Category: SCHALICK

Best foot forward

Woodstown’s boys going back to states after third-place finish at sectionals; Schalick also qualifies in boys race

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

LOGAN TWP. – It wasn’t necessarily a drought, but it was a dry spell like this past month of October that Woodstown boys cross country coach Steve New really wanted to end.

It had been three years since the Wolverines’ boys team made it to the state meet, but they ended the dry spell Saturday with a third-place finish in the South Jersey Group I sectional race at DREAM Park.

The Wolverines placed three runners in the top 10 and all five in the top 25 to score 63 points for a solid third behind winner Glassboro and Haddon Twp. Schalick finished fourth and also qualified for next week’s state meet in Holmdel.

“I thought we had a shot (to win), we’d have to have all things line up for us, but I can’t be upset with them,” New said. “That’s the best we’ve finished since I’ve been coaching. My 1 through 7 were all under 18:40. I’ve never had a team do that.”

The Wolverines’ Big 3 – Salem County champion Karson Chew, Jacob Marino and Cole Lucas – finished third, sixth and seventh, respectively, just three seconds apart. They’re other two counters, Jon Farrell and David Farrell, were 24th and 25th, respectively, separated at the wire by one second.

“We told them don’t worry about the clock, worry about people,” New said. “You can’t be worried about your watch, you’ve got to worry about passing people. If you want to go out fast, it’s got to be controlled chaos, settle in to where you think you need to be. They were right where I wanted them to be.”

“This is the first year in a long time our whole team was able to make it to state and it’s the first year in a long time we’ve had a chance at winning (sectionals),” Chew said as he tried calculating team scores as runners crossed the finish line. “It’s a maybe right now, but we’ll figure it out. I’m super happy either way, if we win or not. It was a super good race from everyone. I’m super proud of them, super proud of myself and can’t wait to run in the states.”

Woodstown’s fate was sealed when the fifth counters from Glassboro and Haddon Twp. both finished in the top 17 before the Wolverines’ last two runners crossed the line.

“It was a hard race,” Marino said. “Our whole team fought to the end.”

Glassboro’s Ty Blackman blew the field away winning in 15:42.62. Shaun Maloney of Haddon Twp. was second (16:47.34). Chew was only six seconds behind, just missing a PR, holding off Haddon Twp.’s Manolo Foote and Glassboro’s Jaeden Wesley at the finish.

“My whole thing when I’m racing against Ty, second place becomes first place,” Chew said. “It ends up being a race for second between everybody, just because he’s so much ahead. That way it’s made it easier to not get discouraged or feel bad during the race.”

Schalick scored 123 points. Salvatore Longo was the first Cougars’ runner across the line, coming in 13th (17:19.71). Collin Bittle was 22nd (18:05.06). Six of the Cougars’ runners posted season-best times.

Salem’s Sam Cooke was 27th (18:28.03). The Rams finished eighth as a team.

Pennsville didn’t have enough runners to post a team score, but Logan Brumbaugh and Logan Cowperthwait were the Eagles’ top finishers at 51st and 57th.

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I
BOYS XC CHAMPIONSHIP
TEAM SCORES: Glassboro 42, Haddon Twp. 44, Woodstown 63, Schalick 123, Maple Shade 140, Audubon 177, Pitman 182, Salem 215, Cape May Tech 242, Clayton 282, Riverside 309, Pt. Pleasant Beach 370.

INDIVIDUAL TOP 5: Ty Blackmon, Glassboro, 15:42.62; Shaun Maloney, Haddon Twp. 16:47.34; Karon Chew, Woodstown, 16:53.02; Manolo Foote, Haddon Twp., 16:53.21; Jaeden Wesley, Glassboro, 16:53.50.

Cover photo: Woodstown’s Karson Chew holds off runners from Glassboro and Haddon Twp. to finish third in the South Jersey Group I boys race Saturday.

Putting the fun in the run

Both teams from Woodstown, Schalick qualify for state cross country championship with top 5 finishes at DREAM Park; Wildwood’s McCracken upsets Hadfield in girls G1 race

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

LOGAN TWP. – Every team that qualified for the state cross country meet from the South Jersey sectional at DREAM Park Saturday will be going forward with an abundance of momentum and confidence. It’s doubtful, though, many will be bringing as much fun to Holmdel as the Woodstown girls team.

Woodstown coach Michelle Williams holds the book she reads passages from to inspire her girls cross country team.

The Wolverines have so much fun inside their ranks they just might need an extra trailer to carry it all with them.

The Woodstown girls are heading to the state meet as a full team for the first time since 2016 after finishing third in the South Jersey Group I race here, just a few points from second.

To help them keep the pressure down and their focus up, there are a couple extra items in and around their tent to keep the juju positive. 

Consider:

First-year coach Michelle Williams gave each of her runners a hand-made bracelet with their name on one side and the team motto on the other — “F-E-A-R”, not a call for something to be overcome, but rather something to redefine: “Forget Everything And Run.”

“So much of this is the mental part and just leaving it all behind and coming out and doing the job you know you can do,” Williams said. “When you get on the line, when you’re a teenager, you’ve got school and you’ve got relationships and you’re worried about college and all these other things. Then you get out here and the beauty of running is you can forget about all that stuff and just go. It’s all about the running when you get out here.”

She reads them passages from a book she picked up on Amazon, “Mindful Thoughts for Runners,” for inspiration while they huddled in their blankets waiting for the day to begin. The messages Saturday were Pace and The Power of Breath. It’ll be part of their routine going forward. 

Wolverines boys coach Steve New lovingly calls them “turkeys” and they’ve embraced it. They have two turkey pillows – one named Fred – a turkey doll in a Woodstown XC shirt, a handful of turkey feathers from their last meet and a working turkey call among their effects.

“Because we’re all so close, it’s just a fun silly time,” said sophomore Lilian Norman, the Wolverines fastest finisher Saturday in her first race back since early October. “We don’t judge each other because we’re all cross country kids and we’re all silly.”

The Woodstown girls cross country team has been redefining fear this season and wears this bracelet for motivation.

In addition to the fun stuff, they’ve gone through a Cross Country Psych 101, a classroom exercise a couple weeks ago that was basically a blind walk through the virtual meet, to convince the runners they really do belong among the contenders. The actual numbers were better than what the runners presumed. 

Seeing those actual numbers gave them the realization they could actually do it and that belief, Williams said, was a “huge factor” in getting through the race Saturday. It didn’t hurt their motivation the Woodstown boys qualified for state an hour earlier.

It’s all just Williams playing to her strength.

“I’m actually not historically a coach,” she said. “I’m not an athlete. I’m a scout leader. I’m a science teacher. I’m a lot of other things. I’m a 26-year veteran of high school teaching in the state of New Jersey. I know how relationships with kids work and I know how to motivate kids to do things they don’t think they can do.

“That was kind of my thing. I told Steve at the beginning of the season you’ve got all the cross-country knowledge. The thing I can bring to the table is the communication, organization and just understanding how to mold the kids into their potential … because so much of this is definitely appreciating and trusting the fact you can do this.”

Sophomore Lilian Norman and friend.

The Wolverines placed three of their runners among the top 10 counters (top 12 overall), four of their six set PRs – counters Norman (20:26.75), Anabel Schaal (21:29.53) and Samantha Sterner (23:27.01) and Arianna Mott (24:50.62) – and they scored 69 points, just three behind runner-up Haddon Twp. 

It was their best sectional finish since a runner-up in 2016, the last time they took a full team to the state. Their fourth-place finish in 2020 would have qualified, but they didn’t run a state meet that year due to COVID.

“Historically we’ve always had trouble having enough girls to qualify – to have five finish,” Williams said. “This year we struggled, too, just with the six we have with injuries and illness.

“This is actually the first race all season all six girls started and finished the race. That was my goal for today. I wanted all six of us to start and finish the race because as a team I feel like they just needed to feel like they accomplished something this season together.”

Schalick grabbed the final qualifying spot with a fifth-place finish. Audubon took the girls title with 53 points. Wildwood’s Macie McCracken won the race (18:38.27), holding off Schalick’s Jordan Hadfield down the stretch 

McCracken said it was both exciting and surprising to win. She had been chasing Hadfield all season and finally caught her in the biggest race of the year to date. She took the lead coming out of the woods with about a mile left and never let it go. She won by 16 seconds.

“That was my best run all season,” she said. “I’ve been racing Jordan probably every week since the season started. She’s been obviously really good competition and beats me by a good amount every time, but today I just really, really was feeling good and felt like I could beat her.

“I did not expect to beat her. She definitely ran well, but I also think that this is a one-time thing. I wouldn’t beat her again. I definitely ran well for myself today.”

Hadfield was visibly upset at the finish and politely declined requests for post-race interviews.

Salem Tech’s Sarah Seiden was hoping to earn a spot at the state meet out of the stacked Group 2 race after not finishing the race last year. The senior came up short on that goal, finishing 18th overall, but she run a PR and set the school record (21:01.01). The Chargers finished ninth as a team.

South Jersey XC Sectionals

SJ GROUP I BOYSBOYS TOP 10
Glassboro42Ty Blackman, Glassboro15:42.62
Haddon Twp.44Shaun Maloney, Haddon Twp.16:47.34
Woodstown63Karson Chew, Woodstown16:53.02
Schalick123Manolo Foote, Haddon Twp.16:53.21
Maple Shade140Jaeden Wesley, Glassboro16:53.50
Audubon177Jacob Marino, Woodstown16:55.60
Pitman182Cole Lucas, Woodstown16:56.06
Salem215Logan Camm, Audubon16:57.92
Cape May Tech242Joseph Saicic, Glassboro16:57.95
Clayton282Jason Martin, Glassboro17:00.71
Riverside309
Pt. Pleasant Beach370
SJ GROUP I GIRLSGIRLS TOP 10
Audubon53Macie McCracken, Wildwood18:38.27
Haddon Twp.66Jordan Hadfield, Schalick18:54.75
Woodstown69Crystal Benito, Maple Shade19:44.30
Maple Shade94Juliana Catalani, Maple Shade20:20.40
Schalick104Lilian Norman, Woodstown20:26.75
Pitman145Abby Marino, Woodstown20:43.96
Cape May Tech166Sophia Brassill, Audubon20:58.99
Leiah Pawlus, Wildwood21:01.76
Blake Kemery, Haddon Twp.21:04.62
Tanner Lajoie, Haddon Twp.21:13.77
NOTE: Top 5 teams and individuals from non-qualifying teams in race top 10 qualify for state meet

Cover photo: Wildwood’s Macie McCracken comes to the finish line after her best run of the year wins the South Jersey Group I girls cross country sectional race.

Familiar foe, familiar result

Cougars offense catches up to defense, together they blank Audubon in the opening round of the playoffs for second year in a row; contains updated material

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I
Friday’s Games
(1) Glassboro 64, (8) Pt. Pleasant Beach 7
(2) Schalick 24, (7) Audubon 0
Saturday’s Games
(5) Riverside 40, (4) Haddon Twp. 20
(3) Paulsboro 34, (6) Manville 9
Nov. 8 semifinals
Riverside at Glassboro
Paulsboro at Schalick

By Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE – Wasn’t it that famous old sage Yogi Berra who once said it was like deja vu all over again?

Schalick played Audubon in the opening round of the Group I playoffs for the second year in a row Friday night and it felt like a rerun.

The Cougars took out the Green Wave 24-0 in their first game in the South Jersey Group I bracket. It was 35-0 last year in the Central Jersey bracket.

The Cougars (7-3) now host Paulsboro in the sectional semifinals Friday. Paulsboro beat Manville 34-9 Saturday. The Cougars shut out Paulsboro 17-0 on Oct. 7.

“If we go out and we play to the level we’re capable of playing … we’re hard to beat when we don’t make mistakes,” Cougars coach Mike Wilson said. “If we don’t mistakes, even if we’re not moving the ball great, we have very good special teams and we’re playing very good defense.”

Schalick held the Green Wave to less than 100 yards of net offense and just 1-of-12 third-down conversions. It was the Cougars’ third shutout of the season.

It was a battle of punters and field position early, which the Cougars really didn’t mind, but they finally broke the ice when Kenai Simmons went on a 9-yard touchdown run with 6:01 left in the first half. Once they adjusted to the way the Wave was playing their unique offense, Simmons threw a 70-yard touchdown pass to Levi Feeney-Childers in the third quarter. Simmons passed for 99 yards and rushed for 13.

“Our kids have to learn to be patient that sometimes winning ugly is OK,” Wilson said. “What I mean by ugly is … it’s OK to punt and play defense sometimes.

“One of my buddies said to me even though it was 7-0 (at halftime) the way you guys are playing special teams and defense you weren’t going to lose that game.”

The Cougars extended their lead in the fourth on Dragotta’s 28-yard field goal and Dezyon Purnell’s touchdown run. Dragotta handled both the punting and placements in the game. His leg got a workout in the first half and he came within inches of hitting a school-record field goal late in the half, the ball hitting the left upright.

“It takes us a couple series to figure out how people are going to line up to us,” Wilson said. “If you notice every game once we figure it out and make our adjustments then we start scoring points. We came out the second half and just blew the ball right down the field.

“The kids have to just relax and understand we have great special teams, we have a very good defense and the offense will score points because we’re too talented not to. Just calm down and play football.”

Schalick 24, Audubon 0

AUDSCH
51st Downs9
17-30Rushing36-106
12-27-1C-A-I4-15-0
54Passing99
1-1Fum-Lost0-0
NAPunts6-36.3
NAPenalties4-29
Audubon (2-6)0000-0
Schalick (7-3)07710-24

SCORING SUMMARY
S-Kenai Simmons 9 run (Hunter Dragotta kick)
S-Levi Feeney-Childers 70 pass from Kenai Simmons (Hunter Dragotta kick)
S-Hunter Dragotta 28 FG
S-Dez Purnell run (Hunter Dragotta kick)

Playoff pairings

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

Semifinals
Nov. 9

Championship 
Nov. 12

Tuesday sports report

Schalick completes unbeaten regular season with shutout of Millville; includes first-round SJ Group I field hockey playoff pairings

By Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE — Ava Scurry and Phoebe Alward each scored a pair of goals, Lydia Gilligan recorded another shutout and Schalick completed a unbeaten regular season with a 6-0 win over Millville.

Earlier in the day, the Cougars (17-0-1) were installed as the No. 2 seed in the South Jersey Group I field hockey tournament. They will host No. 15 South Hunterdon in an opening-round game Monday.

The only blemish on their record is 2-2 tie with St. Joe (Hammonton). They are one of three teams statewide without a loss. The others are Madison (16-0, NJ-1) and Northern Highlands (16-0, NJ-3).

“I’m just happy for the girls; they’ve worked hard all season and continue to work hard every day,” Cougars coach Heather Cheesman said. “We are happy with the second seed; just taking it one game at a time.”

Scurry’s two goals increased her single-season school record to 38 and ran her career total to 58. The all-time school record is 62. She also had two assists.

Alward’s two goals gave her 23 for the season. Luci Virga (21) and Paisley Warner (4) scored Schalick’s other goals in the game.

Gilligan made four saves in her eighth shutout of the season and third straight.

CLAYTON 3, PENNSVILLE 1: Alyssa Bobbsamuel scored two goals for the Clippers. Gracie Mease scored Pennsville’s goal in the fourth quarter.

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

Keeper turned scorer

Sepers comes out of the goal and snags one of two Schalick hat tricks in final regular-season home game

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE – Evan Sepers has been Schalick’s regular goalkeeper for the past two seasons. It’s been his job to keep the other team from scoring – and he’s done a pretty good job of it. But in all that time he hasn’t forgotten how to score himself.

Cougars coach Joe Mannella gave his junior keeper a chance to play in the field again in the team’s final regular-season home game Monday and Sepers responded with three goals in a 7-0 rout of Salem Tech.

“It was fun,” Sepers said. “I haven’t been a field player since my freshman year and scoring three in a game today was reminiscent of my freshman year.”

Indeed. Sepers came to the Cougars as a forward and scored four goals as a freshman; twice they were the Cougars’ only goal of the match. But the next year Mannella need a keeper for a young team and Sepers athleticism and willingness to meet the challenge made him the choice.

He proved to be a strong last line of of a strong defense, posting nine shutouts – six in a row at one point late in the season – for a team that overcame its inexperience to play for the South Jersey Group I title. This year he has seven shutouts and the team is expected to be installed as the No. 1 seed in the upcoming South Jersey Group I tournament.

“He is a field player, (he) just played in goal last year because it was our best option,” Mannella said. “It was nice to see him get on the field and score some goals.”

Sepers, whose cousins Anthony and Louis Sepers have combined for 17 goals this season, scored twice in the first half and once in the second.

Wearing an extra jersey he grabbed from the bin to take the field (No. 17), he wasted no time getting on the board, volleying a pass from Braydon Matkowsky into the top corner three minutes into the match. He tapped in a bouncing ball later to give the Cougars a 3-0 halftime lead and completed the hat trick with the final goal of the match.

The goalie wasn’t the only player with three goals in the match. Freshman Connor Jackson notched his first career hat trick. Reyli Reyes scored the Cougars’ first goal in the opening 90 seconds.

When Sepers moved back to goalie last season, “I just figured I’d be in goal for the rest of my high school soccer career,” he said.

He asked Mannella about moving up on Senior Night to give backup goalie Lucas D’Agostino, a senior, a chance to shine on his night. The two split the game in goal.

He played striker the whole game Monday, but with the playoffs looming he’ll probably be back in his usual position stopping opponents’ shots for the foreseeable future. And he’s “great with that.”

But for one day at least he was pretty good at putting the ball in the net, too.

Cover photo: Here’s a screen shot from a submitted video of Evan Sepers completing his hat trick against Salem Tech. The full video can be found on the Riverview Sports News Facebook page.

This week’s schedule

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

Playoff projections

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)

Finding another way

Blocked punt and end zone recovery propels Schalick to win over Woodbury, Cougars await their seeding in South/Central Jersey Group I playoffs

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE – The Schalick football team was looking for something to happen. The Cougars were weren’t as sharp as they could’ve been in the first half and needed something to shake them awake.

Two of their most seasoned veterans answered the call.

Kenai Simmons broke in to block a punt and linebacker Riley Papiano fell on it in the end zone for the touchdown that propelled the Cougars to a 27-16 win over Woodbury to clinch third place in their first season in the demanding WJFL Diamond Division.

The Cougars (6-3) were trailing 15-13 in the third quarter when they had the Herd backed up against the end zone. Simmons broke in to block the punt and Papiano fell on the rebound for his first career touchdown.

“I hit their tight end and I sat there and saw the blocked punt,” Papiano said. “I was looking for the ball everything and it kind of landed at my feet and I just dove on it. My eyes got real wide when I saw it and I just dove on it. I was hoping (getting a touchdown) would happen. I didn’t think it would be off a blocked punt, but I’d take anything.

“I felt like it not only was a game-changer points wise and you could see it in our defense’s faces, but I think it was a game-changer morale-wise for the entire team. You could tell after that recovery all their faces lit up. They all knew at that point we could start winning this game.”

Riley Papiano (16), shown here playing defense, recovered a blocked punt in the end zone for his first career touchdown that gave Schalick the lead for good. (Photo by Heather Papiano)

Simmons also accounted for two touchdowns on offense, both of which gave his team a lead. He threw a 48-yard pass to Nylan Sutton to put his team up 7-3 and had an 11-yard run in the second quarter to give them a 13-9 halftime lead.

Simmons was 4-of-9 for 117 yards passing and rushed for 46 yards on 13 carriers. Reggie Allen was their leading rusher with 62 yards on 11 carries.

The Cougars carried the lead they gained with the blocked punt into the fourth quarter . They held the Herd to a three-and-out, then put together a time-consuming drive with Roneem Thomas scoring on a 3-yard touchdown run to give them some breathing room.

“We played sloppy the first half and we came out the second half and did the job,” Cougars coach Mike Wilson said. “I thought our kids played hard and we found a way to win tonight. We physically wore them down as the game went on.

“We took control after the blocked punt. The percentages tell you (if) you block a punt you win 80 percent of the time.”

The Cougars now await their fate in the South Jersey Group I super regional bracket after Saturday’s games. The official UPR ratings that are used for the seedings weren’t updated after Friday’s game, but Central Jersey Sports Radio’s unofficial projection has them fifth overall or the third seed in South Jersey.

They were undefeated going into the playoffs last year, but in many ways they believe they’re better positioned going into the post-season with three more losses than they were a year ago. The three teams they lost to this season are a combined 24-1.

“I like where we’re at,” Wilson said. “We’re getting better every week. We’re peaking at the right time and I think our seniors are on a mission right now. They have done everything else. They want to go 1-0 every week.

“I think we’ve been battle-tested. We’ve played playoff teams all year and I think the harder schedule is going to help us.”

Roneem Thomas (25) scored Schalick’s last touchdown in the fourth quarter to give the Cougars some breathing room. (Photo by Heather Papiano)

Finish with flourish

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.

WOODSTOWN 3, PENNSVILLE 2
Megan Morris (P) def. Gabby Kurpis 6-1, 6-2
Camille Osborn (Wo) def. Regan Witt, 6-4, 7-6 (12-10)
Lily Edwards (P) def. Aubrie Rennie, 6-1, 6-0
Julianna Lindenmuth-Alyssa Berry (Wo) def. Emma Cornette-Izzy Schrenker, 7-6 (7-3), 7-5
Nathalie Neron-Leah Waterman (Wo) def. Naomi Hess-Morgan Holt, 3-6, 6-3, 10-4
Records: Woodstown 16-5, Pennsville 20-2.

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.