Salem sack master Rogers ready to embrace life-changing experience as he prepares to sign with Temple
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
SALEM – The phone buzzed in Antwuan Rogers’ pocket during Tuesday’s mid-morning rush. On the other end of the line was his Temple recruiting contact Malachi Timberlake, just checking in again with the Salem senior, but this time to make sure everything was still on track for Wednesday’s red-letter day.
“‘Are you ready,’” Rogers said, recalling the conversation. “’Your life changes tomorrow.’”
ROGERS
Indeed. First thing Wednesday morning Rogers will sign with Temple to play Division I football. He’ll enroll in January and participate in spring practice to get a jump on his freshman college season. And he plans to come back to walk with his graduating class in May.
It’s a day he’s dreamed about since he was a ninth-grader sitting in the auditorium watching his senior teammates do exactly what he will be celebrating Wednesday afternoon in front of friends, family and teammates. He was too young to understand the enormity of the day when Salem’s record-setting future NFL All-Pro Jonathan Taylor signed with Wisconsin in 2017, but the implications of what he’s about to do really hit home that day as a freshman.
“When I saw that I was like I can’t wait to do that,” he said. “They all knew where they were going to college, just about everything they worked for was happening for them and I just felt happy to see it. It made me realize I had to work harder to get there.”
And that’s what he did.
He said the summer between his sophomore and junior year was “the hardest I ever worked in my life.” Early-morning workouts, nap, practice, work out again. Whatever it took.
It paid off in what he called a “good” junior season for a winless Salem team and it got him invited to the All-American Game in Texas that winter – just a few months after K.C. Keeler was named the Temple head coach — an experience he said “opened me up as a person.”
He’d never been outside the Delaware Valley area before and the flight to Texas was his first ever, but the moment he stepped on the plane it hit him that “this is what football can do, it can change my life like this.”
And then he impressed in the workouts and the game.
“At first even though I was nervous around all these people who were tops in the country and have all these offers and you go in with the butterflies like any other game, but I held my own,” he remembered. “I did my thing with the top guys. I was like I could be considered a top guy.”
In Rogers, the Owls are getting a fierce 6-foot-5 pass rusher who made his bones terrorizing opposing quarterbacks this season. He recorded 23 sacks, breaking the single-season school record that had been his goal with a beastly single-game record eight against KIPP in the opening round of the South Jersey Group I playoffs. He finished the year with 98 tackles and 28 career sacks
Although he had interest from two other major programs, the Owls were always high on his list. He went to “a lot” of Temple games growing up, knew a lot of their players and when he finally went there on a visit it all felt so familial.
Timberlake was calling Tuesday morning just to make sure it still felt that way. He’s ready.
“It’s the day that’s everything I worked for,” Rogers said. “Sometimes you get unmotivated, you see a lot of guys getting offers around you and you don’t have any, (but) you just keep your head down and keep working.”
Former Salem High lineman Brooks excited about having the chance to play football again; he’s the type student-athlete who fits the Mighty Oaks’ mold
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT – When the Salem High School football team took the final snap of the 2023 season, Darius Brooks resigned himself to the fact his playing career was over. It was great fun while it lasted, but with no immediate opportunities to play at the next level in front of him it was time to get on with the rest of his life.
BROOKS
There was a year in trade school and then enrolling at Salem Community College to start pursuing his degree. Then, the college began to explore adding a football program to its sports offerings, and when its board of trustees approved the initiative Thursday all of a sudden Brooks had a place back in the game.
“I thought it was over with, I kind of accepted that, but I always wanted to get back to it somehow, someway,” Brooks said. “I’m excited, for sure. Definitely ready to lace them back up at least one more year.”
It’s players like the former Rams lineman that interim head coach Jay Accorsi was thinking about when he pitched the idea of starting football to Salem president Mike Gorman. Accorsi, the former Rowan head coach, knew there were hundreds of players in the region who still had the ability and desire to play the game, but were shut out of places to continue after high school.
There was only one two-year college in New Jersey playing NJCAA-sanctioned football and it was way up in North Jersey. Before the Salem board green-lighted the initiative, there was no JUCO football between Central New York and Louisburg, N.C.
“Believe it or not in this (consultant’s) role I’ve had several conversations with coaches and different people specifically about several of those type of players and several of those type of players have already reached out to me,” Accorsi said. “There’s already that population that even at the beginning of this process of doing this is already reaching out.
“I already have several names on a bulletin board for that. And that just validates why I wanted to get involved in this and why I wanted to do this and why I feel so strongly about it.”
While the talk of the Mighty Oaks adding football circulated, Brooks told the many friends who asked that he’d be interested in playing if it became a reality and started “getting ready.” He hadn’t spoken to anyone in the athletic department about it, but you can bet he’ll be among the first in line when the door opens.
“I was definitely excited,” Brooks said. “Believe it or not somebody asked me if I would be interested in coaching, but I’m not old enough for that yet. If I’m doing anything I’ve got to play. I’m definitely looking forward to it.”
Top photo: Lineman Darius Brooks (52) is joined by some Salem High School teammates at a preseason media event before the 2023 football season.
Salem wanted another bite at the apple after losing to Glassboro in the regular season, gave top-seeded Bulldogs a battle for three quarters
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I PLAYOFFS Semifinals Glassboro 35, Salem 0 Schalick at Paulsboro, Saturday, noon
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
GLASSBORO — Abdullah Jenkins carried the sentiment of every Salem player on the field on the plate of his back pad.
“Shock the world” he had written in bold black letters. It was a message the senior lineman had been carrying all season but it was particularly poignant Friday night.
The Rams came into their South Jersey Group I semifinal heavy underdogs to top-seeded Glassboro, but they believed more than ever they could win.
They almost pulled it off, too, holding their hosts to two touchdowns through the first three quarters before the Bulldogs did what they invariably do to everyone. They scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to turn a tight game into a 35-0 victory.
“We had our shots,” Salem coach Kemp Carr said. “We had our shots early, didn’t take advantage of it. When you’ve got your shots against a good team you have to cash in and we didn’t cash the check.
“We turned them over early. We had ‘em. We put a lot of fear in that team, I guarantee that.”
Abdullah Jenkins’ back plate says it all. (Photo by Kaitlyn Khairzada)
The Rams (6-5) were all over their hosts in the first half. They held the Bulldogs to less than 100 yards of offense in the half and a lot of that came on a 38-yard touchdown pass to Mekhi Parker on the last play of the first quarter.
It was the only offensive touchdown Glassboro scored until the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs’ other touchdown came on a 50-yard interception return by Parker. Beyond that, they got nothing in the half.
The Rams say they didn’t do anything different schematically than they did in their 42-0 loss in September that was over at halftime. They just got better as the season progressed.
“Earlier in the season we didn’t know what heart we had,” senior edge rusher Antwuan Rogers said. “But throughout the season we worked … and we gave it all out there today. We played harder.
“We had them. They were worried. We couldn’t get it done.”
The Rams kept them out of the end zone in the third quarter, too, despite the Bulldogs having the ball for all but six plays in the quarter. Still, they started to wear the Rams down before finally erupting in the fourth quarter. Glassboro rushed for 221 yards in the second half after being held to 12 in the first.
The game followed a recent pattern for the Bulldogs. Each of their previous three games were tight at halftime and into the third quarter before the Bulldogs turned it into a rout in the fourth.
Bulldogs coach Timmy Breaker said it wasn’t the way Salem was stifling his team that was frustrating, but rather all the penalties that kept it from moving forward. The Bulldogs were flagged for 155 yards in penalties, 90 in the third quarter alone. There were 30 accepted penalties for 263 yards in mark-offs between the two teams.
“It was more the mistakes on our side,” Breaker said. “Penalty after penalty. We’re starting first-and-twentysomething, so the playbook condenses at that point. We had some decisions in there that could’ve been made that would change the first half, but even when we made a big play, run after run, we’re back another 15.
“The third quarter would have been an explosive quarter (if not for the penalties). That changes the entire landscape of how you call it. We were getting what we wanted to get, but we couldn’t sustain the drive penalty-wise. It was something we had to clean up.”
They did in the fourth quarter. Amari Sabb rushed for 120 yards and two touchdowns in just the quarter for the Bulldogs. He finished with 130 yards on 12 carries.
One has to wonder how things might have turned out had the Rams scored on their opening possession. A fumble recovery created by another Rogers sack set them up at the Glassboro 40. They got all the way down to the 12 when two sacks and two penalties derailed the drive and they had to punt from just about where they started.
“For two years we haven’t scored on Glassboro, so I felt like if we would’ve scored then their momentum would have gone down seeing that we were a different team,” Jenkins said. “We just couldn’t replicate practice to the field.”
“If we put up any points, their whole momentum goes, we win,” said Rogers.
The Bulldogs (11-0) will now host the winner of Saturday’s Schalick-Paulsboro game in next week’s sectional final. Schalick is expected to be a heavy favorite in its semifinal with Paulsboro having suspended 16 players, including at least six starters (and in Group 1 that’s typically 12 positions), for their part in a fourth-quarter brawl last week with Woodbury.
In a sense, the Rams did shock the world this season. They turned an 0-9 first year under Carr into a winning second campaign that included their first playoff win since 2022. And they anticipate even better things going forward.
“From going 0-9 last year to 5-4 and the second round of the playoffs, it’s definitely a jump,” Jenkins said. “I feel next year the championship is ours. We’re going to shock the world again.”
Glassboro 35, Salem 0
SALEM
GLASS
7
1st Downs
15
25-33
Rushing
29-233
3-16-1
Passing
7-15-0
47
Passing yds
82
2-1
Fumbles-lost
3-1
7-25.9
Punts-avg
2-19.5
12-108
Penalties
18-155
Salem
0
0
0
0-
0
Glassboro
7
7
0
21-
35
SCORING SUMMARY G-Mekhi Parker 38 pass from Jack O’Connell (Sal Esgro kick), 0:07 1Q G-Mekhi Parker 50 interception return (Sal Esgro kick), 3:36 2Q G-Amari Sabb 5 run (Amari Sabb run), 6:52 4Q G-Amari Sabb 10 run (run failed), 4:10 4Q G-Davon Barr 6 run (Sal Esgro kick), 2:50 4Q
GROUP I PLAYOFFS NORTH I Butler 49, New Milford 13 Kinnelon 37, Kittatinny 7 NORTH II Cedar Grove 22, Mountain Lakes 15 New Providence 28, Hasbrouck Heights 21 SOUTH Glassboro 35, Salem 0 Schalick at Paulsboro, Saturday CENTRAL Burlington City 52, Manville 14 Shore 30, Pt. Pleasant Beach 6
Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of Nov. 3-8
MONDAY, NOV. 3 FOOTBALL Woodstown at Clayton, 6 p.m. GIRLS SOCCER South Jersey Group I Tournament Wildwood at Palmyra, 2 p.m.
TUESDAY, NOV. 4 BOYS SOCCER South Jersey Group I Tournament Woodbury at Haddon Twp., 4 p.m. Pennsville at Glassboro, 2 p.m. Clayton at Pitman, 2 p.m. Palmyra at Woodstown, 2 p.m. Wildwood at Audubon, 2 p.m. Maple Shade at Riverside, 3 p.m. Gateway at Penns Grove, 2:30 p.m. New Egypt at Schalick, 2 p.m. FIELD HOCKEY South Jersey Group I Tournament Collingswood at Shore, 6 p.m. Woodstown at Haddon Heights, 2 p.m. Bordentown at South Hunterdon, 2 p.m. Lower Cape May at Gloucester, 3 p.m. New Egypt at Haddon Twp., 2 p.m. Florence at Schalick, 2 p.m. Gateway at Audubon, 2 p.m. Pennsville at West Deptford, 1 p.m. WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL Hagerstown at Salem CC, 6 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 5 GIRLS SOCCER South Jersey Group I Tournament Glassboro at Pitman, 2 p.m. Buena at Audubon, 3 p.m. Woodbury at Clayton, 3 p.m. Maple Shade at Haddon Twp., 4 p.m. Pennsville at Woodstown, 2 p.m. Cape May Tech at Gateway, 2 p.m.
THURSDAY, NOV. 6 FIELD HOCKEY South Jersey Group I Tournament Collingswood-Shore vs. Woodstown-Haddon Heights Bordentown-South Hunterdon vs. Lower Cape May-Gloucester New Egypt-Haddon Twp. vs. Florence-Schalick Gateway-Audubon vs. Pennsville-West Deptford COLLEGE BASKETBALL Salem CC at Atlantic Cape, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY, NOV. 7 FOOTBALL South Jersey Group I Playoffs Salem at Glassboro Schalick at Paulsboro BOYS SOCCER South Jersey Group I Tournament Woodbury-Haddon Twp. vs. Pennsville-Glassboro Clayton-Pitman vs. Palmyra-Woodstown Wildwood-Audubon vs. Maple Shade-Riverside Gateway-Penns Grove vs. New Egypt-Schalick
SATURDAY, NOV. 8 GIRLS SOCCER South Jersey Group I Tournament Glassboro-Pitman winner at Schalick Audubon-Buena vs. Palmyra-Wildwood Clayton-Woodbury vs. Maple Shade-Haddon Twp. Woodstown-Pennsville vs. Cape May Tech-Gateway COLLEGE BASKETBALL Salem CC at Delaware County
Woodstown, Schalick boys and girls advance to Group I state race after top five finishes at DREAM Park
By Riverview Sports News
LOGAN TWP. – The boys and girls teams from Woodstown and Schalick and an individual runner from Pennsville all advance to the Group I cross country state championship meet after posting qualifying finishes in the South Sectionals at DREAM Park Saturday.
Woodstown and Schalick finished 3-4 in the boys standings, while they went 4-5 in the girls standings.
Woodstown’s Jacob Marino finished sixth overall in the Boys Group I race and the Wolverines placed all five counters in the top 15 to score 75 points. Chase Riley was Schalick’s fastest runner, finishing 10th. Collin Bittle was 15th.
Woodstown’s Abby Marino finished second overall in the girls race, running 19:44.80. Teammate Anabel Schaal was seventh. The Wolverines finished two points behind third-place Maple Shade. Helen Lillia led Schalick across the line with an 11th overall finish.
Pennsville’s Sawyer Slad qualified individually after finishing 13th in the girls race.
The top five teams and individual runners in the top 15 not already qualified advance to the state meet. The top 10 runners received medals.
The championship meet is Nov. 8 in Holmdel. The Meet of Champions is there Nov. 15.
Group I South Sectional
BOYS TEAM SCORES: Glassboro 25, Haddon Twp. 58, Woodstown 75, Schalick 117, Audubon 127, Pitman 173, Maple Shade 184, Cape May Tech 253, Riverside 276, Buena 280, Paulsboro 315, Salem 330, Pt. Pleasant Beach 367, New Egypt 378.
GIRLS TEAM SCORES: Audubon 43, Haddon Twp. 61, Maple Shade 86, Woodstown 88, Schalick 108, Pitman 135, Cape May Tech 163,
Salem unloads on KIPP, rolls in South Jersey Group I playoff opener for first playoff win since 2022; Paulsboro, Woodbury brawl in their playoff opener, could impact Schalick semifinal
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I PLAYOFFS Quarterfinals Glassboro 41, Audubon 0 Salem 47, KIPP 0 Schalick 21, Pennsville 16 Paulsboro 38, Woodbury 0 Semifinals Salem at Glassboro, Friday, 6 p.m. Schalick at Paulsboro, Saturday, noon
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
CAMDEN — It takes a certain mindset to navigate the perils of a long regular season. Then, after getting through that, teams that make it into the playoffs are asked to compress all that urgency into each specific week knowing that game could be its last.
Streaking Salem really locked into the playoff mentality Saturday and gave an absolutely dominant performance in their 47-0 rout of KIPP in the 4-5 game of the South Jersey Group I quarterfinals. The Rams (6-4) now visit top-seeded Glassboro in the sectional semifinal Friday.
They have won three in a row and five of their last six.
Dominant is the operative word. The Rams ran 37 of their 44 offensive snaps on the Titans’ side of the field. The deepest they were backed into their own territory all game was their 38 – in the third quarter after a punt with a lot of roll – and then it only took them one play to get back to the other side of the field.
Meanwhile, the defense didn’t let the Titans breathe. They had amassed 2800 yards and scored 270 points in their first eight games, but had only 52 net yards and never got close to the end zone against the Rams. Their deepest penetration was the Salem 46. KIPP ran just two total plays on the Salem side of the field and both of those produced interceptions.
“It does change,” Rams coach Kemp Carr said of the approach. “It’s a new season. It’s mental toughness. One and done. There’s no tomorrow.
“We talked about mental toughness all week long I was beating that in their head. You’ve got to let the bad things that happen to you expire quickly and get back to the next play. The mentality is we’re trying to play every down like it’s our last down and we’re never going to get to play football again. That’s got to be the mentality in the playoffs.”
Salem’s Antwuan Rogers (44) draws a bead on KIPP quarterback Davion Ross-Ways in his relentless pursuit of the Rams’ sack record.
Senior defensive lineman Antwuan Rogers certainly embraced the mentality. Facing the prospect of playing his final high school game if the Rams didn’t win, the Temple commitment took up residence in the Titans’ backfield. Carr called him “relentless.”
He was credited with seven sacks in the game, breaking Amare Smith’s 2021 single season school record. Rogers now has 20 sacks this season with at least one more game to play.
“I saw I was close; I had 13,” Rogers said. “At first I was like I’m probably just going to try to get three (Saturday) and try to finish it out the next game, but then I’m like no, we can go home today, you never know, so I’m like I’ve got to get it today.
“We got super locked in. This is the first time we’ve been in the playoffs in a couple years so we were coming to dominate. We came in with the mindset that we were going to be dominate, so nobody on KIPP Cooper could mess with us – at any position. We came and dominated every position. That’s why we won the game.”
Salem sophomore Izaiah Santiago (25) had the best game of his career in Saturday’s South Jersey Group I playoff opener against KIPP.
Sophomore Izaiah Santiago also played a huge role keeping the season alive. He scored three touchdowns. Santiago scored on runs of 1 and 3 yards and two plays after his second rushing touchdown he anticipated an out route, picked it off and returned it 50 yards for another score.
“He was locked in on a different mindset,” Carr said. “Whoever fed him make sure they give that to him for the rest of his life.”
“It was just hearing number called,” Santiago said. “All week in practice, running through the plays, getting ready for the game. It was just coming out here and doing what I was supposed to do. I’m just thankful for Coach Carr calling my number.”
The Rams’ domination commenced right from the start, when KIPP touched its game-opening onside kick before it had traveled 10 yards. It took the Rams three plays to get in the end zone and the rout was on.
It was 20-0 at halftime and easily could have been 35-0 with a little more sharpness. Quarterback Desmund Thomas ran for two scores. Freshmen Cashmir Parsley ran for their first touchdown and Kyvion Parsons ran for their last one. Quarterback Desmund Thomas ran for two scores in between.
“I thought we played pretty well,” Carr said. “We left some plays out there; we’ve still got some things we need to execute up front. At first I wasn’t happy with the way we were able to establish the run and then we were able to get it going.
“We’re just trying to figure it out. We’re just tryng to get better every week. Like I said at the beginning of the season I thought we would be pretty good at the end of the season and we are.”
SCHALICK WATCHING: The Schalick football program will be watching closely for any ruling that may come down as a result of the brawl that ended the Woodbury-Paulsboro playoff game Saturday but is going forward with its plan to play a game next week.
The Cougars are scheduled to play the winner (Paulsboro) in the next round Saturday, but the status of that game (and opponent) is potentially in jeopardy after the fight broke out on the Paulsboro sideline after Red Raiders quarterback Malakhai McKenzie was hit out of bounds. Paulsboro was leading the game 38-0 when both benches emptied as a fight erupted on the field. The officials called the game with 4:41 to play.
Reports indicate there were several late hit penalties on Woodbury before the incident that sparked the fight
The NJSIAA is awaiting further information on the incident.
“It’s obviously something you never want to see in high school football,” said Schalick coach Kevin Leamy, who was not at the game. “Whatever the circumstances are you never want to see those type of incidents with that many players involved, people running off the bench. That’s not what any coach wants and I feel bad for both of those staffs that have to deal with that.
“You never know what the results are going to be. The state comes in and makes rulings on these things. Usually, they don’t make the quickest ruling either … We’ll be preparing tomorrow and Monday like we’re playing Paulsboro next Saturday. Until that changes we are preparing for Paulsboro.”
Repercussions could include both teams get kicked out of the playoffs — giving Schalick a bye into the sectional final against the Salem-Glassboro winner in two weeks — multiple player suspensions with the game to continue as scheduled, and even a change to a neutral site.
In any event, the Cougars are going forward with business as usual until they hear otherwise.
“We’ve got to prepare like we’re playing,” Leamy said.
Last year’s Schalick-Paulsboro regular-season game got caught up in a threat that forced officials to postpone the game, at Paulsboro, until the following Monday afternoon.
Salem 47, KIPP 0
SALEM
KIPP
13
1st Downs
3
28-97
Rushing
20-14
7-14-0
Passing
4-13-3
105
Passing yds
38
0-0
Fumbles-lost
1-1
0
Punts-avg
3-33.0
8-60
Penalties
8-62
Salem
14
6
20
7-
47
KIPP
0
0
0
0-
0
SCORING SUMMARY S-Cashmir Parsley 48 run (Desmund Thomas run), 10:42 1Q S-Desmund Thomas 15 run (PAT failed), 0:28 1Q S-Izaiah Santiago 1 run (kick failed), 4:25 2Q S-Desmund Thomas 9 run (kick failed), 7:22 3Q S-Izaiah Santiago 3 run (pass failed), 1:44 3Q S-Izaiah Santiago 50 interception return (Jonathan Bower kick), 0:07 3Q S-Kyvion Parsons 4 run (Jonathan Bower kick), 5:03 4Q
GROUP I PLAYOFFS NORTH I Butler 42, Hawthorne 7 New Milford 35, Bogota 21 Kittatinny 12, Wallkill Valley 7 Kinnelon 26, Park Ridge 7 NORTH II Mountain Lakes 42, Brearley 0 Cedar Grove 35, Glen Ridge 20 New Providence 38, Secaucus 0 Hasbrouck Heights 45, Wood-Ridge 14 SOUTH Glassboro 41, Audubon 0 Salem 47, KIPP 0 Schalick 21, Pennsville 16 Paulsboro 38, Woodbury 0 CENTRAL Burlington City 49, Bound Brook 0 Manville 35, Asbury Park 0 Pt. Pleasant Beach 42, Riverside 14 Shore 34, New Egypt 0
Salem’s Makhye Murray (9) sets the tone for the Rams’ defense by dragging down KIPP running back Torey Jones on the first defensive play of the game. (Photo by Julliana Love)
Woodstown soccer, Schalick field hockey head into their respective SJ Group I tournaments off shutout victories in their regular-season finales; Salem Tech field hockey wraps its inaugural season with a win
WEDNESDAY’S SCORES BOYS SOCCER Woodstown 3, Gateway 0 West Deptford 5, Penns Grove 0 KIPP at Salem GIRLS SOCCER Salem at Gloucester Catholic FIELD HOCKEY Schalick 4, Mainland 0 Salem Tech 2, Burlington City 0 Vineland at Woodstown
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – Can you imagine what was going through Woodstown soccer coach Darren Huck’s mind when the South Jersey Group I tournament brackets came out Wednesday afternoon. Given the time of day, he might have choked on his lunch.
The Wolverines were expecting to pull down a No. 4 seed and host nemesis Palmyra in the opening round, based on the close of the power points standings. Imagine the coach’s surprise when he looked at the official pairings and saw his team on the other side of the bracket, a 6 seed and hosting Clayton.
“I knew right away that they made a mistake,” Huck said. “I knew something was not right. I got a text from another coach and it was like, ‘Have you seen the bracket? I hadn’t at the time, but I open it up and see us at 6, playing Clayton as an 11.
“Right away, I go maybe I’m not on the right year. No, this is right. How was that possible that Haddon Twp. dropped to 3, (listed No. 1) Audubon’s biggest win of the year was against us and after they beat us they still didn’t have enough to jump Schalick or Haddon Twp. I knew something was not right. There was something rotten in Denmark.”
He expressed his uncertainty to athletics director Joe Ursino, but discouraged him from calling the NJSIAA office because he was certain plenty of others already had and he was confident “they’ll figure it out.”
He checked it again about a half hour before the Wolverines went out for their 3-0 shutout of Gateway in their regular-season finale and found the bracket taken down, so he knew someone was working on it. A short time later, it was back up and the Wolverines were back on the favorable 4-line hosting Palmyra in Tuesday’s opening round.
The other three Salem County teams in the field kept their projected places – Schalick (No. 2), Penns Grove (No. 7) and Pennsville (No. 9). Schalick and Penns Grove will have opening-round home games, while Pennsville will be on the road.
Ironically, Huck caught a mistake in the bracket last year as it related to the Wolverines. He said he hadn’t gotten any explanation for the initial miscalculation this year.
“We were talking about it briefly in the locker room prior to the game and were wondering what had happened as we thought we had the 4-seed secured,” said senior Josef Hummel, who scored the Wolverines’ third goal against Gateway. “But we knew we had to focus on the match at hand against another playoff-bound team.
“We were glad to hear after the game that we are back in the 4 seed, and we are looking forward to our game against Palmyra on Tuesday.”
It’ll be the third year in a row the Wolverines will face Palmyra in the playoffs, but the first time in the opening round. The Pals knocked them out in the third round each of the last two years.
“Talk about of all the possible teams to face as a 13th-seed it’s Palmyra of all things; I mean, come on,” Huck said. “At some point I always say in the playoffs you either have to go through Haddon Twp., Palmyra, Schalick. If you want to win South Jersey you’re going to have to beat one or two of those are some point.”
The Wolverines (11-3-4) go into the playoffs off what Huck called “a nice, solid win from start to finish.”
Nick DiTeodoro and Jake Lewis scored goals in the first half with Bryce Ayars getting both assists. DiTeodoro beat the keeper to the far post from the left side and Lewis scored what Huck called “one of the best goals I think we’ve had this year,” a rocket that he tucked inside the right post.
Hummel finished off the scoring in the second half with his second career goal. It came on a cross from Brendon Curtis that he squared up and buried from about 10 yards.
“I had seen (Curtis) attacking the corner really well and I knew the cross was coming in,” Hummel said. “I tried to position myself on the backside of the center back and as the cross came in I was able to get a quick, one-time shot off into the bottom corner away from the keeper. I’m glad I was able to contribute to the team’s win against a playoff quality team like Gateway.”
Meanwhile, Trey Markward and his reliable backline teamed up for the Wolverines’ ninth shutout of the season.
“The defense really stood out today,” Huck said. “The starting defense was back in there today and they just cut down the shots and the opportunities. We haven’t given up many goals this year. We’ve been stingy that way.”
WEST DEPTFORD 5, PENNS GROVE 0: The Eagles scored four goals in the first half and then closed out the Red Devils. Five different players scored in the game.
With their first home playoff game since 2022 on the horizon, the Red Devils played their varsity about 20 minutes. In that opening salvo Juan Ortiz nearly scored a goal. For the junior varsity players who went the rest of the game it was a chance to show what they’ll bring to the table next season when there will be plenty of spots available.
FIELD HOCKEY SALEM TECH 2, BURLINGTON CITY 0: Olivia Lydon had a goal and an assist as the Chargers wrapped up a successful inaugural season with a shutout. Lydon assisted on Hazel Eachus’ first goal of the game and then converted a pass from Abigail Beals for the second goal. Caroline Tighe posted her eighth shutout, The Chargers were eligible for the Group 2 playoffs in their first varsity season, but didn’t make it, and finished their year 9-5, one of 26 South Jersey Group 1 or 2 teams with a winning record. SCHALICK 4, MAINLAND 0: Ava Scurry and Lucy Virga each scored two goals for the Cougars in their regular-season finale. They finished the schedule with five straight wins, four straight shutouts. Goalie Lydia Gilligan hasn’t given up a goal since the third quarter of 10-2 rout of Glassboro (17 consecutive quarters). The Cougars host Florence in the opening round of the South Jersey Group I tournament Tuesday.
South Jersey Group I playoff brackets in football, field hockey and soccer are official; some interesting matchups, for sure
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP 1 PAIRINGS SOUTH JERSEY FOOTBALL (8) Audubon (2-5) at (1) Glassboro (9-0), Thursday (5) Salem (5-4) at (4) KIPP (6-2), Saturday (6) Schalick (3-6) at (3) Pennsville (5-4), Friday (7) Woodbury (3-6) at (2) Paulsboro (8-1), Saturday BOYS SOCCER (16) Woodbury (6-9-2) at (1) Haddon Twp. (13-5-1) (9) Pennsville (10-6-2) at (8) Glassboro (7-10-1) (12) Clayton (11-7) at (5) Pitman (10-5-2) (13) Palmyra (8-6-3) at (4) Woodstown (10-3-4) (14) Wildwood (8-9) at (3) Audubon (13-3-1) (11) Maple Shade (8-6-2) at (6) Riverside (11-3-2) (10) Gateway (9-6-2) at (7) Penns Grove (8-4-3) (15) New Egypt (7-12) at (2) Schalick (13-3-2)
GIRLS SOCCER (16) Paulsboro (0-17) at (1) Schalick (12-5-1) (9) Glassboro (8-8) at (8) Pitman (10-7-1) (12) Buena (7-9-2) at (5) Audubon (9-8-1) (13) Wildwood (6-9-2) at (4) Palmyra (11-5-1) (14) Woodbury (4-8-2) at (3) Clayton (12-5) (11) Maple Shade (3-13-1) at (6) Haddon Twp. (8-9-1) (10) Pennsville (9-8) at (7) Woodstown (13-3-1) (15) Cape May Tech (2-14-1) at (2) Gateway (14-1)
FIELD HOCKEY (16) Collingswood (3-12-1) at (1) Shore (18-0-1) (9) Woodstown (9-7-1) at (8) Haddon Heights (8-8-1) (12) Bordentown (8-9) at (5) South Hunterdon (13-3) (13) Lower Cape May (6-6-1) at (4) Gloucester (11-8) (14) New Egypt (7-9-1) at (3) Haddon Twp. (11-6) (11) Florence (7-7) at (6) Schalick (12-6) (10) Gateway (8-7-2) at (7) Audubon (11-5-2) (15) Pennsville (7-8-1) at (2) West Deptford (15-2)
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