Here are the South Jersey Group I and II playoff pairings for the boys soccer, girls soccer, field hockey, volleyball tournaments; action gets underway Monday
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I BOYS SOCCER TOURNAMENT First-Round Pairings (Nov. 5) (16) Cape May Tech at (1) Schalick (9) Penns Grove at (8) Pitman (12) Gateway at (5) Audubon (13) Pennsville at (4) Haddon Twp. (14) Woodbury at (3) Palmyra (11) Glassboro at (6) Riverside (10) Maple Shade at (7) Wildwood (15) Clayton at (2) Woodstown
Second-Round Games (Nov. 8) Cape May Tech-Schalick vs. Penns Grove-Pitman Gateway-Audubon vs. Pennsville-Haddon Twp. Woodbury-Palmyra vs. Glassboro-Riverside Maple Shade-Wildwood vs. Clayton-Woodstown
Semifinals Nov. 12
Championship Nov. 15
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP II BOYS SOCCER TOURNAMENT First-Round Games (Nov. 5) (15) Salem Tech at (2) Haddon Heights
Quarterfinals (Nov. 8) Salem Tech-Haddon Heights winner vs. Pleasantville-Haddonfield winner
Semifinals Nov. 12
Championship Nov 15
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I GIRLS SOCCER TOURNAMENT First-Round Pairings (Nov. 4) (1) Audubon bye (9) Clayton at (8) Gateway (12) Pennsville at (5) Riverside (13) Buena at (4) Haddon Twp. (14) Wildwood at (3) Woodstown (11) Maple Shade at (6) Palmyra (10) Pitman at (7) Glassboro (15) Cape May Tech at (2) Schalick
Second-Round Games (Nov. 7) Audubon vs. Clayton-Gateway Pennsville-Riverside vs. Buena-Haddon Twp. Wildwood-Woodstown vs. Maple Shade-Palmyra Pitman-Glassboro vs. Cape May Tech-Schalick
Semifinals Nov. 11
Championship Nov. 14
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I FIELD HOCKEY TOURNAMENT First-Round Pairings (Nov. 4) (16) Audubon at (1) Shore (9) Florence at (8) Salem (12) Lower Cape May at (5) Gloucester (13) Haddon Twp. at (4) Haddon Heights (14) Maple Shade at (3) West Deptford (11) Bordentown at (6) Gateway (10) Collingswood at (7) Woodstown (15) South Hunterdon at (2) Schalick
Second-Round Games (Nov. 6) Audubon-Shore vs. Florence-Salem Lower Cape May-Gloucester vs. Haddon Twp.-Haddon Heights Maple Shade-West Deptford vs. Bordentown-Gateway Collingswood-Woodstown vs. South Hunterdon-Schalick
Semifinals Nov. 11
Championship Nov. 13
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP II VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT First-Round Games (Nov. 5) (14) Salem Tech at (3) Seneca
Quarterfinals (Nov. 7) Salem Tech-Seneca winner vs. Pleasantville-Barnegat winner
The first round of the NJSIAA football playoffs highlights the schedule for Salem County teams for the week of Oct. 28-Nov. 2
MONDAY BOYS SOCCER Salem at Penns Grove Salem Tech at Schalick GIRLS SOCCER Penns Grove at Salem Pennsville at Wildwood Schalick at Salem Tech VOLLEYBALL Salem Tech at Highland
TUESDAY FIELD HOCKEY Clayton at Pennsville Glassboro at Woodstown Millville at Schalick GIRLS SOCCER Paulsboro at Salem Tech
WEDNESDAY FIELD HOCKEY Oakcrest at Pennsville BOYS SOCCER Salem at Gloucester Catholic GIRLS SOCCER Vineland at Woodstown COLLEGE BASKETBALL Penn State Brandywine at Salem CC, 5:45 p.m.
FRIDAY FOOTBALL South Jersey Group I playoffs Point Pleasant Beach at Glassboro Audubon at Schalick Central Jersey Group I playoffs KIPP Cooper Norcross at Woodstown Pennsville at Burlington City Woodbury at Middlesex New Egypt at Shore
BOYS SOCCER Schalick at Cumberland
SATURDAY FOOTBALL South Jersey Group I playoffs Riverside at Haddon Twp. Manville at Paulsboro CROSS COUNTRY Sectionals at Dream Park
Saturday was the cutoff date for boys soccer, girls soccer and field hockey. Here are the projected South Jersey Group I playoff pairings in each sport based off the current power points standings:
BOYS SOCCER (R1 Nov. 5; R2 Nov. 8-9) Cape May Tech (3-15-1) at Schalick (15-2) Penns Grove (7-9) at Pitman (8-7-1) Gateway (9-8) at Audubon (12-4-1) Pensville (10-8) at Haddon Twp. (10-5-2)
Woodbury (6-11) at Palmyra (9-6) Glassboro (5-10-1) at Riverside (11-5-1) Maple Shade (9-6-1) at Wildwood (13-3-1) Clayton (6-10) at Woodstown (14-4)
GIRLS SOCCER (R1 Nov. 4; R2 Nov. 7) Woodbury (2-13-1) at Audubon (15-4) Clayton (10-6-1) at Gateway (11-4) Pennsville (6-11) at Riverside (11-6) Buena (8-8) at Haddon Twp. (9-6-2)
Wildwood (5-11) at Woodstown (12-4-1) Maple Shade (5-9-1) at Palmyra (12-4) Pitman (8-8-1) at Glassboro (8-4-3) Penns Grove (2-12-1) at Schalick (12-5)
FIELD HOCKEY (R1 Nov. 4; R2 Nov. 6) Pennsville (5-8-2) at Shore (19-1) Florence (6-9-1) at Salem (8-5-1) Lower Cape May (6-6-2) at Gloucester (12-5) Haddon Twp. (4-12) at Haddon Heights (9-6-2)
Maple Shade (8-9) at West Deptford (12-3-2) Bordentown (7-9) at Gateway (12-4) Collingswood (6-9) at Woodstown (9-7-1) South Hunterdon (9-11) at Schalick (16-0-1)
Penns Grove remains optimistic about Group I playoff berth after shutting out Salem, awaits official calculations (UPDATE: Late update has Red Devils on the outside)
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNS GROVE — In college basketball, if a team on the bubble hits a buzzer-beater to win the opening game in its conference tournament they used to call it a $250,000 shot because that’s about what a first-round NCAA Tournament game was said to be worth.
Tre Brown delivered the high school football equivalent to Penns Grove Saturday — minus the monetary incentive, of course — in their regular-season game that they hope won’t be their final game of the year.
Brown’s 25-yard scoop and score in the second quarter was the defining play in the Red Devils’ 27-0 win over Salem that for all intents sent them to the South/Central Jersey Group I playoffs.
At least that’s the way the players felt about it as they left Jim Devonshire Field. In the post-game huddle they talked about playing “a red team or a green team” they had faced previously this season in next week’s opening round. Glassboro is expected to be the No. 1 seed in South Jersey.
“We have a shot; I think we made it,” sophomore running back KaRon Ceaser said.
First-year Penns Grove coach Marc Maccarone wouldn’t speculate on the Red Devils’ fate after the game because the formula for determining the qualifiers is so different than it was when he previously coached.
All of the projections have them landing a spot between 13 and 16 in the UPR ratings based largely on their strength of schedule. One numbers crunch has them landing at No. 15 and winning a tiebreaker over KIPP for the spot and playing Shore Regional in the first round of the Central Jersey bracket.
They went into game No. 16 in the official UPR ratings the state uses to determine the seedings and No. 17 in an unofficial Central Jersey Sports Radio ranking updated Friday night that’s proven to be just as accurate as the official standing. Saturday is the cutoff for calculations and presumptive pairings usually begin appearing in various media as the day wears on.
“Obviously, getting the win was definitely something we needed,” Maccarone said. “We’re down here trying to build a program and if the opportunity for us to get in the playoffs is there you can kind of put your record to bed because everyone is 0-0 going to the playoffs … and it’s not unheard of for a low seed to knock off a top seed. If we’re let into the playoffs, anything can happen.”
(UPDATE: In the 6:45 p.m. Saturday update on Gridiron NJ, the official state UPR source, Penns Grove missed the cut at 17. Projected Group I pairings from the official site are below:)
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP 1 TOP 16: Glassboro, Woodstown, Shore, Paulsboro, Schalick, Burlington City, Middlesex, Riverside, Haddon Twp., Pennsville, Woodbury, Manville, Audubon, KIPP Cooper Norcross, New Egypt, Point Pleasant Beach
SOUTH JERSEY Point Pleasant Beach at Glassboro Riverside at Haddon Twp. (Sat.) Manville at Paulsboro (Sat.) Audubon at Schalick
CENTRAL JERSEY KIPP Cooper Norcross at Woodstown Pennsville at Burlington City Woodbury at Middlesex New Egypt at Shore
Oh, there was pressure to get in. The Red Devils had to beat the Rams in order to gain the requisite minimum of two wins to qualify; lose and they wouldn’t have even been in the conversation and Salem could celebrate avoiding its first winless season since 2012.
The Red Devils (2-7) would have made things easier on themselves had they not blown a nine-point third-quarter lead against Woodbury last week or held on to several games that went sideways late.
“The pressure was there, it was there,” Ceaser said. “We felt pressure because we felt like this season could have gone a lot better, a lot better. We feel like we could be a team that could compete for the championship.
“In every game we lost we beat ourselves. Turnovers, missed tackles, penalties. We’re just cleaning everything up to get into the playoffs.”
Brown’s scoop and score came in the second quarter with the Red Devils already leading 7-0. It was his first career touchdown.
“That was nice,” he said. “It was a great play from my teammates who blew the play up and all that. I saw the ball on the floor, just picked it up and ran it in.
“It was really important, it boosted the team’s morale and all that, but just that play alone did not get us in the playoffs. It was all the plays the whole game, but that play was really important.”
“That scoop and score, that’s what really put us over the top and let us know we’ve got to go get this,” sophomore lineman Ray Brown said.
In addition to Brown’s score, the Red Devils got three touchdowns from Ceaser. The sophomore scored on runs of 6 and 27 yards and caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from Melo Erickson. He rushed for 151 yards in the game, leaving him 139 yards shy of a second straight 1,000-yard season.
Ceaser’s first touchdown capped a 65-yard drive that took up nearly the first eight minutes of the game. He carried it eight times in the 11-play drive.
“It’s good that you’re starting to finally see the fruits of all the hard work,” Maccarone said. “Changing an offense from last year to this year, being able to start to see really the last three weeks offensive production starting to come. The scoreboard wasn’t necessarily indicative of it, but the offense has been taking strides the last four weeks, so it was good to kind of see it come to blossom.”
Penns Grove’s Isaiah Upshur wraps up Salem quarterback Troy Cater for a sack Saturday. On the cover, Red Devils coach Marc Maccarone talks to his team after they shut out the Rams to enhance their playoff hopes.
Penns Grove 27, Salem 0
SALEM
PG
1
1st Downs
16
13-11
Rushing
43-273
8-13-1
C-A-I
3-9-0
38
Passing
29
2-2
Fum-lost
1-1
3-37.3
Punts
0-0
5-50
Penalties
9-50
Salem
0
0
0
0-
0
Penns Grove
6
14
0
7-
27
SCORING SUMMARY PG-KaRon Ceaser 4 run (kick failed), 4:10 1Q PG-Tre Brown 25 yard fumble return (pass failed), 8:41 2Q PG-KaRon Ceaser 27 run (Knowledge Young pass from Melo Erickson), 3:08 2Q PG-KaRon Ceaser 6 pass from Melo Erickson (Tre Brown kick), 10:12 4Q
WJFL Standings
DIAMOND DIVISION
DIV
ALL
Glassboro
5-0
8-0
Woodstown
4-1
7-1
Schalick
3-2
6-3
Woodbury
2-3
3-5
Penns Grove
1-4
2-7
Salem
0-5
0-9
FRIDAY’S GAMES Glassboro 20, Woodstown 7 Schalick 27, Woodbury 16 SATURDAY’S GAME Penns Grove 27, Salem 0
Woodstown tennis seniors produce memorable finish to their careers with dramatic win over Pennsville; includes all of Friday’s Salem County sports action
GIRLS TENNIS Woodstown 3, Pennsville 2
By Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – The seniors on the Woodstown girls tennis team knew they had reached the end of the line and they wanted to do something memorable before riding off into the sunset. They sure went out with a flourish.
Three of the Wolverines’ seniors won matches that involved some sort of tiebreaker and their fortitude fueled a 3-2 win over Pennsville that handed the Eagles only their second loss of the season and clinched a share of the Tri-County Diamond Division title.
“I was very proud with how the girls performed today,” Wolverines coach Jesse Stemberger said. “The seniors were a little emotional beforehand knowing this was their last match, but they wanted to have a memorable ending to their careers and season and they were able to achieve that.”
The Wolverines (16-5) clinched the match at No. 1 doubles when senior Julianna Lindenmuth and junior Alyssa Berry took down Emma Cornette and Izzy Schrenker 7-6 (7-3), 7-5.
Before that, senior Camille Osborn won the final match of her high school career over Regan Witt 6-4, 7-6 (12-10) at No. 2 singles and senior Leah Waterman teamed with junior Nathalie Neron to win a 10-4 super tiebreaker after dropping the first set to Naomi Hess and Morgan Holt, 3-6.
Osborn had lost two of her three previous super tiebreakers this season, with one of the losses coming to Witt on Oct. 1. Lindenmuth (with Berry) had been 1-1 in set tiebreakers this season. It was Waterman’s first super tiebreaker of the season.
The Wolverines finished the season with a five-match winning streak and were 7-1 after being eliminated by Haddon Twp. in the South Jersey Group I quarterfinals.
Pennsville (20-2) got its points from first singles Megan Morris and third singles Lily Edwards. Edwards finished the season undefeated (21-0) and has won 32 consecutive matches going back to last season.
BOYS SOCCER HADDON TWP. 1, SCHALICK 0: Andres Santiago scored a first-half goal and keeper Collin Feeley made it stand with 15 saves in the net as the Hawks snapped the Cougars’ 10-match winning streak in the opening round of the South Jersey Coaches Cup. It was only the Cougars’ second loss of the season and they remain No. 1 in the South Jersey Group I power points standings.
Haddon Twp. was the No. 4 team in the SJ Group I power points standings, meaning it would be on Schalick’s side of the bracket if the pairings were finalized today. Woodstown is the solid No. 2, Penns Grove is No. 9 and Pennsville No. 13. The cutoff day for the standings is Saturday.
OVERBROOK 4, PENNSVILLE 0: The Eagles moved up the match with the hopes of enhancing their playoff position before the cutoff, but Overbrook kept them off the board. Four separate players lit the lamp for the Rams.
WILDWOOD CATHOLIC 7, SALEM TECH 1: Teddy Woolery and Charlie Flickinger both scored a hat trick as the Crusaders snapped the Chargers’ school-record three-game winning streak. Graham Fields scored the Chargers’ goal in the second half.
FIELD HOCKEY SALEM 3, GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 0: Audrey Boggs broke a scoreless tie with a third-quarter goal and assisted on the Rams’ other two second-half goals by Kashira Patterson and Julliana Love. Ava Rogers made five saves in posting the shutout.
Heading into Saturday’s cutoff, Salem is No. 10 in the South Jersey Group I standings. Unbeaten Schalick is 2, Woodstown 6 and Pennsville 17.
VOLLEYBALL SALEM TECH 2, GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 1: The Chargers rallied from dropping the first set to score their third win of the season. The set scores were 16-25, 25-13, 25-12. Tori Farnkoph had eight kills and 10 aces to lead the way. Tiara Bazemore had six kills and eight assists, Shelby Liber had seven aces and Alan’s James had six assists.
Woodstown senior becomes fifth player in girls soccer program to hit that milestone, and gets it on Senior Day; also, Thursday’s Salem County results
GIRLS SOCCER Woodstown 3, Pennsville 1 Schalick 5, Penns Grove 0 Salem at Salem Tech
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – Talia Battavio took up soccer as a way to stay in shape and provide a fun release away from the demands of her first sport, basketball. And, as it turns out, she wound up being pretty good at it.
Four years into it, Battavio scored her 60th career goal and became the fifth player in Woodstown’s girls soccer history to reach that milestone Thursday when got her 13th goal of the season to seal the Wolverines 3-1 Senior Day victory over Pennsville.
The goal came late in the second half and gave the Wolverines (12-4-1) a two-goal cushion, and came in a fashion similar to the way she scores a lot of her points on the basketball court.
Battavio’s initial shot, with her left foot, banged off a defender, but she collected the rebound on her right foot at the 18 and let it fly.
“I didn’t know that was my 60th,” she said. “It was cool to get it on Senior Night and I’m glad we got the win.”
Gina Murray scored Woodstown’s first two goals after the teams played a scoreless first half. Battavio assisted on one of the goals, giving her 25 for her career (ninth on the all-time list). Her 125 scoring points are fifth on that all-time list.
“I actually thought today was her best game,” Wolverines coach Kieran Keyser said. “Talia is a gifted athlete and always finds ways to score, as displayed the last four seasons. But I think her most underrated skill is her ability to see the field and connect with her teammates. She consistently looks to make the final pass and set her teammates up to score.”
Woodstown’s other 60-goal scorers are Tatum Devault (75), Tori Malpezzi (70), Amy Gray (69) and Chelsea Norbuts (65). They’re also the only players ahead of Battavio on the program’s all-time points list.
By the time Battavio graduates this spring she will rank among the top five scorers in two sports at Woodstown. She currently is fifth on the school’s all-time scoring list in basketball (1,194).
“I think I’m very blessed and I’m glad that I got the opportunity to go to the trainers and have parents who will drive me to practices like every day,” she said.
Woodstown leading scorers
GIRLS SOCCER
G
A
PTS
Tatum Devault (2022)
75
42
192
Tori Malpezzi (2008)
70
33
173
Amy Gray (1993)
65
34
164
Chelsea Norbuts (2009)
69
22
160
Talia Battavio (2024)
60
25
145
SCHALICK 5, PENNS GROVE 0: The Cougars (12-4) completed a sweep of their Diamond Division schedule behind Abby Willoughby’s hat trick and single goals by freshman Kassady Sickler and Quinn Berger. Sickler’s goal was the first of her career.
Cover photo: Woodstown’s Talia Battavio takes a shot against Clayton in a match earlier this month.
BOYS SOCCER SCHALICK 6, PENNS GROVE 0: Luke Price scored two goals and Anthony Sepers recorded three assists as the Cougars (15-1) won their tenth straight game. Brad Foster, Oscar Hernandez, Louis Sepers and Marco Spinnato scored their other goals. WOODSTOWN 2, PITMAN 1: The Wolverines gave coach Darren Huck his 300th career victory. (See related story) PENNSVILLE 6, GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 1: Michael Veasy scored two goals and Shane Puckett had a goal and three assists for the Eagles (10-7). It was their fifth win in the last six games. SALEM TECH 4, SALEM 2: Clinton Bobo scored two goals in the second half as the Chargers won their NJSIAA school-record third in a row. Jack McCauley and Christian VanTonder gave the Chargers (6-10) a 2-0 halftime lead.
GIRLS TENNIS PENNSVILLE 3, SCHALICK 2 (conclusion of susp. match) Emma Adams (S) def. Megan Morris, 6-2, 6-3 Ally Green (S) def. Regan Whitt, 6-0, 6-0 Lily Edwards (P) def. Miya Watkins, 6-0, 6-0 Emma Cornette-Gabi Forino (P) def. Julia Langley-Helana Tyers, 6-2, 6-2 Izzy Schrenker-Naomi Hess (P) def. Kayleigh Veach-Annie Podehl, 6-3, 6-3 Records: Pennsville 20-1, Schalick 9-8.
FIELD HOCKEY HAMMONTON 6, WOODSTOWN 1: Sienna Land scored the Wolverines’ goal in the third quarter.
Schalick senior getting back on track after stretch of illness slowed her down, now turns her attention to sectionals, state
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
SEABROOK – Jordan Hadfield is starting to feel like her old self again – just in time for the biggest races of the year.
HADFIELD
The Schalick senior had been fighting through an illness she knows not what that combined with a heavy race schedule impacted her from being in top form.
She was still feeling some of it Wednesday at the Tri-County Conference Showcase, but felt a lot closer to being back, winning the girls race for the second year in a row. She covered the Cumberland Regional course in 18:57.51.
“I’m definitely a little bit more happy about where we’re heading toward sectionals,” she said. “Just from getting over being sick it’s hard to get back into it, so running high 18s just for getting back is not bad.
“With the sectionals coming up (at Dream Park) I have a week and a half to get myself together. I’ll definitely have to focus in training. Now that I feel better we’ll definitely do better.”
Race followers sensed something was wrong at the Salem County Championship when Hadfield ran a 19:15.79 to win the race and was physically upset about it. It was part of a grueling stretch of three races in eight days.
It was such a grind she sat out last week’s TCC Batch Meet in which the Cougars clinched their division championship in order to be ready for Wednesday and the rest of the season.
“I typically am not like the person to be sick all the time, I kind of get lucky with that stuff, and this part of the season is not a good time to get sick,” she said. “I’m so thankful it was not during sectionals and things.
“Today’s race was just about seeing where we are after you’re being sick and just getting back into it, and running somewhat close to what you used to be able to so that this week and a half will be just refining that.”
Hadfield went out in Wednesday’s race “a little slower than I would’ve preferred,” but still at a pace she felt comfortable. The contenders ran together for about the first two miles, then she picked up the pace because she didn’t want it to come down to a big push at the end and led the rest of the race.
She beat runner-up Sophia Aldridge of Williamston to the wire by nine seconds. Wildwood’s Macie McCracken was third, another 16 seconds back.
The next fastest Salem County finisher after Hadfield was Woodstown’s Abby Marino, who finished 11th (20:31.07). Salem Tech’s Sarah Seiden was 21st (21:21.04).
Schalick finished sixth as a team. Delsea won the girls team title, squeezing all its counters in a tight 78-second pack between sixth and 15th.
Glassboro’s Ty Blackman won the boys race in 15:49.74. Highland Regional won the team title, placing four of its five counters among the top 13.
Woodstown’s Cole Lucas and county champion Karson Chew finished 11th and 17th, respectively, to help the Wolverines to a fifth-place team finish. Schalick was 11th, Salem Tech 14th and Salem 16th.
Hadfield is still trying to decide her college future, but her choice appears to be coming down between St. Joe’s and the University of Rhode Island.
Tri-County Showcase
BOYS TEAM SCORES: Highland 63, Williamstown 89, Kingsway 96, Glassboro 119, Woodstown 159, Delsea 167, Clearview 172, Washington Twp. 176, Timber Creek 186, GCIT 205, Schalick 306, Pitman 350, Deptford 360, Salem Tech 406, Cumberland 412, Salem 438, Clayton 505. GIRLS TEAM SCORES: Delsea 57, Williamstown 71, Washington Twp. 74, Kingsway 78, Clearview 79, Schalick 156, Pitman 197, GCIT 204, Cumberland 256.
Woodstown gives coach Darren Huck his 299th career coaching victory in 4-0 shutout of Glassboro; also includes Tuesday’s Salem County sports results
BOYS SOCCER Overbrook 2, Penns Grove 1 (OT) Pennsville 5, Clayton 1 Salem Tech 4, Gloucester Catholic 3 Schalick 2, Pitman 0 Wildwood 9, Salem 0 Woodstown 4, Glassboro 0
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – The milestone has been on the horizon since the start of the season, but now it’s right there on the doorstep.
Adrian Ibarra scored twice and Ben Stengel came up with another shutout as Woodstown blanked Glassboro Tuesday 4-0 to give coach Darren Huck his 299th career coaching victory.
Huck, in his 26th season at the Wolverines’ helm, can become the second Salem County soccer coach to reach 300 wins as early as Thursday in the regular-season finale against Pitman at Alcyon Park.
Schalick’s boys coach Joe Mannella, Huck’s good friend and neighbor, became the first Salem County soccer coach to reach the milestone on Oct. 2.
“People would bring it up and I kept saying I’ve got a ways to go, I’ve got a ways to go, and here we are at 13-4,” Huck said. “It’s definitely a weird feeling because I’m a numbers guy, I love numbers in sports, I’m always looking at different statistics and stuff like that.
“You know how I am about the history of our soccer program, but when it came to me I never really thought about ever being in this situation. Whether I played it off as I don’t know if I’ll be coaching that long or maybe I won’t win as much as I did. As a coach I always downplayed that a little bit, but in all honesty for a while it was like that will be a while before I get to that.”
Ibarra gave the Wolverines (13-4) a 1-0 halftime lead, then scored the first goal of the second half and 46th of his career. Bryce Ayars made it 3-0 and Dante Holmes scored the final goal of the game. Stengel was credited with five saves in the shutout.
“My defense definitely stepped up; they’ve been stepping up all season,” Huck said. “We had a little talk at halftime – we were up 1-0 and were pretty much controlling the game – I looked right at Dante Holmes, my center back, and my two other backs and Ben and I said over the next 40 minutes you guys need to win this game for us. You keep them off the board we win the game.
“Allow the offense to keep working at it and working at it, but you know what you’ve got ahead of yourselves. It’s a 1-0 game and if you can lock ‘em down for 40 minutes than we’ve got ourselves win No. 13. And they did that.”
And it gave their coach win No. 299.
The victory also elevated the Wolverines to No. 2 in the current South Jersey Group I power points standings.
When Mannella joined the 300 Club at Wildwood, the feat was met with a commemorative game ball, balloons spelling out “300” and a healthy dousing from the water bucket. Not that Huck is expecting any of that when his entry into the 300 Club becomes official, but he has never had the water bucket treatment before.
“I always said I’d love to be able to share that (milestone) within the same year of him,” Huck told Riverview Sports News last month. “It also means we’ve been around a long time, too. We’ve had some very good players and, if anything, 300 is just a true testament to staying consistent and doing the right things.” SALEM TECH 4, GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 3: Clinton Bobo scored the tying and winning goals in the Chargers’ three-goal second-half rally that erased a 3-1 deficit. Aiden Bobo scored in the first half and Bobby Jones got the Chargers’ first goal in the second half.
“We were dragging in the first half,” Chargers coach Rob Polk said. “They were beating us to every ball over the field.
“We talked mainly at halftime about effort and coming out fast in the second half. We’ve been playing pretty well the last couple weeks and I was pretty confident if we came out and found a way to pop a goal in early the momentum would shift and more would follow. We were fortunate enough to finish an early chance and the game kind of opened up for us after that.”
The Chargers (5-10) have their eye on a school-record third straight win Thursday at Salem.
PENNSVILLE 5, CLAYTON 1: Shane Puckett scored the Eagles’ first three goals — his first career hat trick — and Ugur Elmali and J.P. Laughrey extended the lead with goals in the final three minutes.
SCHALICK 2, PITMAN 0: Oscar Hernandez and Luke Price scored first-half goals in the Cougars’ ninth straight victory. The Cougars (14-1) remain the No. 1 team in the South Jersey Group I power points standings.
WILDWOOD 9, SALEM 0: NuNu Bedderi and Gavin Burns both scored hat tricks for the Warriors. For Bedderi it was his second straight three-goal game. He now has 30 goals in his first season playing high school soccer in the United States.
OVERBROOK 2, PENNS GROVE 1 (OT)
GIRLS SOCCER Wildwood at Salem
SCHALICK 4, PENNSVILLE 0: The Cougars outshot their hosts 24-6, scored two goals in each half and had four players light the lamp. Quinn Berger and Abby Willoughby scored in the first half, while Cali Fisler and Jael Winnberg scored in the second. (Related story posting soon)
WOODSTOWN 1, GLASSBORO 0: Sophie Wells scored the game’s only goal in the first half and goalie Ellie Wygand kept the Bulldogs out of the net to make it stand.
GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 6, SALEM TECH 0: Six players scored goals for the Rams.
OVERBROOK 7, PENNS GROVE 0: Gianna Simon scored four goals and Victoria Bupp had three.
Unofficial (but generally pretty accurate) UPR rankings has Penns Grove holding the final spot in the South Jersey Group I playoffs heading into final regular-season game; official list has Red Devils 20th
By Riverview Sports News
Penns Grove’s hopes for a spot in the Group I football playoffs may not be as far off as the final nine minutes of its game Saturday at Woodbury might have led one to believe.
In the South Jersey Group I power ratings updated Sunday by Gridiron New Jersey, the official supplier of the state’s UPR rankings that determine the 16-team playoff brackets, the Red Devils were No. 20, one full UPR point behind current No. 16 Audubon. The outlet noted its rankings would change “slightly” when it finalizes Strength Index Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Central Jersey Sports Radio index, which has been one of the most accurate unofficial UPR sources, has the Red Devils in a more favorable position. It lists them at No. 16, four-tenths of a point ahead of No. 17 Highland Park.
The Red Devils (1-7) wrap up their regular season Saturday at winless Salem (0-8) and will have to win the game to at least meet the minimum wins qualification for playoff consideration.
Their position looked strong early in the second half Saturday. They grabbed a nine-point lead early in the third quarter and carried it into the fourth. They held a two-point lead with less than six minutes to play, then misplayed a punt and fumbled a pitch that led to Woodbury touchdowns.
Woodstown, Schalick and Pennsville all seem safely in the field. If Pennsville gets in, it will be the Eagles’ first playoff appearance since 2019.
Here are the rankings according to the two groups:
SJ Group I power ratings
TOP 16
(as of Oct. 20)
SCHOOL
RECORD
POWER PTS
OSI
UPR
Glassboro
7-0
12.00
57.08
2.4
Woodstown
7-0
11.57
61.83
3.0
Shore
7-0
13.71
45.61
3.4
Paulsboro
6-2
11.81
48.65
4.0
Schalick
5-3
10.13
49.7
5.4
Haddon Twp.
5-1
11.58
41.19
6.2
Riverside
6-2
12.13
38.32
8.0
Middlesex
6-2
11.38
40.13
8.2
Burlington City
5-3
10.50
39.67
9-2
Pennsville
4-4
8.44
40.94
10.4
Woodbury
3-4
7.71
42.88
10.8
New Egypt
5-2
8.86
38.67
11.0
Manville
6-2
9.25
37.35
11.8
Clayton
4-2-1
8.00
34.00
16.8
Pt. Pleasant Beach
4-3
7.71
35.68
16.8
Audubon
2-4
7.83
34.78
17.0
20. Penns Grove (1-7) 18.0, 21. Salem (0-8) 19.4. Source: Gridiron New Jersey
PROJECTED PLAYOFF MATCHUPS (Based on current standings) SOUTH JERSEY Glassboro vs. Audubon Middlesex vs. Burlington City x-Paulsboro vs. New Egypt x-Schalick vs. Manville CENTRAL JERSEY Shore vs. Clayton Haddon Twp. vs. Woodbury Riverside vs. Pennsville Woodstown vs. Point Pleasant Beach x-Schalick jumps Paulsboro based on head-to-head
CENTRAL JERSEY RADIO RANKINGS South Jersey Group I Top 16 1. Glassboro, 2. Woodstown, 3. Shore, 4. Paulsboro, 5. Schalick, 6. Middlesex, 7. Haddon Twp., 8. Riverside, 9. Burlington City, 10. Woodbury, 11. Pennsville, 12. New Egypt, 13. Manville, 14. Clayton, 15. Audubon, 16. Penns Grove.
If this scenario remains, Penns Grove would play Glassboro or Woodstown in the first round of the playoffs, depending on who wins that game Friday night.
Here is this week’s Salem County sports schedule for the week of Oct. 21-26
OCT. 21 FIELD HOCKEY Salem at Gloucester Catholic Schalick at Deptford Woodstown at Overbrook GIRLS TENNIS Pennsville at Overbrook, 3:45 p.m. Pitman at Salem Woodstown at Schalick BOYS SOCCER Bridgeton at Penns Grove Salem at Camden County Tech CROSS COUNTRY State Tech Championship at Salem Tech VOLLEYBALL Cape May County Tech at Salem Tech
OCT. 22 BOYS SOCCER Glassboro at Woodstown Gloucester Catholic at Salem Tech Overbrook at Penns Grove Pennsville at Clayton Pitman at Schalick, 6 p.m. Salem at Wildwood GIRLS SOCCER Penns Grove at Overbrook Salem Tech at Gloucester Catholic Schalick at Pennsville Wildwood at Salem Woodstown at Glassboro GIRLS TENNIS Overbrook at Penns Grove Woodstown at Wildwood FIELD HOCKEY Pennsville at Overbrook Woodstown at St. Joe (Hamm.) VOLLEYBALL Washington Twp. at Salem Tech WOMENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Cecil College at Salem CC, 6 p.m.
OCT. 23 FIELD HOCKEY Salem at Schalick GIRLS TENNIS Glassboro at Woodstown Salem at Overbrook Wildwood at Penns Grove CROSS COUNTRY Tri-County Showcase at Cumberland
OCT. 24 FIELD HOCKEY Woodstown at Hammonton BOYS SOCCER Gloucester Catholic at Pennsville Woodstown at Pitman Salem Tech at Salem Schalick at Penns Grove GIRLS SOCCER Penns Grove at Schalick Salem at Salem Tech Pennsville at Woodstown GIRLS TENNIS Schalick at Pennsville (conclusion of susp. match), 3:45 p.m. VOLLEYBALL Timber Creek at Salem Tech OCT. 25 FOOTBALL Woodstown at Glassboro, 6 p.m. Audubon at Camden Catholic Paulsboro at Clayton, TBA Collingswood at Pennsville Overbrook at West Deptford Woodbury at Schalick, 6 p.m. BOYS SOCCER Pennsville at Overbrook Salem Tech at Wildwood Catholic GIRLS SOCCER Salem at Paulsboro GIRLS TENNIS Woodstown at Pennsville FIELD HOCKEY Gloucester Catholic at Salem VOLLEYBALL Salem Tech at Gloucester Catholic
OCT. 26 FOOTBALL Salem at Penns Grove, noon GIRLS SOCCER Schalick at Williamstown, 10 a.m. MENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Baltimore JUCO Jamboree Salem CC vs. Anne Arundel, noon Salem CC vs. Southern Maryland, 6 p.m.
