Category: SCHALICK

Slaying a giant

Girls roundup: Schalick scores 1-0 victory over Group 3 Cherry Hill West; Bloomer scores, Berger saves

GIRLS SOCCER
Gloucester Catholic 6, Penns Grove 0
Schalick 1, Cherry Hill West 0
FIELD HOCKEY
Schalick 2, Delsea 1
Gateway at Woodstown
COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
Salem CC at Morris

By Riverview Sports News

CHERRY HILL — One thing about the Schalick girls soccer program: The Cougars have never backed down from playing up in the schedule. It toughens them up during the season and gets them ready for post-season play.

Those bigger challenges have typically been a tough nut to crack, but Thursday the Cougars came through with a statement win, knocking off Cherry Hill West 1-0 in a battle of top 10 programs on the Lions’ Senior Day.

“It was great,” Cougars coach Will Kemp said. “I thought the girls really showed up today against a really good Cherry Hill West team, especially traveling here, it’s always difficult, especially playing on their turf. It was good.”

The undefeated Cougars (4-0) solidified their hold on the No. 1 spot in the South Jersey Group I power points standings. The Lions (3-2) remained No. 6 in the South Jersey Group 3 standings. Kemp can’t recall knocking off a similar quality larger classification team before in his tenure.

“It just allows them to see that they can overcome a lot of the bigger schools when they play against them,” he said. “In the past that’s been our Kryptonite when it comes to our seasons. Most of the time those are our losses on our records, but this time around they actually stepped up, they rose to the occasion and they played the beautiful game the way you’re supposed to play.”

Freshman Nicolette Bloomer scored the only goal of the match, finishing off a pass from Karlie Bakley midway through the second half. It was her sixth goal of the year. She has found the back of the net in every game this season.

Despite the low score, the Cougars’ dominated the play and their back line four of Emily Miller, Kassady Sickler, Ava Mayne and Brooke Valentine limited the Lions’ challenges. Schalick keeper Eve Berger recorded 11 saves in recording her third straight shutout and 21st over the last three seasons.

“Our back line was rock solid today,” Kemp said. “They handled business. They cleared their lines, prevented a lot of 1-v-1 situations, won their battles and did exactly what they were supposed to do together. We did a lot of defensive shape work this past work. It really showed inside this game.”

GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 6, PENNS GROVE 0: Six different players scored goals for the Rams.

Field hockey

SCHALICK 2, DELSEA 1: Alexa Shimp brought the Cougars their third straight win when she scored the game winner off a penalty corner in the fourth quarter with time already expired. Paisley Warner scored their other goal. Goalkeeper Melissa Basilone made four saves and Ella Cheesman made a defensive save to keep the Crusaders out of the cage.



More driven than ever

Woodstown’s Hannah returns to site of harrowing hit determined to ‘rewrite history,’ includes Salem County statistical leaders

THIS WEEK’S GAMES
Friday’s Games
Salem at Schalick, 6 p.m.
Pitman at Penns Grove, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday’s Games
Woodstown at Woodbury, 11 a.m.
Pennsville at Paulsboro, 11 a.m.

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – Rex Hannah has the tape. He hasn’t watched it in a while. Doesn’t want to see it. Doesn’t need to see it. He lived it. He doesn’t want to see it because it reminds him of one of the scariest experiences of his life – football or otherwise – but because it brings up memories of a loss.

It was a year ago this week the two-way Woodstown lineman was laid out on the field at Woodbury, knocked down by a blindside hit after the play as he was coming off the field. The crowd sat silently as trainers on the field worked to stabilize his head and neck. An ambulance waited nearby, rear doors open, ready to take him to a nearby hospital.

Ironically, Hannah and the Wolverines play the team that laid him out Saturday — 364 days after the incident – and as fate (and the new West Jersey Football League scheduling cycle) would have it, it’s back at Woodbury.

“I just remember waking up in the hospital; I was scared, I didn’t know what happened,” Hannah said before joining his teammates for a mid-week practice. “I really don’t remember the game, to be honest. I just remember waking up and having the great doctors with me and, of course, my family, my parents, who are my rock. Of course, it was tough because we couldn’t get it done and what happened. It was a hard day, but family is everything, so having them with me made it a lot better. It was just a rough day.”

The play occurred midway through the second quarter and the Wolverines were chasing Woodbury quarterback Nico Jimenez in the red zone. A broadcast of the game shows from just outside the frame Hannah appearing to take a front hit that knocked him backwards. The game was delayed nearly 20 minutes while medical personnel attended to him. He was said to have briefly lost consciousness on the field, but was talking and moving his extremities by the time he was transported from the field.

Wolverines head coach Frank Trautz called it a “scary moment … that I don’t wish upon any (player or coach) who ever has to do this.”

Hannah was released later that evening with a neck strain and a concussion that has the now junior cautious about his future in the game and long-term quality of life going forward. He returned to action in Week 7, but was re-concussed and remained sidelined for the rest of the season. 

He holds no animosity towards the offending Thundering Herd player and was actually mad at himself for not having “protected myself better” and not being there for his team in the 42-6 loss. He is proud of the way he’s put it behind him and the way he’s worked all summer to get back for the season and this game.

The last thing he wants is for Saturday to be thought of as “my game” or take away from the team’s focus and goal for the game that has become important to both teams’ seasons. Still, when he gets to the stadium he’ll probably slip away for a quiet moment at the spot to recognize the anniversary of the hit that could’ve ended it all and his recovery from it.

“I’ve had dreams about it, getting off that bus and walking up that hill and getting into that gym,” he said. “Before the game definitely I’m gonna take a knee, take a little rest, think about how far I’ve come, how far I’ve worked and think about how I could’ve gave up. 

“I could’ve sat in that hospital bed and went home and then gave up, but I didn’t and I pushed through. I’m just going to think about that and how I can help my team and what I can do to win. I’ll take it all in pre-game, think about what happened, but definitely take a breath, say a prayer, thank God for letting me still be here.”

Hannah is an intense player as it is, but the experience of last year’s trauma has made him more driven. In an interview during training camp he said ever since that date – and he specifically mentioned the date — he couldn’t wait for this season to get underway. He’s the Wolverines’ center responsible for setting the plays for a young offensive line and is a moving part on the defensive line. Even Trautz has noticed the lineman more determined to succeed.

“I did a lot of work outside football just finding myself,” Hannah said. “(The injury) made me drive a lot harder because nobody’s gonna lower how hard they go just because of whatever happened. It really flipped the switch for me that if they don’t care about you, you should play with that same intensity. Not everybody gets a chance to play football and it can always get taken away from you, so you’ve got to play with that intensity so you don’t get taken out.

“I love football. Football is my favorite thing is life, and to almost have that taken away from me at that spot it’s definitely a big deal  (going back to Woodbury). I almost lost what I love there, but I just want to rewrite history, rewrite what happened, and hopefully make it a better ending than what happened last time.”

FUN FACT: Hannah’s given name is Abraxus Tristan, named after a family friend, who he’s never met, and his father. He said he only recently learned of the 1970 Santana album “Abraxas,” which carried the band’s hits “Black Magic Woman” and “Oye Como Va.”

Salem County leaders

Rushing

PLAYERCAR.YARDSTD
Kenny Bartee, Schalick304237
Jaivon Thomas, Penns Grove173355
Cole Ware, Woodstown47255o
David Stewart, Schalick232364
Cashmir Parsley, Salem302191
Terrell Thomas, Penns Grove241884
Ayden Jenkins, Schalick201571
Aidan Collazo, Pennsville111521
Tristan Horner, Pennsville261184
Mason Middlemiss, Woodstown26
89
3
Adrian Alleyne, Salem7590
Savior Allah, Penns Grove3540
Kyvion Parsons, Salem8521
Freddie Allen, Schalick8491

Passing

PLAYERC-A-IYARDSTD
Jake Layfield, Pennsville60-98-27448
Owen McDonald, Salem10-22-21051
Mason Middlemiss, Woodstown8-18-4
76
1
Kenny Bartee, Schalick4-14-0450
Damien Robinson, Penns Grove6-8-0492
Kyvion Parsons, Salem3-7-1411

Receiving

PLAYERNO.YARDSTD
Chase Johnson, Pennsville233744
Lucas Thomas, Pennsville10781
Jacob Kimani, Pennsville81121
Tristan Horner, Pennsville8431
Aidan Collazo, Pennsville7780
Jerry Wooton, Penns Grove5922
Ahmad Tucker, Salem4511
Gio Alicea, Schalick3561
KaiSiere Muhammad, Salem3490
Quimere Bergen, Salem2241
Nehemiah Carter, Woodstown2
23
0
Dante Cummings, Pennsville2111
Evan Elliott, Schalick2101
Cole Ware, Woodstown240

Defense

SACKS — 4.5: Myshion Barnes, Salem; 4: Omari Robinson, Penns Grove; 3: JaKai Ingram, Penns Grove; 2.5: Tony Merendino, Salem; 2: Kamal Chatum, Salem; Evan Elliott, Schalick; Mahkye Murray, Salem

INTERCEPTIONS — 4: Jacob Kimani, Pennsville; 2: Gio Alicea, Schalick; Jaivon Thomas, Penns Grove

Team Leaders

TEAMRUSHC-A-IPASSPFPA
PENNS GROVE (2-0)6317-9-01149526
PENNSVILLE (2-1)24360-98-27449549
SALEM (1-2)39513-29-31464283
SCHALICK (3-0)94210-22-014813212
WOODSTOWN (1-2)3568-18-4762875

Woodstown milestone

Wolverines played the 1000th game in its football history last week; includes Wednesday’s results and highlights

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – While everyone involved in Friday night’s Schalick-Woodstown football game was – rightfully so – focused on recognizing the 25th anniversary of the attacks of 9/11, another more celebratory milestone slipped under the radar.

The game was the No. 1,000 in the storied history of Woodstown football, according to a recently published list of all-time New Jersey high school football records. The Wolverines played their first game in 1911.

“I didn’t know all that, but it’s very cool to be a part of,” Wolverines head coach Frank Trautz said. “Woodstown football has a tremendous history and so many great people have come through it that I’m honored just to be a small part of it.”

“It’s wild,” said Woodstown athletics director Joe Ursino, himself caught off-guard by the milestone. “I was here for when the school turned 100 years old. It’s just another feather in the cap or attribute towards the tradition that we have. A thousand football games is pretty neat.”

Penns Grove, which started football a year after Woodstown, has played the most games among the county schools and has the most wins. Salem, the longest running program in the county, dating back to 1904, is second in wins with 537.

All told, the five current Salem County football-playing schools have amassed 2,074 wins and 1,937 losses.

Woodstown is closing in on two other milestones on either side of the emotional spectrum. They are nine wins away from 500 all-time and three losses shy of the same number.

“We’ll let the Phillies and the pro sports worry about that,” Ursino said of the losses milestone. “It’s a lot of opportunities we’ve had for kids to grow and learn the game and develop as adults. We focus more on that than we do the Ls, and we celebrate the Ws, but they all have the same goal in the end.”

Salem County football records

SCHOOLSTARTGAMESRECORD
Penns Grove19121047556-442-47
Pennsville1957657335-303-16
Salem19041041537-434-70
Schalick1977469205-261-3
Woodstown19111000441-497-62

Source: Published records

Wednesday’s results

BOYS SOCCER
Penns Grove 3, Salem Tech 2: Juan Ortiz’ second goal of the game, four minutes into overtime, was the game-winner. Ortiz has scored a career-high nine of the Red Devils’ 13 goals this season. Avery Reed and Josh Woroniak scored for the Chargers.
Cumberland 4, Schalick 2: Fernando Santiago scored three goals as the Colts beat Schalick for the first time since 2014. Josh Stecher and Marco Spinnato scored for the Cougars.
Woodstown 8, Gloucester Catholic 0: The Wolverines had their scoring shoes on, Jake Lewis, Nick DiTeodoro and Tyler Robertson all scored twice and DiTeodoro notched three assists. It was the most they’d scored in a game since putting nine on the Rams in 2023. The Wolverines had scored seven goals in their first four games.
Glassboro 2, Pennsville 1: Lucas Kudless scores both Glassboro goals, finishing a long cross on the touchline for the game-winner. Brett Land scored for the Eagles.

GIRLS SOCCER
Cumberland 13, Salem 1: Ellie Bodine scored seven goals, the most in a single game in the state this season. Hoboken’s Wren Napolitani had six in a game last week. Lyric Hayes scored Salem’s goal in the second half.
Woodstown 2, Gloucester Catholic 0: Bella Lucas and Genevieve Flynn scored the goals as the Wolverines won their third in a row. All three wins have been by shutout. Mazie Mazzoni and Co. haven’t allowed a goal in their last seven halves.
Glassboro at Pennsville
Penns Grove at Salem Tech

FIELD HOCKEY
Schalick 12, Pennsville 0: Lucy Virga scored three goals, Addi Shimp and Lily Terrigno each scored twice and the Cougars scored the most goals in any game under head coach Heather Cheesman. It’s the most goals the Cougars have scored in any game since putting 13 on Clayton in 2010.
Salem Tech 2, Overbrook 1: Abigail Beals’ goal in the fourth quarter proved to be the game-winner for the Chargers. Hayden Crispin scored their first goal. Caroline Tighe made six saves in the goal and Jessilyn Chambers came up with a big defensive save to keep the Rams out of the net.

GIRLS TENNIS
PENNSVILLE 3, GLASSBORO 2
Graillyn Weber (P) def. Alana Killelea, 6-1, 6-1
Naomi Hess (P) def. Alice Denzel, 6-0, 6-1
Jaisley Weber (P) def. Virginia Tarasevich, 6-3, 7-6 (9-7)
Sofia Dungca-Conception Soriano (G) def. Aubrey Hall-Mariangela Rangel, 6-2, 6-2
Ijeoma Ufomba-Shreeti Sutaria (G) def. Marissa Dowell-Juliana Thomas, 6-1, 6-0
Records: Pennsville 6-2, Glassboro 3-4.

PITMAN 4, WOODSTOWN 1
Ava Mollenhauer (P) def. Madison LaPalomento, 6-3, 6-0
Kendall Bennett (P) def. Emma West, 6-1, 6-0
Angelina Lindenmuth (WO) def. Mikaela Totora, 6-1, 6-0
Listella Eisenhardt-Delaney Pierson (P) def. Emilee Kehr-Elliana Norman, 3-6, 6-3, 10-8
Anna Jones-Mia Gladney (P) def. Isabella Lindenmuth-Eleanore Lawson, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3
Records: Pitman 6-4, Woodstown 5-4

Cougars break through

Schalick field hockey scores first goal, first win against gritty Salem Tech; roundup includes scores, highlights from Monday’s Salem County sports schedule


MONDAY FIELD HOCKEY
Schalick 2, Salem Tech 1
Woodstown 8, Deptford 0

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – This is a different kind of year for the Schalick field hockey. The Cougars have been the dominant team in Salem County and one of contenders in South Jersey Group 1 for the past couple years, but now they’re in a rebuild.

The core of the group that had won 56 games over last last four years has graduated, off to other pursuits, leaving coach Heather Cheesman with one of the youngest teams in her tenure, but one intent of starting the cycle all over again. Of course, all that comes with growing pains until the light bulb comes on.

The Cougars hadn’t been 0-2 to start a season in 13 years and had yet to score a goal. They finally broke through both barriers Monday when they scored their first goals of the season and secured their first win of the season, 2-1 at Salem Tech.

“It for sure is a different kind of year,” Cheesman said. “I have a lot of young players. We haven’t a team like this in probably the last four years with so many freshmen starting or playing the game at this level. Even when the kids who just graduated were freshmen they had been playing together for years throughout our feeder program so they were already jelled.

“I think once we connect it’s going to be good. It’s just getting them to jell and connect and play together. Individually they’re all good, we’ve just got to bring it together.”

One sure sign it’s a different kind of year is the length of the post-game huddle. The ones the last couple years were brief, if they had one at all. The one down in the far corner Monday lasted 10 minutes – and that wasn’t even the longest one of this season.

“Probably the one against Woodstown was probably more like 20 minutes,” Cheesman said. “The last couple years sometimes we wouldn’t even meet; we’d talk about it the next day. It was a three-minute, five-minute conversation. Now, it’s definitely a lot longer, like what can we do, what can we fix, this is what looked good, this is what we need to work on.”

Ranae Scurry scored the Cougars’ first goal of the season with 4:50 left in the first quarter. Addy Shimp, in her new role as inserter, got the ball to Lucy Virga at the top of the arc. Virga sent it towards the goal and Scurry ripped it into the cage.

“it wasn’t a relief,” Scurry said. “I think it was just a pick-me-up. More like, OK, we can get one, how many more can we get?”

That answer came in the first minute of the second quarter when Shimp made it 2-0. Scurry sent Shimp’s corner into the zone where Virga got it to Morgan DuBois who put a nice touch on it in traffic. Chargers goalie Caroline Tighe made the initial stop, but the ball dropped at her feet where Shimp was “there at the right time” to bang it home.

Both goal scorers are confident the Cougars will return to their old form soon.

“It’s definitely a rebuilding process, but as the season goes on we’re going to learn each other,” Scurry said. “It’s just meshing together. I think it’s kind of hard right now, but we’re learning this game, we’re trying different formations, lineups to deal with. We didn’t have to (before) because we were together for so long.”

“I think the only difference is we’re just not completely used to playing with each other yet,” Shimp said. “We all have the skill, we just have to connect. I think we’ll connect eventually. We definitely have a lot of potential and I think we’re going to connect, it’s just early in season. That was definitely an improvement today because we definitely did a lot better.”

The Chargers, meanwhile, were playing their first game ever against a Salem County opponent and held their own against one of the county’s traditional bests. As an independent in their inaugural season, they could schedule at their leisure for early success and foundational confidence and did just that. Now that they’re in the TCC Classic Division, however, half the schedule is made for them and that includes at least two games each with county rivals Pennsville and Salem. 

They fell behind 2-0 in the first half, but didn’t wilt. Abby Beals got them on the board when she kept Hayden Crispin’s shot moving through the box and inside the left post with 9:45 left in the third quarter.

It looked like they got the tying goal five minutes later, but the whistle blew the play dead before the ball reached the crease. They had another good chance with 2:30 left, when Beals got it in to Crispin, but her shot just missed the right post.

“I think they did great,” Chargers coach Melissa Lewis said. “I felt like they played their game and they were very strong. They didn’t give up and they had a fire in them. They wanted this win and it’s unfortunate we didn’t get it.”

WOODSTOWN 8, DEPTFORD 0: Talia Guardascione had a pair of goals and six other Wolverines scored. Lexi Taylor and Brooke Dillion both had a goal and an assist. The eight goals were the most they’ve scored in a game since a 9-1 win over Cumberland in 2024. It was their third straight shutout.

BOYS SOCCER
Clayton 3, Salem Tech 2: Jonathan Rehm’s second goal, a penalty kick five minutes into overtime, was the game-winner. Logan Pace got the game-tying tying goal for the Chargers on a penalty kick four minutes before the end of regulation.
Penns Grove 6, Pitman 1: Juan Ortiz scores three goals.
Pennsville 2, Gloucester Catholic 0: Sam Hassler and Ugur Elmali scored goals as the Eagles got their first win of the year and extended their unbeaten streak over the Rams to six in a row.
Schalick 8, Overbrook 1: Luke Price and Tyler Vanlier each scored twice and Marco Spinnato had three assists.
Woodstown 1, Glassboro 0 (OT): Ayden Ellis collected his second game-winning goal of the season when he was credited with an own goal midway through OT1. He got the game-winner in the final five minutes against Pennsville in their season opener.

GIRLS SOCCER
Clayton 6, Salem Tech 0: Six players lit the lamp for the Clippers.
Gloucester Catholic 2, Pennsville 0: Alexa Battaglia and Olivia Pisano scored goals, Ruth Cutuli made eight saves in the shutout.
Schalick 6, Overbrook 0: Emily Miller scored three goals and Mackenzie Talarico had a goal and two assists.
Woodstown 7, Glassboro 0: Freshman Korynn Hernandez scored her third hat trick in five games.
Pitman 7, Salem 1: Erin Rudley had two goals and Emery Sharpnack had three assists for Pitman. Jaylynn Dickerson scored Salem’s goal in the fourth minute of the second half.
Woodbury 5, Penns Grove 0

GIRLS TENNIS
Pennsville 3, Buena 2
Woodstown 5, Schalick 0
Salem at Bridgeton
Timber Creek at Penns Grove

WOODSTOWN 5, SCHALICK 0
Madison LaPalomento (WO) def. Olivia Lunemann, 6-1, 6-2
Emma West (WO) def. Sebrina Bradford, 6-4, 6-4
Angelina Lindenmuth (WO) def. Jasmine Hunt, 6-4, 4-6, 10-4
Emilee Kehr-Elliana Norman (WO) def. Brooke Brown-Jasmin Perez, 6-1, 6-2
Eleanore Lawson-Isabella Lindenmuth (WO) def. Riveras Wojcik-Janae White, 6-2, 6-3
Records: Woodstown 4-3, Schalick 4-2

PENNSVILLE 3, BUENA 2
Graillyn Weber (P) def. Caroline Futty, 6-1, 6-2
Naomi Hess (P) def. Kara Horton, 6-0, 6-1
Jaisley Weber (P) def. Makenna Feaster, 6-4, 6-1
SciOni Simmons Laboy-Julie Tomasso (B) def. Aubrey Hall-Mariangela Rangel, 4-6, 6-2, 10-7
Analeigh Nardone-Isabella (B) def. Marissa Dowell-Juliana Thomas, 6-2, 4-6, 10-6
Records: Pennsville 4-2, Buena 1-4.

COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
Atlantic Cape 3, Salem CC 0

This week’s schedule

Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of Sept. 14-19; all events start at 4 p.m. unless noted

MONDAY, SEPT. 14
FIELD HOCKEY
Schalick at Salem Tech
Woodstown at Deptford
BOYS SOCCER
Gloucester Catholic at Pennsville
Overbrook at Schalick
Penns Grove at Pitman
Salem Tech at Clayton
Woodstown at Glassboro
GIRLS SOCCER
Clayton at Salem Tech
Glassboro at Woodstown
Pennsville at Gloucester Catholic
Pitman at Salem
Schalick at Overbrook
Woodbury at Penns Grove, 6 p.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Schalick at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
Buena at Pennsville
Salem at Bridgeton
Timber Creek at Penns Grove
COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
Salem CC at Atlantic Cape, 6 p.m.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 15
FIELD HOCKEY
Clayton at Pennsville
Gloucester Catholic at Salem
GIRLS TENNIS
West Deptford at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
Pennsville at Penns Grove, 6 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at GCIT, 3:45 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 16
FIELD HOCKEY
Gateway at Woodstown
Pennsville at Schalick
Salem Tech at Overbrook
BOYS SOCCER
Gloucester Catholic at Woodstown
Pennsville at Glassboro
Salem Tech at Penns Grove
Schalick at Cumberland
GIRLS SOCCER
Cumberland at Salem
Glassboro at Pennsville
Penns Grove at Salem Tech
Woodstown at Gloucester Catholic
GIRLS TENNIS
Pennsville at Glassboro, 3:45 p.m.
Pitman at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
Penns Grove at Schalick

THURSDAY, SEPT. 17
FOOTBALL
Buena at Clayton, 6 p.m.
Pleasantville at Cherokee, 6 p.m.
Cumberland at Vineland, 6 p.m.
Gateway at Sterling, 6 p.m.
Bridgeton at St. Joe (Hamm.), 6:30 p.m.
Lindenwold at Haddon Twp., 7 p.m.
West Deptford at Paul VI, 7 p.m.
FIELD HOCKEY
Schalick at Delsea
BOYS SOCCER
Pennsville at Penns Grove, 6 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Cumberland at Salem
Penns Grove at Gloucester Catholic
Schalick at Cherry Hill West
GIRLS TENNIS
Pennsville at Millville
VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Gloucester Catholic, 5:15 p.m.
COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
Salem CC at Morris, 6 p.m.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 18
FOOTBALL
Salem at Schalick, 6 p.m.
Pitman at Penns Grove, 6:30 p.m.
Burlington City at Overbrook, 7 p.m.
Shawnee at Rancocas Valley, 6 p.m.
Eastern at Northern Burlington, 6 p.m.
Allentown at Trenton, 6 p.m.
Atlantic Tech at Lower Cape May, 6 p.m.
Absegami at Hammonton, 6 p.m.
Gloucester at Triton, 6 p.m.
Lenape at Williamstown, 6 p.m.
Mainland at Holy Spirit, 6 p.m.
Millville at Kingsway, 6 p.m.
Washington Twp. at Atlantic City, 6 p.m.
Pennsauken at Cherry Hill East, 6 p.m.
Lawrence at Notre Dame, 6 p.m.
Highland at Timber Creek, 6 p.m.
Maple Shade at Bordentown, 6 p.m.
Seneca at Willingboro, 6 p.m.
Camden at Ocean City, 6 p.m.
Oakcrest at Egg Harbor, 6 p.m.
Clearview at Deptford, 6 p.m.
Cinnaminson at Cherry Hill West, 6 p.m.
Middle Twp. at Wildwood, 6 p.m.
Collingswood at Bishop Eustace, 6:30 p.m.
Ewing at Hopewell Valley, 7 p.m.
Florence at Camden Catholic, 7 p.m.
Camden Eastside at Moorestown, 7 p.m.
Delran at Haddonfield, 7 p.m.
Burlington Twp. at Delsea, 7 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Salem at Woodstown
GIRLS SOCCER
Bridgeton at Pennsville
FIELD HOCKEY
Absegami at Salem Tech
Pennsville at Bridgeton
Salem at Winslow
GIRLS TENNIS
Pitman at Salem
Schalick at Timber Creek
Woodstown at Overbrook

SATURDAY, SEPT. 19
FOOTBALL
Woodstown at Woodbury, 11 a.m.
Pennsville at Paulsboro, 11 a.m.
Hightstown at Princeton, 11 a.m.
Mastern Camden at Holy Cross, 11 a.m.
Palmyra at Gloucester Catholic, 11 a.m.
Haddon Heights at Audubon, 11 a.m.
Nottingham at Steinert, 11 a.m. 
Riverside at KIPP, noon
WW-Plainsboro at Pemberton, noon
Glassboro at Cedar Creek, 1:30 p.m.
Robbinsville at Hamilton West, 2 p.m.
Buena at Clayton, 3 p.m.
Winslow at St. Augustine, 6 p.m.
FIELD HOCKEY
Haddon Twp. at Schalick
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Thaddeus Stevens vs. Salem CC, Penns Grove H.S., noon

WJFL Scoreboard

Here is the West Jersey Football League scoreboard; it will be updated throughout the weekend

SATURDAY’S GAMES
Salem 22, Audubon 20
Penns Grove 47, Lindenwold 6
Wildwood 22, KIPP 18
Pemberton at Nottingham
Camden Estside 49, Hamilton West 0

FRIDAY’S GAMES
Schalick 41, Woodstown 0
Pennsville 41, Pitman 0
West Deptford 22, Paulsboro 0
Highland 20, Overbrook 14
Allentown 21, Collingswood 6
Atlantic Tech 27, Middle Twp. 6
Bishop Eustace 30, Camden Catholic 22
Bridgeton 20, Hammonton 6
Burlington Twp. 40, Willingboro 21
Florence 14, Palmyra 7
Gloucester 36, Sterling 10
Haddon Heights 16, Maple Shade 14
Haddonfield 31, Delsea 7
Holy Cross 19, Riverside 14
Lower Cape May 35, Cumberland 21
Notre Dame 16, Ewing 6
Oakcrest 19, Deptford 0
Paul VI 24, St. Joe (Hamm.) 14
Pleasantville 20, Cedar Creek 6
Rancocas Valley 28, Kingsway 0
St. Augustine 41, Holy Spirit 7
Steinert 34, Bordentown 7
Timber Creek 25, Triton 6
Winslow 21, Glassboro 7


THURSDAY’S GAMES
Atlantic City 47, Eastern 7
Buena 24, Mastery Camden 0
Clayton 50, Haddon Twp. 7
Delran 34, Cinnaminson 0
Egg Harbor 29, Clearview 20
Hopewell Valley 41, Burlington City 0
Lenape 3, Cherokee 0
Moorestown 35, Hightstown 0
Northern Burlington 43, Trenton 42
Princeton 34, Robbinsville 7
Seneca 41, Mainland 6
Shawnee 35, Cherry Hill East 13
Vineland 35, Pennsauken 17
Washington Twp. 21, Williamstown 0
WW-Plainsboro 18, Gloucester Catholic 14
Woodbury 22, Gateway 20

Case for the defense

Schalick wraps up Woodstown 41-0 for first shutout since 2024, Cougars 3-0 for first time since 2023

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – For the first two weeks of the season much of the love being thrown at the Schalick football team has been directed towards the offense. The defense hadn’t been playing badly. Quite the contrary. It’s just been overshadowed by some of the prodigious offensive numbers.

Make room for the defense, boys. Coming through.

The defense has been good all year, but it was at its best Friday night. Going back to the defense they played against Maple Shade in the season-opener, the Cougars held Woodstown to less than 100 net yards and nowhere close to the end zone in a 41-0 win. It was their first shutout since 2024, a year they had three and came within a safety of a fourth. 

“The kids deserve all the credit in the world,” Cougars coach Kevin Leamy said. “They had a gameplan and it wasn’t overly complicated, they just executed. They were relentless. They gang tackled. There were 11 hats to the ball. It was phenomenal team defense.

“I think we’ve been playing (good) defense all year. I think we’re just starting to stay more focused. Last week we had a shutout until 40 seconds left; we just took a play off at the end of the game. These kids weren’t taking any plays off tonight.”

The Cougars’ defense has given up only 12 points all season and has scored 12 points themselves, including Gage Brown-Smith’s fumble recovery in the end zone on the last play of the third quarter here, so their plus-minus for the year is a net zero. 

Through three games they have allowed a total of 307 yards — 130 rushing (on 66 carries), 170 passing. And the two touchdowns they did give up, both were bolts from the blue. Linebacker Nick Lopergolo called them “spoofs … should’ve never happened.” One came on a 39-yard pass with two missed tackles three plays into the season and the other came on an 80-yard mistake with 40 seconds left in their second game. 

“No matter how much attention we get we know that our defense is the best part of our team,” linebacker Ayden Jenkins said. “it has the most chemistry and Leamy puts us in the best possible position every single week. I don’t think any team is going to really be able to hang with us just because they’re not going to be able to score.”

Woodstown never got close. The Cougars limited their hosts to just two first downs and for as much as the Wolverines worked Cole Ware they had only 52 yards rushing. Their biggest play of the night was a 15-yard gain by Ware in the second quarter. They only ran seven plays in Schalick territory and one of those was a fourth-and-1 stopped cold by Evan Elliott.

“We just didn’t get the job tonight,” Woodstown coach Frank Trautz said. “We flat out just did not get the job done. It was just one of those nights. I did not expect it to go like this tonight.”

“Our defense plays so intense,” Lopergolo said. “We just fire off the ball. It’s 100 percent full throttle every single play, and we have kids behind us who play with the same intensity. That’s what really helps our defense, knowing that whoever’s in we can trust.”

Schalick’s offense, however, did its usual thing. The Cougars scored on their first two possessions with David Stewart opening the scoring with a 5-yard touchdown run and Kenny Bartee scoring from the 2 after Stewart returned an interception inside the 5.

The Cougars have started each of their first two games with a interesting first play and they sort of did this week with a reverse on their first play from scrimmage. But they saved the real razzle-dazzle for the last play of the half when Jenkins threw a 23-yard halfback pass to Gio Alicea to make it 21-0.

“We’ve run that play for the last couple years,” Jenkins said. “We ran it against Glassboro last year; it worked pretty well. It was just a perfect time to run that play.”

“The kids just like having that element of old-fashioned back-yard football,” Leamy said. “Just have something up your sleeve that’s fun that they can practice during the week. Like I said last week, we’re going to be aggressive if the opportunity presents itself.”

The end of the half marked the end of the night for Bartee. He was lifted for purely precautionary reasons after aggravating a couple parts of his body in the first half. 

The Cougars added three touchdowns in the third quarter – a 3-yard run by Jenkins, a 7-yard pass from Gary Simonini to Elliott that put the game in running clock mode, and Gage-Brown’s fumble recovery in the end zone after Elliott dislodged the ball from Woodstown quarterback Mason Middlemiss.

SCHAL (41)WOODS (0)
12First Downs2
32-225Rushing25-52
5-10-0Passes1-5-1
61Passing Yards4
0-0Fumbles-Lost1-1
2-40.0Punts-Avg.4-37.3
7-55Penalties-Yards9-68
Schalick147200-41
Woodstown0000-0

SCORING SUMMARY
S-David Stewart 5 run (Shawn Kelly kick), 6:13 1Q
S-Kenny Bartee 2 run (Shawn Kelly kick), 3:05 1Q
S-Gio Alicea 23 pass from Ayden Jenkins (Shawn Kelly kick), 0:03 2Q
S-Ayden Jenkins 3 run (Shawn Kelly kick), 9:20 3Q
S-Evan Elliott 7 pass from Gary Simonini (Shawn Kelly kick), 4:39 3Q
S-Gage Brown-Smith fumble recovery in end zone (kick blocked), 0:00 3Q

Cougars right ship

Schalick soccer bounces back after rare season-opening loss; roundup includes results and highlights from Thursday’s Salem County sports calendar

BOYS SOCCER
Clayton 3, Pennsville 0
Overbrook 2, Woodstown 1
Salem at Salem Tech, ppd.
Schalick 7, Penns Grove 0
GIRLS SOCCER
Pennsville 3, Clayton 2
Salem Tech 7, Salem 1
Schalick 8, Penns Grove 0
Woodstown 5, Overbrook 0
FIELD HOCKEY
Salem Tech 6, Gloucester Catholic 0
Pennsville 4, Salem 1
Woodstown 2, Schalick 0
GIRLS TENNIS
Woodstown 4, Pennsville 1
Schalick 5, Salem 0

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – Mano Massari’s Penns Grove soccer team was coming off an inspiring season-opening win looking forward to getting off to a good start. Then he looked at the schedule.

There was Schalick on the next line. Massari knew what that meant, but it was going to be even more challenging than usual. This was a Schalick team coming off a loss. He’d seen this movie before.

The Cougars are a tough out under normal conditions, but don’t get them when they’re mad.

In three of the previous four regular-season meetings between the teams Schalick came into the Penns Grove game reeling from a loss or a tie and handled the Red Devils pretty well. It happened again Thursday, 7-0.

Last year the Cougars came to Penns Grove off a loss to rival Woodstown — and back-to-back losses at that — and won 7-1. In the return game, they were coming off a scoreless tie with the Wolverines and won 4-0. The year before they beat them 5-0 coming off a loss to Cinnaminson. They have now won eight in a row in the series.

“Schalick is Schalick,” Massari said. “I think there’s a big gap between us right now. I think there has been for a few years. They’re a talented group. You can tell they’re very well coached. They listen, they’re very disciplined and they execute. They finish their opportunities; that’s something we need to be better at. We had little to no opportunities today.

“They proved they’re still a top dog. They’re the measuring stick for us right now. We knew it was going to be tough. I think the last couple times we’ve played them they’ve come in off of a loss. I don’t know if they have extra motivation because they’re coming off of a loss, but they really have been our Kryptonite for the last few years.”

Schalick coach Joe Mannella called it purely coincidental Penns Grove has fallen as the next team on the schedule so many times after a rare Schalick loss, but the Cougars were very much in need of a win to get their season started. They were coming off a season-opening 3-0 loss to Delran, the first time since 2022 they lost a season opener and the first time since 2018 they were blanked in one. You have to go back before 2010 to find the last time they started a season 0-2.

“We finally scored,” Manella said. “We had a bunch of scrimmages and the Delran game we weren’t scoring goals. Scoring goals and winning games cures a lot of ailments and we started to question our confidence, question ourselves and wonder how good are we. This helps. We’ve still got a lot to do, but this certainly is what we needed.

“To most competitors your pride gets bruised (in a loss) and you want to get out there and prove yourself. We certainly made a point that we wanted to get the taste of that loss Tuesday out of our mouth and start feeling good about ourselves. We don’t want to hit a losing streak or anything like that so you definitely dig down a little bit, try a little harder, and don’t give them anything.”

The Cougars went right at their hosts. Sophomore Josh Stecher scored their first goal of the season and the first of his two in the game when he buried a shot from the right side of the box into the far left corner two minutes into the match. He was credited with the game’s second score 17 minutes later when his crossing pass caromed home off a Penns Grove defender into the goal. Connor McQuade and Nolan O’Toole made it 4-0 with two quick goals in the 23rd minute.

Marco Spinnato scored two goals a minute part in the second half and Jake Sepers scored on a penalty kick. Stecher scored the Cougars’ first two and Spinnato scored their last two.

“We knew we could win this game by a lot and we just wanted to smash this team because of what happened to us last year,” Stecher said. “Every time we play this team we play very well. I don’t know why we play really well against this team, but we always play pretty good.”

The Cougars could’ve had a lot more. Penns Grove freshman keeper Ruben Torres Saenz stoned Luke Price and Spinnato three times one-on-one between Stecher’s two goals and the Cougars hit the post three times in the game. The goalie was credited with 30 saves on the reporting form.

“I’m very happy with how my keeper performed today,” Massari said. “I think a lot of their goals were second opportunities. I think he made really good saves and my defense was caught lacking. I think as a freshman going against that team and showing what he showed today, he showed a lot guts. I think he shows he can play with these guys.

“He’s a calm kid every day and I don’t think he gets rattled very much. He knew we were playing a very good team. I don’t think he realized how good, but I think he stepped up and showed us something. Dwayne (Guzman) left a big hole for us and last year I didn’t know what we were going to do. I had nobody and now we have this kid, who, quite frankly, looked better as a freshman his first game than Dwayne did. It’s the first game of the season, but it’s promising. That was the one bright spot for us today.”

Top photo: Penns Grove’s Esvin Padilla (5) slides in to deny Schalick’s Marco Spinnato a scoring chance in the first half.

CLAYTON 3, PENNSVILLE 0: Jonathan Rehm scored all three goals in the battle of TCC Classic Division contenders. Rehm scored early in the first half and then converted a pair of King Mosley passes in the second. Justin Delaney made 10 saves in recording the shutout.

OVERBROOK 2, WOODSTOWN 1: Brian Reyes broke a 1-1 tie with a goal eight minutes before halftime and the teams slugged it out in a scoreless second half. Don Milhomme scored Woodstown’s game-tying goal in the 18th minute. Woodstown peppered the goal with 24 shots, but couldn’t get the equalizer.

Girls soccer

PENNSVILLE 3, CLAYTON 2: Sloan Marquette bent a corner kick around the near left post with 3:16 left in the first overtime to bring the Eagles the victory.

The Eagles fell behind 1-0, but took a 2-1 lead on a pair of goals less than two minutes apart late in the first half. Karson Cooksey tied the game with 8:19 left in the half off another Marquette corner kick. Abby Marandola made it 2-1 with 6:31 left in the half.

Clayton’s Madi Traister tied the game with her second goal with 22:18 left in regulation.

SCHALICK 8, PENNS GROVE 0: Nicolette Bloomer and Mackenzie Talarico both scored a pair of goals for the second game in a row and Kyleigh Cutler had a goal and three assists to lead the Cougars. Emily Miller, Karlie Bakley and freshman Giuliana Martin, notched Schalick’s other goals.

WOODSTOWN 5, OVERBROOK 0: Freshman Korynn Hernandez scored her second hat trick in three games. Bella Lucas and Krysten Dussault had the Wolverines’ other goals and Hailey Kucharczuk dished three assists. Mazie Mazzoni made three saves in recording her second shutout.

“She’s a threat anywhere on the field and capitalizes on all her opportunities,” Woodstown coach Kieran Keyser said of Hernandez. “She’s very technically sound, aggressive, fast, and just has a knack for finding the back of the net.”

SALEM TECH 7, SALEM 1: Allie Wentz and Abigail Leuallen each scored a pair of goals and the Chargers tied the program record for goals in a game while winning their season opener for the first time in school history. Kapri Holmes, Olivia Blais and Peyton Pratt scored the Chargers’ only goals and Bryn McLaughlin had two assists. Lyric Hayes scored Salem’s goal in the second half.

Field hockey

PENNSVILLE 4, SALEM 1: The Eagles scored their first goal of the season and gave coach Cass Massari her first official career coaching win.

Massari guided the Eagles to three October wins during head coach Lisa Doran’s medical leave last season, but the win in Thursday’s home opener was all her own.

“It feels really good and it feels really good for the girls to have this under their belt, too,” Massari said. “They were coming off the 8-0 loss to a win; it felt very good to them. They kept their spirits up even though they were coming off that loss and they wanted it today.”

Junior Brianna Hill, one of 10 Eagles playing the sport for the first time, scored the Eagles’ first goal of the season. Massari brought defender Addy Hitt up after the goal as a reward for her impressive early-season stick work and the sophomore responded with the game’s second goal. Kendall Hoyt and Polina Wright scored their other two goals.

“We played well,” Massari said. “We have a very inexperienced team. We have 17 girls on our roster and 10 of them have never played before. We have a ton of girls who this is their first year ever picking up a stick. They’re learning, but they’re learning quick, which is good, because they want to learn. They’re all very motivated to learn the sport, learn the game, and they have positive attitudes.”

WOODSTOWN 2, SCHALICK 0: Joey Foote and Lexi Taylor both scored goals on first-half penalty corners and the Wolverines snapped a five-game winless streak in the series. Kendall Higgins made three saves in posting the shutout.

It’s starting out to be a different kind of year for the Cougars. They fell to 0-2 for the first time since 2013 and have yet to score a goal.

SALEM TECH 6, GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 0: Hazel Eachus and Hayden Crispin each scored a pair of goals as the Chargers bounced back from a season-opening loss. Araya DiGregorio and Jessilynn Chambers scored the other goals.

Abigail Beals had a pair of assists and senior goalie Caroline Tighe made five saves in recording the shutout, with a defensive assist from Chambers to keep the sheet clean. The Chargers won nine games in their inaugural season last year, eight by shutout, so the trend continues.

Girls tennis

SCHALICK 5, SALEM 0
Olivia Lunemann (SC) def. Heaven Jones-McCullough, 6-3, 6-0
Sebrina Bradford (SC) def. JaNye Hubbard, 6-1, 6-0
Jasmine Hunt (SC) def. Erica Brewer, 6-0, 6-0
Janae White-Abigail Sotela Hernandez (SC) won by forfeit
River Wojcik-Brooke Brown (SC) won by forfeit
Records: Schalick 4-1, Salem 0-3.

WOODSTOWN 4, PENNSVILLE 1
Graillyn Weber (P) def. Madison LaPalomento, 6-2, 6-1
Emma West (WO) def. Naomi Hess, 1-6, 7-5, 10-8
Angelina Lindenmuth (WO) def. Jaisley Weber, 6-2, 6-0
Elliana Norman-Emilee Kehr (WO) def. Aubrey Hall-Mariangela Rangel, 6-1, 6-1
Isabella Lindenmuth-Eleanore Lawson (WO) def. Juliana Thomas-Yasary Clemente Brito, 6-2, 6-2
Records: Woodstown 3-3, Pennsville 2-2.

Salem CC volleyball

Mighty Oaks fall to DelTech in three sets, roundup includes results from Wednesday’s Salem County high school sports calendar

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT — When you’re starting a program from scratch you can expect more ups and downs than a rollercoaster. Take a step forward, then move a step back. It’s the dance card on the way to consistency.

For the upstart Salem CC volleyball team Wednesday night qualified as a step back, although the Mighty Oaks were starting to take step forward in the final set of the night.

The Mighty Oaks remained winless in their maiden season after Delaware Tech dispatched them 3-0 in 58 minutes. They lost the first two sets 25-5 and 25-1, but came back to a grab an early lead in the third set before falling 25-13.

“We saw Del Tech, they were our very first scrimmage of the season, and they are very solid and really good,” SCC coach Andrea Bartlett said. “Absolute kudos to them; they are a fantastic team, and I think the girls were intimidated. Even though they know they put the work in and they know they’ve gotten better, they were still intimidated from the get-go.

“Our game is such a mental game we took longer than anticipated to get through that mental block. We started turning things around a little bit in the third set.”

The Mighty Oaks (0-4) scored only two points on their own serve in the first two sets. They fell behind in the first set 11-1 and Del Tech (3-4) closed it out with 14 of the last 15 points. The visitors scored the first 18 points of the second set before a serving error ended their run and gave Salem its only point.

The Mighty Oaks could have packed it in after nearly being shutout in the second set, but they were determined to make something of the evening. They held leads in the third set of 6-4, 9-5 and 11-9. A kill by Kelianne Swartz gave them a 12-10 lead, then DelTech stormed back with 15 of the last 16 points to close out the match.

“We are working on those mental skills,” Bartlett said. “Mental skills are just as important as the physical skills, so we have to practice working through that because we are going to run into situations like that and it’s how we prepare for them so we are able to push through like we did in that third set.

“I keep telling them we have 11 personalties here that we are trying to put into a six-piece puzzle. Some nights it works, some nights it doesn’t work. Some nights I’ve got to flip the puzzle around. We are still figuring out what works for each player. But they’re still working, they have not given up. They’re all in.”

Prep volleyball

TRITON 2, SALEM TECH 0: The Mustangs won a tight second set to complete the sweep and remain undefeated. The set scores were 25-13, 25-23. No other details were available. The loss snapped the Chargers’ two-game winning streak.

Girls tennis

SEWELL — The Minutemaids won three third-set tiebreakers to sweep the Wolverines.

WASHINGTON TWP. 5, WOODSTOWN 0
Jillian Lai (WT) def. Madison LaPalomento, 6-2, 6-3
Julia Agli (WT) def. Emma West, 6-3, 6-4
Taylor Minchin (WT) def. Angelina Lindenmuth, 6-4, 1-6, 12-10
Julianna Delosso-Kourtney Spina (WT) def. Elliana Norman-Emilee Kehr, 5-7, 7-5, 10-4
Hannah Thomas-Emily DeVecchio (WT) def. Isabella Lindenmuth-Eleanore Lawson, 5-7, 6-2, 10-7
Records: Washington Twp. 1-2, Woodstown 2-3.

Cross country

PILESGROVE — Woodstown’s David Farrell and Abby Marino were the top Salem County finishers in their respective races at the Tri-County Batch Meet at Marlton Park.

Farrell ran 18:25.20 to finish 15th in the boys race. Marino ran 23:15.85 to finish 11th in the girls race. Trevor Szilier of Washington Twp. won the boys race (16:52.44) and Kingsway’s Ava Buchanan won the girls race (20:21.15).

Here are the fastest runners from the other Salem County teams at the meet:

BOYS: 24. Levin Seals, Salem Tech, 19:02.75; 30. Aidan Cain, Schalick, 19:13.84; 48. Carter Marts, Pennsville, 19:59.59; 81. Aidan Dominguez, Penns Grove, 21:15.58; 82. Dominic Finfinger, Salem, 21:16.25.

GIRLS: 25. Emma Wilbur, Schalick, 24:35.85; 28. Sawyer Slad, Pennsville, 24:47.53; 84. Paityn Harrington, Salem Tech, 31:38.94.



Stat leaders: Dazzling debut

Penns Grove freshman Thomas makes impressive high school debut, has third-best game in state last week; includes Salem County football leaders through Sept. 5

THIS WEEK’S GAMES
Friday’s Games
Schalick at Woodstown, 6 p.m.
Pennsville at Pitman, 7 p.m.
Saturday’s Games
Audubon at Salem, noon
Lindenwold at Penns Grove, noon

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – Jaivon Thomas may have surprised the world in his first ever high school football game last Friday night, but the folks around the Penns Grove football program have known the freshman was special for a long time.

“Ever since he was 5 years old he was good,” Red Devils coach Damian Ware said.

Thomas burst on the scene with the third-best rushing performance in the state last week in the Red Devils’ 48-20 win at Buena. He ran for 290 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries, threw a touchdown pass and had an interception on defense. Only Gateway’s Lamar Smith (30-344-3) and Camden Catholic’s Nymir Daily (31-305-4) had more yards on the ground last weekend..

The Red Devils’ leading rusher all last season only collected 293 yards.

Ware called Thomas a “future phenom” when he talked about him in the preseason, but the 5-6, 145-pound freshman showed the future is now against the Chiefs. He has the potential to have another big night this week when the Red Devils play Lindenwold Saturday.

Thomas scored on runs of 17, 70 and 60 yards and had another 59-yard burst that didn’t reach the end zone, often squirming his way through traffic to break into the open field. He threw a 65-yard TD pass to Jerry Wooton. His interception came at the 1, then he covered the 99 yards going the other way on the next two plays.

“He has some instincts and some things he does and his understanding of the game when you talk to him about it … he’s a different type of player,” Ware said. “During a timeout I was throwing it out there that I think I want to run the halfback pass. He looked at me and said, ‘yeah, yeah, run it coach. I’m gonna dime that thing.’ He definitely dimed it. It was right on stride, Jerry caught it and kept running.”

The last freshman running back to make such an impact on the Red Devils’ program was Karon Ceaser, and he was the program’s first true freshman skill position starter in nearly 20 years when he started against Burlington City in the 2023 opener. Ceaser ran for 155 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries in that game on his way to a 1,000-yard season.

Thomas made his developmental bones with the Olympus youth football program. That group produced several Penns Grove natives currently starring in other programs in the region, but Thomas is “locked in” to his hometown school.

“We knew who he was, he had a reputation coming into high school,” Ware said. “He came up to me in the beginning of the summer and said, ‘Coach I’m staying here. I don’t want to play anywhere else. I want to play for Penns Grove.’ He was locked in from the start.

“Everybody wanted him. Everybody still wants him. He’s going to have great success in Penns Grove. It’s not about where you’re at, it’s about what you do where you’re at.”

He’s already off to a great start.

Rushing

PLAYERCAR.YARDSTD
Kenny Bartee, Schalick223616
Jaivon Thomas, Penns Grove122903
Cole Ware, Woodstown36223o
David Stewart, Schalick151673
Terrell Thomas, Penns Grove9853
Ayden Jenkins, Schalick13840
Cashmir Parsley, Salem14771
Mason Middlemiss, Woodstown19683
Tristan Horner, Pennsville21572
Aidan Collazo, Pennsville5530
Freddie Allen, Schalick7471

Passing

PLAYERC-A-IYARDSTD
Jake Layfield, Pennsville50-80-25896
Owen McDonald, Salem9-25-3761
Mason Middlemiss, Woodstown7-13-3721
Kenny Bartee, Schalick2-9-0320
Damien Robinson, Penns Grove3-5-0100
3 attempts min. per game

Receiving

CHASE JOHNSON
PLAYERNO.YARDSTD
Chase Johnson, Pennsville193133
Lucas Thomas, Pennsville9641
Aidan Collazo, Pennsville7780
Tristan Horner, Pennsville7340
Jacob Kimani, Pennsville6691
Jerry Wooton, Penns Grove4691
KaiSiere Muhammad, Salem2460
Gio Alicea, Schalick2320
Nehemiah Carter, Woodstown2230
Dante Cummings, Pennsville2111
Cole Ware, Woodstown240
Isaiah Santiago, Salem211
Based on number of receptions

Team Leaders

TEAMRUSHC-A-IPASSPFPA
PENNS GROVE (1-0)4154-6-0754820
PENNSVILLE (1-1)4850-80-25895449
SALEM (0-2)899-25-3762063
SCHALICK (2-0)6994-11-0599112
WOODSTOWN (1-1)3097-13-3722834