 27, Salem 0

SALEM		PG
1	1st Downs	16
13-11	Rushing	43-273
8-13-1	C-A-I	3-9-0
38	Passing	29
2-2	Fum-lost	1-1
3-37.3	Punts	0-0
5-50	Penalties	9-50

Salem	0	0	0	0-	0
Penns Grove	6	14	0	7-	27

SCORING SUMMARY
PG-KaRon Ceaser 4 run (kick failed), 4:10 1Q
PG-Tre Brown 25 yard fumble return (pass failed), 8:41 2Q
PG-KaRon Ceaser 27 run (Knowledge Young pass from Melo Erickson), 3:08 2Q
PG-KaRon Ceaser 6 pass from Melo Erickson (Tre Brown kick), 10:12 4Q

WJFL Standings

DIAMOND DIVISION	DIV	ALL
Glassboro	5-0	8-0
Woodstown	4-1	7-1
Schalick	3-2	6-3
Woodbury	2-3	3-5
Penns Grove	1-4	2-7
Salem	0-5	0-9

FRIDAY’S GAMES
Glassboro 20, Woodstown 7
Schalick 27, Woodbury 16
SATURDAY’S GAME
Penns Grove 27, Salem 0

Battavio notches nifty 60

Woodstown senior becomes fifth player in girls soccer program to hit that milestone, and gets it on Senior Day; also, Thursday’s Salem County results

GIRLS SOCCER
Woodstown 3, Pennsville 1
Schalick 5, Penns Grove 0
Salem at Salem Tech

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – Talia Battavio took up soccer as a way to stay in shape and provide a fun release away from the demands of her first sport, basketball. And, as it turns out, she wound up being pretty good at it.

Four years into it, Battavio scored her 60th career goal and became the fifth player in Woodstown’s girls soccer history to reach that milestone Thursday when got her 13th goal of the season to seal the Wolverines 3-1 Senior Day victory over Pennsville.

The goal came late in the second half and gave the Wolverines (12-4-1) a two-goal cushion, and came in a fashion similar to the way she scores a lot of her points on the basketball court.

Battavio’s initial shot, with her left foot, banged off a defender, but she collected the rebound on her right foot at the 18 and let it fly.

“I didn’t know that was my 60th,” she said. “It was cool to get it on Senior Night and I’m glad we got the win.”

Gina Murray scored Woodstown’s first two goals after the teams played a scoreless first half. Battavio assisted on one of the goals, giving her 25 for her career (ninth on the all-time list). Her 125 scoring points are fifth on that all-time list.

“I actually thought today was her best game,” Wolverines coach Kieran Keyser said. “Talia is a gifted athlete and always finds ways to score, as displayed the last four seasons. But I think her most underrated skill is her ability to see the field and connect with her teammates. She consistently looks to make the final pass and set her teammates up to score.”

Woodstown’s other 60-goal scorers are Tatum Devault (75), Tori Malpezzi (70), Amy Gray (69) and Chelsea Norbuts (65). They’re also the only players ahead of Battavio on the program’s all-time points list.

By the time Battavio graduates this spring she will rank among the top five scorers in two sports at Woodstown. She currently is fifth on the school’s all-time scoring list in basketball (1,194).

“I think I’m very blessed and I’m glad that I got the opportunity to go to the trainers and have parents who will drive me to practices like every day,” she said.

Woodstown leading scorers

GIRLS SOCCER	G	A	PTS
Tatum Devault (2022)	75	42	192
Tori Malpezzi (2008)	70	33	173
Amy Gray (1993)	65	34	164
Chelsea Norbuts (2009)	69	22	160
Talia Battavio (2024)	60	25	145

SCHALICK 5, PENNS GROVE 0: The Cougars (12-4) completed a sweep of their Diamond Division schedule behind Abby Willoughby’s hat trick and single goals by freshman Kassady Sickler and Quinn Berger. Sickler’s goal was the first of her career.

Cover photo: Woodstown’s Talia Battavio takes a shot against Clayton in a match earlier this month.

BOYS SOCCER
SCHALICK 6, PENNS GROVE 0: Luke Price scored two goals and Anthony Sepers recorded three assists as the Cougars (15-1) won their tenth straight game. Brad Foster, Oscar Hernandez, Louis Sepers and Marco Spinnato scored their other goals.
WOODSTOWN 2, PITMAN 1: The Wolverines gave coach Darren Huck his 300th career victory. (See related story)
PENNSVILLE 6, GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 1: Michael Veasy scored two goals and Shane Puckett had a goal and three assists for the Eagles (10-7). It was their fifth win in the last six games.
SALEM TECH 4, SALEM 2: Clinton Bobo scored two goals in the second half as the Chargers won their NJSIAA school-record third in a row. Jack McCauley and Christian VanTonder gave the Chargers (6-10) a 2-0 halftime lead.

GIRLS TENNIS
PENNSVILLE 3, SCHALICK 2
(conclusion of susp. match)
Emma Adams (S) def. Megan Morris, 6-2, 6-3
Ally Green (S) def. Regan Whitt, 6-0, 6-0
Lily Edwards (P) def. Miya Watkins, 6-0, 6-0
Emma Cornette-Gabi Forino (P) def. Julia Langley-Helana Tyers, 6-2, 6-2
Izzy Schrenker-Naomi Hess (P) def. Kayleigh Veach-Annie Podehl, 6-3, 6-3
Records: Pennsville 20-1, Schalick 9-8.

FIELD HOCKEY
HAMMONTON 6, WOODSTOWN 1: Sienna Land scored the Wolverines’ goal in the third quarter.

VOLLEYBALL
Timber Creek at Salem Tech

Closing on a milestone

Woodstown gives coach Darren Huck his 299th career coaching victory in 4-0 shutout of Glassboro; also includes Tuesday’s Salem County sports results

BOYS SOCCER
Overbrook 2, Penns Grove 1 (OT)
Pennsville 5, Clayton 1
Salem Tech 4, Gloucester Catholic 3
Schalick 2, Pitman 0
Wildwood 9, Salem 0
Woodstown 4, Glassboro 0

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – The milestone has been on the horizon since the start of the season, but now it’s right there on the doorstep.

Adrian Ibarra scored twice and Ben Stengel came up with another shutout as Woodstown blanked Glassboro Tuesday 4-0 to give coach Darren Huck his 299th career coaching victory.

Huck, in his 26th season at the Wolverines’ helm, can become the second Salem County soccer coach to reach 300 wins as early as Thursday in the regular-season finale against Pitman at Alcyon Park.

Schalick’s boys coach Joe Mannella, Huck’s good friend and neighbor, became the first Salem County soccer coach to reach the milestone on Oct. 2.

“People would bring it up and I kept saying I’ve got a ways to go, I’ve got a ways to go, and here we are at 13-4,” Huck said. “It’s definitely a weird feeling because I’m a numbers guy, I love numbers in sports, I’m always looking at different statistics and stuff like that.

“You know how I am about the history of our soccer program, but when it came to me I never really thought about ever being in this situation. Whether I played it off as I don’t know if I’ll be coaching that long or maybe I won’t win as much as I did. As a coach I always downplayed that a little bit, but in all honesty for a while it was like that will be a while before I get to that.”

Ibarra gave the Wolverines (13-4) a 1-0 halftime lead, then scored the first goal of the second half and 46th of his career. Bryce Ayars made it 3-0 and Dante Holmes scored the final goal of the game. Stengel was credited with five saves in the shutout.

“My defense definitely stepped up; they’ve been stepping up all season,” Huck said. “We had a little talk at halftime – we were up 1-0 and were pretty much controlling the game – I looked right at Dante Holmes, my center back, and my two other backs and Ben and I said over the next 40 minutes you guys need to win this game for us. You keep them off the board we win the game.

“Allow the offense to keep working at it and working at it, but you know what you’ve got ahead of yourselves. It’s a 1-0 game and if you can lock ‘em down for 40 minutes than we’ve got ourselves win No. 13. And they did that.”

And it gave their coach win No. 299.

The victory also elevated the Wolverines to No. 2 in the current South Jersey Group I power points standings.

When Mannella joined the 300 Club at Wildwood, the feat was met with a commemorative game ball, balloons spelling out “300” and a healthy dousing from the water bucket. Not that Huck is expecting any of that when his entry into the 300 Club becomes official, but he has never had the water bucket treatment before.

“I always said I’d love to be able to share that (milestone) within the same year of him,” Huck told Riverview Sports News last month. “It also means we’ve been around a long time, too. We’ve had some very good players and, if anything, 300 is just a true testament to staying consistent and doing the right things.”

SALEM TECH 4, GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 3: Clinton Bobo scored the tying and winning goals in the Chargers’ three-goal second-half rally that erased a 3-1 deficit. Aiden Bobo scored in the first half and Bobby Jones got the Chargers’ first goal in the second half.

“We were dragging in the first half,” Chargers coach Rob Polk said. “They were beating us to every ball over the field.

“We talked mainly at halftime about effort and coming out fast in the second half. We’ve been playing pretty well the last couple weeks and I was pretty confident if we came out and found a way to pop a goal in early the momentum would shift and more would follow. We were fortunate enough to finish an early chance and the game kind of opened up for us after that.”

The Chargers (5-10) have their eye on a school-record third straight win Thursday at Salem.

PENNSVILLE 5, CLAYTON 1: Shane Puckett scored the Eagles’ first three goals — his first career hat trick — and Ugur Elmali and J.P. Laughrey extended the lead with goals in the final three minutes.

SCHALICK 2, PITMAN 0: Oscar Hernandez and Luke Price scored first-half goals in the Cougars’ ninth straight victory. The Cougars (14-1) remain the No. 1 team in the South Jersey Group I power points standings.

WILDWOOD 9, SALEM 0: NuNu Bedderi and Gavin Burns both scored hat tricks for the Warriors. For Bedderi it was his second straight three-goal game. He now has 30 goals in his first season playing high school soccer in the United States.

OVERBROOK 2, PENNS GROVE 1 (OT)

GIRLS SOCCER
Wildwood at Salem

SCHALICK 4, PENNSVILLE 0: The Cougars outshot their hosts 24-6, scored two goals in each half and had four players light the lamp. Quinn Berger and Abby Willoughby scored in the first half, while Cali Fisler and Jael Winnberg scored in the second. (Related story posting soon)

WOODSTOWN 1, GLASSBORO 0: Sophie Wells scored the game’s only goal in the first half and goalie Ellie Wygand kept the Bulldogs out of the net to make it stand.

GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 6, SALEM TECH 0: Six players scored goals for the Rams.

OVERBROOK 7, PENNS GROVE 0: Gianna Simon scored four goals and Victoria Bupp had three.

GIRLS TENNIS
OVERBROOK 5, PENNS GROVE 0
Keira Riess (O) def. Alease Stewart, 6-0, 6-0
Nesrine Fosso (O) def. Andrea Restrepo, 6-0, 6-1
Sophia Burgos (O) def. Zeven Akkaya, 6-0, 6-1
Hillary Cho-Jennifer Giovanni (O) def. Janiyah Cummings-Makala Washington, 6-1, 6-2
Madison Rikard-Gianna Hardy (O) def. Elif Sagir-Gabriela Roman, 6-0, 6-0.
Records: Overbrook 6-14, Penns Grove 0-12

WOODSTOWN 4, WILDWOOD 1
Gabby Kurpis (Wo) def. Charlie Cunningham-Hackney, 6-0, 6-0
Camille Osborn (Wo) def. Cydnee Kilian, 6-1, 6-0
Angela Wilber (Wi) def. Aubrie Rennie, 6-2, 6-2
Alyssa Berry-Julianna Lindenmuth (Wo) def. Kiana D’Antuano-Estella Robinson, 6-1, 6-0
Leah Waterman-Nathalie Neron (Wo) def. Selin Ogden-Emma Contreras, 6-0, 6-1
Records: Woodstown 14-5, Wildwood 7-8

FIELD HOCKEY
Woodstown at St. Joe (Hamm.)

PENNSVILLE 1, OVERBROOK 1: Izzy Saulin scored in the fourth quarter to earn the Eagles (5-8-2) a tie.

VOLLEYBALL
Washington Twp. 2, Salem Tech 0 (25-11, 25-18)

Red Devils rising

Penns Grove soccer gets ‘biggest win of the season’ shutting out Group 4 Bridgeton behind keeper Guzman’s acrobatic saves

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNS GROVE – The Penns Grove soccer team couldn’t have been more disappointed after losing its last match after a big win last week. The good thing about playing a lot of matches is the big turnaround could be as near as the next line on the schedule.

The Red Devils scored what coach Mano Massari called “our biggest win of the season so far” Monday night when it blanked Group 4 Bridgeton 2-0.

They scored a goal in each half and junior keeper Dwayne Guzman made 12 saves to preserve the shutout.

“It was awesome,” Massari said. “It’s a big win for us. Very big win for us. Biggest game of the year for us when we came out flat against Pitman last week, so we needed this one tonight. This was a big momentum switch for us.”

The Red Devils are playing this week to secure a first-round home game in the South Jersey Group I playoffs and have won three of their last four games. They went into the match in the power points standings. They lost to current No. 8 Wildwood and split with No. 7 Pitman during the season.

They play Overbrook at home Tuesday and No. 1 Schalick at home Thursday, two days before the qualifying cutoff date.

“It’s hard figuring this math out; we tried,” Massari said. “We’ll see tomorrow what happened. That team was good. We played hard today and came out on top.”

Recently placed center mid Mario Fuentes scored his second goal of the season in the first half and freshman Juan Ortiz volleyed a ball coming outside the box and buried it for his fifth in the second half.

Guzman made several big saves to keep the Bulldogs out of the net. He stoned a breakaway in the first half shortly after the Red Devils took the lead and made several acrobatic saves in the second half.

“He stood on his head again today,” Massari said. “He made saves he had no business making again. He stopped some lasers from inside the box. Diving. Jumping. It was nuts. Kept the ball out of the net. Just absolutely dominated. By far the best keeper I’ve coached and been around in a very long time. Dwayne Guzman, put him on the map.”

Cover photo: Penns Grove soccer coach Mano Massari walks off the pitch with goalie Dwayne Guzman after a recent match at Pennsville.

So you say there’s a chance

Unofficial (but generally pretty accurate) UPR rankings has Penns Grove holding the final spot in the South Jersey Group I playoffs heading into final regular-season game; official list has Red Devils 20th

By Riverview Sports News

Penns Grove’s hopes for a spot in the Group I football playoffs may not be as far off as the final nine minutes of its game Saturday at Woodbury might have led one to believe.

In the South Jersey Group I power ratings updated Sunday by Gridiron New Jersey, the official supplier of the state’s UPR rankings that determine the 16-team playoff brackets, the Red Devils were No. 20, one full UPR point behind current No. 16 Audubon. The outlet noted its rankings would change “slightly” when it finalizes Strength Index Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Central Jersey Sports Radio index, which has been one of the most accurate unofficial UPR sources, has the Red Devils in a more favorable position. It lists them at No. 16, four-tenths of a point ahead of No. 17 Highland Park.

The Red Devils (1-7) wrap up their regular season Saturday at winless Salem (0-8) and will have to win the game to at least meet the minimum wins qualification for playoff consideration.

Their position looked strong early in the second half Saturday. They grabbed a nine-point lead early in the third quarter and carried it into the fourth. They held a two-point lead with less than six minutes to play, then misplayed a punt and fumbled a pitch that led to Woodbury touchdowns.

Woodstown, Schalick and Pennsville all seem safely in the field. If Pennsville gets in, it will be the Eagles’ first playoff appearance since 2019.

Here are the rankings according to the two groups:

SJ Group I power ratings

TOP 16	(as of Oct. 20)
SCHOOL	RECORD	POWER PTS	OSI	UPR
Glassboro	7-0	12.00	57.08	2.4
Woodstown	7-0	11.57	61.83	3.0
Shore	7-0	13.71	45.61	3.4
Paulsboro	6-2	11.81	48.65	4.0
Schalick	5-3	10.13	49.7	5.4
Haddon Twp.	5-1	11.58	41.19	6.2
Riverside	6-2	12.13	38.32	8.0
Middlesex	6-2	11.38	40.13	8.2
Burlington City	5-3	10.50	39.67	9-2
Pennsville	4-4	8.44	40.94	10.4
Woodbury	3-4	7.71	42.88	10.8
New Egypt	5-2	8.86	38.67	11.0
Manville	6-2	9.25	37.35	11.8
Clayton	4-2-1	8.00	34.00	16.8
Pt. Pleasant Beach	4-3	7.71	35.68	16.8
Audubon	2-4	7.83	34.78	17.0

20. Penns Grove (1-7) 18.0, 21. Salem (0-8) 19.4. Source: Gridiron New Jersey

PROJECTED PLAYOFF MATCHUPS
(Based on current standings)
SOUTH JERSEY
Glassboro vs. Audubon
Middlesex vs. Burlington City
x-Paulsboro vs. New Egypt
x-Schalick vs. Manville
CENTRAL JERSEY
Shore vs. Clayton
Haddon Twp. vs. Woodbury
Riverside vs. Pennsville
Woodstown vs. Point Pleasant Beach
x-Schalick jumps Paulsboro based on head-to-head

CENTRAL JERSEY RADIO RANKINGS
South Jersey Group I Top 16
1. Glassboro, 2. Woodstown, 3. Shore, 4. Paulsboro, 5. Schalick, 6. Middlesex, 7. Haddon Twp., 8. Riverside, 9. Burlington City, 10. Woodbury, 11. Pennsville, 12. New Egypt, 13. Manville, 14. Clayton, 15. Audubon, 16. Penns Grove.

If this scenario remains, Penns Grove would play Glassboro or Woodstown in the first round of the playoffs, depending on who wins that game Friday night.

This week’s schedule

Here is this week’s Salem County sports schedule for the week of Oct. 21-26

OCT. 21
FIELD HOCKEY
Salem at Gloucester Catholic
Schalick at Deptford
Woodstown at Overbrook
GIRLS TENNIS
Pennsville at Overbrook, 3:45 p.m.
Pitman at Salem
Woodstown at Schalick
BOYS SOCCER
Bridgeton at Penns Grove
Salem at Camden County Tech
CROSS COUNTRY
State Tech Championship at Salem Tech
VOLLEYBALL
Cape May County Tech at Salem Tech

OCT. 22
BOYS SOCCER
Glassboro at Woodstown
Gloucester Catholic at Salem Tech
Overbrook at Penns Grove
Pennsville at Clayton
Pitman at Schalick, 6 p.m.
Salem at Wildwood
GIRLS SOCCER
Penns Grove at Overbrook
Salem Tech at Gloucester Catholic
Schalick at Pennsville
Wildwood at Salem
Woodstown at Glassboro
GIRLS TENNIS
Overbrook at Penns Grove
Woodstown at Wildwood
FIELD HOCKEY
Pennsville at Overbrook
Woodstown at St. Joe (Hamm.)
VOLLEYBALL
Washington Twp. at Salem Tech
WOMENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Cecil College at Salem CC, 6 p.m.

OCT. 23
FIELD HOCKEY
Salem at Schalick
GIRLS TENNIS
Glassboro at Woodstown
Salem at Overbrook
Wildwood at Penns Grove
CROSS COUNTRY
Tri-County Showcase at Cumberland

OCT. 24
FIELD HOCKEY
Woodstown at Hammonton
BOYS SOCCER
Gloucester Catholic at Pennsville
Woodstown at Pitman
Salem Tech at Salem
Schalick at Penns Grove
GIRLS SOCCER
Penns Grove at Schalick
Salem at Salem Tech
Pennsville at Woodstown
GIRLS TENNIS
Schalick at Pennsville (conclusion of susp. match), 3:45 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL
Timber Creek at Salem Tech

OCT. 25
FOOTBALL
Woodstown at Glassboro, 6 p.m.
Audubon at Camden Catholic
Paulsboro at Clayton, TBA
Collingswood at Pennsville
Overbrook at West Deptford
Woodbury at Schalick, 6 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Pennsville at Overbrook
Salem Tech at Wildwood Catholic
GIRLS SOCCER
Salem at Paulsboro
GIRLS TENNIS
Woodstown at Pennsville
FIELD HOCKEY
Gloucester Catholic at Salem
VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Gloucester Catholic

OCT. 26
FOOTBALL
Salem at Penns Grove, noon
GIRLS SOCCER
Schalick at Williamstown, 10 a.m.
MENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Baltimore JUCO Jamboree
Salem CC vs. Anne Arundel, noon
Salem CC vs. Southern Maryland, 6 p.m.

Garrett goes off

Leyman has game of his life, plugged in at quarterback, throws 4 TD passes, picks two, returns one for TD, in Woodstown rout of Salem; Woodbury dulls Penns Grove’s playoff hopes with late rally

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

SALEM — Garrett Leyman has played a lot of games in a Woodstown uniform over the years, but he’s never had a game like he did Saturday.

The senior was responsible for five touchdowns on both sides of the ball as the Wolverines took it to Salem 42-13 to remain unbeaten and set up a WJFL Diamond Division title game at Glassboro next week.

Pressed into action as the Wolverines’ third quarterback this season Leyman threw four touchdown passes on the only varsity passes he’s ever thrown in his life. Then on defense he intercepted two passes and returned one of them for a touchdown.

Leyman threw two touchdown passes to M.J. Hall (55 and 48 yards) and one each to Bobby Donahue (49) and Rocco String (5). The first two completions gave him a passer rating of 866.80 and curiously it dropped with each successive completion. His 4-for-4 for 157 yards and four TDs total netted him a passer rating of 759.70 for the game.

If he isn’t somebody’s dot-com Player of the Week either the voting is flawed or nobody’s paying attention.

“After last week we faced a lot of adversity, I knew I needed to step up,” said Leyman, who was more of a run threat when he last played quarterback in eighth grade. “Coach chose me to play in Jack’s (Holladay) position, so I knew I had to go out and perform and I did.

“I wasn’t expecting it to go how it did, but I was confident going into today. It felt amazing.”

The Wolverines were into their third quarterback after losing starter Holladay to a sprained left shoulder in the first half of last week’s game at Haddon Heights. JV quarterback Lucas Fulmer played the rest of the game and completed the 17-8 victory.

It was the Fulmer’s first varsity action and while the backup checked all the boxes in his relief appearance it was Leyman’s experience and familiarity with the offense that led Trautz to start him against the Rams. Leyman was told he’d be playing quarterback Monday and had all week to prepare himself.

“He’s played a million football games for us; he’s just football smart, he’s got great football IQ and we can trust him in these situations,” Trautz said. “We know that he’s going to make the right decisions and you saw today. He commanded this offense, he was able to run it fully and he shined. It was nice to see him spin it.

“I’m not the least surprised with what he did today. He’s just a great player and he doesn’t back down from the moment. He elevates his game when the lights start shining the brightest.”

The Wolverines used a sanitized version of the playbook for Fulmer last week, but Leyman had full reign of it this week.

“We were going to run our offense the way we run it and take what they give us and we did a good job executing it,” Trautz said.

Salem moved the ball through the air, too. They immediately answered Woodstown’s first touchdown, working the ball downfield through a series of possession passes.

Rams quarterback Troy Carey was 12-of-15 in the first quarter and finished the game 25-for-35 for 241 yards and touchdowns to Kaden Robinson (5) and Terrance Smith (16). Robinson caught seven passes for 53 yards. Smith caught four for 103.

“It was just trusting our receivers, trusting them to make plays, putting the ball in their hands,” Carey said. “We work on certain plays every week just working to get better at things that affect our craft and just finding open men reading the defense.”

The win sets up a titanic battle of unbeatens between Woodstown and Glassboro Friday night. Whether Leyman gets the call again at quarterback depends on Holladay’s status during the week. Both Trautz and Holladay are hopeful of a return at some point this season.

Players on the Glassboro roster believe the Wolverines will be treating the showdown as “their Super Bowl” because of the recent history in the series; the Bulldogs beat them twice last year, once in overtime and once in the Group I state semifinals. The Wolverines, however, are approaching it, as usual, as any other game.

“It’s Week 8 for us,” the usually understated Trautz understated. “We’re going to attack it like we attack every week and we’re looking forward to the challenge next Friday.”

NOTES: Woodstown’s other touchdown was Bryce Belinfanti’s weekly long run, this one going for 94 yards … String’s TD catch was the first of his career … Salem had thrown only 78 passes in their first seven games. The 35 passes and 241 yards Cater threw for Saturday were the most by a Rams quarterback since 2022 when Jahki Coates threw 29 passes against Woodbury in 2022 and for 245 yards against Pleasantville. His game passer rating was 136.70 … The Rams will be looking to avoid their first winless season since 2012 (0-10) next week against Penns Grove.

Cover photo: Woodstown senior Garrett Leyman (10) rolls out in his first career start at quarterback. Leyman threw four passes – all for touchdowns.

Woodstown 42, Salem 13

WOOD (42)		SAL (13)
7	1st Downs	19
15-203	Rushing	17-31
4-4-0	C-A-I	24-35-2
157	Passing	241
1-1	Fum-lost	1-1
1-58.0	Punts	1-38.0
6-58	Penalties	3-35

Woodstown (7-0)	14	21	7	0-	42
Salem (0-8)	7	0	0	6-	13

SCORING SUMMARY
WO-M.J. Hall 55 pass from Garrett Leyman (Jake Ware kick), 9:26 1Q
S-Kaden Robinson 5 pass from Troy Cater (Andrew May kick), 2:21 1Q
WO-Bobby Donahue 49 pass from Garrett Leyman (Jake Ware kick), 2:01 1Q
WO-M.J. Hall 48 pass from Garrett Leyman (Jake Ware kick), 9:29 2Q
WO-Garrett Leyman 33 interception return (Jake Ware kick)
WO-Bryce Belinfanti 94 run (Jake Ware kick), 35.6 2Q
WO-Rocco String 5 pass from Garrett Leyman (Jake Ware kick), 9:32 3Q
S-Terrance Smith 16 pass from Troy Cater (kick failed), 9:12 4Q

**Woodstown receiver M.J. Hall races towards the end zone with one of his two touchdowns catches Saturday. (Photo by Ellen Sickler)**

Late miscues spoil PG upset bid

WOODBURY — KaRon Caesar’s 68-yard touchdown run on Penns Grove’s first play of the third quarter gave the Red Devils a nine-point lead and hopes for playoff contention. They carried that lead carried into the fourth quarter, but Woodbury took advantage of late Penns Grove mistakes to score three touchdowns in the final nine minutes to hand the Red Devils their sixth straight loss, 37-23.

Tim Holmes’ 34-yard touchdown pass to Jason Solomon cut Penns Grove’s lead to 23-21 with 9:06 left and then the mistakes set in for the Red Devils.

Penns Grove had Woodbury stopped later in the quarter but mishandled a punt and the Herd recovered at the 30. Holmes ran for 20 yards, then Marquis Taylor ultimately scored from 2 yards out to give the Herd their first lead since the game’s opening drive, 29-23 with 2:49 left.

Solomon iced the game with a 10-yard scoop and score with a fumbled pitch.

Caesar rushed for a career-high 228 yards with touchdown runs of 73, 14 and 68 yards.

Had the Red Devils held on, they would have earned their second win of the season with a shot for a third and possibly a playoff spot against struggling Salem next week. They currently hold the 20th spot in the South Jersey Group I power rankings that should be updated Sunday.

Woodbury 37, Penns Grove 23

Penns Grove (1-7)	7	9	7	0-	23
Woodbury (3-4)	7	7	0	23-	37

SCORING SUMMARY
WO-Marquis Taylor 4 run (Fabian Gonzalez kick)
PG-KaRon Ceaser 73 run (Tre Brown kick)
PG-KaRon Caesar 14 run (Tre Brown kick)
WO-Marquis Taylor 30 pass from Tim Holmes (Fabian Gonzalez kick)
PG-Safety, QB tackled in end zone
PG-KaRon Ceaser 68 run (Tre Brown kick)
WO-Jasuan Solomon 34 pass from Tim Holmes (Fabian Gonzalez kick), 9:06 4Q
WO-Marquis Taylor 2 run (Marquis Taylor run), 2:49 4Q
WO-Jasuan Solomon 10 fumble return (Elijah Young pass from Marquis Taylor)

WJFL Standings

DIAMOND DIVISION	DIV	ALL
Glassboro (1)	4-0	7-0
Woodstown (2)	4-0	7-0
Schalick (5)	2-2	5-3
Woodbury (11)	2-2	3-4
Penns Grove (20)	0-4	1-7
Salem (21)	0-4	0-8

NOTE: Number in parenthesis is South Jersey Group I UPR power ranking through Oct. 19

FRIDAY’S GAMES
Glassboro 20, Schalick 10
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Woodbury 37, Penns Grove 23
Woodstown 42, Salem 13
NEXT WEEK’S GAMES
FRIDAY
Woodstown at Glassboro, 6 p.m.
Woodbury at Schalick, 6 p.m.
SATURDAY
Salem at Penns Grove, noon

PATRIOT DIVISION	DIV	ALL
Camden Catholic (NPB-3)	5-0	7-0
Paulsboro (4)	5-1	6-2
West Deptford (G2-14)	3-2	4-4
Pennsville (10)	2-3	4-4
Audubon (16)	1-4	2-4
Collingswood (G2-18)	1-4	3-5
Overbrook (G2-23)	1-4	3-4-1

NOTE: Number in parenthesis is South Jersey Group I UPR power rankings through Oct. 19 (G2-Group 2, NPB-Non Public B)

FRIDAY’S GAMES
Pennsville 35, Lawrence 8
Camden Catholic 55, Collingswood 0
Paulsboro 18, West Deptford 12
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Overbrook 34, Audubon 6
NEXT WEEK’S GAMES
THURSDAY
Paulsboro at Clayton, 6 p.m.
FRIDAY
Collingswood at Pennsville, 7 p.m.
Overbrook at West Deptford, 7 p.m.
Camden Catholic at Audubon, 7 p.m.

SJ Group I power ratings

TOP 16	(as of Oct. 20)
SCHOOL	RECORD	POWER PTS	OSI	UPR
Glassboro	7-0	12.00	57.08	2.4
Woodstown	7-0	11.57	61.83	3.0
Shore	7-0	13.71	45.61	3.4
Paulsboro	6-2	11.81	48.65	4.0
Schalick	5-3	10.13	49.7	5.4
Haddon Twp.	5-1	11.58	41.19	6.2
Riverside	6-2	12.13	38.32	8.0
Middlesex	6-2	11.38	40.13	8.2
Burlington City	5-3	10.50	39.67	9-2
Pennsville	4-4	8.44	40.94	10.4
Woodbury	3-4	7.71	42.88	10.8
New Egypt	5-2	8.86	38.67	11.0
Manville	6-2	9.25	37.35	11.8
Clayton	4-2-1	8.00	34.00	16.8
Pt. Pleasant Beach	4-3	7.71	35.68	16.8
Audubon	2-4	7.83	34.78	17.0

20. Penns Grove (1-7) 18.0, 21. Salem (0-8) 19.4

Friday sports report

Here are the scores from Friday’s high school sports action involving teams from Salem County

FRIDAY, OCT. 18
FIELD HOCKEY
Egg Harbor Twp. 0, Woodstown 0

BOYS SOCCER
Salem Tech 2, Clayton 1
Salem at Gloucester Catholic
Schalick 4, Glassboro 1
Woodstown 3, Overbrook 1

GIRLS SOCCER
Clayton 5, Salem Tech 0
Gloucester Catholic at Salem
Pennsville 3, Penns Grove 0
Woodstown 3, Overbrook 1

GIRLS TENNIS
Pennsville 5, Salem 0
Pitman 5, Penns Grove 0
Schalick at Glassboro

VOLLEYBALL
Triton 2, Salem Tech 0 (25-4, 25-5)

Scurry, Alward reach milestones

Here are the scores and highlights from Thursday’s high school action involving Salem County teams

FIELD HOCKEY
Schalick 9, Overbrook 1: Ava Scurry and Luci Virga both had three goals and two assists as the Cougars remained unbeaten (14-0-1). Phoebe Alward had two goals and two assists and Addi Shimp scored once.

Scurry, who plays multiple sports for the Cougars but is a field hockey player at heart, has scored a goal in six straight games with three hat tricks in the stretch. Her second goal Thursday was the 50th of her career.

That wasn’t the only milestone in the game. Alward picked up her 50th point of the season to surpass 100 points in her career.

Clearview 7, Woodstown 0: Alaina Lomonaco had a hat trick and Ella Candy scored twice. It was Lomonaco’s third game of three goals or more this season and gave her a single-season career-high 16 goals on the year.

Pennsville at Bridgeton
Salem at Clayton

GIRLS TENNIS
Penns Grove at Schalick

WOODSTOWN 4, OVERBROOK 1
Keira Riess (O) def. Gabby Kurpis, 7-5, 6-3, 10-7
Camille Osborn (Wo) def. Nesrine Fosso, 6-0, 6-0
Aubrie Rennie (Wo) def. Sophia Burgos, 6-1, 6-1
Julianna Lindenmuth-Leah Waterman (Wo) def. Hillary Cao-Jennifer Giovanni, 6-0, 6-3
EvaLouise Thomsen-Melissa Hassler (Wo) def. Madison Rikard-Gianna Hardy, 6-0, 6-0
Records: Woodstown 12-5, Overbrook 4-13.

GLASSBORO 5, SALEM 0
Ella Killelea (G) def. Cassidy Werkheiser, 6-1, 6-0
Kaylee Johnson (G) def. Tytiana Miller, 6-1, 6-1
Halle Lazarus (G) def. Angelina Fothergill, 6-1, 6-0
Records: Glassboro 5-8, Salem 1-9.

Group I Final Four
New Providence 4, Pitman 1
Glen Rock 3, Hanover Park 2
Championship: New Providence 5, Glen Rock 0

BOYS SOCCER
Pitman 5, Penns Grove 0

Slow to start

It isn’t easy being a first-year head football coach and in Salem County it’s been particularly challenging

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

Every football coach who comes into a new situation brings with him enthusiasm and optimism. He usually gets his first win even before the team takes the field, winning the introductory press conference.

Winning on the field, well, that takes a little longer as he tries to make headway against the reality of the underlying circumstances that brought him to the position in the first place.

It isn’t easy being a first-year head football coach and in Salem County it’s been a particularly bumpy ride.

This year has seen the largest turnover of head coaching spots among the county’s five football-playing schools since 2006 – three (Penns Grove, Salem, Woodstown) – and for two of them it’s been a tough go.

Woodstown’s Frank Trautz has had the best of it, going 6-0 with two regular season games remaining after being promoted from within an already winning staff. But it hasn’t been quite so rosy for Penns Grove’s Marc Maccarone or Salem’s Kemp Carr, two outside hires who are 1-6 and 0-7, respectively, going into this weekend’s games.

But the struggles have been the norm for new Salem County coaches. Of the 18 first-year head coaches over the last 21 years, only four have had winning first-year campaigns – Seth Brown (Schalick), Ryan Wood (Pennsville), Montrey Wright (Salem) and Trautz – but they’re the unicorns. Eleven have had losing seasons and three have broken even.

Only eight have gotten to the playoffs in their first year, with Trautz expected to join that list this year. The Wolverines are currently the No. 1 team in the South Jersey Group I power points standings.

“Where a school is hiring a football coach it’s rarely a good situation,” said Schalick head coach Mike Wilson, who went 0-7 his first year with the Cougars to 11-1 last season. “Most of the time the program has struggled and there’s a reason why they’re looking for a coach. There’s not too many programs where you just hand it off and they keep it rolling. It does happen, but usually it’s not a great job when you get that first job; there’s a lot of work to do.”

The chart below documents the struggles of Salem County’s most recent first-year coaches. It’s not an indictment on their coaching ability. Almost all of them have gone on to produce multiple winning/championship seasons once they got their program in place; Carr and Maccarone won championships at other postings. It’s just an illustration of how hard it is to get it started.

“The coach can only control so much,” Wilson said. “They need the support of the school, the administration, the community, the parents; it’s a total group effort. And you need patience because a year turnaround doesn’t happen. You need patience, your school needs patience and if you don’t have support of those other things there’s only so much you can do.

”It really comes down to how much does the school, the administration and the community want football to be successful, because if you’re trying to build a program you need all those things. It takes time and patience. Just show up and play football from August to November, you can’t do that anymore.”

Once that first-year coach gets his program blueprint established and starts to taste a little success, a whole new set of challenges present themselves. The next goal becomes finding a way to maintain that success. That, friends, is a whole different conversation.

Cover photo: Salem County’s three new head football coaches (from left) Woodstown’s Frank Trautz, Salem’s Kemp Carr and Penns Grove’s Marc Maccarone.

First Year Salem County Football Coaches (Since 2003)

COACH	YEAR	SCHOOL	RECORD	PLAYOFFS
			(x-in progress)
Dennis Orando	2003	Penns Grove	2-8	No
Kemp Carr	2004	Penns Grove	2-8	No
Rob Hinson	2005	Salem	5-5	Yes, 0-1
Seth Brown	2006	Schalick	8-3	Yes, 1-1
Frank Larubio	2006	Woodstown	5-5	No
Steve Sheffield	2006	Salem	3-7	No
Randy Johnson	2009	Salem	2-8	No
Ryan Wood	2009	Pennsville	7-3	Yes, 0-1
John Adams	2010	Woodstown	3-7	No
Dennis Thomas	2013	Salem	5-6	Yes, 1-1
John Emel	2014	Penns Grove	5-5	Yes, 0-1
Montrey Wright	2015	Salem	8-2	Yes, 0-1
Mike Healy	2017	Pennsville	4-6	Yes, 0-1
Mike Wilson	2020	Schalick	0-7	No
Danny Mendoza	2023	Salem	2-8	Yes, 0-1
Marc Maccarone	2024	Penns Grove	x-1-6
Kemp Carr	2024	Salem	x-0-7
Frank Trautz	2024	Woodstown	x-6-0