Coen saves Eagles

Pennsville boys start important week with 2-1 win over Penns Grove, keeper Rinnier turns back late threats, hands Red Devils another one-goal loss

SALEM COUNTY SOCCER
Monday’s games
Pennsville 2, Penns Grove 1
Pitman 6, Salem Tech 0
Schalick 6, Overbrook 2

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – In what just might be the most important week of their season and in miserable conditions to play a game, it’s vital to have a goalkeeper who can be counted on as the last line defense.

Pennsville keeper Coen Rinnier was fighting a cold and nerves from the opening kick, but he was the rock the Eagles needed in a 2-1 victory over Penns Grove Monday.

Rinnier, a sophomore playing goalie on the varsity level for the first time, made 18 saves and turned back several attacks the Red Devils (1-5) mounted in the final 20 minutes to keep it a one-goal game. All five of Penns Grove’s losses have been one-goal decisions.

Perhaps his biggest save of the game came with less than 10 minutes to play when he came off his line to make a sliding kick save on the right side of the box to deny Edward Swank a game-tying goal.

“On a messy day like today any shot can take a weird bounce, take a weird deflection, but it’s very simple: Coen won us the game today,” Pennsville coach Derek Foglein said. “You look at the stats, Coen had 15, 16, 17 saves, that’s a lot, but it also speaks a lot to the fact we know we can trust Coen.

“There were a lot of chances today where they were taking shots from 25. We know he’s a good keeper back there with a good head on his shoulders, but there’s not a doubt in my mind that Coen made some phenomenal saves today that won us the game.”

The teams played the first half in a cold rain that was blowing across the field in sheets. When the rain stopped, the wind kept blowing across the field making any ball in the air difficult to play.

The Red Devils got one past Rinnier with 25 minutes to play when Sebastian Hernandez blasted a ball that carried into the upper left corner just inside the post.

And after that they kept coming. Rinnier turned back at least 10 shots after the goal, including four tough chances in the final five minutes as the speedy and skilled Red Devils pressed hard for the tie. He’s been an active keeper all season, recording 105 saves in eight games, by far the most of any keeper in Salem County.

“It was just so nervous, the most nervous feeling ever, but I think it’s all worth it after the game,” Rinnier said. “The nervousness goes away after the game.

“It was pretty intense because I’ve never played goalie for this team and this was the biggest test because we lose this game our season’s over. It was nerve-wracking, honestly, but as soon as I made that (save on Swank) I think I knew we were going to win this game. As soon as I made that save I was not nervous at all.”

The win over Penns Grove snapped a four-game losing streak and got a big week for the Eagles (2-6) off to a good start. They play three winnable games against teams with one combined win and if they sweep the week they could find themselves right in the mix for a South Jersey Group I playoff berth after starting the season against arguably the toughest schedule in the section.

Their six losses have been to teams from Group II and Group III, three of the top four teams in SJ-I and a season opener without a scrimmage.

But you can’t win all three unless you win the first one.

“I told them before we started we can go 3-0 this week but it’s got to start today,” Foglein said.

The Eagles grabbed their 2-0 lead by being aggressive at the start of each half. Shane Puckett scored the first goal on an assist from Stone Mumink five minutes into the match. Dylan Waller made it 2-0 less than 90 seconds into the second half when he scored from in close off a pass from Jake Isaac.

PITMAN 6, SALEM TECH 0: Ben Newcomb and Maddox Marker each scored twice for Pitman. For Newcomb, they were his first goals in two years after missing almost all of last season with a knee injury. He scored three goals as a sophomore. It was Pitman’s third straight win – all by 6-0 scores.

SCHALICK 6, OVERBROOK 2: Luke Price and Oscar Hernandez each scored twice for the Cougars (6-2).

Pennsville 2, Penns Grove 1

Pennsville (2-6)	1	1 –	2
Penns Grove (1-5)	0	1 –	1

Goals: PV – Shane Puckett (Stone Mumink), 5:00; PV – Dylan Waller (Jake Isaac), 41:20; PG – Sebastian Hernandez (unassisted), 55:39

Much-needed win

Pennsville girls erupt for six goals in second half, crush Penns Grove 7-0 for first win of season; Miller scores 4 more in Schalick rout

SALEM COUNTY GIRLS SOCCER
Monday’s games
Pennsville 7, Penns Grove 0
Schalick 7, Overbrook 0

PENNSVILLE – The Pennsville girls soccer team needed a win in a bad way and the players knew it. So, they took matters into their own hands.

Sparked by the good feeling of two players-only dinners over the weekend and a pre-game pow-wow before Monday’s game, the Eagles took self-reflection to another level. It paid huge dividends as they erupted for six goals after a messy first half and crushed Penns Grove 7-0 for their first win of the season.

The first half was played in miserable wind-blown rain. Riley Bowman scored the only goal when she banged home the rebound of a Karsen Cooksey shot 3 minutes and 13 seconds into the match.

The weather broke at halftime and the Eagles broke out. Cooksey scored twice, Bowman picked up a second goal and Anikka Macalino, Molly Gratz and Kallie Morrison each scored once in clearly their most prolific half of the season.

It led to their most goals in a game since a 9-2 win over Salem on Oct. 26, 2021, and their highest scoring half since putting up six in the first half of that same game.

“It was needed, it was so, so needed,” Pennsville coach Sam Trapp said of the win. “It was just a morale booster for the team; the girls needed to win and to feel confident in themselves and believe in themselves again.

“This was huge for us, this win today. We have a chance for the win Wednesday (at Salem) and a chance for the win Friday (Camden Tech) and I told them today’s the day we need to change the season around, change the trajectory of what the rest of the looks like.”

Barring a tie, one of these teams was going to get its first win of the season.

The Eagles (1-5-1) were winless in their first six games of the season against teams of varying skill sets, with a 2-2 tie with Clayton the only positive result. They began to see progress by winning the second half of their 2-1 loss to Glassboro Thursday, and it started to register when they went to dinner after the game at Gus’ Pizzeria on South Broadway, followed by another get-together over the weekend at captain Bowman’s house.

Trapp was invited to both gatherings, but gave the players their space. She didn’t know about the meeting before Monday’s game until the players came out of the locker room, but she was happy to see the players take the initiative.

“I’m always proud to see the captains are stepping up and taking leadership responsibilities and taking accountability to get their team focused back on the energy,” Trapp said. “I always say the captains are a reflection of me and they saw what was needed and they went and implemented it.

“I love that they took the initiative. They didn’t really have to check in with me. They know it’s something I’m going to support, so I loved that they did that on their own.”

And it just might be the thing that turned their season around.

SCHALICK 7, OVERBROOK 0: Emily Miller scored four more goals, running her season total to 22, just over half of last year’s school record (43) set by Kerri Jackson. Miller has scored at least two goals in every game this season and has scored 16 goals in her last four games.

Pennsville 7, Penns Grove 0

Penns Grove (0-3-1)	0	0 –	0
Pennsville (1-5-1)	1	6 –	7

Goals: P – Riley Bowman (unassisted), 3:13; P – Riley Bowman (penalty kick), 54:10; P – Karsen Cooksey, 58:00; P – Anikka Macalino (unassisted), 61:16; P – Molly Gratz (unassisted), 69:14; P – Karsen Cooksey (Kallie Morrison) 73:26; P – Kallie Morrison (unassisted), 74:53.

This week’s schedule

Here is the high school sports schedule for Salem County schools for the week of Sept. 25-30

Sept. 25
FIELD HOCKEY
Timber Creek at Schalick, 4 p.m.

BOYS SOCCER
Penns Grove at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Pitman at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.
Salem at Clayton, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Overbrook, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Overbrook at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Penns Grove at Pennsville, 4 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Glassboro at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Pitman at Salem, 4 p.m.

Sept. 26
FIELD HOCKEY
Overbrook at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Clayton, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Glassboro, 4 p.m.

CROSS COUNTRY
Tri-County Batch Meet, Kingsway

GIRLS TENNIS
Pitman at Salem, 4 p.m.
Vineland at Schalick, 4 p.m.

Sept. 27
BOYS SOCCER
Gloucester Catholic at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Pitman at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Salem at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Salem Tech at Glassboro, 4 p.m.
Wildwood at Schalick, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Penns Grove at Pitman, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Salem, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Wildwood, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Pennsville at Pitman, 4 p.m.
Wildwood at Salem, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.

Sept. 28
FIELD HOCKEY
Deptford Twp. at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Salem, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Highland Regional at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Penns Grove at Clayton 4 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Our Lady of Mercy at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.

Sept. 29
FOOTBALL
Pennsville at Cumberland Regional, 6 p.m.
Lindenwold at Schalick, forfeit
Salem at Woodstown, 7 p.m.

BOYS SOCCER
Penns Grove at Haddon Twp., 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Paulsboro, 4 p.m.
Salem at Haddon Heights, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Palmyra, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Salem at Pennsauken Tech, 3:45 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Penns Grove at Overbook, 4 p.m.
Salem at Pennsville, 4 p.m.

Sept. 30
FOOTBALL
Paulsboro at Penns Grove, noon

CROSS COUNTRY
Shore Coaches Invitational, Holmdel Park

Cover photo by Heather Papiano

Muddy mess

Turnovers, missed opportunities hurt Penns Grove in a 14-0 loss at Haddon Heights in the rain, mud

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

HADDON HEIGHTS — Bryce Wright’s uniform was a mess, wet and dirty. It was a reflection of how much he was involved and how messy were the conditions.

HADDON HEIGHTS 14,
PENNS GROVE 0
Next: vs. Paulsboro,
Saturday, noon

In the days leading up to Saturday’s game Penns Grove’s lead running back kept an eye on the weather forecast and each update reminded him how fun it used to be to play in the wind and cold rain that were blown in by Tropical Storm Ophelia.

“I was on TikTok talking about a rain game; I couldn’t wait to get out here and play in the rain,” Wright said. “I love this. Ever since midgets. I love this.”

What’s not so fun is losing in such miserable conditions. When you’re behind, the rain just seems colder and the mud more messy

It was messy for the Red Devils Saturday. Turnovers and missed opportunities haunted them again in a 14-0 loss at Haddon Heights.

The Garnets (3-1), meanwhile, didn’t mind the mess. When the game ended, right before the skies opened one more time, their players were giddily sliding head first on the muddy field, caking the front of their jerseys in prime Camden County real estate.

“We knew all week we were going to play in this and we took on the challenge and were excited to play in it,” Heights quarterback Drew Harris said. “Obviously you couldn’t really throw the ball, so we ran it and our O-line blocked very well and we took it to them.”

Harris scored both touchdowns in the game, the second one capping a 92-yard drive that was n almost miraculous under the conditions after his offense was backed up to its own end zone.

The Red Devils (1-4) had chances, they just didn’t execute well enough to bring them home.

They put together their best drive of the first half late in the second quarter, but the threat died when Harris intercepted a pass in the end zone.

Turnovers have plagued the Red Devils all season. They had four more Saturday, not counting turning it over on downs twice. Their three possessions in the second half ended with two interceptions and a turnover on downs.

“It was exactly like I thought it was,” Penns Grove coach John Emel said. “I said we would either win or lose 14-0; that’s how it was. I don’t think they turned the ball over and we did, and it’s been the story of our season so far. I bet my life we broke the school record for turnovers.

“If we’re going to win low-scoring games we’re going to have to protect the ball better. I think we have our players and we have our identity. We have to get better executing.”

The Red Devils got it going in the second half and drove it into the red zone to open the third quarter, but a third-down fumble at the 16 increased the pressure to execute and Wright was stopped on fourth down before the line to gain creating a change in possession.

But that wasn’t the end of it. The Garnets were hit with a dead ball personal foul at the end of the play backing them up inside the 10 before starting on their long touchdown drive.

Harris took them 92 yards in 16 plays spanning eight minutes over the third and fourth quarters, ultimately slipping through the rush to score on a 10-yard run.

Conventional wisdom is the longer a drive goes, the better the chances are to mess up. The Garnets didn’t mess up. The Red Devils had a chance to cut the drive off before it could really get started, but Harris completed a third-and-12 pass from the 5 to move the chains.

“You can’t really cut on this,” Harris said. “You’re just slipping and sliding trying to get as many yards as you can.”

The Garnets dominated the first half. They ran their first 19 plays and 35 of their 37 plays in the half from inside the 50, but the combination of Penns Grove’s defense and the conditions afforded them only one touchdown.

Haddon Heights 14, Penns Grove 0

PG (0)		HH (14)
8	1st Downs	13
31-112	Rushing	31-102
3-9-3	Passes	10-20-0
8	Passing	96
3-1	Fum-lost	2-0
3-29.7	Punts-avg	2-25.0
8-60	Penalties	6-55

Penns Grove (1-4)	0	0	0	0 –	0
Haddon Heights (3-1)	0	6	0	8 –	14

Scoring plays
HH – Drew Harris 7 run (pass failed), 6:47 2Q
HH – Drew Harris 10 run (Josh Freeman pass from Drew Harris), 11:05 4Q

Salem County showdown

Schalick visits Pennsville Friday in its only scheduled game with Salem County foe this season; where once everybody played each other, only five such matchups are scheduled this season

SALEM COUNTY FOOTBALL
Friday’s games
Glassboro at Woodstown, 7 p.m.
Schalick at Pennsville, 7 p.m.
Saturday’s games
Penns Grove at Haddon Heights, 11 a.m.
Salem vs. Cedar Creek at SHI Stadium (Rutgers), 3 p.m.

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – There are certain games on everybody’s football schedule that bring a little more anticipation than others; the ones that draw that big, bold circle as soon as its announced.

Maybe it’s a game that got away the year before. Maybe it’s a key game with a division rival and playoff implications. Or one with all the pageantry, like Homecoming or Senior Night.

Schalick and Pennsville play one of those games Friday night that carries even more importance and intensity.

It’s a game between county rivals and when there are only five teams in the county those games mean just a little bit more.

“These kids know each other playing sports against each other their whole lives,” Pennsville coach Mike Healy said. “You usually feel like it’s a little more competitive in terms of the environment and atmosphere.

“It is really for bragging rights because they play each other in everything, especially with social media now, how connected some of these kids are. It’s really important to us. We want respect in general, but having the bragging rights in the county is always something you want to have. You want to be the best of the bunch, for sure.”

Sadly, while there are enough teams and enough slots on the schedule to play an annual county series, they don’t all play each other anymore. Used to, but not anymore.

Everybody has at least one in-county game this season. Penns Grove plays the most – three, the first of which was last week at Salem. Penns Grove, Salem and Woodstown all get at least two because they’re all in the West Jersey Football League Diamond Division.

The traditionalist in Schalick coach Mike Wilson, a self-proclaimed history nerd, would like to see all five county teams play each other, but the realist in him understands with the WJFL’s desire for competitive balance in scheduling it’s not possible.

Woodstown was the last team to schedule all four of the other county teams and made it a point to play all four every year but one from 2004 to 2020. All five programs did it in 2018 and 2019, with Penns Grove going 10-0 over that stretch (including playoffs), Woodstown 6-5 and Salem 6-4.

“County games are always bigger than other games because these kids grow up playing each,” Wilson said. “It’s just a county thing. It’s county bragging rights. I think it’s huge that way.

“And the kids know each other. When kids really know each other it’s different. When we play at Riverside, they don’t know who Riverside is. When we play Wildwood, they don’t know Wildwood kids. We play Cape May, they don’t know Cape May kids. But these kids they know, so anytime you know the kids it’s a bigger game to them. A lot of these kids have probably been playing football against each other since they were 8 years old.”

There’s a lot on the line for both teams, too.

Schalick, No. 2 behind Woodstown in the South Jersey Group I power rankings, is looking to keep the train rolling and its undefeated record intact on the road against a team that’s improved from the one it beat by five touchdowns a year ago.

But they’re likely to be doing it without leading rusher Reggie Allen Jr., who took a big hit in last week’s win over Riverside. Wilson declined to comment on the status or availability of the player who called just last week the backbone of his team.

Pennsville, meanwhile, is looking to take another step forward after bouncing back from a flat second game to get its second win last week, doubling its win total of a year ago.

“Last year we didn’t put forth what we wanted to so there’s a little extra to this because we’re trying to get back to where we want to be and expect to be,” Healy said. “To be able to do it against a county team would just be that much better. Not only that, the kids are aware this is a 4-0 team we’re playing and No. 2 in the UPR rankings, so getting this win would be huge for us for what our goals are at the end of the season.”

Wilson knows that makes the Eagles a dangerous team.

“We are truly the hunted and we have to learn how to take that now,” he said. “We’re no longer the underdog in a lot of these games. The kids have to understand how to handle success and how to take care of business. It’s a huge game for us.”

Salem County Head-to-Head

TEAMS	PGRV	PVILLE	SALEM	SCHAL	WOODS
PENNS GROVE	—	10-4 (36-27-4)	9-8 (56-45-6)	9-0 (27-7)	8-6
PENNSVILLE	4-10 (27-36-4)	—	5-7	4-2 (16-8)	6-7
SALEM	8-9 (45-56-6)	7-5	—	3-4 (24-13-1)	9-5 (64-39-10)
SCHALICK	0-9 (7-27)	2-4 (8-16)	4-3 (13-24-1)	—	1-11 (9-24)
WOODSTOWN	6-8	7-6	5-9 (39-64-10)	11-1 (24-9)	—

Since 2010, includes playoffs; all-time series in parenthesis

GLASSBORO (1-2) at WOODSTOWN (3-0): The Wolverines, the No. 1 team in the South Jersey Group I power rankings, face their most physical opponent to date without their most dynamic player. Senior running back James Hill, a 3,000-yard career rusher, underwent surgery Thursday for a non-contact, non-football knee injury and will miss the rest of the season just when he was set to return from surgery on the other knee.

The Wolverines’ approach really doesn’t change much with the news. They went into the season with Bryce Belinfanti and Alex Torres the Nos. 1 and 2 running backs until Hill’s return and have elevated their games in the meantime. The only difference now is they’ll remain in those top tier spots the rest of the year.

Belinfanti has rushed for 413 yards and six touchdowns in the Wolverines’ first three games. Torres went for a career-high 120 yards and two touchdowns last week at Deptford.

“I don’t think it changes much because we had to prepare for not having (Hill) starting the season,” Adams said. “Bryce came into the season knowing he was the first running back and Torres knew he was the second running back and that’s been their mindset all along, so I don’t think anything really changes in that aspect.

“We said going into the season we needed to be able to execute the passing game better and last week we really showed that. We just need to keep that going and doing what we’re doing.”

As for being the early No. 1 in the SJ-I power rankings, the potential No. 1 seed in the sectional playoffs, Adams said the Wolverines don’t get caught up in all that, but admits it does change the way future opponents look at them.

“We don’t get wrapped up into it too much,” Adams said. “What it does for us is we know our opponents are looking at that going if we beat Woodstown we can get a lot of power points.

“We kind of talk to it from that aspect. We’ve got a bulls eye on our back and people are looking to beat us to jump up in their rankings … It’s a long season. We use it as everybody’s going to give you their best because they know it’s worth a lot to them if they can get a W over us.”

SATURDAY’S GAMES
PENNS GROVE (1-3) at HADDON HEIGHTS (2-1): The Red Devils go into another game with playoff implications experiencing life the week after playing a longtime rival and coming off a win.

it’s the first time this year they go into a game after a win and they did that only twice last year. They haven’t won back-to-back games since Oct. 30-Nov. 6, 2021.

And every game they’ve played this year seems to carry some kind of playoff implication. The opener against Burlington City has tiebreaker potential because the winner last year eventually was in and the loser was out. It was suggested the winner of last week’s game with rival Salem was in a good spot to make the playoffs. It’ll be more of the same this week.

The Red Devils are currently No. 18 in the South Jersey Group I power ratings, right behind Pennsville and currently on the outside of the playoff cutline. Haddon Heights is No. 20 in SJ-II.

“It’s a huge game, both teams need the game,” Penns Grove coach John Emel said. “I’m telling our kids with our schedule we win this game we’re clinching a playoff spot. We got in last year with two (wins) and to get two this early in the season and having a heads-up win over Salem and over Haddon Heights with three wins we can start working toward getting a home playoff or some of the goals we set throughout the year.

“I know our kids are excited to be coming off a win. It’s been a while since we came off a win, so I’m excited with how hungry our kids show up to be Saturday.”

The Garnets have a dynamic passer in Drew Harris who three for three touchdowns last week and is expected to provide a big test for the Red Devils’ young secondary of freshmen Karon Ceaser and Jayden Days, Knowledge Young and Kylee Goodson.

“We’re better than we’ve been the last couple years on the back end, but we’re young,” Emel said. “Those guys have gotta play big for us to have a chance to win.”

A late-developing intangible impacting the game is the weather. Haddon Heights officials have been considering an alternate site or moving the date if it looks like the expected weekend storms will make it too difficult to play the game as scheduled. A decision is likely to come sometime Friday.

(UPDATE: At 10:20 a.m. Friday, Haddon Heights officials told Riverview Sports News the game will be played as scheduled.)

SALEM (0-4) vs. CEDAR CREEK (3-1): The Rams will be seeking their first victory of the season against the No. 7 team in the South Jersey Group III power rankings in the Rumble on the Raritan at Rutgers’ SHI Stadium. It’ll be their second game in a college facility this season, having opened the year against Executive Education Academy at Lafayette College.

2023 SALEM COUNTY SHOWDOWNS
Penns Grove 21, Salem 6
Schalick at Pennsville, Friday
Salem at Woodstown, Sept. 29
Pennsville at Penns Grove, Oct. 13
Woodstown at Penns Grove, Oct. 21

Cover photo by Lorraine Jenkins

From the doorstep

Fisher’s fast foot from in front of the net delivers first-half goal to send Schalick past hard-luck Penns Grove

THURSDAY’S BOYS SOCCER
Glassboro 3, Pennsville 0
Schalick 1, Penns Grove 0
Wildwood 4, Salem Tech 0
Gloucester Catholic 4, Salem 0
Woodstown 5, Overbrook 2

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE – Seth Fisher couldn’t believe the good fortune that fell at his feet in the first half Thursday afternoon.

The Schalick sophomore just happened to be in the right place at the right time when a ball off a free kick landed at his feet an empty section of goal staring him right in the face. All he had to do was not mess it up.

Fisher couldn’t have finished it off any more solid and drilled the ball into the back of the net for the only goal in the Cougars’ 1-0 victory over Penns Grove. It was the center midfielder’s second goal of his career – he scored the second goal against Gateway Sept. 9 – and his first game-winner.

“It was like this natural instinct,” he said. “I just saw the ball pass on my right side, it bounced off the keeper and it was right there on my right foot right in front of the goal. I couldn’t believe it was there. It fell right to me.”

The Cougars (5-2) were carrying the play, spending most of the game in the attacking end, but Fisher’s goal with 15:22 left in the first half was the only ball they could get past Penns Grove keeper Dwayne Guzman. They had several chances, but couldn’t cash in, thwarted either by Guzman or the Red Devils’ defense, led by first-year starting stopper Erlin Mondragon and sweeper Jason Cisneros.

Their best chance for a second goal came with 21 minutes to play when Bradford Foster hit the crossbar and Cooper Willoughby headed the rebound into the chest of Guzman. But all you have to do is score one more than the other team to win and the Cougars, thanks to Fisher’s fast foot, got that one.

“Tuesday (a 1-0 loss to Glassboro) was a physical beating so I really wasn’t sure how much we had left and we had some guys have to come off the bench and give minutes,” Cougars coach Joe Mannella said. “They have to get comfortable playing in close games, there are going to be a lot of them, and this is a good step forward to do that.”

Both teams were coming off a spate of one-goal losses. The Cougars had lost two in a row. All four of the Red Devils’ losses (1-4) have been by one goal. It might be the kind of thing that could get a team down, but first-year Penns Grove coach Mano Massari remains positive.

“I have a very young team, a very green team,” Massari said. “We’re keeping up with these top-tier teams in our division and conference, so, yeah, it stings now, but the optimism in me is looking towards the future and thinking, man, we’re going to be a force to deal with for the next couple years.”

WOODSTOWN 5, OVERBROOK 2: Adrian Ibarra scored a hat trick for the Wolverines (5-1).

GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 4, SALEM 0: Trey Battle and Zack Payne scored two goals apiece for the winning Rams. Both of Battle’s goals came in the first 17 minutes of the game.

GLASSBORO 3, PENNSVILLE 0: Emirhan Kir scored a goal in the first half and Christopher Martinez and Atakan Ozdemir found the back of the net in the second as the Bulldogs remained unbeaten (7-0). It was their third straight shutout.

**Schalick’s Luke Price (3) controls the ball deep in Penns Grove’s end. Top photo: Cougars’ goal-scorer Seth Fisher (16) tries to move around Penns Grove’s Jayden Murga Santos.**

Goal of the year

Schalick keeper comes out in the field, scores first career goal to complete Cougars’ 7-0 win over Penns Grove

THURSDAY’S GIRLS SOCCER
Glassboro 2, Pennsville 1
Gloucester Catholic 9, Salem 0
Schalick 7, Penns Grove 0
Woodstown 4, Overbrook 0

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNS GROVE – Whenever presented a chance to do something nice for one of his players, Will Kemp will never hesitate.

The Schalick girls soccer coach got the chance to give career keeper Carly Hayman the chance to fulfill a goalie’s dream. He brought the senior into the field with about 15 minutes left and she scored the final goal of the Cougars’ 7-0 win over Penns Grove.

“I was like, ‘Oh my God, I just scored my first goal;’ it was awesome,” Hayman said. “I’ve wanted to score for the last four years I’ve been there, so it was definitely great to score.”

it wasn’t just one of those right place, right time kind of things. She took a pass from Mikayla Caputo, dribbled past a couple defenders and fired into the upper corner. When the ball finally settled into the back of the net she sat there stunned before realizing what just happened and then it touched off a wild celebration.

“(The girls) went ballistic,” Kemp said. “That was the most important goal of the entire game. Forget everything else. That’s the most important goal of the entire season pretty much right there.”

Hayman had scored goals in scrimmages before and she’s assisted on other goals, but Thursday was her first goal in a formal game setting. She came out of the goal with the Cougars leading 6-0, pulled freshman Kyleigh Cutter’s No. 3 jersey over her shoulders and headed out to the midfield. She was excited when Kemp gave her a chance to come off the line and made the most of it.

“I definitely give players opportunities inside matches like that just to get on the board, get some stats, make them feel great about themselves, because they deserve it,” Kemp said. “Like last year I moved one of my center backs up to playing a striker role, giving them some up-top time, and they ended up scoring a goal.

“Carly is a good field player; I know she wanted to score. Of course we were all happy (when she did). She always smiles, but seeing her smile as big as it was today, it means the world to her and, of course, to me, too.”

Before Hayman lit the lamp, Emily Miller scored a natural hat trick in the first half – giving her 13 goals for the season – and Abby Willoughby, Jael Winnberg and Quinn Berger scored goals.

Now that she’s gotten a taste for the goal, she hopes to score at least one more time this year, perhaps in her Senior Night game. Kemp already has shown he’s willing to give it a shot.

The Cougars (4-1) have been a scoring machine this season. They’ve scored at least three goals in every game, have outscored their opponents 26-8 and have won their last two by a combined 13-0.

WOODSTOWN 4, OVERBROOK 0: Emma Perry scored twice for the second game in a row and Ellie Wygand posted a shutout as the Wolverines won for the third time in their last four games to even their record for the first time this season. Ally Sheppard and Lia Covely scored Woodstown’s other goals. The future looks bright: All of their goals came from freshmen and sophomores.

GLASSBORO 2, PENNSVILLE 1: Amina Brown scored two goals in the first half and Glassboro held on through the second half. Molly Gratz scored for the Eagles.

GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 9, SALEM 0: Hailey Molis and Lauren Narolewski both scored a pair of goals for the Lady Rams. Narolewski made five saves before coming out of the goal.

Wednesday roundup

FIELD HOCKEY
Woodstown 9, Overbrook 0: The Wolverines erupted for five runs in the third quarter to pull away from a 3-0 halftime lead. Seven players scored goals in the game with Megan Donelson and Kayla Brown each getting a pair. The Wolverines (3-0) have outscored their three opponents this season 22-1.

Salem 4, Gloucester Catholic 0: Rhionna Timmons scored two goals in the first quarter and Morgan VanDover had the other two to help keep the Rams unbeaten (4-0). The Rams have outscored their opponents 25-1.

Schalick 5, Deptford Twp. 0: Phoebe Alward scored twice, Ava Scurry had a goal in two assists and the Cougars (3-1) posted their second straight shutout since suffering their first loss of the season.

GIRLS TENNIS
Woodstown 5, Glassboro 0: The Wolverines ran their record to 6-0 with a straight-set sweep. No. 2 doubles team of Alyssa Berry and Nathalie Neron won 6-0, 6-0.

Pennsville 5, Gloucester Catholic 0: The Eagles (5-1) swept their second straight opponent and fourth of the season.

It’s Bryce, twice

Tuesday roundup: Woodstown soccer finds a way to close out opponent; Penns Grove, Schalick do not, suffer one-goal losses; also includes girls soccer and girls tennis

TUESDAY’S SALEM COUNTY SCORES
BOYS SOCCER
Clayton 3, Salem Tech 1
Glassboro 1, Schalick 0
Overbook 2, Penns Grove 1
Woodstown 3, Pennsville 2
GIRLS SOCCER
Schalick 6, Glassboro 0
Woodstown 4, Pennsville 1
Penns Grove at Overbook
GIRLS TENNIS
Woodstown 5, Overbook 0

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – There was a lot of activity around the scorer’s table Tuesday afternoon when Woodstown scored twice in a little over 90 seconds late in the second half. Everyone was trying to figure out who got the goals. Was it Bryce Ayars?

“Yes, it was Bryce – on both,” one of the coaches said from the bench area. “He’s everywhere.”

Indeed. The slender sophomore with the orange headband started the game at center back, but when the Wolverines needed him most he inched his way into the offense and scored twice in rapid succession to turn a halftime deficit into a 3-2 victory over Pennsville at the Ronald Udy Soccer Complex.

“With every team I’ve ever played with if we’re down goals and my offense isn’t making things happen, I go up there and help them up out a little bit,” he said. “Mostly it pays off.

“Even though I’m not a captain I normally help my team out as much as I can. Say we’re down 2-0 and I know my offense isn’t sparking anything, I try to push them to keep going and potentially win the game.”

Ayars’ first two goals this season came in the Penns Grove game under similar conditions to Tuesday. He scored the tying goal in the second half and game-winner in overtime after the Wolverines fell behind 2-0.

His game-tying goal Tuesday came with 11:12 to play. He took a pass from the corner, got around one defender, avoided a second and then banged it home into the upper left corner.

No sooner had things settled back down, he found the back of the net again, this time as a striker with 9:24 left on a header off a free kick by Dante Holmes from 35 yards out. All three goals Ayars scored last year came off set pieces.

“We’ve done this before, so it wasn’t something brand new where he was thrown into a space he wasn’t familiar with,” Woodstown coach Darren Huck said. “He’s comfortable up there. He’s one of our better defenders, so it could be a little risky at times because what we lose on one end we might gain on another and vice versa.

“As coaches we have to make sure we stay within our frame and balance and sometimes we have players who because of their aggressiveness will go out of that space you really don’t want them to. It’s a gamble because sometimes it’ll work out and sometimes it can hurt you, but everything worked out in the second half for us today, which was nice.”

Pennsville, meanwhile, couldn’t have had a better start. The Eagles (1-4) went up 2-0 in the first 10 minutes on goals by Stone Mumink and Dylan Waller four minutes apart.

Mumink beat a defender to a 50-50 ball in the box and tucked a shot just inside the right post with just 5:13 gone in the game. Waller took a pass from Maddox Efelis and scored from the left side less than five minutes later.

“One of the things I’ve been preaching to this team all season is there are going to be a lot of tough games where you’re going to look at the score lines and you’re going to look at the two rosters (and) we’re probably not going to be favored,” Eagles coach Derek Foglein said, “but those are the games if we play like we want to win, we will win and we’ll give ourselves a chance.

“I think the guys really showed today that they played like they wanted to win and I think the first 15 minutes showed that. I think they showed that they wanted to win and it was just a matter can we be good enough defensively. A few bounces don’t go our way, but overall the start was really, really positive and that’s the thing I’m going to take away from this game as we move forward.”

After watching the Eagles get the better of his team in the first half, Huck got his players’ attention during the break. The Wolverines (4-1) picked up their attack in the second half and went on to win their fourth straight game and third by one goal.

“I had to wake them up a little bit,” Huck said. “I had to shake the bed and they responded.”

**Pennsville’s Michael Veasy (19) clears away another Woodstown attack late in the first half Tuesday.**

Glassboro 1, Schalick 0: The young Cougars were an early-season surprise, overcoming the loss of their senior striker 15 minutes into the season opener and winning their first four games by large margins and back-to-back shutouts, but now they’re facing a bit of adversity after two straight one-goal losses.

It’s just a matter of finishing, coach Joe Mannella says. The Cougars (4-2) had a goal disallowed in first half and it changed the momentum. After Glassboro (6-0) capitalized on a defensive mistake to score early in the second half, Schalick had several chances for the tying goal, but just couldn’t connect to light the lamp.

“It seems to be a team the last two games where we’re not able to finish,” Mannella said. “You let teams hang around and we’re not finding a way to win right now. It’s kind of tough, but I thought the boys played well.”

The Cougars started the year by outscoring their opponents 16-3, but in their last two games, even though the defense was stout, they’ve been held to one goal by Buena and Glassboro.

“We do have a very young team, so ups and downs are sort of expected,” Mannella said. “You build confidence, but it only takes a couple bad outings to kind of start to take that away from you. Goal scoring, like anything, when it dries up, sometimes it just dries up, and you just need that one lucky break here and there that we’re not getting to really get you kick started.”

Their first chance to snap out of it comes Thursday when they host Penns Grove, a team going through some of the same trials the Cougars are.

Overbook 2, Penns Grove 1: The Red Devils can feel the Cougars’ pain. All three of their losses this season are of the one-goal variety and the last two have come after they’ve had the lead.

Jayden Merga put the Red Devils (1-3) on top with a penalty kick. Overbrook (3-2), which won only four matches a year ago and didn’t get their third until the 12th game, tied it on what PG coach Mano Massari called “the best goal I’ve seen all season so far” and got the game-winner on a shot from outside the box that keeper and newly appointed captain Dwayne Guzman couldn’t see.

“Our guys just seemed to take their foot off the gas pedal after taking the lead,” Massari said. “We’re still trying to work a lot out and this is what happens with a young team.

“We’ll get there. We just have to stay calm. We’re not hitting the panic button … We just need to close.”

GIRLS SOCCER
Schalick 6, Glassboro 0: Emily Miller scored four goals, three in the second half, as the Cougars (3-1) bounced back from their first loss of the season. Freshman Karlie Bakley and Cali Fisler had Schalick’s other goals and Carly Hayman posted her second shutout. Miller leads Salem County girls with 10 goals in four games.

Woodstown 4, Pennsville 1: Emma Perry scored twice and Lia Covely and Sophie Wells had one goal apiece for the Wolverines (2-3). Marley Wood scored the Pennsville (0-4-1) goal.

GIRLS TENNIS
Woodstown 5, Overbook 0: After winning their last three matches 3-2, the Wolverines cruised to their second sweep of the season to remain undefeated (5-0). They won all five matches in straight sets with both doubles teams never dropping a game.

Closing ceremonies

Penns Grove wins final high school football game on Salem’s Walnut Street Field, beating the Rams with a former Salem starter at the helm

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

SALEM – Penns Grove football coach and Salem alum John Emel did not pick up a handful of dirt or stick a commemorative clump of turf in his pocket on the way out of Walnut Street Field Saturday. The good feeling of getting the team’s first win of the season would have to be a sufficient enough memento of the historic day.

PENNS GROVE 21
NEXT: Penns Grove
at Haddon Heights,
Saturday, 11 a.m.

Emel’s Red Devils took control of the game early and then closed out the Rams 21-6 in what likely will be the final high school football game played at Walnut Street Field, where Emel played his home games as a Salem starting lineman back in the day.

The Rams are scheduled to move into a new on-campus stadium next month, a project precipitated by the city condemning the decades-old wooden bleachers at The Nut. City officials were working to bring the field back for its youth teams, but ramped up their work for the high school after the Rams ran into a conflict with a Labor Day weekend neutral site game.

SALEM 6
NEXT: Salem
vs. Cedar Creek,
Rumble on the Raritan,
SHI Stadium, Rutgers,
Saturday, 3 p.m.

The facility held up well enough for the Rams to move their Penns Grove game back there with, ironically, Emel providing the opposition for the venue’s final high school game. Salem’s on-campus stadium is schedule to host its first game Oct. 7.

“I did not grab any dirt in the moment,” Emel said. “Like I said before, it’s not something I make a habit of. My AD (Anwar Golden, also a Salem alum) came up to me at halftime and said it’s kind of sad this is the last game here, right. I said yeah, but we want to go out with a win.”

The Rams wanted to lock the gates for the final time with the same reward.

“Unfortunately we couldn’t get it done for the city and our seniors’ last ride there,” first-year Salem coach Danny Mendoza lamented.

Penns Grove took advantage of Salem’s continuing shortcomings on special teams to build a 15-0 halftime lead.

The Red Devils (1-3) blocked two punts. Isaiah Upshur snuffed one on the first series and almost returned it for a touchdown. Bryce Wright caught the second one in midair and he did return it for the game’s first score and then ran in the conversion to make it 8-0.

Wright scored the second touchdown with less than 90 seconds left in the half on a short run that capped a long drive. Anthony Brown kicked the extra point. Freshman Karon Ceaser scored their final touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

Wright finished with 118 yards rushing on 18 Carrie’s. Ceaser had 109 yards on 17 carries.

“Every time we’ve gone there, whether it was a big win or a heartbreaking loss, we always started fast and, really, that’s the key to beating those guys every time, because Salem is known to be a second-half team,” Emel said. “So, you have to really jump out on them and then hang on for dear life. That’s always how we played them.”

The Rams (0-4) made it interesting when Daveon Jackson scored on a short run with 10:01 to play. Jackson also recovered a fourth-down fumble on Penns Grove’s ensuing drive, but the Rams couldn’t take advantage of the turnover.

“Daveon Jackson is probably the heart and soul of our team and we should be inspired by his play,” Mendoza said. Expect to see more of Jackson next Saturday when the Rams play Cedar Creek in the Rumble on the Raritan at Rutgers’ SHI Stadium, he added.

“They’re athletic, they’re dangerous, so keeping those guys out of the red zone is a big key to defending them,” Emel said. “When you’re playing Salem, they’re notorious for big play.”

But the Rams couldn’t turn any on this historic day. They’ve scored only two touchdowns in their last three games. The biggest play they made Saturday was Ramaji Bundy’s run on third-and-9 from the 13 to keep the chains moving on their touchdown drive.

“We’re just so hot and cold,” Mendoza said. “We just haven’t put together four quarters of football. We have to understand it’s an 11-man game; sometimes we do, sometimes we don’t.

“We’ve just got to keep chomping at the bit. We’ve got to understand it’s a four-quarter game. The fun part of the game is the battling, it’s the fight, and we’ve got to learn to keep fighting. I still think this team has the talent to win some games and beat some teams on our schedule, but we’ve got to do our talking with our pads and play for four quarters. That’ll be the make or break.”

Penns Grove 21, Salem 6

Penns Grove (1-3)	0	15	0	6 –	21
Salem (0-4)	0	0	0	6 –	6

Scoring plays
PG – Bryce Wright 15 blocked punt return (Bryce Wright run)
PG – Bryce Wright 5 run (Anthony Brown kick)
S – Daveon Jackson 5 run (pass failed)
PG – Karon Ceaser 25 run (kick failed)