Here is the high school sports schedule for Salem County teams for the week of Oct. 14-19
MONDAY, OCT. 14 BOYS SOCCER Palmyra at Schalick Woodstown at Clayton, 11 a.m. GIRLS SOCCER Woodstown at Clayton, 1 p.m.
TUESDAY, OCT. 15 GIRLS TENNIS Salem at Penns Grove Wildwood at Schalick, 4:15 p.m. Group I Sectional Finals Pennsville at Pitman, Shertel Park, 3 p.m. Glen Ridge at Hanover Park New Providence at Highland Park Pascack Hills at Glen Rock CROSS COUNTRY TCC Batch Meet at Kingsway, 3:30 p.m. FIELD HOCKEY Deptford at Pennsville Glassboro at Salem St. Joe’s at Schalick BOYS SOCCER Salem at Highland GIRLS VOLLEYBALL Salem Tech at Cape May Tech
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 16 BOYS SOCCER Penns Grove at Pennsville, 3:30 p.m. Pitman at Salem Woodstown at Salem Tech GIRLS SOCCER Gloucester at Schalick Penns Grove at Paulsboro Salem at Pennsville, 6 p.m. Salem Tech at Woodstown GIRLS TENNIS Haddon Heights at Schalick Pennsville at Millville, 3:45 p.m.
THURSDAY, OCT. 17 FIELD HOCKEY Overbrook at Schalick Pennsville at Bridgeton Salem at Clayton Woodstown at Clearview GIRLS TENNIS Overbrook at Woodstown Penns Grove at Schalick Salem at Glassboro
Group I Final Four Mercer County Park Semifinals, 11 a.m. Championship Match, 1 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER Penns Grove at Pitman, 6:30 p.m.
FRIDAY, OCT. 18 FOOTBALL Pennsville at Lawrence, 6:30 p.m. Collingswood at Camden Catholic Glassboro at Schalick Paulsboro at West Deptford FIELD HOCKEY Egg Harbor Twp. at Woodstown BOYS SOCCER Clayton at Salem Tech Salem at Gloucester Catholic Schalick at Glassboro Woodstown at Overbrook GIRLS SOCCER Clayton at Salem Tech Gloucester Catholic at Salem Pennsville at Penns Grove Overbrook at Woodstown GIRLS TENNIS Pennsville at Salem, 3:45 p.m. Penns Grove at Pitman Schalick at Glassboro VOLLEYBALL Salem Tech at Triton
SATURDAY, OCT. 19 FOOTBALL Penns Grove at Woodbury, 10:30 a.m. Audubon at Overbrook, 11 a.m. Woodstown at Salem, noon GIRLS SOCCER Cherry Hill West at Schalick
West Deptford puts up season-high 58 points, collects nearly 400 yards of offense as Emel gets big win against his alma mater
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WEST DEPTFORD — Coaches try to tell their players that every game carries the same weight, whether it’s a long-time rivalry or some random team in the middle of the schedule, but you know there are some games that are just bigger than others.
On the emotional scale, the games that get West Deptford coach John Emel’s heart racing a little more are, no matter where he’s coaching, the ones he gets to face Salem.
WEST. DEPTFORD NEXT: Paulsboro, Oct. 18, 7 p.m.
He played there as a high schooler and cut his coaching teeth there before getting his first head coaching job at Penns Grove. On Friday night, for the 13th time as a head coach, he got on that emotional rollercoaster again and this time it was happy reunion as his team rolled over the Rams 58-19.
“I’m a graduate of Salem, my brother’s a graduate of Salem; we bled Salem Blue while we were players and all through college,” Emel said. “Once I went to Penns Grove that was always the most emotional game.
“To tell you the truth, I was a lot more nervous, not necessarily to play Salem, but to play (Rams) coach (Kemp) Carr. Have tremendous respect for him. Coached with him for eight years. Battled against him when he was an assistant coach, but this is the first time we went against each other as head coaches. He’s got passion. He was an assistant coach when I was a player at Salem. We were in the same huddle for eight years trying to get guys ready at Penns Grove.
“Playing him and playing Salem, all those things mean something, so you want to perform well. I know I was ready to go and I feel like I coached a pretty good game on offense.”
Indeed. The Eagles (4-3) scored their most points in a game this season – the most since putting 70 on Sterling in 2022 – and amassed nearly 400 yards of offense. They scored all seven times they possessed the ball and answered the Rams’ first touchdown by returning the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown.
But Emel wasn’t the only person on the West Deptford sideline to whom the game meant something special.
Senior running back Bryce Wright went 1-2 against the Rams when he played for Emel at Penns Grove and Friday was his last chance to even the score. He responded by rushing for 122 yards and three touchdowns. Last year, in a different uniform, he went for 118 yards and a touchdown against the Rams.
“Me being down in the rivalry 2-1 just made me go out there and give it my all,” Wright said. “It’s my last year I get to play my rival so I had to go 100 percent. I definitely think I ran harder this game. A lot of the kids on the other side of the ball I know them personally, so roughing up on them is like childhood days.
“Last night (Emel) was like yeah, bud, you know it’s personal for us. Man, we’ve got to go out here and get a big one, four hard quarters of football, and that’s what we gave him.”
SALEM NEXT: Woodstown, Oct. 19, noon
The game was entertaining for a while. The Eagles jumped out to a 15-0 first-quarter lead, but the Rams didn’t fold.
One of the biggest faults of the Rams all season had been their ability to move the ball between the 30s but not being able to finish. They went about their business Friday alternating quarterbacks Troy Carey and Quimere Bergen on virtually every snap with an occasional direct snap to Pop Jackson as a change of pace.
“It’s a rhythm thing,” Carr said. “Both of the guys have their talents and their skills so we wanted to try to use them.”
The Rams got into the red zone three times in the first half and Carey got them in the end zone twice. Jackson pushed in from the 2 and Carey threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Kaden Robinson.
“It felt good (getting into the end zone),” Carey said. “Guys were working together, we played together as a team. Everything was working well.”
But the Eagles answered both times – once on an 88-yard kickoff return by Zamir Davis and once on Brady Cobb’s TD pass to Michael Joseph with 29 seconds left in the half.
It was the time the Rams didn’t get in from the red zone, however, that had Carr upset. Jamaal Shockley raced 72 yards with the kickoff after Joseph’s score to set the Rams up at the West Deptford 5. On what amounted to the final play of the half, freshman Isiah Santiago dropped Carey’s pass in the front left corner of the end zone.
The halftime horn sounded shortly after the ball hit the ground, but Carr contended – and his sideline replays confirmed — there should have been time on the clock. That would have been enough to take another shot at the end zone or give Andrew May a shot at a field goal. Instead, they went into the break down 30-13.
“We didn’t get in when we should have gotten in,” Carr said. “You’ve got to score there and that’s the point. I don’t want to talk about us getting it in. I want to talk about we didn’t get it in and we should’ve gotten it in and we had the ball with 1.9 seconds on the clock and they said the time expired. That’s what makes me mad.”
The Rams had high expectations for the second half, but those were quickly dashed when Kaden Robinson mishandled the second half kickoff and Bergen fumbled in the next series while absorbing a 13-yard loss. The Eagles recovered both miscues and converted both times for a 44-13 lead.
“We’ve got to do those things better,” Carr said. “We do those things better and we’re in a different situation. Everybody can see we can play football … It’s like I’ve said: You can’t build a house from the ceiling down. You’ve got to build from the foundation. We saw some good things and we’ll take the good things that we did.”
West Deptford 58, Salem 19
SAL
WD
9
1st Downs
19
24-72
Rushing
43-312
4-9-0
Passes
4-7-0
49
Passing
67
1-1
Fum-Lost
0-0
0
Punts
0
4-24
Penalties
3-25
Salem (0-7)
15
15
20
8-
58
West Deptford (4-3)
0
13
6
0-
19
SCORING SUMMARY WD-Cole Paszkiewicz 41 run (Brady Cobb kick), 9:15 1Q WD-Bryce Wright 13 run (Zamir Davis run), 2:31 1Q S-Pop Jackson 2 run (Andrew May kick), 10:17 2Q WD-Zamir Davis 88 kickoff return (Brady Cobb kick), 10:03 2Q S-Kaden Robinson 17 pass from Troy Carey (kick blocked), 5:20 2Q WD-Michael Joseph 10 pass from Brady Cobb (Bryce Wright run), 28.9 2Q WD-Bryce Wright 6 run (pass failed), 9:10 3Q WD-Zamir Davis 4 run (Michael Joseph pass from Brady Cobb), 6:05 3Q WD-Bryce Wright 26 run (kick failed), 8.8 3Q S-Pop Jackson 84 kickoff return (kick failed), 0:00 3Q WD-Logan Rivell 2 run (Bryce Wynn run), 1:11 4Q
WJFL DIAMOND DIVISION
DIV
ALL
Woodstown (1)
3-0
5-0
Glassboro (5)
3-0
6-0
Schalick (2)
2-1
5-2
Woodbury (14)
1-2
2-3
Penns Grove (20)
0-3
1-6
Salem (22)
0-3
0-7
NOTE: Number in parenthesis is South Jersey Group I UPR power ranking through Oct. 7
THURSDAY’S GAME Glassboro 40, Cinnaminson 10 Delran 38, Penns Grove 8 FRIDAY’S GAMES Schalick 28, Gloucester City 21 West Deptford 58, Salem 19 SATURDAY’S GAMES Willingboro at Woodbury, 11 a.m. Woodstown at Haddon Heights, 11 a.m.
WJFL PATRIOT DIVISION
DIV
ALL
Camden Catholic (NPB-3)
3-0
5-0
Paulsboro (6)
3-1
4-2
West Deptford (G2-15)
3-1
4-3
Pennsville (10)
2-2
3-3
Audubon (17)
1-3
2-3
Collingswood (G2-13)
1-3
3-4
Overbrook (G2-23)
0-3
2-3-1
NOTE: Number in parenthesis is South Jersey Group I UPR power rankings through Oct. 7 (G2-Group 2, NPB-Non Public B)
FRIDAY’S GAMES Audubon 7, Collingswood 0 West Deptford 58, Salem 19 SATURDAY’S GAMES Camden Catholic at Overbrook, 11 a.m. Pennsville at Paulsboro, noon
Senior transfer receiver Mills grabs game-winning touchdown pass with less than 30 seconds left to lift the Cougars past Gloucester
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
GLOUCESTER — Schalick coach Mike Wilson opened up the playbook a little Friday night and found Zaeshawn Mills inside.
Mills, a senior transfer from Cumberland in only his second year playing high school football, made three big catches for the Cougars, two for touchdowns, including the game-winner with 26 seconds left to beat Gloucester, 28-21.
“The bottom line, and we’ve been talking about it for a couple weeks, for the offense to take it to the next level we’ve got to be able to throw the ball,” Wilson said. “It just makes us much more difficult to defend. Zaeshawn had a great game.”
Mills scored the first touchdown of the game on a 30-yard pass from Kenai Simmons and the final touchdown of the game on a 9-yarder from Simmons. He also made a leaping 37-yard catch to get the Cougars in the red zone on the winning drive.
“I’d say that’s my biggest catch,” Mills said of his game-winner. “I knew the ball was coming to me because my quarterback looked me in the eye and he was like, be ready, make it count. He told me to make it count. I came off the line, got in position, the ball was right in my hands.”
Simmons was 8-for-12 for 133 yards passing. Mills caught three balls for 78 yards.
Mills played lot of football in his youth, but he took time off after the COVID pandemic. He returned to the game last year as a junior at Cumberland — he even caught one of his eight passes in the game against Schalick — and then transferred to the Cougars for his senior year.
As a senior transfer he was required to sit the first three games of the season, but he’s assimilated well into the team’s culture.
“He’s a good addition to our locker room,” Wilson said.
Mills caught eight passes for 127 yards last year for Cumberland. He had caught only one pass for the Cougars prior to Friday night’s breakout.
“I want to thank my coaches for putting me in that position and my quarterback for trusting me,” Mills said. “That felt good.”
The game was a back-and-forth affair with each team answering the other’s touchdown. The lead changed hands four times before the Lions tied it at 21 with less than three minutes to play.
The Cougars started the winning drive from their own 37 with 2:50 to play with two time outs. They ran three straight running plays to get near midfield, then Simmons threw his big ball to a leaping Mills with a minute left. Reggie Allen picked up 6 on the next play to get it inside the 10 and then Simmons found Mills over the middle for the game-winner.
“We knew that at the very least we could get a field goal to win the game,” Wilson said. “We started moving the ball, we get the big chunk play to Mills and then we’re like, all right, we’ll take a shot in the end zone and if we don’t get it we’ll kick the field goal. We’ve got a kid with a great foot (Hunter Dragotta). Then we threw the slant to Mills and won the game that way.
“The real neat thing with this team is every week we have enough depth, enough kids, where this week it’s Mills, next week it could be somebody else. We’re more than just one person, which is really nice to coach and could be really nice down the stretch. Who knows who it’s going to be next week. I think it’s going to be one of those years, which I’m OK with.”
The Cougars (5-2), the No. 2 team in the South Jersey Group I power points standings, have won four in a row.
Cover photo: A screen grab from DW Broadcasting’s live stream shows Schalick receiver Zaeshawn Mills’ making the game-winning catch against Gloucester.
Schalick coach Mike Wilson presents senior receiver Zaeshawn Mills (R) with the offensive game ball. Mills caught two touchdown passes from Kenai Simmons (1), including the game winner in the final 30 seconds. (Photo by Heather Papiano)
Schalick 28, Gloucester 21
SCHAL (28)
GLOU (21)
16
1st Downs
11
36-147
Rushing
31-24
7-13-1
C-A-I
6-9-0
130
Passing
161
0-0
Fum-lost
2-2
4-38
Penalties
4-39
Schalick (5-2)
6
7
0
15-
28
Gloucester (2-4)
7
0
7
7-
21
SCORING SUMMARY S-Zaeshawn Mills 30 pass from Kenai Simmons (kick failed) G-Mason Widman 6 run (Ashton Wall kick) S-Kenai Simmons 5 run (Hunter Dragotta kick) G-Kevin Boulden 1 run (Ashton Wall kick) S-Kenai Simmons 7 run (Nyzier Wonder pass from Levi Feeney-Childers) G-Trevin Buchardt 2 run (Ashton Wall kick) S-Zaeshawn Mills 9 pass from Kenai Simmons (Hunter Dragotta kick)
WJFL DIAMOND DIVISION
DIV
ALL
Woodstown (1)
3-0
5-0
Glassboro (5)
3-0
6-0
Schalick (2)
2-1
5-2
Woodbury (14)
1-2
2-3
Penns Grove (20)
0-3
1-6
Salem (22)
0-3
0-7
NOTE: Number in parenthesis is South Jersey Group I UPR power ranking through Oct. 7
THURSDAY’S GAME Glassboro 40, Cinnaminson 10 Delran 38, Penns Grove 8 FRIDAY’S GAMES Schalick 28, Gloucester City 21 West Deptford 58, Salem 19 SATURDAY’S GAMES Willingboro at Woodbury, 11 a.m. Woodstown at Haddon Heights, 11 a.m.
Here are scores and highlights from Thursday’s high school action involving teams from Salem County
BOYS SOCCER Schalick 2, Woodstown 0: Louis Sepers and Brad Foster scored the goals and keeper Ben Stengel made seven saves for the Cougars’ first shutout in the series since 2021. “This was the first time this group has shut them out, which is something we wanted to do,” Schalick coach Joe Mannella said.
Pennsville 3, Salem 0: Griffin Hern and Shane Puckett scored goals three minutes apart in the first half for the Eagles (8-6) and Evan Pessoa extended the lead seven minutes into the second. The victory matches the Eagles’ single-season high in coach Derek Foglein’s tenure; they were 8-10 in 2022.
Penns Grove 2, Glassboro 1: Edward Swank scored with nine minutes left in the second half to break a 1-1 tie. It was his second game-winner of the season. The Red Devils lost a 2-1 game to the Bulldogs earlier this year and lost a pair of 1-0 games to them last season. Goalie Dwayne Guzman made three big saves in the final 15 minutes to keep the game tied or preserve the lead.
Wildwood 6, Salem Tech 1: NuNu Bedderi scored three goals for the Warriors, playing their first game since losing to Schalick 3-2 in Cougars coach Joe Mannella’s 300th career win Oct. 2. Sophomore Christian VanTonder scored his first career goal for the Chargers in the first half.
SJ GROUP I POWER POINTS STANDINGS (Top 16 thru Oct. 10): Schalick (10-1), Audubon (9-2), Palmyra (9-3), Haddon Twp. (7-2-2), Woodstown (9-4), Riverside (7-4-1), Pitman (6-5-1), Wildwood (8-3), Maple Shade (7-4-1), Glassboro (5-5-1), Penns Grove (5-6), Gateway (5-7), Pennsville (8-6), Clayton (6-6), Woodbury (3-7), Buena (0-9-1).
GIRLS SOCCER Schalick 3, Woodstown 1: Quinn Berger scored twice and Olivia Vanacker scored once as the Cougars (9-2) won their fourth in a row and completed a season sweep of the Wolverines.
Pennsville 3, Overbrook 2: Riley Bowman had a goal and two assists as the Eagles opened a 3-0 lead and held on to avenge a loss to the Rams earlier in the season. Bowman assisted on goals by Kallie Morrison and Taylor Bass in the first half.
Pitman 6, Salem 0: Teagan Canna scored the first two goals of the match and the Panthers pulled away. Emery Sharpnack had a goal and two assists.
Glassboro 3, Penns Grove 0: Alana Figueroa, Marianna Dempster and Tamia Smith scored for the Bulldogs in the first half.
Wildwood 3, Salem Tech 2: The Warriors scored two goals in the second half to win. Goals by Ava Robinson and Julia Hewitt Friebel staked the Chargers to a 2-1 halftime lead.
SJ GROUP I POWER POINTS STANDINGS (Top 16 thru Oct. 10): Audubon (11-1), Schalick (9-2), Haddon Twp. (7-4-1), Riverside (9-4), Palmyra (10-2), Gateway (9-2), Woodstown (7-4-1), Clayton (7-3-1), Glassboro (6-3-2), Pitman (8-5), Maple Shade (3-7), Buena (6-6), Pennsville (4-9), Penns Grove (1-9-1), Wildwood (3-9), Cape May Tech (1-11). FIELD HOCKEY Schalick 4, Mainland 3: The Cougars jumped out to a 3-0 halftime lead and held on to remain undefeated (13-0). Luci Virga, Ava Marynowicz and Ava Scurry all scored in the first half. Caylen Taylor scored with 1:58 left in the third quarter after Mainland cut it to 3-2. It was the Cougars’ third one-goal win of the streak and sixth decided by two goals or less.
Gateway 5, Pennsville 0: Bella Fini scored a hat trick for the Gators (10-2).
Maple Shade 4, Salem 0: Sophia Weisler and Rachel Loomis each scored twice for the Wildcats. The Rams are winless in their last four with only one goal after starting the season 4-0.
SJ GROUP I POWER POINTS STANDINGS (Top 16 thru Oct. 10): Shore (14-1), Schalick (13-0), West Deptford (9-3), Haddon Heights (6-5-1), Gateway (10-2), Gloucester (8-5), Woodstown (8-3), Collingswood (5-5), Bordentown (5-6), Florence (5-7-1), Haddon Twp. (4-8), Salem (4-3-1), South Hunterdon (8-5), Lower Cape May (5-6-2), Audubon (6-4), Pennsville (4-7-1).
VOLLEYBALL Salem Tech 2, Gloucester Catholic 1: The Chargers won a tight third set to follow their first win of the season with their second in a row, 25-16, 23-25, 25-23. It’s the first time since 2021 they have won back-to-back matches.
Cori Farnkoph had 13 kills and eight aces. Tiara Bazemore had four kills, 13 assists and eight aces. Alan’s James had five kills and eight assists.
Wednesday’s sports report: Schalick field hockey (12-0) blanks Woodstown; Pennsville tennis (14-0) tunes up for semifinals with sweep
By Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN — Caylan Taylor capped a strong field goal with a third-quarter goal, Ava Scurry had a goal and an assist and Lydia Gilligan came up with another shutout as Schalick’s best-ever start hit 12 in a row Wednesday in a 2-0 victory over Woodstown.
The Cougars are now 12-0, besting their previous best start of 11-0 in 2020. They are one of only two remaining undefeated teams in Group I, one of four in the state and the only one in South Jersey.
The other remaining undefeateds are Madison (NJ G1), Northern Highlands (NJ G3) and East Brunswick (NJ G4).
“I’m not surprised, but I am surprised,” Schalick coach Heather Cheesman said. “I don’t want the girls to get too comfortable. They know they have to work hard every single game. We try not to focus on records. We just want them to work hard every game because when you relax, that’s when the other team swoops in and takes a win.”
Woodstown actually had the best of it early in the game, but Scurry broke the scoreless tie with her 26th goal of the season in the second quarter. Taylor gave the Cougars a 2-0 lead in the third quarter off an assist from Scurry.
“Caylan killed it,” Cheesman said. “She was getting back, everywhere the ball was when it was around here she seemed to pick it up. The field was tough to adjust to. She did such an amazing job.”
Gilligan again was steady in the cage. She made 10 saves in recording her third straight shutout and fifth of the year. She has allowed only three goals in her last seven games.
PENNSVILLE 2, GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 1: Laura Tamberella and Sophia Marandola scored goals for the Eagles (4-6-1).
Girls tennis
Pennsville coach Dan LaMont was really glad his team had a match between its two South Jersey Group I playoff matches Wednesday to give his new doubles teams some work and they both came through with straight set victories in the Eagles’ 5-0 win over Haddon Heights. They host Haddon Twp. in the semifinals Thursday, 3 p.m.
Woodstown’s Chew wins Salem County Cross County boys race, Schalick’s Hadfield wins girls race, their squads win team titles
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN — Two races. Two winners. Two vastly different reactions.
Schalick’s Jordan Hadfield repeated as the Salem County girls cross country champion and Woodstown’s Karson Chew made his first varsity win a big one in the boys race, but the reactions to their victories couldn’t have been more different.
CHEW
Chew was over the moon after he won the boys race at Salem Tech in 17:00.79, while Hadfield was visibly upset walking away from the finish after winning the girls race in 19:15.79.
Woodstown won the boys team title for the first time since 2021 with 17 points. Schalick edged Woodstown by nine points in what amounted to a dual meet for the girls crown.
Chew admitted he wasn’t a very good classmate or student for much of the school day because he was so locked in to winning the race. He’d come up short each of the last two years, finishing fifth as a freshman and second last year, and wasn’t sure how he’d finish this year because his teammates were equally strong, but he was determined to go for it.
He was the fastest Salem County boys runner in a Tri-County Conference batch meet on the Salem Tech course Oct. 1 (seventh overall).
“I came into it today thinking I need a win, so I went for it and here we are,” Chew said. “Honestly, this year has been rocky for me. I’ve had a couple meets where I didn’t do my best; I had one DNF, which has never happened to me before. A couple meets before this I ran my PR for the season and I was like I know I can do this.
“I knew in my heart, in my head and my legs that I could do it and I did it and I’m super proud of myself for that. I love the energy that all gave me. I’ve been in the top 25 since my freshman year, this year I’m top seven, and I was like, county, this is it, I’m going to win it.”
He’s the first Woodstown boy to win the county crown since John Turner ran a 17:58 to lead a 1-2-4 Wolverines finish in 2021 at Schalick.
He went out in a pack with several teammates, but quickly separated himself with teammate Jacob Marino. They came through the midpoint of the race stride for stride, but then halfway through the second loop he went for it and eventually beat his teammate to the line by 15 seconds. Wolverines senior track captain Cole Lucas, running cross country for the first time, was third.
“I was in my own world the whole day; I was thinking to myself about this meet the whole day,” Chew said. “This is a big thing for me. I needed this so much.
“This was the meet that my coach was hyping me up about. He was like, ‘Who’s it going to be, you or Jacob, who’s it going to be? I kept thinking to myself I need this to be me. For the rest of my season to go well, I need this to be me.”
HADFIELD
Winning races might be a new experience for Chew, it’s a regular occurrence for Hadfield. So much so that the quality of the run is as important as the finish.
And that’s what had her coming out of the finishing chute with her face in her hands on the verge of tears and then walking across the field to be consoled by coach Missy Pine. She led wire-to-wire without much push and won by more than a minute, but the 19-minute run over the flat course just wasn’t up to her standard.
She was hoping for something closer to the 18:22 she ran while winning her race Six Flags on Sept. 28 as she prepares for a run at states.
“It should not have been that,” the Cougars senior said. “I’m trying to be better each time and today I guess wasn’t me. I just wasn’t feeling good or something, I don’t know. We need to look forward to Saturday (at Dream Park) and forget about this and just focus on that.”
In her defense she was running her second race in five days and ran into a strong headwind several times along Wednesday’s route. She finished third in her race at Holmdel Park last Saturday.
“It’s definitely a lot racing multiple times a week, it definitely gets you for sure this part of the season,” she said. “You definitely felt the wind. I don’t know if that was a part of it. My first mile was fine and then after that, that’s when I fell off.”
In the team standings, Woodstown put five of the first six runners across the line in the boys race. Salvatore Longo of Schalick finished fourth to prevent them from scoring a cross country shutout. Schalick’s girls placed seven runners in the top 12 overall and had five of the first eight counters.
“It’s a small county but these small programs have always had quality teams,” Woodstown coach Steve New said. “You might think that winning Salem County is small and not that big of a deal, but I think beating some of these teams that are around here is impressive. I don’t think it’s a small feat to win this county title. It takes a lot of work to do it.”
Schalick’s Jordan Hadfield comes across the finish line to win the Salem County Cross Country girls race. On the cover, Woodstown’s Karson Chew made the boys race his first varsity win.
Salem County XC Championship
BOYS TEAM SCORES: Woodstown 17, Schalick 41, Salem Tech 77, Salem 101, Penns Grove 141. GIRLS TEAM SCORES: Schalick 25, Woodstown 34.
Schalick’s Price on hot streak, Willoughby erupts for five goals in girls game, Salem Tech gets first volleyball win of the season, and more
BOYS SOCCER Schalick 7, Overbrook 1: Luke Price scored three goals and Anthony Sepers and Connor Jackson both had a pair of assists at Schalick. Price has scored eight goals during the Cougars’ current four-game winning streak.
Woodstown 3, Penns Grove 1: Blake Bialecki and Bryce Ayars scored second-half goals to snap a 1-1 tie and hand Wolverines coach Darren Huck career win No. 295.
Pennsville 3, Salem Tech 0: Shane Puckett, Sam Hassler and Evan Pessoa all scored and Coen Rinnier made seven saves in posting the shutout.
Salem at Clayton
GIRLS SOCCER Schalick 9, Overbrook 1: Abby Willoughby erupted for five goals and Gia Martellacci scored twice to lead the Cougars to their third straight win. Willoughby has scored nine goals against the Rams in two games.
Woodstown 4, Penns Grove 0: Talia Battavio, Blair Baldi, Emma Perry and Gina Murray all scored for the Wolverines.
Clayton 10, Salem 2: Diondria Simon and Ava Delaney both had hat tricks for the Clippers.
Glassboro 3, Pennsville 0: Amina Brown scored two goals and Tamia Smith had the other.
Salem Tech at Pitman
VOLLEYBALL Salem Tech 2, Highland 0: Cori Farnkoph delivered nine aces and Tiara Bazemore had four kills and nine assists to lead the Chargers (1-6) to their first win of the season, 25-16, 25-10. Valeria Camacho-Martinez had five kills and Alanis James had five assists. The Chargers didn’t win their first match last season until their 14th match.
Pennsville’s reworked doubles teams sweep to clinch undefeated Eagles SJ Group I quarterfinals win over Schalick; Woodstown eliminated by Haddon Twp.
South Jersey Group I Tournament Tuesday’s quarterfinals No. 3 Haddon Twp. 3, No. 6 Woodstown 2 No. 2 Pennsville 3, No. 7 Schalick 2 No. 4 Gateway 3.5, No. 5 Lower Cape May 1.5 No. 1 Pitman 4, No. 9 Audubon 1 Thursday semifinals Haddon Twp. at Pennsville, 3 p.m. Gateway at Pitman, 3 p.m.
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – When a team is on the kind of roll Pennsville’s girls tennis team is enjoying the absolute last thing it needs is any kind of disruption. Especially in the doubles department in its sport where chemistry is everything.
The Eagles faced a potentially big disruption last week when they lost one of their steadiest doubles player to an injury. But coach Dan LaMont pulled out the depth chart, shuffled the deck and the Eagles haven’t missed a beat.
And it was one of those shuffled doubles teams that came through for them in a big way Tuesday, winning a super tiebreaker at No. 2 doubles to clinch their 3-2 win over Schalick in the South Jersey Group I quarterfinals.
The second-seeded Eagles, now 13-0 and one of two remaining undefeated teams statewide in Group 1, will host third-seeded Haddon Twp. in the sectional semifinals Thursday.
“It wasn’t the prettiest,” LaMont said. “There were times we were good. There were times we were not so good. And there were times we were able to pull it out.
“We’ve been finding ways all year and that’s what I keep on telling them. Who’s going to be the next hero? Who’s the one who’s going to pull out (the match)?”
That would be the No. 2 double teams of Naomi Hess and Morgan Holt, first-time partners who regrouped after losing the second set and won the clinching point 6-0, 2-6, 10-5 over Kayleigh Veach and Annie Podehl.
The Eagles’ lineup had been steady all season until Gabi Forino turned her right knee crashing into the fence before the Overbrook match. It forced LaMont to reshuffle his deck, but luckily he had cards to play.
He initially moved Holt into Forino’s spot at first doubles with Emma Cornette and they played together for two matches. He put Izzy Schrenker in that spot Tuesday and placed Holt with Hess, who had been paired with Schrenker for six matches.
“We really consider our top eight, nine our varsity,” LaMont said. “We always get them ready. I made a little decision, almost like a rotation with Morgan and Naomi, but they each always got matches in.
“A couple weeks ago (Forino) also had a little nagging injury, so we had a feeling; I don’t know why. But we got a challenge match in, so we have it all legal. I know they can play together. Even though they haven’t done much we have to make it work. We don’t have any other choice in the matter.”
Holt and Hess breezed through the first set like they were long-time partners, but Veach and Podehl evened the match with a big second set.
In the super tiebreaker, the first team to 10 was going to win it. The Schalick side went up 3-1 and 5-3, but Holt and Hess figured it out on their own – the changeover was still four points away – and won the next seven points to secure the win.
“We knew we had to win the tiebreaker,” Hess said. “We did everything we could to win the tiebreaker.”
“It was definitely scary,” said Holt, “because you really don’t want to lose. You don’t want to let your coach down and you don’t want to let your team down because everybody tries so hard. You just want to win. You want to win for everybody. I just didn’t want to lose.”
The match was just more of the same nailbiters the teams had been playing during the season. Pennsville won the first meeting 3-2 with Edwards clinching the match at No. 3 singles. The second meeting was suspended by weather with Schalick leading 2-1, but Pennsville leading in both doubles matches; that match is scheduled to resume Oct. 24.
There were still two points up for grabs as No. 2 doubles battled it out Tuesday. Pennsville won at No. 1 doubles (Cornette-Schrenker) and No. 3 singles (Edwards). Schalick won at No. 1 singles (Emma Adams) and Ally Green was leading at No. 2 singles making the doubles match the swing point.
The Cougars were the seventh seed, but a win would keep alive their hope of returning to the State Final Four. They lost in the state semifinals last year, but were looking to write their own history this year.
“I wanted to talk to them before we came out on the court and I told them I felt like all year long we hadn’t really put a full match together,” Cougars coach John Romano said. “We had spots here and there and, sure, we were beating people, but I told them you’re not riding the coat tails of last year’s team. You have your own legacy to set and today is going to be that day.
“We did really well. We were up 5-3 and had a shot to win it in the tiebreak and it just didn’t fall our way; kudos to them. I went over after and asked (Veach and Podehl) if they were OK and they said yes. I said I thought they played really well. I thought they both played a great tiebreak early on and then they both said they don’t know what happened.”
Pennsville tennis coach Dan LaMont visits with Naomi Hess (R) and Morgan Holt after the doubles team won the clinching point in Tuesday’s South Jersey quarterfinals match with Schalick.
Here are the results and details of Monday’s high school sports action involving Salem County teams
FIELD HOCKEY Pennsville 0, Salem 0: Kelsey Cook made 12 saves to keep Salem out of the net and Ava Rogers made two saves in Salem’s goal. It was Pennsville’s first tie since 2022 and the Eagles’ first scoreless tie since before 2010. It was Salem’s first tie and scoreless tie since a match with Glassboro in October 2022. Schalick 5, Glassboro 0: Ava Scurry had a hat trick and Phoebe Alward scored twice as the Cougars ran their record to 11-0. It’s their best start since 2020 when they also opened 11-0 before falling to Delsea. They were unbeaten in their first 11 matches in 2019 (10-0-1). BOYS SOCCER Pennsville 1, Gloucester 0: Maddox Efelis scored in the 27th minute and Coen Rinnier stoned nine shots in the goal to make it stand. Woodstown 2, Gateway 0: Landon Guglielmo and Bryce Ayars scored goals, and Ben Stengel made four saves for his fourth shutout of the season. GIRLS SOCCER Gloucester 6, Pennsville 0: Bailey Schoenfeldt scored two goals in the first half and Meghan Gorman scored two in the second half. Ava Rodgers had a goal and two assists. GIRLS TENNIS WOODSTOWN 3, KINGSWAY 2 Skylar Grabarski (K) def. Gabby Kurpis, 6-1, 6-3 Abby Malesich (K) def. Camille Osborn, 6-4, 6-4 Aubrie Rennie (Wo) def. Molly Baldino, 6-2, 6-2 Alyssa Berry-Julianna Lindenmuth (Wo) def. Krishani Parikh-Mishi Chaturvedi, 6-3, 6-7 (2-7) Nathalie Neron-Noelle Neron (Wo) def. Sophia Campbell-Kelsey Dion, 6-1, 6-3 Records: Woodstown 9-3, Kingsway 5-8.
Schalick blanks Paulsboro 17-0, moves to No. 2 in South Jersey Group I power standings; game was moved from Friday after host school discovered a threat specific to the football game on social media
MONDAY’S GAME Schalick 17, Paulsboro 0
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PAULSBORO — Kenai Simmons was growing tired of the game being so close. His Schalick team had the best of the play, but had only one touchdown and a slim lead to show for it.
Finally, he had had enough. After the Cougars defense forced their hosts into a deep hole following a bad snap in the third quarter, Simmons walked through the bench area and said to anyone within earshot “this is where we put them away.”
Then he went out and made it happen. The senior quarterback led the Cougars on scoring drives the next two times they touched the ball and the defense did the rest to complete a 17-0 win over Paulsboro in a rare Monday game that carried big South Jersey Group I playoff seeding implications.
“I noticed they were off a little bit,” Simmons said. “This is what we like. We like capitalizing off the other team’s mistakes so I was ready to put them away. I was just trying to get us up.”
In the two scoring drives that put the game away, the Cougars (4-2) got a touchdown and a field goal in the fourth quarter.
Simmons led a seven-play 50-yard drive that started in the third quarter and ended with Reggie Allen’s 10-yard touchdown run two plays into the fourth quarter to break the ice.
In the next drive, Hunter Dragotta kicked a 36-yard field goal into a stiff wind with 5:48 left to make it 17-0.
“What we talked about all week was this game could go a couple different ways,” Cougars coach Mike Wilson said. “One way we talked about was being tight and we would take over in the second half. I think we wore them down and I think that’s what Kenai was echoing. The idea that we are a second-half team with everything we do.”
In their four wins this season, the Cougars have outscored their opponents 45-16.
Simmons threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Sherrod Jones in the final minute of second quarter for the game’s first score. That capped a 10-play drive that covered 80 yards. After wearing down the Red Raiders on the ground, Simmons found Jones wide open over the middle for the score.
“They’ve got to respect our run,” Simmons said. “When you’ve got a defense that’s aggressive and hungry going against a team who runs hard, you’re going to bite at some point. When the outside linebacker ran to the run commit, it was right over his head.”
Schalick quarterback Kenai Simmons (1) led the Cougars on two scoring drive in the second half to put Paulsboro away. On the cover, Sherrod Jones jumps for joy after grabbing a touchdown pass right before halftime. (Photos by Heather Papiano)
Despite the close margin at halftime, Schalick dominated the first half. The Cougars had the ball for nearly 18 minutes and ran 30 plays to the Red Raiders’ 12.
When Paulsboro did get the ball, the Cougars’ defense never gave it a chance. Schalick held the Red Raiders to 41 yards of net offense, minus-5 yards net rushing, and ended two drives with fumble recoveries by linebackers Riley Papiano and Alec Bramell.
The Red Raiders (4-2) lost a huge chunk of yardage on the bad snap over their quarterback’s head and their two biggest gaining plays of the game were facemask and pass interference penalties against the Cougars.
It was Schalick’s third win in a row, second shutout of the season and the third time they held an opponent to fewer than three points.
“We played very fundamental,” said lineman T.J. Hymer, the recipient of the Cougars’ defensive game ball. “We were definitely a lot more physical than them. You can’t really have an offense to where you run around and just try to throw the ball up against a natural defense like us. Coach Wilson does a lot of planning and we’re not just some midget football defense. We have a scheme.”
Paulsboro came into the game fourth in the South Jersey Group I power points standings, while Schalick was sixth. The Cougars moved to No. 2 behind Woodstown with the win and would be the Central Jersey Group 1 top seed if the playoffs started this week. If Paulsboro and Schalick finish on consecutive lines in the final standings and Paulsboro somehow is ahead, the Cougars would draw the better seed by virtue of the head-to-head win.
“It’s a pretty big win,” Hymer said. “When you really look it, this team was like our most legitimate win. No offense to the other teams, but there’s a reason one team is oh-and-whatever and the other team maybe has one win.
“This is a really good stepping stone because people now know after we lost to two pretty good teams (Woodstown and Cedar Grove, both No. 1 in their sections) we’re not just some middle of the pack people. We’re coming to win.”
The game was moved to Monday after Paulsboro officials learned early Friday of a specific threat against Saturday’s game and took action. The alleged perpetrator of the threat reportedly has been arrested.
The players said it felt a little odd playing on what normally was a JV day. Wilson tried to keep the routine as normal as possible and the players made the best of it.
“It felt kind of weird playing on a Monday, I’m going to be honest,” Simmons said. “I never played in a JV game, but it felt like a JV game on a Monday at 4 o’clock.”
“It definitely messed our schedule up a little bit,” Hymer said, “but I think we came out to play.”
Schalick’s Reggie Allen (4) wraps up Paulsboro quarterback Malakhai McKenzie (2) with three of his teammates – T.J. Hymer (56), Riley Papiano (16) and Roneem Thomas (25) – in pursuit. The Cougars’ defense held Paulsboro to minus-5 yards net rushing. (Photo by Heather Papiano)
Schalick 17, Paulsboro 0
SCHAL
PAULS
14
1st Downs
7
42-176
Rushing
23-(-5)
3-6-0
Passes
6-13-0
25
Passing
46
3-0
Fum-Lost
3-2
3-30.0
Punts
3-33.0
7-55
Penalties
3-25
Schalick (4-2)
0
0
0
0-
0
Paulsboro (4-2)
0
7
0
10-
17
SCORING SUMMARY S-Sherrod Jones 12 pass from Kenai Simmons (Hunter Dragotta kick), 42.5 2Q S-Reggie Allen 10 run (Hunter Dragotta kick), 11:10 4Q S-Hunter Dragotta 36 FG, 5:48 4Q
WJFL DIAMOND DIVISION
DIV
ALL
Woodstown (1)
3-0
5-0
Glassboro (5)
3-0
5-0
Schalick (2)
2-1
4-2
Woodbury (14)
1-2
2-3
Penns Grove (20)
0-3
1-5
Salem (22)
0-3
0-6
NOTE: Number in parenthesis is South Jersey Group I UPR power ranking through Oct. 7
THURSDAY’S GAME Glassboro at Cinnaminson, 6 p.m. Delran at Penns Grove, 6:30 p.m. FRIDAY’S GAMES Schalick at Gloucester City, 6 p.m. Salem at West Deptford, 7 p.m. SATURDAY’S GAMES Willingboro at Woodbury, 11 a.m. Woodstown at Haddon Heights, 11 a.m.
WJFL PATRIOT DIVISION
DIV
ALL
Camden Catholic (NPB-3)
3-0
5-0
Paulsboro (6)
3-1
4-2
West Deptford (G2-15)
3-1
3-3
Pennsville (10)
2-2
3-3
Collingswood (G2-13)
1-2
3-3
Overbrook (G2-23)
0-3
2-3-1
Audubon (17)
0-3
1-3
NOTE: Number in parenthesis is South Jersey Group I UPR power rankings through Oct. 7 (G2-Group 2, NPB-Non Public B)
FRIDAY’S GAMES Audubon at Collingswood, 6 p.m. Salem at West Deptford, 7 p.m. SATURDAY’S GAMES Pennsville at Paulsboro, noon Camden Catholic at Overbrook, 11 a.m.
Riley Papiano (16) is congratulated by Schalick teammate Reggie Allen after coming out of the pile with the first of the Cougars’ two fumble recoveries Monday. (Photo by Heather Papiano)
Riverview Sports News 