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.
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.
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
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
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
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.
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)
Penns Grove scores in first 20 seconds of the match, goes on to beat Pennsville in boys soccer, includes Wednesday’s Salem County results WEDNESDAY BOYS SOCCER Penns Grove 2, Pennsville 0 Pitman 6, Salem 0 Woodstown 4, Salem Tech 0
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – If you missed the start of Wednesday’s Penns Grove-Pennsville soccer game, even by a minute, you missed half of the goals in the game.
SCHULTZ
Junior midfielder Joey Schultz packed a pass from Sebastian Hernandez into the upper right corner 21 seconds into the match to send Penns Grove on its way to a 2-0 victory that garnered the Red Devils some valuable power points.
“I can’t remember one happening that fast, to be honest with you,” Penns Grove coach Mano Massari said. “I’ve been here about nine years coaching, started four years here as a player, I’ve never seen one that fast.”
The goal wasn’t a case of the Red Devils simply kicking the ball into the Pennsville end, chasing it down and putting it away before anyone knew what hit them.
Pennsville went long with the opening kick as it’s been known to do when it gets the first ball. The Red Devils gained possession and Hernandez made a long run up the right wing with Schultz trailing right behind.
Hernandez drew in a couple defenders, saw an open space and pushed a Bangu ball to Schultz who had peeled off towards the six in the box and beat Eagles keeper Coen Rinnier.
“We’ve been working on that a lot, transitioning from defense to offense,” Massari said. “We feel like we’ve lacked doing that early in the season. We’ve been practicing transitioning up together as one and what we’ve been practicing’s been working, and it showed there in the first 20 seconds of the game. That’s why we practice these things.”
Schultz remembers getting an assist that early in a game with his club team before, but he’s never scored that quickly before. He was looking forward to seeing the replay on the game film.
“That spark came through,” he said. “It really made me feel good. It brought a lot out of me. It makes me want to take this a little more serious, I guess.”
It certainly got the Eagles’ attention. No one ever expects to be in catch-up mode that quickly into a match.
“I had barely turned around and the ball was in the back of our net,” Pennsville coach Derek Foglein said. “We talked about the fact that this season when we’ve been on the front foot and we’ve jumped on teams it made the difference and when good teams come out and jump on us it makes a difference. Ultimately, that was a huge difference there.
“That first goal, when you blink and now you’re chasing the game … We knew they were a really strong defensive team so trying to find one goal was going to be hard enough and now we need to find at least one to send it to overtime.”
The early goal gave the Red Devils confidence and calmed them. They made it 2-0 with 17:42 left in the half on an own goal credited to Edward Swank. The Eagles settled into the second half, but had a two-goal deficit to overcome.
Schultz wasn’t in at the finish. He hurt his right ankle playing a 50-50 ball early in the game and eventually was lifted for precautionary reasons. The Red Devils have another big game Thursday night at Pitman, a match that could keep their dream of landing a first-round home playoff game alive.
The Red Devils started the season 1-3 and lost their leading scorer to a broken leg, but they’ve won three of their last five and are now tenth in the South Jersey Group I power points standings. They’re about a half-point out of the final first-round home game in the bracket.
“We want to make it to the dance, we want to make it to the playoffs,” Massari said. “Ideally I’d like a home playoff game. I want these guys to experience that; they deserve it. We put ourselves in a hole in the beginning of the year, starting to get hot at the right time.
“I don’t want to look too far ahead. I’d like us to just focus on tomorrow. I feel good about where we’re at, I feel good about the way we’re playing, but I’m trying to get them to understand we’re not looking past our next opponent.”
WOODSTOWN 4, SALEM TECH 0: Adrian Ibarra scored twice, Bryce Ayars scored for the second game in a row and Blake Bialecki netted a goal. The win takes Wolverines coach Darren Huck to within three of 300 career coaching wins.
PITMAN 6, SALEM 0: Brayden Carr scored two goals and assisted on both of Lucas Razze’s goals to lead the Panthers (7-5-1).
Cover photo: Penns Grove’s Sebastian Hernandez pushes the ball upfield against Pennsville Wednesday.
GIRLS SOCCER Gloucester at Schalick Penns Grove at Paulsboro Pennsville 6, Salem 0 Woodstown 7, Salem Tech 0: The Wolverines (9-4-1) got goals from seven players, including Talia Battavio’s 57th career goal. Their last six wins have all been by shutout. GIRLS TENNIS Schalick 4, Haddon Heights 1 Pennsville 5, Millville 0: Eagles coach Dan LaMont gets his 300th career win with the Pennsville girls program. (Related story posting soon)
Here are the results of Tuesday’s high school action involving Salem County teams
GIRLS TENNIS Group I Sectional Finals Pitman 4, Pennsville 1 (see related story) Regular Season Schalick 3, Wildwood 2 SALEM 5, PENNS GROVE 1 Cassidy Werkheiser (S) def. Amaris Butler, 6-3, 6-3 Tytiana Miller (S) won by forfeit Tahirah Davenport-White (S) def. Janiyah Cummings, 6-3, 6-4 Destiny Carr-Heaven Jones-McCullough (S) def. Emma Griffin-Makala Washington, 6-1, 6-0 JaNye Hubbard-Bianca Gibson (S) def. Elif Sagir-Gabriela Roman, 6-0, 6-1 Records: Salem 1-8, Penns Grove 0-10.
FIELD HOCKEY Pennsville 2, Deptford 0: Kylie Harris and Makenzie Widener scored first-half goals for the Eagles (5-7-1) Glassboro 2, Salem 1: Jocelyn O’Brien scored her second goal of the game with 6:03 left in the third quarter to snap a 1-1 tie. Kashira Patterson gave Salem (5-4-1) a 1-0 lead with a first-quarter goal. Schalick 2, St. Joe (Hamm.) 2: Ava Scurry (28th) and Phoebe Alward (15th) scored goals as the Cougars remained unbeaten (13-0-1).
CROSS COUNTRY Calhoun County boys champion Karson Chew of Woodstown finished second in the boys race at the TCC Batch Meet at Kingsway. He ran 18:16.07. Teammate Jacob Marino was sixth (18:31.61).
Woodstown’s Abby Marino, the county runner-up, was the fastest Salem County finisher in the girls race, coming in fourth at 21:04.09. Salem Tech’s Sarah Seiden was eighth (22:45.31).
Here is the high school sports schedule for Salem County teams for the week of Oct. 14-19
MONDAY, OCT. 14 BOYS SOCCER Palmyra at Schalick Woodstown at Clayton, 11 a.m. GIRLS SOCCER Woodstown at Clayton, 1 p.m.
TUESDAY, OCT. 15 GIRLS TENNIS Salem at Penns Grove Wildwood at Schalick, 4:15 p.m. Group I Sectional Finals Pennsville at Pitman, Shertel Park, 3 p.m. Glen Ridge at Hanover Park New Providence at Highland Park Pascack Hills at Glen Rock CROSS COUNTRY TCC Batch Meet at Kingsway, 3:30 p.m. FIELD HOCKEY Deptford at Pennsville Glassboro at Salem St. Joe’s at Schalick BOYS SOCCER Salem at Highland GIRLS VOLLEYBALL Salem Tech at Cape May Tech
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 16 BOYS SOCCER Penns Grove at Pennsville, 3:30 p.m. Pitman at Salem Woodstown at Salem Tech GIRLS SOCCER Gloucester at Schalick Penns Grove at Paulsboro Salem at Pennsville, 6 p.m. Salem Tech at Woodstown GIRLS TENNIS Haddon Heights at Schalick Pennsville at Millville, 3:45 p.m.
THURSDAY, OCT. 17 FIELD HOCKEY Overbrook at Schalick Pennsville at Bridgeton Salem at Clayton Woodstown at Clearview GIRLS TENNIS Overbrook at Woodstown Penns Grove at Schalick Salem at Glassboro
Group I Final Four Mercer County Park Semifinals, 11 a.m. Championship Match, 1 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER Penns Grove at Pitman, 6:30 p.m.
FRIDAY, OCT. 18 FOOTBALL Pennsville at Lawrence, 6:30 p.m. Collingswood at Camden Catholic Glassboro at Schalick Paulsboro at West Deptford FIELD HOCKEY Egg Harbor Twp. at Woodstown BOYS SOCCER Clayton at Salem Tech Salem at Gloucester Catholic Schalick at Glassboro Woodstown at Overbrook GIRLS SOCCER Clayton at Salem Tech Gloucester Catholic at Salem Pennsville at Penns Grove Overbrook at Woodstown GIRLS TENNIS Pennsville at Salem, 3:45 p.m. Penns Grove at Pitman Schalick at Glassboro VOLLEYBALL Salem Tech at Triton
SATURDAY, OCT. 19 FOOTBALL Penns Grove at Woodbury, 10:30 a.m. Audubon at Overbrook, 11 a.m. Woodstown at Salem, noon GIRLS SOCCER Cherry Hill West at Schalick
Here are scores and highlights from Thursday’s high school action involving teams from Salem County
BOYS SOCCER Schalick 2, Woodstown 0: Louis Sepers and Brad Foster scored the goals and keeper Ben Stengel made seven saves for the Cougars’ first shutout in the series since 2021. “This was the first time this group has shut them out, which is something we wanted to do,” Schalick coach Joe Mannella said.
Pennsville 3, Salem 0: Griffin Hern and Shane Puckett scored goals three minutes apart in the first half for the Eagles (8-6) and Evan Pessoa extended the lead seven minutes into the second. The victory matches the Eagles’ single-season high in coach Derek Foglein’s tenure; they were 8-10 in 2022.
Penns Grove 2, Glassboro 1: Edward Swank scored with nine minutes left in the second half to break a 1-1 tie. It was his second game-winner of the season. The Red Devils lost a 2-1 game to the Bulldogs earlier this year and lost a pair of 1-0 games to them last season. Goalie Dwayne Guzman made three big saves in the final 15 minutes to keep the game tied or preserve the lead.
Wildwood 6, Salem Tech 1: NuNu Bedderi scored three goals for the Warriors, playing their first game since losing to Schalick 3-2 in Cougars coach Joe Mannella’s 300th career win Oct. 2. Sophomore Christian VanTonder scored his first career goal for the Chargers in the first half.
SJ GROUP I POWER POINTS STANDINGS (Top 16 thru Oct. 10): Schalick (10-1), Audubon (9-2), Palmyra (9-3), Haddon Twp. (7-2-2), Woodstown (9-4), Riverside (7-4-1), Pitman (6-5-1), Wildwood (8-3), Maple Shade (7-4-1), Glassboro (5-5-1), Penns Grove (5-6), Gateway (5-7), Pennsville (8-6), Clayton (6-6), Woodbury (3-7), Buena (0-9-1).
GIRLS SOCCER Schalick 3, Woodstown 1: Quinn Berger scored twice and Olivia Vanacker scored once as the Cougars (9-2) won their fourth in a row and completed a season sweep of the Wolverines.
Pennsville 3, Overbrook 2: Riley Bowman had a goal and two assists as the Eagles opened a 3-0 lead and held on to avenge a loss to the Rams earlier in the season. Bowman assisted on goals by Kallie Morrison and Taylor Bass in the first half.
Pitman 6, Salem 0: Teagan Canna scored the first two goals of the match and the Panthers pulled away. Emery Sharpnack had a goal and two assists.
Glassboro 3, Penns Grove 0: Alana Figueroa, Marianna Dempster and Tamia Smith scored for the Bulldogs in the first half.
Wildwood 3, Salem Tech 2: The Warriors scored two goals in the second half to win. Goals by Ava Robinson and Julia Hewitt Friebel staked the Chargers to a 2-1 halftime lead.
SJ GROUP I POWER POINTS STANDINGS (Top 16 thru Oct. 10): Audubon (11-1), Schalick (9-2), Haddon Twp. (7-4-1), Riverside (9-4), Palmyra (10-2), Gateway (9-2), Woodstown (7-4-1), Clayton (7-3-1), Glassboro (6-3-2), Pitman (8-5), Maple Shade (3-7), Buena (6-6), Pennsville (4-9), Penns Grove (1-9-1), Wildwood (3-9), Cape May Tech (1-11). FIELD HOCKEY Schalick 4, Mainland 3: The Cougars jumped out to a 3-0 halftime lead and held on to remain undefeated (13-0). Luci Virga, Ava Marynowicz and Ava Scurry all scored in the first half. Caylen Taylor scored with 1:58 left in the third quarter after Mainland cut it to 3-2. It was the Cougars’ third one-goal win of the streak and sixth decided by two goals or less.
Gateway 5, Pennsville 0: Bella Fini scored a hat trick for the Gators (10-2).
Maple Shade 4, Salem 0: Sophia Weisler and Rachel Loomis each scored twice for the Wildcats. The Rams are winless in their last four with only one goal after starting the season 4-0.
SJ GROUP I POWER POINTS STANDINGS (Top 16 thru Oct. 10): Shore (14-1), Schalick (13-0), West Deptford (9-3), Haddon Heights (6-5-1), Gateway (10-2), Gloucester (8-5), Woodstown (8-3), Collingswood (5-5), Bordentown (5-6), Florence (5-7-1), Haddon Twp. (4-8), Salem (4-3-1), South Hunterdon (8-5), Lower Cape May (5-6-2), Audubon (6-4), Pennsville (4-7-1).
VOLLEYBALL Salem Tech 2, Gloucester Catholic 1: The Chargers won a tight third set to follow their first win of the season with their second in a row, 25-16, 23-25, 25-23. It’s the first time since 2021 they have won back-to-back matches.
Cori Farnkoph had 13 kills and eight aces. Tiara Bazemore had four kills, 13 assists and eight aces. Alan’s James had five kills and eight assists.
