The new girl

Pennsville’s Ausland makes a smooth transition to new team after transferring from Salem, could be Eagles’ final piece

MONDAY’S SCRIMMAGES
Girls
Pennsville 63, Palmyra 40
Penns Grove 30, Kingsway 30 (3Q)
Boys
Penns Grove 49, Kingsway 46
Woodstown 58, Maple Shade 29
Pennsville 50, Palmyra 46 (3Q)
Bridgeton 68, Schalick 40

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – Nora Ausland had a lot of time to think about her future after a broken foot prematurely ended her sophomore season last year.

She wanted a basketball team capable of winning that would appreciate the skills she would bring to the table. Pennsville coach Sam Trapp wanted that one piece that would complete her team and make it a contender.

The two wants merged at the intersection of William Penn Avenue and South Broadway, right up the road from where Ausland used to play.

Ausland has merged seamlessly into the Pennsville program after transferring from Salem. On Monday she scored 27 points with five 3-pointers to lead the Eagles past Palmyra 63-40 for their first preseason victory.

“I’m glad it wasn’t difficult (to transition) because I was really scared to come here,” Ausland said. “I didn’t think people were going to accept me having this new girl, she’s going to take over, whatever. I was really scared people weren’t going to like me because I’m just coming in, taking over their stuff, but that’s not the case at all.

“It was really easy coming in here. Everybody was really accepting. I feel like I’ve known them since I was little. They all care for me and want me to do good and succeed, which I’m very thankful for. The first day of school I was just everywhere by myself, but then people were coming up to talk to me. Now I have a bunch of friends.”

The 5-foot-10 junior forward has made an immediate impact on the Eagles, who have designs on challenging Woodstown for the Tri-County Diamond Division title this year. She scored 17 points in her scrimmage debut against Millville and had nine the next time out against West Deptford.

Had Monday been a regular-season game, the 27 she scored against Palmyra would have been the second-best game of her high school career.

**Nora Ausland (L) has fit into the Pennsville girls basketball program nicely after transferring from Salem before her junior year.**

In two seasons at Salem she had 462 points, 61 3-pointers, 305 rebounds and 101 blocked shots. She had 179 points, 76 rebounds and 33 blocked shots when she broke a bone in her left ankle in late January. The Rams already were in the midst of a losing streak when she got hurt and they lost seven of their next eight without her.

The time away allowed Ausland to think long and hard about what she wanted from the game.

“I didn’t really have a good year because I broke my foot and the team wasn’t the best; they didn’t really give enough effort to care to win,” she said. “I was tired of that because I wanted to play, I want to win.

“I was just looking around at other schools, like what’s close, what’s easy for me to go to and also a good team. Last year they (Pennsville) got fourth seed out of the 16 (in South Jersey Group I) so OK it’s pretty good, it’s pretty easy to come here, so that’s what I did. I came here.”

Her arrival certainly was welcomed by Trapp. Ausland brings a dynamic the Eagles haven’t had since Ryane Wood, their last 1,000-point scorer who graduated in 2022.

She completes a lineup that returned three starters – senior Bella Farina, Taylor Bass and point guard Marley Wood – and includes elevated reserve Isabelle Saulin. Wood had 12 points on four 3-pointers against Palmyra.

“She just really incorporates a lot more offensive threat for us,” Trapp said. “We needed to be able to balance that responsibility between all five players and it helps with another player who can score.

“I like that she brings that competitiveness to practice because now it’s somebody that’ll push other girls and she can get pushed by other people, so I think it’s a real key component that is helping all the way around.”

PENNSVILLE 63, PALMYRA 40
PALMYRA – Cadence Anderson 8 0-0 20, Kylie Hines 0 0-0 0, Angie Sauls 2 0-0 4, Amanda Gilburn 1 0-0 2, Clara Cannouli 1 0-0 2, Cam DiMeo 2 0-0 4, Jada Colsee-Eli 1 2-3 4, Ava Sims 0 0-0 0, Anna Paszkiewicz 1 2-2 4. Totals 16 4-5 40.
PENNSVILLE – Nora Ausland 9 4-4 27, Taylor Bass 4 4-4 12, Sofia Belitsas 1 0-0 3, Bella Farina 1 2-2 4, Kylie Harris 0 0-0 0, Anikka Macalino 0 2-2 2, Isabelle Saulin 1 1-2 3, Avery Watson 0 0-0 0, Marley Wood 4 0-0 12. Totals 20 13-14 63.

Palmyra	13	10	7	10 –	40
Pennsville	22	13	15	13 –	63

3-point goals: Palmyra 4 (Anderson 4); Pennsville 10 (N. Ausland 5, Belitsas, Wood 4). Total fouls: Palmyra 13, Pennsville 4.

PENNS GROVE 30, KINGSWAY 30: Penns Grove’s Raniyah Wilson, the other dynamic transfer in the county this year, returned to her old stomping grounds and although she wasn’t as sharp as she might have been for the occasion scored 11 points as the varsities played to a tie in three quarters of action.

Wilson is in her first year with Penns Grove after transferring from Kingsway, where she would have been the Dragons’ top returning scorer and rebounder this season. She had six points in the first half as the Red Devils grabbed an 18-16 lead.

“We started her against her old team and I don’t think she had her best game at all,” Penns Grove coach Jennifer Denby said. “She was a little nervous. I wanted as a player, even as a coach, for her to come in and let them know how much they miss her and tonight just wasn’t her night.”

Jameelyonna Horace led Penns Grove with 12 points, including two 3-pointers. She had half of the Red Devils’ points at halftime.

Kingsway hit a 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter to force the tie.

“In the beginning of the game it was a struggle,” Denby said. “It’s hard to play with one person on the floor and everyone else’s mind is not there. Right now we’re still looking for chemistry.”

The Red Devils scrimmage again Tuesday and then open their season Friday against Clayton.

PENNS GROVE 30, KINGSWAY 30
PENNS GROVE – Raniyah Wilson 4 3-4 11, Jameelyonna Horace 5 0-1 12, Brianna Robbins 1 1-3 3, Zoey Caesar 2 0-0 4, Syanna Robbins 0 0-0 0, Jamira Lewis 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 4-8 30.
KINGSWAY – Ava Valente 2 2-2 7, Emily Leshik 0 0-0 0, Bella Archer 3 0-0 7, Olivia Myers 1 3-4 5, Paige Horton 1 0-0 2, Gabbi Bruno 4 1-2 9. Totals 11 6-8 30.

Penns Grove	7	11	12 –	30
Kingsway	13	3	14 –	30

3-point goals: Penns Grove 2 (Horace 2); Kingsway 2 (Valente, Archer). NOTE: Varsity played three quarters.

Boys

PENNS GROVE 49, KINGSWAY 46: After running through numerous combinations in the first three quarters, Penns Grove coach Damian Ware stuck with his Super Six in the fourth and they went on a 20-2 tear that carried the Red Devils to a come-from-behind victory.

The Red Devils jumped out 19-7 in the first quarter, but were outscored 37-10 over the next two quarters to fall behind 15. Ware got on his team before the fourth quarter began, subbed in his better athletes and off they went.

They started Mehki Ballard, Willie Slocum, Roman Gipson and freshmen KaRon Ceaser and Brandon Robbins and scored the first 10 points of the quarter. Giomar Conrad entered three minutes into the quarter and help the Red Devils close it out.

“We had a lot of good possessions in the third quarter, but a couple guys missed some layups; we make those layups it changes the third quarter,” Ware said. “In the fourth quarter I went with my main six guys. We just played our pressure defense and turned them over a lot with the main guys I feel are going to be the guys going forward.”

Conrad and Ballard led the Red Devils with 15 points apiece and combined for 13 points in the fourth quarter. Ballard, their best 3-point shooter a year ago (59 made), hit two of his three 3-pointers in the rally.

“I got on them in the third quarter and lit a little bit of a fire under them,” Ware said. “The fourth quarter they turned it up and played the type of defense I want to play. If we can bottle up what we did in the fourth quarter today, we’re going to be really good. It’s going to be tough to score on.”

PENNS GROVE 49, KINGSWAY 46
KINGSWAY – Dylan Lewis 1 0-2 2, Dasir Williams-Bey 3 0-0 6, Jaden Martin Cooper 2 0-0 4, Mikah Hart 4 2-3 11, Gregg Campbell 0 0-0 0, Maurice Tavares 3 2-2 10, Luca Kuzmick 2 0-0 6, Kai Tolley 0 0-0 0, Brady Shelton 0 0-0 0, Sean Steckler 0 0-0 0, Christian Conklin 1 2-2 4, Terrence Collier 2 0-0 4, Peter Frey 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 6-9 46.
PENNS GROVE – Roman Gipson 3 0-4 6, Camren Thompson 0 1-2 1, Giomar Conrad 6 1-2 15, Mekhi Ballard 6 0-0 15, Nizah Spence 0 0-0 0, Khiry Higgs 0 0-0 0, Willie Slocum 0 0-0 0, Brandon Robbins 0 0-0 0, Will Roy 0 0-0 0, Karon Ceaser 4 1-2 10, Luis Colon 1 0-0 2, Mr Peterson 0 0-2 0. Totals 20 3-12 49.

Kingsway	7	20	17	2 –	46
Penns Grove	19	4	6	20 –	49

3-point goals: Kingsway 4 (Hart, Tavares, Kuzmick 2); Penns Grove 6 (Conrad 2, Ballard 3, Ceaser). Total fouls: Kingsway 13, Penns Grove 9.

BRIDGETON 68, SCHALICK 40: Jameel Purnell led three Bridgeton scorers in double figures with 29 points and the Bulldogs were just too much for the Cougars on the glass.

Zikown Anderson (14) and Zamir Chance (10) also scored in double figures for the Bulldogs. Purnell and Anderson combined for 18 points in the first quarter. Nasir Sutton led Schalick with 10 points.

BRIDGETON 68, SCHALICK 40
SCHALICK – Nylan Sutton 3 0-2 6, Reggie Allen 2 1-2 7, Jake Siedlecki 1 0-0 2, Jordan Johnson 1 0-0 2, Dan Lis 1 4-5 6, Ryan Johnson 2 0-0 4, Nasir Sutton 4 0-2 10, Jase Volovar 1 0-0 3, Sharod Jones 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 5-11 40.
BRIDGETON – Kyion Gray 3 0-0 7, Zikwon Anderson 6 1-3 14, Zamir Chance 5 0-2 10, Azhone Burden 3 0-0 6, Jameel Purnell 12 4-6 29, Richard Mills 1 0-0 2, Martavian Brown 0 0-0 0, Raheem Jacobs 0 0-4 0. Totals 30 5-15 68.

Schalick	11	10	10	9 –	40
Bridgeton	20	17	16	15 –	68

3-point goals: Schalick 5 (Allen 2, Na. Sutton 2, Volovar); Bridgeton 3 (Gray, Anderson, Purnell). Total fouls: Schalick 7, Bridgeton 3.

PENNSVILLE 50, PALMYRA 46: Luke Wood poured in 17 points and drew several charges and the Eagles moved a step closer to their Opening Night lineup, beating flu-ridden Palmyra in a scrimmage reduced to three quarters.

With a limited time to get something accomplished, the Eagles got off to a slow start, but they picked up the pace in their final two quarters to squeeze out the win. Wood and Cohen Petrutz both hit 3-pointers in the third quarter when Pennsville finally took the lead.

“Everything is coming together,” Eagles coach Joe Mecholsky said. “We’re starting to get the hang of it. I think last week I said defense is always ahead of the offense and now, T-minus four days (to the opener), we’re rounding into form.”

PENNSVILLE 50, PALMYRA 46

Pennsville	12	21	17 –	50
Palmyra	19	15	12 –	46

NOTE: The teams played three quarters.

This week’s schedule

Regular season for basketball, wrestling gets underway for teams in Salem County for the week of Dec. 11-16; x-indicates scrimmages

MONDAY
BASKETBALL
Girls
x-Palmyra at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
x-Penns Grove at Kingsway, 4 p.m.
Boys
x-Kingsway at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
x-Maple Shade at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
x-Pennsville at Palmyra, 4 p.m.
x-Schalick at Bridgeton, 4 p.m.

TUESDAY
BASKETBALL
Girls
x-Burlington Tech at Salem, 3:45 p.m.
x-Penns Grove at Pleasantville, 4 p.m.
x-Woodstown at Kingsway, 4 p.m.
Boys
x-Gloucester Christian at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.

SWIMMING
Schalick vs. Millville at YMCA of Vineland, 3 p.m.

INDOOR TRACK
Pennsville, Salem in SJTCA Meet, Toms River

BOWLING
Salem vs. Salem Tech, Wood Lanes, 4 p.m.

WEDNESDAY
BOWLING
Salem Tech at Washington Twp., 4 p.m.

THURSDAY
WRESTLING
Palmyra at Pennsville, 5 p.m.

SWIMMING
Salem vs. Pitman at GCIT, 6 p.m.

BOWLING
Salem vs. Clayton, Bolero Lanes, 4 p.m.

FRIDAY
BASKETBALL
Girls
Glassboro at Salem, 5:30 p.m.
Overbrook at Salem Tech, 5:30 p.m.
Penns Grove at Clayton, 5:30 p.m.
Pennsville at Wildwood, 5:30 p.m.
Schalick at Pitman, 5:30 p.m.
Woodstown at Gloucester Catholic, 5:30 p.m.
Boys
Clayton at Pennsville, 5:30 p.m.
Pitman at Penns Grove, 5:30 p.m.
Salem Tech at Schalick, 5:30 p.m.

WRESTLING
Pennsville in Howdy Duncan Invitational at William Penn, 4:15 p.m.
Woodstown at West Deptford, 5 p.m.

SWIMMING
Schalick at Camden Co. Tech, 3:30 p.m.

SATURDAY
BASKETBALL
Girls
Audubon at Pennsville, noon
Red Devil Classic
Bridgeton at Penns Grove, 4:30 p.m.

Boys
Pennsville at Deptford, noon
Red Devil Classic
At Penns Grove
Pitman vs. Burlington City, 11 a.m.
Woodbury vs. Salem, 1 p.m.
Lindenwold at Penns Grove, 6:30 p.m.

WRESTLING
Pennsville in Howdy Duncan Invitational at William Penn, 10 a.m.
Penns Grove in Schalick Tournament (with Haddon Heights, Mainland, Oakcrest, Pt. Pleasant Beach, WW-P North, WW-P South)
Woodstown in Delaware Valley (Pa.) Tournament

INDOOR TRACK
Woodstown at Bennett Center, Toms River

No easy test

Penns Grove boys look for answers against one of Group IV’s best, girls enhance Fab Five with dynamic freshmen, transfer

THURSDAY SCRIMMAGES
Girls
Penns Grove 67, Paulsboro 15
Salem at Bridgeton
West Deptford at Schalick
Camden Co. Tech at Salem Tech
Boys
Clearview 61, Schalick 30
Egg Harbor Twp. 78, Penns Grove 34
Paulsboro 50, Pennsville 40
Salem Tech at Camden Co. Tech

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNS GROVE – Even if he does have a young team and is still looking for a permanent point guard, Penns Grove coach Damian Ware will never pass up a chance to scrimmage a team like Egg Harbor Twp.

The Red Devils opened their scrimmage schedule against the reigning South Jersey Group IV champions and 2023 state runner-up and lost 78-34 in a game that got away in the fourth quarter, but there’s a reason they play every year in the preseason.

“We were supposed to have one under our belt before today and that was against a Group I school, it just didn’t work out,” Ware said. “We scrimmage Egg Harbor every year. We’ve been doing this for the last six years because they are that level we want to attain.

“It’s like I told the kids just now, that’s the level we want to get to, to the point where everything is moving like clockwork. One thing they didn’t do out there, they didn’t miss their layups. We missed a gag of layups. If we make at least 10 of the ones we missed the score’s not that bad, but we’ve got to make our layups and we’ve got to not turn the ball over.”

The Red Devils faced the juggernaut with three returning players who have any appreciable varsity experience – Mekhi Ballard, Gio Conrad and Willie Slocum – and at times had four freshmen on the floor at the same time. They fell behind in each of the first three quarters, but rallied to get within three in the first and second quarters and five in the third before the Eagles pulled away.

“It totally showed me that the guys I put in the game were fighting back,” Ware said. “They played better than Egg Harbor’s second unit; that’s when we came back into the game. Those guys came off the bench and showed me something.”

The fourth quarter it was all Egg Harbor. The Eagles scored the first 19 points of the fourth quarter behind a barrage of 3-pointers.

Jalen Bell hit four 3-pointers in the game and led all scorers with 21 points. Jake Karp (15), Jayden Dixon (12) and C.J. Ford III (10) also scored in double figures.

But fortunately for the Red Devils they won’t see that on a regular basis when they get back into Group I.

“In Group I, we’ll be right there,” Ware said. “We’ll be one of the top teams in Group I. Just from what I saw today, I know we have the potential to be one of the top teams in Group I.”

The Red Devils could solve their turnover troubles by finding a point guard. Khiry Higgs, a senior playing his first year of basketball, could turn into the guy, or it could be a freshman who’ll need to develop on the fly.

The brightest spot of the entire exercise for Penns Grove was the play of Roman Gipson. Mostly a JV player last year, the sophomore led the Red Devils in scoring Thursday night with 12 points. He was their only scorer in double figures.

“I left him out on the floor a lot because he was one of the guys who showed me he wasn’t scared,” Ware said. “I’m looking for guys who are going to be dogs right now. Guys who aren’t scared, guys who are going to play well and play hard, and he was one of the main guys as a sophomore.”

EGG HARBOR TWP. 78, PENNS GROVE 34
EGG HARBOR TWP. – Bradley Smith 2 1-5 5, Jalen Bell 8 1-2 21, Jake Karp 7 0-0 15, Jaydenn Reyes 2 0-0 5, Justin Moore 2 0-1 4, Jay Salsberry 2 0-0 6, Jayden Dixon 3 4-4 12, Jelson Deocampo 0 0-0 0, Dashawn Laboy 0 0-0 0, Nick Cruse 0 0-0 0, C.J. Ford III 4 1-1 10. Totals 30 7-13 78.
PENNS GROVE – Roman Gipson 4 3-4 12, Camren Thompson 0 0-0 0, Gio Conrad 2 0-0 4, Naizah Spence 0 0-0 0, Dameon Wilson 0 0-0 0, Khiry Higgs 3 1-4 7, Willie Slocum 2 0-3 4, Brandon Robbins 0 0-0 0, Will Roy 1 0-3 2, Karon Ceaser 0 1-2 1, Luis Colon 1 0-0 2, MR Peterson 0 0-0 0, Jaden Sorrell 0 1-2 1, Mekhi Ballard 1 0-0 2. Totals 13 6-18 33.

Egg Harbor Twp.	15	12	18	33 –	78
Penns Grove	12	5	9	7 –	33

3-point goals: Egg Harbor Twp. 11 (Bell 4, Karp, Reyes, Salsberry 2, Dixon 2, Ford); Penns Grove 1 (Gipson). Total fouls: Egg Harbor Twp. 20, Penns Grove 19.

PAULSBORO 50, PENNSVILLE 40: The Eagles moved a step closer to determining a starting five and rotation among their top seven players, but they’ve “still got to get it together” after dropping their second scrimmage of the preseason.

They did open an early lead for the second straight scrimmage, but were outscored 17-3 in the second quarter and played catch up the rest of the night.

Point guard Luke Wood returned to the floor after missing the first scrimmage and scored seven points in the first quarter, but had only two the rest of the game. Brooklyn-born transfer Jayden Thomas also had nine points. Payton O’Brien had eight.

“I was happy with our defense, which is always farther along than offense at this point,” Eagles coach Joe Mecholsky said. “Guys who had a rough start on Tuesday (against Triton) played much better.”

CLEARVIEW 61, SCHALICK 30: The Cougars haven’t won many games the past couple years, but they’re hoping the success and momentum of an historic football season can carry over to the hardwood.

The majority of players on the basketball roster were part of the football team’s undefeated run to the Central Jersey Group I championship game this fall and 19 wins over the last two seasons.

“You’ve got to have people who are used to winning, you’ve got to have people on the team who understand the culture of winning,” Cougars coach James Turner said. “When you understand your culture of winning it makes it easier to bring in that culture in the one program into the next.

“For the football program and before these last few years that culture wasn’t there, but thankfully we’ve had that culture in the fall sports all around, with all our fall sports, especially football, and we’re just hoping it finally can carry over into the winter programs as well.”

The key, of course, is picking up some wins early in the season to keep their spirits up and the momentum building. The Cougars have that chance as their first three regular-season games are against two teams that won only two games last year and a Woodstown team they claimed as one of their three wins.

But after being doubled up by the Pioneers Thursday Turner confesses they “have a lot of work to do.”

Nylan Sutton led the Cougars with 12 points. Reggie Allen had nine.

CLEARVIEW 61, SCHALICK 30
SCHALICK – Reggie Allen 4 1-2 9, Ryan Johnson 0 0-0 0, Jordan Johnson 2 0-0 4, Nylan Sutton 5 2-2 12, Nasir Sutton 2 0-0 4, Jake Siedlecki 0 0-0 0, Nyzier Wynder 0 0-0 0, Dan Lis 0 1-3 1, Jase Volovar 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 4-7 30.
CLEARVIEW – Luke Andres 1 2-4 5, Kaprice Stewart 7 2-4 17, Dalton Phalines 3 3-4 9, Michael Guy 3 0-0 6, JD Steidle 1 2-3 5, Jonah Turner 3 1-2 7, Jake Slotter 0 0-0 0, Trevor Durkin 0 0-0 0, Luke Zuba 4 0-0 9, George Kritikson 1 0-0 3, Russ Manel 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 10-17 61.

Schalick	16	14 –	30
Clearview	30	31 –	61

3-point goals: Clearview 5 (Anders, Stewart, Steidle, Zuba, Kritikson). Technical fouls: Ny. Sutton. Total fouls: Schalick 11, Clearview 8.

Girls

Not rebuilding, reloading

PENNS GROVE – It already returns a Fab Five that brought the team through the adversity of an ever-shrinking roster to the South Jersey semifinals, but add a dynamic freshman class that tasted victory as eighth-graders and a standout transfer with two years eligibility left and it’s easy to understand the optimism in the Penns Grove girls basketball program.

The Red Devils hit the court for their second scrimmage and crushed Paulsboro 67-15 for their first victory of the preseason.

The foundation of the team lies in the Fab Five starters who kept it together last year when it looked like their season was going to crumble around them. Coach Jennifer Denby brought in four fabulous freshmen who won a title as eighth-graders and welcomed Raniyah Wilson from Kingsway who would have been the Dragons’ top returning scorer and rebounder.

“I like the chemistry,” Denby said. “We have a lot of girls and different types of chemistry that we can put out on the floor.”

Every combination had a hand in the rout. Senior Jameelyonna Horace had 18 points, three 3-pointers and three rebounds. Among the newcomers, Wilson had eight points and seven rebounds, JaNiyah Cummings had 10 points and five boards, and Zoey Caesar had eight points and seven boards.

Overall, there was just a lot to like.

“I like the defense, I like them laughing and playing with each other and just out there having fun, and they’re coachable,” Denby said. “The five freshmen (she includes Wilson in the group because she’s a newcomer) we have are very coachable, which makes the coach’s job much easier.”

PENNS GROVE 67, PAULSBORO 15

Paulsboro	3	5	2	5 –	15
Penns Grove	14	20	18	15 –	67

Looking for more

Pennsville’s girls start slow in first scrimmage and lose, but outscore Millville over the last three quarters

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

MILLVILLE – The start may have been slow, but once it settled in, the Pennsville girls basketball team looked like the above average team coach Sam Trapp is looking for.

The Eagles lost their first scrimmage of the preseason 37-27 at Millville Wednesday, but after their slow start they outscored their hosts over the last three quarters.

“Overall, I was decently pleased with what we were able to do,” Trapp said. “Slow start because it’s the first game, we were nervous, hard to remember everything. About four minutes into the first quarter we started to settle in a little bit … then we cleaned some things up and had a big comeback. Overall, it wasn’t a bad first showing.”

The Eagles struggled in their 1-3-1 defense and fell behind 18-6, but then plugged in their man, held Millville to three points in the second quarter and won the second half.

Newcomer Nora Ausland, a 5-10 junior who led Salem in scoring each of the last two seasons, made her Pennsville debut after just six practices with her new team and led the Eagles with 17 points. She scored 12 in the second half, including two of her three 3-pointers.

She had 462 points, 61 3-pointers, 305 rebounds and 101 blocked shots in her two seasons with the Rams and will be a valuable addition to an Eagles lineup that returns three starters – senior Bella Farina, point guard Marley Wood and Taylor Bass. Isabelle Saulin moves into the starting five after holding a reserve role last year.

“We have a slogan for this year that’s ‘More than average,’” Trapp said. “I told the girls we can’t be doing average – average moves, average plays and average effort – to go and get big outcomes. It’s been 30-plus years since there’s been anything added to the banners and a lot of the girls want to add to the banner.

“Our goal is, of course, a division title and it very well could split that way this year. I think for the first time in my career I’m actually optimistic we could split with Woodstown. We haven’t split with them yet since I’ve been a head coach, so if we can split with them and collect wins with the rest of the division, then we would split the division title, which I would be OK with. That would be awesome for us.”

MILLVILLE 37, PENNSVILLE 27
PENNSVILLE (27) – Calli Ausland 0 0-0 0, Nora Ausland 7 0-0 17, Taylor Bass 1 0-0 2, Bella Farina 0 2-4 2, Anikka Macalino 0 0-0 0, Malani McGee 0 0-0 0, Isabelle Saulin 1 0-0 2, Avery Watson 0 0-0 0, Marley Wood 2 0-0 4. Totals 11 2-4 27.
MILLVILLE (37) – Brooke Jaslin 3 1-2 7, Brianee Edwards 7 0-3 15, Jaylynn Jones 0 0-0 0, Ayla Gomez 2 0-0 5, Aubree Joslin 2 0-0 5, Marissa Stevens 2 0-0 5. Totals 16 1-2 37.

Pennsville	6	2	10	9 –	27
Millville	18	3	8	8 –	37

3-point goals: Pennsville 3 (N. Ausland 3); Millville 4 (Edwards, Gomez, A. Joslin, Stevens). Total fouls: Pennsville 5, Millville 8.

Getting it started

Salem County basketball teams go into first scrimmages with high expectations; Woodstown girls win in new coach’s debut, Pennsville boys fall, but remain optimistic

TUESDAY SCRIMMAGES
Girls
Schalick at Cumberland Christian
Woodstown 61, Gateway 33
Haddon Twp. at Penns Grove
Boys
Gateway at Woodstown
Triton 72, Pennsville 50

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – The Golden Years have arrived in the Pennsville basketball program.

That’s what coach Joe Mecholsky calls these next two seasons, the next 50 games or so for his core group that has been together as freshmen and sophomores and now will be together as juniors and seniors going forward.

The start of the Golden Years didn’t start too well as the Eagles dropped their first scrimmage of the season Tuesday 72-50 to Group III Triton, but even with the results of the day they remain optimistic for the road ahead.

For the Eagles it’s all about those eight Diamond Division games they play later in the year. They won more games last season (10) than they won in the previous 2 1/2 seasons combined and made the Group I playoffs for the first time since their last 10-win season (2016), but that’s just the start of their progression. Next on their list of firsts is winning a division title, winning a playoff game and whatever comes after that.

“This is my golden generation,” Mecholsky said. “They were six sophomores last year, they were six juniors now and then we’re going to be six seniors next year, so we’re really focusing on these next 50 games rewriting the ledger and see if we can’t (make some history).

“Nothing less than a division champions, a division championship and making a deep run in South Jersey Group I. That’s our focus, anything less than that is … well, let the season play out and see what anything less than that is. If we make a run, that’d be great, but we’ve got to hang and division banner up in this gym. We’ve got the guys to do it.”

The Eagles looked good in spurts Tuesday. They opened a quick lead behind Cohen Petrutz’ hot 3-point shooting and then, after falling behind under the weight of their substitution patterns, climbed back to within seven early in the fourth quarter.

“It felt like a 50-50 game,” Mecholsky said. “The score didn’t indicate that but when you’re making subs in a scrimmage we throw the score out and we look at our defensive intensity and our rebounding. We had a lot of guys huffin’ and puffin’ out there so we gotta still work on our conditioning, but it’s coming together.”

The Eagles should look sharper when Luke Wood gets back on the floor. The junior point guard, who likely will reach the 1,000-point milestone before the calendar turns over, missed the scrimmage, but should return when the Eagles scrimmage Paulsboro Thursday.

“It’ll definitely make us better,” Petrutz said. “He’s a (big) part of our team. Missing him hurts us a lot. When he’s back it’ll make us even better.”

Petrutz hit three 3s in the first quarter, had six in the game and finished with a game-high 22 points. “I’ve been waiting all day for this,” he said.

Chase Birchfield, another junior, gives the Eagles another 3-point threat. Six-seven Daniel Saulin gives them size inside and Brooklyn-born transfer Jayden Thomas, who got a longer look with Wood unavailable, gives them a dimension they haven’t in a while.

“We’re on our way up,” Mecholsky said. “Everything is leading towards those eight big division games we have.”

TRITON 72, PENNSVILLE 50
TRITON (72) – Leo Impoliazzo 8 0-0 18, Talen Walsh 3 6-6 14, Jayon Sanders-Cash 2 1-3 7, Major Tomco 0 0-2 0, Richie Kosma 2 0-0 6, Mike Campbell 0 0-0 0, Justice Avery 4 0-0 7, Yandel Santos 2 2-2 6, Kasir Baker 2 0-0 4, Josiah Grant 1 0-0 2. Totals 24 9-13 72
PENNSVILLE (50) – Cohen Petrutz 8 0-0 22, Chase Birchfield 2 0-0 5, Daniel Saulin 3 2-2 8, Peyton O’Brien 0 0-0 0, Malik Rehmer 0 0-0 0, Jayden Thomas 4 1-5 10, Carlo Merendino 0 0-0 0, Tyree Young 0 0-0 0, Mason O’Brien 1 0-0 2, Logan Hitt 1 0-0 3. Totals 20 3-7 50.

Triton	17	22	13	20 –	72
Pennsville	15	11	16	8 –	50

3-point goals: Triton 9 (Impoliazzo 2, Walsh 2, Sanders-Cash 2, Kosma 2, Avery); Pennsville 9 (Petrutz 6, Birchfield, Thomas, Hitt). Total fouls: Triton 7, Pennsville 5.

Girls

Good start for Straughn

WOODBURY HEIGHTS – Sure, it didn’t count in the standings, but it was new Woodstown coach Kara Straughn’s first game under real conditions and she admittedly was nervous.

Straughn inherited a veteran team that has high expectations and they were still getting to know each other, and in that there were unknowns. She sent them on the floor for the first time Tuesday and it couldn’t have gone better for all concerned.

The Wolverines jumped out to a big first-quarter lead, held their hosts without a field goal into the second quarter and put their top three returning scorers in double figures while routing Gateway 61-33.

“I was nervous,” Straughn said. “Just kind of like that anticipation of all right we practiced and practiced and practiced, now let’s see if we can execute in a real situation.

“Me being a first-time head coach we’ve got all these ‘did we do enough, did we go over this enough,’ all the little things.”

Straughn changed the defense in the transition, putting Talia Battavio and Megan Donelson at the top so they can get out and run, and it produced 16 steals in the game and a 27-2 first-quarter lead. Battavio had 13 of her 20 points in the first with Donelson scoring 10 of her game-high 25. Donelson had five steals in the game, while three other players each had three.

Shannon Pierman had 10 points, 12 rebounds and a blocked shot, sixth-man Lauren Hengel had five points and eight rebounds, and Alyssa Baber, back after missing last season following ACL surgery, didn’t score but had four rebounds in two quarters of varsity action.

“It makes me feel a little better and kind of got the ball rolling for them that hey we can do this,” Straughn said. “It was a good first kind-of-like introduction to a real life situation.”

WOODSTOWN 61, GATEWAY 33
WOODSTOWN (61) – Talia Battavio 8 3-4 20, Alyssa Baber 0 0-0 0, Megan Donelson 11 0-0 25, Shannon Pierman 5 0-0 10, Gianna Maiorini 0 1-2 1, Lauren Hengel 2 1-4 5, Brae DiGregorio 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 5-10 61.
GATEWAY (33) – Angelina Zagone 8 3-3 21, Bella Fini 4 4-5 12, Gabby Gasis 0 0-0 0, Tabby Bay 0 0-0 0, Sydney Hughes 0 0-0 0, Rachael Summers 0 0-0 0, Maggie Eliasen 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 7-8 33.

Woodstown	27	8	9	17 –	61
Gateway	2	7	16	8 –	33

3-point goals: Woodstown 4 (Battavio, Donelson 3); Gateway 2 (Zagone 2). Total fouls: Woodstown 4, Gateway 3.

Tis the season

Salem County basketball teams hit the court with scrimmages this week; Salem gets it started at Cinnaminson Monday

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

SALEM – When Anthony Farmer answers the phone and right off the bat apologizes for the raspiness of his voice, you know exactly what time of year it is.

“That means basketball season is here and we still have work to do,” he said.

It’s the price a coach pays for trying to get the most out of a team he believes has the potential to be pretty good.

Salem’s boys lost a couple dynamic scorers and rebounders off last year’s 13-13 team and a 6-8 transfer starter who didn’t make it through the first semester, but Farmer is confident his Rams have the makings to be even better than the 21-8 team they put on the floor in his first season two years ago.

That team enjoyed a 15-game winning streak in the middle of the season and wound up losing in the South Jersey Group I finals. They started last year with equally high hopes and a pair of top 20 wins, but went through some early-season turmoil and never quite recovered.

This year hopes are high.

“I’m excited about this year’s team,” he said. “I think we can get back to where we were a few years ago and in fact go even further. Salem hasn’t had that level of success in quite some time.”

His optimism is rooted in a veteran team with size inside and guard play that’s expected to be the strength of the team. The backcourt is anchored by senior Anthony Farmer and will get a boost from Tymear Lecator, a 6-1 transfer who is expected to be one of the top freshmen in the state.

The Rams are the first in Salem County to get things started Monday in a scrimmage at Cinnaminson. Everyone else in the county hits the court start Tuesday.

“Just (looking) for the guys to compete, not hang their head,” Farmer said. “It’ll look ugly at times because you’re not there, but just do the little things, compete, share the ball, take the right shots; just go in there and do the things that people don’t write about, but things that win games.”

The Rams open the season for real against defending Group I state champion Woodbury in Penns Grove’s Red Devil Classic. Later this month they’ll travel to Bayonne for a holiday tournament in which they’ll face a Charlestown (Mass.) team that went 21-5 a year ago. They have set up a GoFundMe page to help defray expenses on their first overnight tournament trip.

Here is this week’s scrimmage schedule:

MONDAY
Boys
Salem at Cinnaminson, 3:45 p.m.

TUESDAY
Girls
Schalick at Cumberland Christian, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Gateway, 4 p.m.
Haddon Twp. at Penns Grove, 4:15 p.m.
Boys
Cumberland Christian at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Gateway at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Triton at Pennsville, 4 p.m.

WEDNESDAY
Girls
Pennsville at Millville, 4 p.m.
Camden Academy at Salem Tech, 5:30 p.m.
Boys
Kipp at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Clearview, 4 p.m.

THURSDAY
Girls
Paulsboro at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Salem at Bridgeton, 4 p.m.
West Deptford at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Camden Co. Tech at Salem Tech, 5:30 p.m.
Boys
Egg Harbor Twp. at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Paulsboro at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Salem Tech at Camden Co. Tech, 5:30 p.m.

FRIDAY
Girls
Camden Tech at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Boys
Salem at Bridgeton, 4 p.m.

SATURDAY
Boys
Brandywine at Woodstown, 10 a.m.

This week’s schedule

Here is the high school sports schedule for teams in Salem County for the week of Dec. 4-9; x-scrimmages

MONDAY
BASKETBALL
Boys
x-Salem at Cinnaminson, 3:45 p.m.

BOWLING
Salem vs. West Deptford, Wood Lanes, 4 p.m.
Salem Tech vs. Atlantic County Tech, 4 p.m.

TUESDAY
BASKETBALL
Girls
x-Schalick at Cumberland Christian, 4 p.m.
x-Woodstown at Gateway, 4 p.m.
x-Haddon Twp. at Penns Grove, 4:15 p.m.
Boys
x-Cumberland Christian at Schalick, 4 p.m.
x-Gateway at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
x-Triton at Pennsville, 4 p.m.

WEDNESDAY
BASKETBALL
Girls
x-Pennsville at Millville, 4 p.m.
x-Camden Academy at Salem Tech, 5:30 p.m.
Boys
x-Kipp at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
x-Schalick at Clearview, 4 p.m.

WRESTLING
x-Pennsville at Highland Regional, 3:30 p.m.

BOWLING
Salem vs. Gloucester City, Wood Lanes, 4 p.m.
Salem Tech at Clayton

THURSDAY
BASKETBALL
Girls
x-Paulsboro at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
x-Salem at Bridgeton, 4 p.m.
x-West Deptford at Schalick, 4 p.m.
x-Camden Co. Tech at Salem Tech, 5:30 p.m.
Boys
x-Egg Harbor Twp. at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
x-Paulsboro at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
x-Salem Tech at Camden Co. Tech, 5:30 p.m.

FRIDAY
BASKETBALL
Girls
x-Camden Tech at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Boys
x-Salem at Bridgeton, 4 p.m.

SWIMMING
Salem vs. Gloucester Catholic at GCIT, 7:15 p.m.
Schalick vs Woodstown at GCIT, 8:15 p.m.

SATURDAY
BASKETBALL
Boys
x-Brandywine at Woodstown, 10 a.m.

Shuffling the deck

WJFL Diamond Division gets even tougher with 4 county teams, last two Group I state finalists, Pennsville out on its own, may appeal

WEST JERSEY FOOTBALL LEAGUE
2024-25 Salem County alignments
(2023 record in parenthesis)
Division 6: Glassboro (9-4), Penns Grove (6-6), Salem (2-8), Schalick (11-1), Woodbury (7-4), Woodstown (9-3).
Division 15: Buena (0-8), Clayton (5-5), Gateway (2-8), Gloucester Catholic (2-7), Lindenwold (1-9), Pennsville (6-4), Pitman (6-4).

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

Just when you thought it might not have been possible to make the West Jersey Football League’s Diamond Division any tougher, the league went ahead and did it.

Barring the approval of any appeals, Salem County’s five high school football teams will be scattered across two divisions for the next two years, with four of them assigned to what already was the most demanding Group I division in the state.

South Jersey Group I champion Woodstown, Central Jersey runner-up Schalick, Penns Grove and Salem will be aligned with 2022 state champion Woodbury and 2023 state runnerup Glassboro in what currently is called Division 6, basically the Diamond Division. All six teams were playoff teams this past season and had a combined record of 44-26.

“We’ve always been a loaded division; welcome to the party, Schalick and Glassboro,” Penns Grove coach John Emel said. “They kept the tradition of keeping all the best Group I schools together. I’ll make a prediction right now: The team that goes to the state finals comes out of that division.”

Schalick and Glassboro are new to the division, while Paulsboro was moved out in this round of WJFL reshuffling after going 1-7 this past season.

Schalick was promoted for its success the last two seasons. The Cougars, 0-7 in coach Mike Wilson’s first season in 2020, won the Horizon Division each of the last two years while posting overall records of 7-3 and 11-1. They lost to Glassboro in the Central Jersey championship game.

“With the amount of kids we have coming back, we’re ready for the jump,” Wilson said. “It’s playoffs in the regular season; it’s going to be fun. It absolutely is a top-heavy division, it’s going to be all good teams, but with the program we have coming back, I think we’ll be fine.”

The only negative for Wilson, a staunch traditionalist, is the possibility of his team playing three Saturday games within the division depending on how the schedule falls. Woodbury, Penns Grove and Salem traditionally play their home games on Saturdays.

“I’m more upset about that than anything else,” he said. “I grew up always playing Friday night. I’ve only played a handful of Saturday games. That’s the only thing I don’t like about the whole thing. Everything else is fine. We’ll play whoever you give us.”

Salem coach Danny Mendoza was less concerned about the stoutness of the division as the size of it. Five teams is comfortable, but six or more, he said, takes the flexibility of scheduling out of coaches’ hands.

“It’s not about it being tougher, it’s about it being to a point where you can’t balance your schedule,” he said. “They’ve pretty much made your schedule for you.

“We’re not scared of anybody, we’re not scared of competition. You look at our schedule last year, we ran from no one. we ran from zero people. This isn’t along the lines of ducking any smoke or competition. It’s along the lines of giving our guys a chance to go play other teams and test our waters. This is insane.”

Pennsville, meanwhile, is the county team on the outside. The Eagles went from 1-8 to 6-4 this past season and were the first team out of the South Jersey Group I playoff alignment, but they assigned one of the league’s seven-team divisions – Division 15 – with Lindenwold, Gloucester Catholic, Clayton, Pitman, Buena and Gateway.

“I thought we’d be with more of the teams we were last year (in the Royal Division) still,” Eagles coach Mike Healy said. “It’s a completely new division. We hoped we’d be in a higher division, but that’s not how it turned out.”

Pitman and Gateway are the only teams they played last year in Royal Division. The teams in the new division were a combined 22-45 last season, with only the upward-trending Eagles (6-4) and Pitman (6-4) posting winning records. The Eagles may have a better chance to win a division, but harder to build a lot of power points.

“It’d definitely be exciting to have a chance to win the division, for sure,” Healy said.

Schools have a chance to appeal the alignment before Dec. 15. Pennsville is “definitely” considering it largely based on geography and competitive balance.

Salem County leaders

Here are the final 2023 statistical leaders for the high school football teams in Salem County

Rushing

(Based on yards)	ATT	YDS	TDS
Bryce Belinfanti, Woodstown	214	1740	21
Bryce Wright, Penns Grove	210	1278	14
Pop Jackson, Salem	172	1245	9
KaRon Ceaser, Penns Grove	152	1085	8
Reggie Allen, Schalick	143	836	12
Sky Eppes, Pennsville	143	802	15
Robbie McDade, Pennsville	115	576	7
Kenai Simmons, Schalick	112	546	10
Max Webb, Woodstown	107	506	8
Jared Pew, Salem	105	501	4
Levi Feeney-Childers, Schalick	66	355	3
Ramaji Bundy, Salem	55	351	1
Alex Torres, Woodstown	51	286	4

Passing

(Based on yards)	COMP-ATT-INT	YDS	TDS
Robbie McDade, Pennsville	101-180-7	1282	8
Kenai Simmons, Schalick	51-88-1	916	8
Max Webb, Woodstown	69-118-7	883	9
Ramaji Bundy, Salem	15-53-5	236	1
Pop Jackson, Salem	13-37-3	196	1

Receiving

(Based on catches)	ATT	YDS	TDS
Malik Rehmer, Pennsville	50	771	5
Anthony Ford Dale, Woodstown	19	201	1
Bryce Belinfanti, Woodstown	18	187	1
Ty Young, Pennsville	16	161	2
Hayden Sherman, Pennsville	15	145	0
Zach Bevis, Woodstown	14	211	3
Sky Eppes, Pennsville	13	145	0
Jake Siedlecki, Schalick	13	321	4
Terrence Smith, Salem	11	146	1
Ramaji Bundy, Salem	9	154	1
Levi Feeney-Childers, Schalick	9	140	1
Dylan Sheehan, Schalick	9	140	2
KaRon Ceaser, Penns Grove	9	109	0

Tackles

PLAYER	TOT
Zach Bevis, Woodstown	118
Bryce Wright, Penns Grove	107
Pop Jackson, Salem	83.5
Jack Knorr, Woodstown	81
Riley Papiano, Schalick	77
Sky Eppes, Pennsville	74
Isaiah Upshur, Penns Grove	68
Bryce Belinfanti, Woodstown	67
Connor Ayers, Pennsville	67
Bobby Donahue, Woodstown	66
Dameon Wilson, Penns Grove	65
Levi Feeney-Childers, Schalick	62
William Slocum, Penns Grove	58
Jacob Hand, Pennsville	58
Cole Campbell, Pennsville	56
Jermaine Loney, Schalick	54

SACKS
6.5 – Bobby Donahue, Woodstown
6.5 – Dameon Wilson, Penns Grove
3 – Mando Johnson, Salem
3 – Justin Martin, Penns Grove
3 – Cole Campbell, Pennsville
3 – Daniel Saulin, Pennsville
3 – Jermaine Loney, Schalick
3 – Aiden Torres, Schalick
2.5 – Zach Bevis, Woodstown

TACKLES FOR LOSS
22 – Bryce Wright, Penns Grove
16 – Nasir Stewart, Penns Grove
16 – Dameon Wilson, Penns Grove
14 – Justin Martin, Penns Grove
10 – William Slocum, Penns Grove
10 – Thomas Hymer, Schalick
9 – Zach Bevis, Woodstown
9 – Bobby Donahue, Woodstown
7.5 – Jack Knorr, Woodstown
7 – Eric Sulik, Schalick
6.5 – Bryce Belinfanti, Woodstown
6.5 – Walter Carter, Woodstown
6.5 – Pop Jackson, Salem
6 – Mando Johnson, Salem
6 – Jermaine Loney, Schalick
5 – Damien Eichler, Woodstown
5 – Max Webb, Woodstown
5 – Isaiah Upshur, Penns Grove
5 – Aiden Torres, Schalick

FUMBLE RECOVERIES
2 – Corbin Walz, Woodstown
2 – Tyler Taylor, Salem
2 – Connor Ayers, Pennsville
2 – Cole Campbell, Pennsville

FORCED FUMBLES
3 – Zach Bevis, Woodstown
3 – Dameon Wilson, Penns Grove
2 – Bobby Donahue, Woodstown

INTERCEPTIONS
6 – Garrett Leyman, Woodstown
5 – Jake Siedlecki, Schalick
3 – Malik Rehmer, Pennsville
3 – KaRon Ceaser, Penns Grove
2 – Bryce Belinfanti, Woodstown
2 – Carter Orlandini, Woodstown
2 – Ryan Timmons, Salem
2 – Bryce Wright, Penns Grove

Kicking

(Based on points)	FGM-FGA	XPM-XPA	PTS
Jake Ware, Woodstown	4-6	40-42	52
Jack Leino, Pennsville	4-7	27-32	43
Hunter Dragotta, Schalick	3-5	31-33	40

New County HOF Class

Salem County Sports Hall of Fame inducts 6 new members, honors 3 community service contributors

The Salem County Sports Hall of Fame welcomed nine county luminaries into its ranks Friday night in ceremonies at Salem Community College.

The class included six inductees and recognized three individuals for advancing Salem County athletics.

The 2023 inductees were:

Dylan Cummings – Played baseball and football at Pennsville Memorial High School (PMHS) and continued his record-breaking football career at Methodist University.

Tyler Cummings – Competed in cross country and track and field at PMHS and continued his award-winning track career at Coastal Carolina University.

Amy Coker McDade – Played soccer, basketball and softball at PMHS and continued her celebrated softball career at Caldwell College (now Caldwell University).

Victoria (Tori) Nugent – Competed in tennis and softball at PMHS and continued her distinguished tennis career at Monmouth University and Rowan College Gloucester County.

Katie Jackson Scull – Played soccer, basketball and softball at PMHS and continued her illustrious softball career at Caldwell College (now Caldwell University).

Ta’riq D. Thomas – Competed in football, basketball and track and field at Woodstown High School, and continued his renowned track and field career at Delaware Valley University.

The three community service contributors were:

Louise Foley — the retired YMCA program director who taught swimming to generations of Salem County residents,

Mike Hartman — a longtime high school and youth sports coach, and

Lou Priest – a record-breaking baseball player at St. James High School who later played semi-pro baseball.

Next year’s Hall of Fame ceremonies are scheduled for Aug. 22. Nominations for the Hall of Fame Class of 2024 are now being accepted. For details, email SCC Foundation Executive Director Ceil Smith at csmith@salemcc.edu.

A larger story on the induction class can be found in the archives of Riverview Sports News.

Cover photo: The honorees for the Salem County Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2023 included: First row (from left): Louise Foley (community service honoree), Tyler Cummings, Amy Coker McDade, Katie Jackson Scull and Victoria (Tori) Nugent. Second row (from left): Dylan Cummings, Ta’riq D. Thomas, Mike Hartman (community service honoree) and Lou Priest (community service honoree). (Photo by Chuck Erhardt/SCC).

Story credit: Salem County CC