Category: PENNSVILLE

Tie that binds

Woodstown, Schalick battle to scoreless tie to remain tied for division lead; Pennsville also plays to a draw in its quest for a division crown

BOYS SOCCER
Pennsville 1, Gloucester Catholic 1
Penns Grove 4, Overbrook 1
Wildwood 7, Salem 1
Schalick 0, Woodstown 0

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN — Rivals Woodstown and Schalick played for the upper hand in the TCC Diamond Division, as they always seem to do, but they came out of this one the same way they went into it: Tied for the lead after playing to a scoreless draw.

The game may have been scoreless, but it was an aficionado’s dream.

“It’s a game that those who don’t care for soccer and part of it is because there’s no scoring and there’s no action, this would be that game they would want to use for evidence,” Woodstown coach Darren Huck said. “But if you were there you would have seen it was a good game.”

Another false assumption would be thinking the Wolverines were playing for the tie because they moved leading scorer Bryce Ayars back into a more defensive center mid position. Huck refuted the notion, saying they played the same formation they had the last three games, but had to drop Ayars back because Jake Lewis remained out after getting hurt in the Penns Grove match and that move gave them the best chance to win the game.

“We weren’t playing for the tie, we weren’t,” Huck said. “I looked at some of my options and each one I said who’s going to give us the best opportunity to stay in the game and Bryce was the best, the most logical, choice. When I presented it to my coaching staff every one of them came back and said this is the right call.

“It wasn’t about putting Bryce there to keep a tie. It was about putting Bryce there to keep us in the game to give us a chance to win the game. I wasn’t moving Bryce back there with a healthy team. What I was looking for was someone else step up and score a goal.” 

The Cougars, meanwhile, were prepared to play their rivals the way they played in the first meeting, with Ayars up top. The change was a “clear indication,” to Schalick coach Joe Mannella at least, “that you’re going to try to score on a free kick or a counterattack … and they stuck with it the whole time.”

Mannella acknowledged it was frustrating at times and tested the Cougars patience. They created enough chances, he said, they just didn’t score.

Schalick outshot their rivals 14-5, but Woodstown keeper Trey Markward made 11 saves. Schalick keeper Evan Sepers was credited with four saves and wasn’t overly tested, but he did hold his breath in overtime when Ben Lippincott’s shot from just outside the box just missed the post.

The tie left the teams atop the division standings with 15 points — Woodstown at 6-0-3 and Schalick at 7-1-1. They can finish as co-champions in the division with wins Monday (even though Woodstown is 1-0-1 in the season series), and that wouldn’t be a bad thing in Huck’s mind.

Schalick remained No. 1 in the South Jersey Group I power points standings, with a slight lead over Haddon Twp. Woodstown fell to No. 4, just behind Audubon. Schalick and Woodstown came into the week 1-2.

“I look at it as sharing a division championship with a team like Schalick, who routinely, year in and year out, is a division champion, a South Jersey finalist, a state Group I contender, I look at that as an honor and an accomplishment to be in there with them in the same sentence,” Huck said. “I really, honestly feel that way.

“Schalick has been a thorn in our side for a long time. I wouldn’t want it any other way. If given a choice, I wouldn’t want to be in any other division where it’s easy. I take a lot of pride in going ‘us and Schalick, co-champs,’ well deserved by both teams.”

NOTES: The three ties are the most Woodstown has had in a season since 2022 (5-10-3) and with Monday’s draw at Penns Grove it marks the first time the Wolverines have had back-to-back ties since 2016 (Triton, Schalick) … It was Woodstown’s first scoreless tie since 2019 (Glassboro) and Schalick’s first since 2022 (Palmyra) … Schalick hosts Penns Grove Monday, Woodstown hosts Pitman.

Penns Grove 4, Overbrook 1: Prince Ledbetter scored twice and assisted on Michael Schultz’ first career goal in the second half as the Red Devils (6-3-3) extended their unbeaten streak to five games. Erdem Yardim scored their other goal.
Pennsville 1, Gloucester Catholic 1: Not really the result the Eagles were looking for, but they still can clinch their first division title in 32 years with a win over Salem Monday. Right back Brett Land scored the tying goal in the first half, four minutes after the Rams scored, off a long Stevie Fatcher throw-in that hit the crossbar and came straight to him.
Wildwood 7, Salem 1: Michael Blanda had two goals and an assist for the Warriors, who moved within a half-game of Pennsville in the Classic Division race.

Tri-County Conference Standings

CLASSICDIV.DIAMONDDIV.
Pennsville (8-5-2)7-1-1Schalick (11-2-2)7-1-1
Wildwood (7-6)7-2-0Woodstown (9-1-3)6-0-3
Clayton (9-6)6-2-0Pitman (8-5-1)6-3-0
Gloucester Cath. (5-6-1)2-5-1Penns Grove (6-3-3)4-3-2
Salem Tech (3-11)2-6-0Overbrook (7-8)1-8-0
Salem (0-14)0-8-0Glassboro (5-10-1)0-9-0


View from the top

Girls roundup: Schalick edges Woodstown to win sixth straight soccer division title; includes tennis and field hockey

GIRLS SOCCER
Schalick 2, Woodstown 1
Clayton 6, Salem Tech 0
Overbrook 5, Penns Grove 2
Glassboro 2, Pennsville 0
Wildwood 6, Salem 0

By Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE – You know you’ve got something special going on when you don’t know what it feels like to finish second.

The Schalick girls soccer team under coach Will Kemp doesn’t know second place.

The Cougars clinched at least a share of their sixth straight TCC Diamond Division title and fourth under Kemp Thursday in a 2-1 victory over rival Woodstown. They can win it outright with a win at Penns Grove Monday or a Woodstown loss at Pennsville.

Since the conference declares co-champions in event of a tie at the top, that means Kemp’s entire class rotation of players – freshmen through seniors – have known nothing but division championships. That’s a closet full of championship jackets.

“It’s the culture,” Kemp said. “It’s a special thing for us to continue to win the division year after year, but it just shows you the standard that has been set in the past and that continues to be inside the actual program itself.

“It’s special for the ladies to win this. When you’re now a senior, such as Cali (Fisler) and Abigail (Willoughby), for them to win it four years in a row it’s just something special. It’s almost starting to become the lone standard when you play at Schalick soccer to win the division.”

The Cougars (9-5-1) have lost only one division game in Kemp’s four years at the helm – to Woodstown in his first year. They’re unbeaten in their last 32 regular-season division games (31-0-1). The teams played to a 1-1 draw earlier this season.

Despite the close score, the Cougars dominated the game, playing most of it in their attacking end. Olivia Vanacker scored in the 34th minute to open the scoring and Karlie Bakley scored in the first 30 seconds of the second half to give them a 2-0 lead.

Kyleigh Cutler, in her first game back from a recovery break, assisted on both Schalick goals.

“Kyleigh Cutler came in a changed the whole dynamic of our team,” Kemp said. “Adding her back to the squad, she’s a very important piece to us.”

Gina Murray made it a one-goal game in the 55th minute when she hit a great shot past keeper Eve Berger after the Cougars failed to clear a free kick.

The win was the Cougars’ fifth in a row since moving into the second phase of their season on Senior Night, Oct. 2. In Kemp’s tenure, they are 30-9-1 after Oct. 1.

“The main timeline I always give my players is six weeks, from preseason all the way into the sixth week,” Kemp said. “That’s when everything starts to roll for them and they start to understand the consistency inside their style of play, the effort that’s needed and, of course, being able to showcase their talents.

“Before the six weeks, lot of mistakes happen, we’re still trying to figure some things out, players are still getting their fitness in, but after six weeks that’s when you start to see exactly what type of team that we are.”

Glassboro 2, Pennsville 0: Amina Brown and Alyssa Mattox scored goals for the Bulldogs.
Clayton 6, Salem Tech 0: Nicole Lemon scored two goals in the second half for the Clippers.

FIELD HOCKEY
Schalick 9, Overbrook 0: The Cougars (11-6) got all their goals from seniors on Senior Night, including two each from Caylen Taylor, Ava Scurry, Lena Virga and Phoebe Alward, to win their third straight and clinch the TCC Diamond Division crown. For Alward, it was her 50th career goal. Natalie May scored their other goal. The shutout was their seventh of the season.
GCIT 4, Woodstown 1: Lexi Taylor scored the Wolverines’ goal in the third quarter.

GIRLS TENNIS
Pennsville 5, Salem 0
Woodstown 5, Wildwood 0
Glassboro at Schalick

WOODSTOWN 5, WILDWOOD 0
Nathalie Neron (WO) def. Cyndee Killian, 6-0, 6-0
Alyssa Berry (WO) def. Kiana D’Antuono, 6-3, 6-3
Noelle Neron (WO) def. Estella Robinson, 6-1, 6-3
Madison LaPalomento-Emilee Kehr (WO) def. Selin Ogden-Antoinette Cooper, 6-0, 6-3
Elliana Norman-Angelina Lindenmuth (WO) def. Emma Contreras-Charlotte Baetz, 6-0, 7-6 (7-5)
Records: Woodstown 14-5, Wildwood 7-9.

PENNSVILLE 5, SALEM 0
Lily Edwards (P) def. Angelina Fothergill, 6-1, 6-0
Isabell Schlenker (P) def. Tahirah Davenport-White, 6-1, 7-5
Morgan Holt (P) def. JaNye Hubbard, 6-0, 6-1
Emma Hankin-Naomi Hess (P) def. Heaven Jones-McCullough-Erica Brewer, 6-1, 6-3
Graillyn Weber-Yerlian Charon (P) def. Evangeline Jimenez Barreto-Phoenix Holland, 6-0, 6-0
Records: Pennsville 11-7, Salem 3-10.

Wednesday roundup

Harris continues her torrid goal-scoring streak in Pennsville’s Senior Day field hockey win, Highland ends Salem Tech streak in OT; plus tennis, volleyball

By Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – Kylie Harris continued her torrid goal-scoring streak Wednesday, scoring three more goals in the Eagles’ dominant 5-1 Senior Day victory over Clayton.

Harris has scored eight goals in the last three games – all wins – with two hat tricks. She had scored only two goals this season and nine in her career prior to the move.

The Eagles were 3-6-1 before Hall of Fame coach Lisa Doran moved Harris and her powerful swing from the top of the defensive diamond to forward, and now they’re at .500. Kendall Hoyt and Elizabeth Fleming scored the Eagles’ other goals Wednesday.

“I do really like being on the front line; it’s a lot of fun,” Harris said. “We just wanted to move people around to see what worked and they told me I would be playing center forward one day and they just kept telling me to stay up there.

“We have been doing great with passing and our strong defense has been super strong, but my favorite thing so far about being up top is being able to be with all the girls after someone scores and get to give them all high fives and laugh after a goal with my best friends. It’s just as awesome feeling.”
 
Highland 3, Salem Tech 2: Kiersten Heverly scored her third goal of the game – at the 4:50 mark of overtime – to end the Chargers’ five-game shutout winning streak. Hayden Crispin and Peyton Mayhew scored in the final five minutes of the second quarter to give the Chargers a 2-1 halftime lead. Jessilyn Chambers assisted on both goals.

GIRLS TENNIS
PENNSVILLE 3, SCHALICK 2
Lily Edwards (P) def. Miya Watkins, 6-1, 6-0
Annmarie Podehl (S) def. Izzy Schrenker, 6-3, 6-1
Morgan Holt (P) def. Macy Clow, 6-0, 6-0
Naomi Hess-Graillyn Weber (P) def. Sebrina Bradford-Olivia Lunemann, 6-3, 6-2
jasmine Hunt-Sammi Twigg (S) def. Emma Hankin-Yerlian Charon, 6-3, 6-0
Records: Pennsville 10-7, Schalick 7-6.

WILDWOOD 5, PENNS GROVE 0
Cydnee Kilian (WI) def. Ada Lopez, 6-0, 6-0
Estella Robinson (WI) Kavita Pulchard, 6-0, 6-0
Antoinette Cooper (WI) def. Yanet Cruz, 6-0, 6-0
Emma Contreras-Selin Ogden (WI) won by forfeit
Jess Alamein-Charlotte Baetz (WI) won by forfeit
Records: Wildwood 7-8, Penns Grove 0-11.

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Triton 2, Salem Tech 0:  Abigail Dalbey had four kills, nine service points and seven aces for Triton. The set scores were 25-18, 25-16. 

Tuesday roundup

Here are the scores and highlights from Tuesday’s Salem County sports action

FIELD HOCKEY
Salem Tech 3, Clayton 0: Jessilyn Chambers, Hazel Eachus and Olivia Lydon scored second-half goals in the Chargers’ fifth straight win. All five wins have been by shutout with Caroline Tighe in the cage. Peyton Mayhew assisted on two of the goals.
Pennsville 3, Deptford 2: Kylie Harris scored two more goals and Gracie Mease scored once for the Eagles (5-6-1). Harris has scored five goals in her last two games.
Salem at Glassboro, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Woodstown 6, Penns Grove 0: Lia Covely scored two goals, while Emma Perry, Hailey Kucharczuk, Kyrsten Dussault and Elizabeth Daly scored once in the Wolverines’ fifth straight win. Ellie Wygand and Mazie Mazzoni combined for their seventh shutout  The Wolverines visit Schalick for the Diamond Division title Thursday.
Schalick 2, Glassboro 0: Olivia Vanacker and Quinn Berger scored in the first half and goalie Eve Berger made them stand up. The Cougars take a four-game winning streak into their showdown with Woodstown and have shut out three of their last four.
Wildwood 2, Salem Tech 0: Addison Troiano and Nyara Alves scored second-half goals for the Warriors. 
Pennsville 3, Overbrook 2: Taylor Bass scored her third goal of the game with 3:25 left in overtime to lift the Eagles (8-5), who bettered last year’s win total with the victory.
Salem at Gloucester Catholic, 6 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
WOODSTOWN 5, OVERBROOK 0
Nathalie Neron (WO) def. Sophia Burgos, 6-0, 6-0
Alyssa Berry (WO) def. Anna Mason, 6-0, 6-0
Noelle Neron (WO) def. Heaven Williams, 6-1, 6-1
Madison LaPalomento-Emilee Kehr (WO) def. Lean Wilde-Liana Grant-Williams, 6-2, 6-1
Emma West-Elliana Norman (WO) def. Sophia Perticari-Charlotte Gall, 6-1, 6-1
Records: Woodstown 13-5, Overbrook 2-14.

SCHALICK 5, PENNS GROVE 0
Miya Watkins (S) def. Ada Lopez, 6-0, 6-0
Annmarie Podehl (S) def. Kanta Pulchard, 6-0, 6-0
Macy Clow (S) def. Yante Cruz, 6-0, 6-0
Sebrina Bradford-Olivia Lunemann (S) def. Jayla Nunez-Elif Sagir, 6-1, 6-0
jasmine Hunt-Sammi Twigg (S) def. Natanalie Dominguez-Valaria Pedroza, 6-1, 6-0
Records: Schalick 7-5, Penns Grove 0-10.

GLASSBORO 3, SALEM 2
Angelina Fothergill (S) def. Alana Killelea, 6-0, 6-1
Tahirah Davenport-White (S) def. Taylor Adcock, 7-6 (10-8), 1-6, 11-9
Alice Dinzeo (G) def. JaNye Hubbard, 6-4, 7-5
Virginia Tarasevich-Amani George (G) def. Erica Brewer-Evangelyn Jiminez Barreto, 6-0, 6-3
Sofia Dungca-Conception Soriano (G) def. Phoenix Holland-Aleena Allen, 6-1, 6-1
Records: Glassboro 6-8, Salem 3-9.

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Cape May Tech, 5:15 p.m. 

Stage is set

Woodstown scores twice in final three minutes of regulation, then holds on in OT to tie Penns Grove, set up showdown with Schalick

BOYS SOCCER
Woodstown 2, Penns Grove 2
Schalick 4, Glassboro 0
Clayton 3, Pennsville 0
Gloucester Catholic 7, Salem 0
Salem Tech at Wildwood

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNS GROVE – Woodstown plays the biggest game of the season in South Jersey Group I boys soccer Thursday when it hosts rival Schalick for the TCC Diamond Division title and the presumptive No. 1 seed in the upcoming sectional tournament.

But the matchup would have lost a lot of its juice if the Wolverines didn’t take of business Tuesday. Or if Schalick didn’t either.

Luckily, both teams upheld their end to remain on collision course, but, boy, did Woodstown cut it close.

The Wolverines needed two goals in the final three minutes of regulation to get back in the game and then held on through overtime to earn a 2-2 draw with Penns Grove. Bryce Ayars scored both their goals, with the equalizer coming in the final minute on a pass from Trey Markward, who was pulled up top with his goalie gear on to give them an extra attacker.

“My goodness, way too close,” Woodstown coach Darren Huck said. “I’m proud of the resiliency this team showed, the don’t give up. Even though they were not happy with the way they were playing and we all felt we could be playing better, the will was always there. We just kept coming back, coming  back, coming back. There’s something to say about that.”

Schalick upheld its end with a 4-0 Senior Night win over Glassboro, its seventh win in a row since the loss to Woodstown.

If Woodstown (9-1-2, 6-0-2) wins the showdown, it can win the division outright with just a tie against Pitman in its last division game Monday. If Schalick (11-2-1, 7-1) wins, the Cougars could win it outright beating Penns Grove in their last division game Monday. There are scenarios they could share the title regardless of Thursday’s outcome.

And then there’s the matter of the South Jersey Group I power points standings. Schalick currently holds the No. 1 seed and Woodstown is No. 3, but the cutoff is Saturday and the Wolverines have just reached the threshold where they can start dropping games in the formula.

“The power points that are available on Thursday will have a huge impact on first through third,” Huck said.

“Pulling out a tie after being down 2-0 definitely gives us hope to beating Schalick and taking the division,” Ayars said.

But none of it would’ve mattered if the Wolverines didn’t get a positive result against Penns Grove. And for 77 minutes the Red Devils had them on the ropes.

Prince Ledbetter converted a pass from Joey Schultz with 14:10 left in the first half and Poyraz Erdonmez blasted home the rebound after Markward stoned Juan Ortiz’ penalty kick 10 minutes into the second half to make it 2-0.

The Red Devils held onto the lead until the closing minutes of regulation before the Wolverines came to life.

Ayars got the first goal with three minutes to play on a cross from Nick DiTeodoro, then got the equalizer with about a minute to go with help from an unlikely source. He had a good chance to win it in overtime, but his free kick from right outside the box skittered just past the far right post.

“I was just trying to find different connections I thought could give us a spark out there and give us something to change it up a little bit,” Huck said. “Even if it was a different style of player, someone who maybe is not a threat to score but could be maybe settle the ball a little bit better or pass the ball a little bit better.”

He found that player way back on the end line. With time running out, Markward came all the way up from the goal leaving the crease empty. As fate would have it, the ball came his way and he got just enough touch on it to direct it toward Ayars for the equalizer and his first career assist.

“At first I really wanted to (do it), then I got there and I was scared,” Markward said. “I got a touch on it and was like, ‘Please, God, help me,’ then I kicked it and was like, aw, I missed it, but it was OK, Bryce got me. He’s always there.”

“The first thing I saw was a beautiful touch by the goalie; I didn’t know Trey could do that,” Ayars said. “I think he took a shot or a pass, I don’t really know, that’s up to how he wants to describe that, but it went right to my foot like normal and I just put it away.”

Both games between the teams this year have ended in ties, but this one didn’t leave the Red Devils with the same sense of accomplishment as the earlier meeting. They were that close to beating Woodstown for the first time since October 2022 and couldn’t close it out.

“I kept telling my guys to stop talking about it because a team like Woodstown is never out of it and clearly that’s what happened,” Penns Grove coach Mano Massari said. “Good teams find ways to get back in games no matter how much time is left and that’s exactly what Woodstown did.

“Good teams also know how to close a game out and we didn’t do that, so that’s something we definitely need to improve on if we want to have success moving forward in this season.”

NOTES: By the time overtime started the Wolverines were missing three starters, two of whom went down during the game. At least they could be replaced. The Red Devils played the OT one man down due to an end-of-regulation red card. There were seven yellow cards and one red card issued in the game … The Wolverines are 9-0-1 this year in games Ayars scores a goal.

SCHALICK 4, GLASSBORO 0: Glassboro 0: Mikey Nelson and Anthony Sepers, two of the 11 seniors recognized prior to the game, had a goal and an assist for the Cougars. Luke Price and freshman Jake Sepers scored their other goals.

CLAYTON 3, PENNSVILLE 0: The Eagles missed a chance to clinch a share of the TCC Classic Division title. The still hold a one-game lead over the Clippers and can now clinch a share with a win at Gloucester Catholic Thursday and then clinch its first division title in 32 years Monday against Salem.

GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 7, SALEM 0: Zack Payne scored the first four goals of the game and assisted on another score.

This week’s schedule

Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of Oct. 13-18

MONDAY, OCT. 13
GIRLS TENNIS
Schalick at Woodstown, 4 p.m.

TUESDAY, OCT. 14
FIELD HOCKEY
Clayton at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Deptford, 4 p.m.
Salem at Glassboro, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at St. Joe (Hamm.), 4 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Gloucester Catholic at Salem, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Clayton, 4 p.m.
Salem Tech at Wildwood, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Glassboro at Schalick, 6 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Overbrook at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Penns Grove at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Glassboro, 4 p.m.
Wildwood at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.
Salem at Gloucester Catholic, 6 p.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Woodstown at Overbrook, 3:45 p.m.
Glassboro at Salem, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Cape May Tech, 4 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 15
FIELD HOCKEY
Clayton at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Salem Tech at Highland, 4 p.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Schalick at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.
Wildwood at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Triton at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.

THURSDAY, OCT. 16
FIELD HOCKEY
Woodstown at GCIT, 4 p.m.
Overbrook at Schalick, 6 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Pennsville at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m.
Penns Grove at Overbrook, 4 p.m.
Wildwood at Salem, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Clayton at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.
Overbrook at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Glassboro, 4 p.m.
Salem at Wildwood, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Schalick, 4 p.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Salem at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.
Wildwood at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
Glassboro at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Pitman at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.

FRIDAY, OCT. 17
WJFL FOOTBALL
Camden Catholic at Collingswood, 6 p.m.
Lawrence at Pennsville, 6 p.m.
Salem at Woodstown, 7 p.m.
Schalick at Glassboro, 7 p.m.
FIELD HOCKEY
Clayton at Salem, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Overbrook, 4 p.m.
Vineland at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Clayton at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.
Salem at Haddon Heights, 4 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Paulsboro at Salem, 4 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL
Clearview at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.

SATURDAY, OCT. 18
WJFL FOOTBALL
Overbrook at Audubon, 11 a.m.
West Deptford at Paulsboro, 11 a.m.
Woodbury at Penns Grove, noon
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC at Wilmington (2), noon
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Salem CC Jamboree at Cristo Rey HS, Philadelphia

Kicked to the (on)side

Tough ruling on an onside kick saps Pennsville’s growing momentum in Homecoming loss to Paulsboro; Woodstown falls at home to Haddon Heights

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – Mike Healy isn’t the type to dwell on what-might-have-beens, so he didn’t spend a lot of energy going over what did or didn’t happen on a particular onsides kick early in the fourth quarter Thursday night that didn’t go his Pennsville team’s way.

Still, it was a big play, maybe even the turning point, in the game. The Eagles had just scored to cut their deficit with Paulsboro to 16 points with plenty of time to mount a comeback. They appeared to recover the ensuing onsides kick at midfield, but after spotting it once the officials conferred and it was decided the ball hadn’t traveled the requisite 10 yards before Pennsville touched it.

Possession was awarded to Paulsboro on the Pennsville side of the 50 and instead of the Eagles getting a chance to make it a one-score game, the Red Raiders went down and scored to regain a three-touchdown lead and eventually won 44-32 to spoil Pennsville’s Homecoming and remain undefeated.

“In any game some things are going to go your way and some things are not,” Healy said. “Obviously, the onsides kick we were very frustrated about the outcome of that. Not that we would have won the game, but that definitely changes where the game is at that point.

“Yeah, it’s frustrating, but there were also other chances where we had opportunities to get the ball and get stuff done and didn’t do it. So it’s all across the board.”

Rylan Hardy’s 6-yard touchdown run and the two-point conversion brought the Eagles (3-4) to 38-22 with 9:59 and all of its timeouts left. 

Of course, they were going to attempt an onsides kick. They hit it to their right side and senior receiver Hayden Sherman appeared to recover it in Paulsboro territory.

The Eagles had the momentum and now they were convinced they had the ball, too. Initially, the officials spotted it on the Paulsboro 49 for the Eagles, talked about it some more and then placed it on the Pennsville 49 for the Red Raiders.

Paulsboro covered the distance in eight plays, with McKenzie pushing in from the 1 for the score. So, instead of it possibly being 38-30, the Red Raiders were back on top 44-24 with 6:15 to play.

“I jumped up in the air and I landed five yards after where the ball would’ve been live, so I think I recovered it,” Sherman said. “You can’t argue with the refs; it’s their game, not mine. 

“If we would’ve got the ball I think we could have gone down and scored and maybe even went for another onsides and got it again. It killed our momentum. It killed everything. It made everybody all upset and killed it.”

Paulsboro coach Kevin Harvey said the play was “kind of huge. We didn’t want to give them the ball back right there. That was a close one there.”

Of course, one play didn’t cause the Eagles to lose. They got the ball to open the third quarter, but didn’t score, losing three yards on a fourth-and-1 from the Paulsboro 31. The Red Raiders took over, used two big plays to get to the 1 and scored. They also turned over their next possession on downs (at the Paulsboro 40) and Red Raiders scored again to take a 38-16 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Red Raiders (7-0), meanwhile, were efficient in their offense. Running back KyAire Harvey rushed for 180 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Malakah McKenzie passed for 210 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score. He was 12-of-20 through the air and completed his last seven passes in a row, two for touchdowns.

“We did a good job today, we did a good job,” Coach Harvey said. “The line’s gotta get all the credit. That’s what they’re (Harvey and McKenzie) supposed to do. That’s why they’re out there.”

Harvey the RB scored twice in the first half and Pennsville quarterback Robbie McDade matched it each time. It was a 14-14 game until McKenzie threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Kahlil Streeter with 28 seconds left in the first half to give the Red Raiders the lead for good.

Hardy rushed for 85 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns for Pennsville. McDade rushed for 97 yards and the two first-half scores. Aiden Collazo also gave the Eagles some good yards, especially in the early return game.

Paulsboro 44, Pennsville 32

PBORO (44) PVILLE (32)
221st Downs16
26-248Rushing38-200
13-20-1Passing10-14-1
210Passing yds102
0-0Fumbles-lost1-1
1-23.0Punts-avg0-0
5-55Penalties1-10
Paulsboro814166-44
Pennsville88016-32

SCORING SUMMARY
PB-KyAire Harvey 42 run (Kayden Weber pass from Malakah McKenzie), 8:20 1Q
PV-Robbie McDade 12 run (Rylan Hardy run), 4:52 1Q
PB-KyAire Harvey 28 run (May Mears run), 8:36 2Q
PV-Robbie McDade 1 run (Rylan Hardy run), 2:54 2Q
PB-Khalil Streeter 24 pass from Malakah McKenzie (run failed), 0:28 2Q
PB-KyAire Harvey 1 run (Malakah McKenzie run), 7:07 3Q
PB-Jeremiah Carr 47 pass from Malakah McKenzie), 2:39 3Q
PV-Rylan Hardy 6 run (Aiden Collazo pass from Robbie McDade), 9:59 4Q
PB-Malakah McKenzie 1 run (run failed), 6:15 4Q
PV-Rylan Hardy 9 run (Rylan Hardy run), 3:10 4Q

Haddon Heights 27, Woodstown 6

WOODSTOWN — Kevin Clark ran for one touchdown and threw for another and kicker Jake Dillon booted a pair of field goals as Haddon Heights handed Woodstown a 27-6 loss.

Clark opened the scoring with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Lanont Robinson. Dillon kicked the extra point to make it 7-0.

The Wolverines answered with Frankie Hoerst’s 42-yard touchdown pass to Andrew White, but they missed the game-tying extra point. The Garnets scored the next 20 points to secure the win.

Haddon Heights 27, Woodstown 6

Haddon Heights73710-27
Woodstown6000-6

SCORING SUMMARY
HH-Lamont Robinson 17 pass from Kevin Clark (Jake Dillon kick)
W-Andrew White 42 pass from Frankie Hoerst (kick failed)
HH-Jake Dillon 23 FG
HH-Kevin Clark 1 run (Jake Dillon kick), 7:15 3Q
HH-Jake Dillon 23 FG, 9:24 4Q
HH-Amare Ridley 4 run (Jake Dillon kick)

WJFL Standings

DIAMONDALLDIV
Glassboro6-03-0
Salem3-32-1
Schalick2-42-1
Woodbury2-41-2
Woodstown2-51-2
Penns Grove0-60-3
PATRIOTALLDIV
West Deptford5-14-0
Paulsboro7-05-0
Pennsville3-42-3
Overbrook4-21-2
Collingswood4-21-2
Camden Catholic0-60-3
Audubon1-40-3

THURSDAY’S GAMES
Paulsboro 44, Pennsville 32
Haddon Heights 27, Woodstown 6
OTHER WJFL GAMES
Cedar Creek 42, Lower Cape May 0
Cherry Hill East 49, Cherry Hill West 7
Florence 42, Pemberton 36
Haddon Twp. 28, Mastery Camden 14
Maple Shade 32, Pitman 9
Pleasantville 42, Oakcrest 0

FRIDAY’S GAMES
Penns Grove at Delran
Gloucester City at Schalick
Collingswood at Audubon
Overbrook at Camden Catholic
Cinnaminson at Glassboro
Woodbury at Willingboro

SATURDAY’S GAME
West Deptford at Salem

Wednesday roundup

BOYS SOCCER
Woodstown 8, Salem 0: Three more players joined the ranks as the Wolverines moved closer to 300 all-time goal scorers and a trio of keepers keep the Rams off the board.

Josef Hummel, Don Milhomme and Aiden Milici all scored their first career goals, running the list of players who have scored a goal in Woodstown soccer history to 298. Josh Olbrich and Blake Bialecki scored their first goals of the season

Bryce Ayars had a goal and an assist, continuing his run of scoring a goal in every Woodstown win this season. Landon Gugliemo and Ayden Ellis scored the Wolverines’ other two goals.

Pennsville 0, Pitman 0: The teams played to a scoreless draw that Pennsville coach Derek Foglein described as “a dog fight on a football field.” It was the Eagles’ first point against the Panthers since 2017, the year before Foglein took over the program, and snapped a 10-game losing streak in the series.

It was the Eagles’ eighth shutout of the season, their first tie since 2021 (86 games) and their first scoreless tie since before 2010, the last year records are publicly available.

Schalick 3, Palmyra 2: Tyler Vanlier, Luke Price and Jaxon Weber all scored goals in the Cougars’ sixth straight win.

Penns Grove 1, Cumberland 1:  Poyraz Erdonmez gave the Red Devils a 1-0 lead and Ruben Lopez got Cumberland’s equalizer in the second half.

GIRLS SOCCER
Schalick 4, Gloucester Catholic 0: Cali Fisler scored a goal and added two more assists to her all-time school record. Olivia Vanacker, Kassady Sickler and Brooke Valentine had the other goals and Evan Berger was credited with two saves in the shutout.

Woodstown 7, Salem 0: Lia Covely had two goals and three assists and Gabby Maldonado scored twice. Bailey Arnold Peters, Genevieve Flynn and Aubree Covely scored the other goals. Ellie Wygand and Mazie Mazzoni shared the shutout.

Cumberland 5, Penns Grove 0: Ellie Bodine scored three goals for the Colts, giving her 23 for the season.

Pennsville at Pitman

GIRLS TENNIS
WOODSTOWN 5, PENNS GROVE 0
Nathalie Neron (WO) def. Kavita Pulchard, 6-0, 6-0
Alyssa Berry (WO) def. Yanet Cruz, 6-0, 6-0
Noelle Neron (WO) def. Andrea Chapone, 6-0, 6-0
Emma West-Elliana Norman (WO) def. Gianco Tirado-Nathalie Dominquez, 6-0, 6-0
Bailee Coles-Madison LaPalomento (WO) def. Valaria Pedroza-Cadence Jachoa, 6-1, 6-1
Records: Woodstown 12-3, Penns Grove 0-8.

OLMA 5, SALEM 0
Evangeline Catanese (O) def. Angelina Fothergill, 6-0, 6-2
Sara Wojtokowiak (O) def. Erica Brewer, 6-0, 6-1
Erin Malixi (O) def. Evangeline Jimenez Barreto, 6-0, 6-0
Leah Calderon-Sophia Terry (O) def. Phoenix Holland-Aleena Allen, 6-0, 6-1
Halle Dolce-Lily Mayo (O) won by forfeit
Records: OLMA 8-8, Salem 2-8.

Sibling sweep

Jacob and Abby Marino give Woodstown unique brother-sister sweep in Salem County Cross Country Championships; Woodstown boys, Schalick girls win team crowns

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE — Jacob and Abby Marino were sitting in the living room Tuesday night talking with their mom about how special it would be for brother and sister to win their respective races in the Salem County Cross Country Championships the next day. The conversation was light and hopeful.

It would be their last chance to pull it off and their best chance of happening — one, because Jacob is a senior and was making his last stand and, two, because there’s a changing of the guard on the girls side of the race.

They talked about it Tuesday. Less than 24 hours later the siblings were high-fiving after pulling it off.

Jacob won the boys race with a PR 16:37 after some trouble in Turn One. Sophomore sister Abby completed the gold-medal family portrait, winning with in 19:59 with plenty of room to spare.

“It’s awesome that we’re able to do this together, (in) my last county race, senior year,” said Jacob, who followed his sister to the finish from along the boundary. “It’s great that we’re able to win Salem Counties together my last year. It’s not something that gets to happen all the time, you know. It’s a big opportunity to finish together with your sibling in first place at a meet as big as the county meet.”

“It really means a lot to me,” Abby said. “It makes me really happy to see us both do it together. He always supports me every single race and I support him every single race.”

Jacob couldn’t recall the siblings ever winning race together although they have matched places “a lot.” They’re also believed to be the first brother-sister combo to win the county.

“Coming into this year we knew there was that chance and we wanted to build on that and win together,” Jacob said after his race. “That would be really cool as a family to both win counties. 

“That was our goal for today. Obviously, we have a very strong bond as siblings, so we wanted to build on that.”

Abby led her race wire-to-wire and hit the tape more than a minute and a half ahead of second-place teammate Anabel Schaal. Jacob’s race had a bit more drama.

He and teammate Karson Chew were well in front of the pack running shoulder-to-shoulder through the first 1,000 yards, but when they turned behind the football stadium Chew came in too tight and hit the chain-link fence’s corner support post with his right arm and it knocked him off the pace.

Marino heard the impact of the collision, and as much as he felt for his friend, he had a race to run and focused on pulling away to avoid being caught by one of the defending race champion’s renowned closing kicks. Chew closed the gap a little, but Marino won the race by 21 seconds.

“That’s the most idiotic way for me to go out in the race,” Chew said. “I keep thinking to myself that’s something that would only happen to me. I would be the only person who would do that.

“I knew we were going to slingshot out of that turn, so I was trying to stick the inside as much as I could and I didn’t have peripheral vision. I turned in and the pole was there. I never thought I’d be going fast enough to not see something.”

Woodstown won the boys team title. Schalick edged Woodstown for the girls crown.

The Woodstown boys flooded the top 15, going 1-2-3 and 7 through 12. Schalick filled in the three spots in between and finished second.

Schalick won the girls title by four points. The Cougars placed all five of their counters in the top 10, with Helen Lillia and Emma Cain’s PR coming in behind Marino and Schaal. They led by a point after the first five counters were scored, then slammed the door with 6, 7 and 8.

Woodstown closed the gap with its fourth runner, but two more Schalick runners were among the traffic that helped keep the final Wolverines counter from making up enough of the difference.

Schalick coach Missy Pine couldn’t tell her runners they had won the meet as they were calculating the scores, but she didn’t have to. They knew it when they saw their coach crying on the side.

“We weren’t expecting it; this one surprised me,” Pine said. “I set goals for the girls and we went over them right before the race and they just went out and achieved above and beyond. They pushed the hardest that we could and were just amazing. So many personal bests today. They’ve been working really hard and I’m glad it was able to see pay off for them.”

Woodstown’s Jacob Marino (R) comforts teammate Karson Chew after they finished 1-2 in the boys race. They went stride-for-stride for the first 1,000 yards until Chew hit a fence post making a tight turn and fell off the pace.
BOYS TEAM: Woodstown 21, Schalick 50, Salem Tech 84, Salem 136
GIRLS TEAM: Schalick 28, Woodstown 32, Salem Tech 77
BOYS TOP 15GIRLS TOP 15
Jacob Marino, Woodstown16:37Abby Marino, Woodstown19:59
Karson Chew, Woodstown16:58Anabel Schaal, Woodstown21:33
David Ferrell, Woodstown17:19Helen Lillia, Schalick22:20
Colin Bittle, Schalick17:31Sawyer Slad, Pennsville22:20
Sal Longo, Schalick17:33Emma Cain, Schalick23:17
Chase Riley, Schalick17:44Arianna Mott, Woodstown23:54
Pacey Hutton, Woodstown18:08Paetyn Wallace, Schalick24:52
Torsten Duva, Woodstown18:22Sarah Torpey, Schalick24:55
Jackson Perry, Woodstown18:23Emma Wilbur, Schalick25:02
John Hearst, Woodstown18:31Kiera Porch, Woodstown25:30
Mike Turner, Woodstown18:45Paityn Harrington, Salem Tech25:38
Brady Williams, Woodstown18:50Abigail Vanaman, Salem Tech25:39
Gavin Cronrath, Salem18:50Savannah Guglielmo, Pennsville25:49
J.P. Pozo, Salem Tech18:59Ava Melnick, Schalick25:51
Josh Weiner, Schalick19:04Brooke Lutek, Schalick26:55

Never let up

Woodstown advances to girls tennis sectional semifinals working overtime against Schalick; also includes Tuesday’s county field hockey action

SJ GROUP I QIARTERFINALS
Pitman 5, Lower Cape May 0
Audubon 3, Pennsville 2 (Mon.)
Woodstown 4, Schalick 1
Haddon Twp. 5, Wildwood 0
THURSDAY’S SEMIFINALS
Audubon at Pitman
Woodstown at Haddon Twp.

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – Jesse Stemberger gathered his Woodstown tennis team on the grassy knoll behind the tennis courts and laid down to make a point in a way befitting his unique coaching style.

The Wolverines had just dispatched county rival Schalick 4-1 to reach the South Jersey Group I girls tennis semifinals for the first time since 2022, but there were elements of their performance he needed to address.

Once he laid on the grass he asked for four volunteers to do all they could to keep him pinned down. Alyssa Berry, Madison LaPalomento and twins Nathalie and Noelle Neron each grabbed an arm or a leg and did all they could to keep their squirming coach pinned to the turf.

After a few moments Stemberger stopped struggling. His players instinctively relaxed, and that release was all the coach needed to sit straight up and thereby prove the point he was trying to convey about the effects of letting up.

The Wolverines won the first set in four of their five matches, but three of their four wins and four matches overall went to third-set 10-point tiebreakers. It didn’t have to be so stressful if they kept the pedal down.

“I don’t want to win matches in four tiebreakers, I want the straight sets; I’m not a tiebreaker guy,” Stemberger said. “Everybody on the team has played a 10-point tiebreaker this year, so they all experienced it, they all know it, so I think that helped coming into today.

“It’s a great neutralizer (tiebreakers), but mental toughness came through. That’s the beauty of coaching tennis here. They’re all high performers and I don’t question their mental toughness.”

He just has to reinforce it from time to time. He learned the demonstration he used Tuesday when he worked in the mental health industry and has kept the technique “in my back pocket” all these years for just such coachable moments. He said he’s used it maybe twice in his coaching career.

“I use that as an example to say as soon as we relaxed, we let them back in,” he said. “We’ve got to keep (the pressure) up.”

The players at first were confused by their coach’s demonstration, but they wound up getting the point.

“I was thinking what is going on,” said sophomore Emilee Kehr, LoPalomento’s doubles partner. “Another crazy demonstration. It turns out to be a message underneath that we realize after a match. (This message was) don’t give up, keep pushing.”

Woodstown tennis coach Jesse Stemberger allows his players to pin him to the ground for a teachable moment after their 4-1 SJ Group I tournament win over Schalick Tuesday. (Top photo) Stemberger talks with Noelle Neron (L) and Alyssa Berry during a break in the match.

The No. 1 doubles team of LaPalomento and Kehr earned the Wolverines a huge first point when rallied from dropping the first set to even the match and then convincingly won a 10-5 tiebreaker. Nathalie Neron clinched the victory with a 6-2, 4-6, 10-5 win at No. 1 singles.

The No. 2 doubles team of Emma West and Angelina Lindenmuth bounced back after dropping the second set to win an intense 11-9 tiebreaker for the final margin. Berry scored the Wolverines’ second point with the only straight-set match of the day at No. 2 singles.

The tiebreaker wins by Nathalie Neron and LaPalomento-Kehr came over Schalick players who played in last weekend’s NJSIAA singles and double draw.

LaPalomento and Kehr never led in their first set, but fought back to get it tied before Olivia Lunemann and Sebrina Bradford close it out 7-5. They trailed 4-3 in the second set, then won the next three games to even the match. They took command of the tiebreaker with seven straight points to open a 9-2 lead.

Lunemann and Bradford played in the second round of the NJSIAA doubles draw Sunday.

“The tiebreaker is always a lot more pressure than a regular set,” Kehr said, “but because there is more pressure you want to do better, you want to just finish it out, and that’s exactly what we did. After the (second) set were like we lost the first one, we came back in the second one, we’ve just got to finish it. It’s like the moment this all led up to. We had to finish it out.”

The seven players in Woodstown’s lineup Tuesday were a combined 5-4 10-point tiebreakers coming into the match, 10-6 if you include the 7-point set tiebreakers.

Nathalie Neron was playing in the first singles tiebreaker of her career against Miya Watkins and never lost the lead. It was 4-2 at one point and then she locked in to roll off four straight points to take control. Watkins lost in the first round of the NJSIAA singles draw Saturday.

“At first it was nerve-wracking, but I needed to reset my mindset and think of it like a clean slate,” she said. “It can go either way. You’ve just  got to get up and get up fast.”

The Wolverines (11-3) will now travel to second-seeded Haddon Twp. (12-4) Thursday for the semifinals. Audubon (13-1) plays at top-seeded Pitman (15-3) for the other spot in the Oct. 14 sectional finals.

WOODSTOWN 4, SCHALICK 1
Nathalie Neron (WO) def. Miya Watkins, 6-2, 4-6, 10-5
Alyssa Berry (WO) def. Annmarie Podehl, 6-2, 6-4
Macy Clow (S) def. Noelle Neron, 5-7, 6-2, 10-8
Madison LaPalomento-Emilee Kehr (WO) def. Olivia Lunemann-Sebrina Bradford, 5-7, 6-4, 10-5
Emma West-Angelina Lindenmuth (WO) def. Sam Twigg-Jasmine Hunt, 6-4, 5-7, 11-9
Records: Woodstown 11-3, Schalick 6-5.

Field hockey

Woodstown 6, Deptford 0

PENNSVILLE 6, SALEM 1: Kylie Harris scored a career-high three goals, Gracie Mease had two and Kendall Hoyt had three assists as the Eagles presented coach Lisa Duran with a victory on the eve of her induction into the PMHS Athletic Hall of Fame. Duran is being enshrined for her standout playing career, which included 11 varsity letters and several high honors in three sports before starring collegiately at Old Dominion. The win snapped a five-game losing streak.

SCHALICK 10, GLASSBORO 2: Luci Virga scored three goals, Ava Scurry had two goals and five assists and five others scored goals for the Cougars (9-6). Scurry had five assists in last year’s 11-0 South Jersey tournament opener against South Hunterdon.