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.
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
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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)
Part of John Emel’s family legacy is playing football on Salem’s Walnut Street Field; Saturday he brings his Penns Grove team to play there in the facility’s final high school game
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
SALEM – John Emel has never taken dirt from another team’s field either as a player or a coach, but this time he might make an exception.
The Penns Grove football coach is genuinely going to miss Walnut Street Field.
After serving as the home field for the Salem High School football team for decades, The Nut will host what likely will be the last high school football game Saturday when, ironically, Emel brings his Red Devils (0-3) to play the Rams (0-3) in what is always a big game for both teams regardless of their records.
“For starters, it’s a great place to play a game,” Emel said. “You know, people get hung up in the facilities and the weight room and the locker room and things like that and that place doesn’t have that, but it’s an awesome place to play and coach a big game. There have been a lot of big games there over the years.”
The field holds a lot of memories for him. Five generations of Emel men have played on it. His great-great grandfather, great grandfather, grandfather and dad all played there. John Emel was a starting lineman for the Rams when he played there from 1998 to 2001. His brothers played there, as well as several cousins and uncles. His uncle Dave, a two-way starting lineman on Salem’s 1983 championship team, is a member of the chain crew there now.
As other long-standing schools have moved their athletics program into more modern facilities on their campuses, facilities like Walnut Street have remained vigilant gatekeepers of bygone days. Sadly, many have fallen into disrepair.
The field has virtually been unchanged since 1962, but there was a time before that when it looked a lot different. It actually ran diagonally to its present configuration to accommodate a baseball field. The current design has the scoreboard, entrance gates and concession stand on the Walnut Street end of the stadium.
“There are just a lot of memories there,” Emel said. “I haven’t been there since the bleachers came down, but to me what made it so unique was the big old-style home bleachers.
“The field is always in awesome shape. The Salem field playing surface, to be honest, is as good as any around. I’ve played there over the years in wet, sometimes rainy, conditions, all types of conditions, and no one ever complained about the playing surface.”
Some of Emel’s fondest members as a player and a coach have been created on that field.
His two fondest memories as a player were his first-ever start against Glassboro and winning his final home game. The start came as a sophomore against one of the best Glassboro teams ever in a game that was forced to a Monday by the arrival of Hurricane Floyd; ironically, he would be blocking for his future Penns Grove athletics director Anwar Golden, then Salem’s senior starting running back and safety, in that game. Glassboro won 33-14, pulling away from a game that was tight for a while and going on to be 12-0, but Emel played one of his better games and it “helped further my love of football.”
His final home game was Senior Day against Pennsville. The Rams won and went on the road for the playoffs the next week. “I felt the year before against them I didn’t play that well and came back and played one of my better games,” he said. “That year I got to play with my brother on the field a little and other guys I was really close with. It was just special.”
Two of his fondest memories as a coach are the last two times he took a team to Salem. In 2016, an 0-2 Red Devils teams trekked down Rt. 49, held future NFL All-Pro Jonathan Taylor out of the end zone and beat the Rams 20-8. In 2018, they were the best two teams in Group I and the Red Devils prevailed again 26-20 and then beat their rivals in the rematch at Penns Grove for the South Jersey championship to cap an undefeated season.
In the interest of full disclosure, Emel admitted a couple of his toughest losses came on Walnut Street as well, including a playoff loss to the Rams his first year as Penns Grove’s coach.
“I want to end up a high note,” he said.
It looked like Walnut Street had seen its final days last season when the city condemned the old wooden bleachers. That decision led Salem school officials to start building an on-campus facility, but with that project on-going it also was going to force the football team with a new coach to play all of its games on the road until October.
The city continued to work to make the field ready for its youth team, but It picked up the pace when logistical issues at Abessinio Stadium in Wilmington forced Salem and Camden to pull its game out of the Mid-Atlantic Classic without a place to go. The city got Walnut Street put together well enough to host the game and it worked so well Salem moved the Penns Grove game back there as well.
The Rams are expected to open their on-campus facility Oct. 7.
Not even some off-the-field drama following the Camden-Salem game that forcing Saturday’s contest to be played without outside fans in attendance due can put a damper on the significance of the day.
“I don’t think I’m crying like (Eagles head coach) Nick Sirianni during the national anthem of the Super Bowl,” Emel said. “But football is an emotional game. You want to play with emotion and coach with emotion.
“I want to win every game, but I really want to win this one because not only is it the next one, but it’s Salem, it’s a rivalry and the fact that it’s the last game on Walnut Street it would make some of these other memories coaching that I mentioned that much sweeter. We want to close it out with a victory.”
Because the field means so much to him, perhaps when no one is looking Saturday, maybe as he walks through the gates for the final time, Emel will reach down and sneak a little souvenir to remember it by.
“I’ve never taken dirt from any other stadium,” he said. “Maybe this one should be the first.”
