Last-minute heroics

Schalick lives up to its season theme by finding a way to win, driving to score the winning TD against Gloucester City in the final minute

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE – Kenai Simmons apologized for the quality of his voice as he talked about the game-winning drive, but it was that kind of game. It was one of those games that took all the encouragement he could muster to drive his team to victory.

Simmons capped a 59-yard drive with a 20-yard touchdown run with 56 seconds to play Friday night to give Schalick a dramatic 17-14 win over Gloucester City in the season opener for both teams.

**Schalick 17,**
**Gloucester City 14**
NEXT: vs. Pitman,
Friday, 7 p.m.

The Cougars held the lead for most of the game until Gloucester scored on a 19-yard fourth-down pass with 4:38 left. The score came after Schalick had to punt from its end zone after its defense made two stops on the goal line, led by T.J. Hymer, to keep the Lions out of the end zone on the previous possession.

It would have been a tough way to lose considering the way the Cougars played all game against last year’s Central Jersey Group II finalist.

But Simmons, who just took over the quarterback job this season after not playing the position since youth football, flawlessly directed a seven-play drive to give Schalick back the lead.

Nothing was going to keep him out of the end zone He started the drive with a 24-yard pass to Dylan Sheehan. He moved the chains with an 8-yard gain on third down that looked like it was going nowhere off the snap. And then he slipped through a crowded backfield into open field on his go-ahead touchdown.

Schalick quarterback Kenai Simmons (1) races to the corner of the end zone for the game-winning touchdown. Running back Reggie Allen (4) leads the celebration in the top photo. (Photos by Heather Papiano)

“I don’t think my words could explain how eager I was to get in the end zone,” Simmons said. “We owed them one, No. 1, and we worked too hard for this to let them come back on us like that on our home turf.

“The way my team was pushing me around, like let’s go, we have this, we’ve got it in us. Before we started moving the ball down the field, I was like, OK, we’re on the same level right now and I like that. It encouraged me even more to get in there.”

There was still some time on the clock, but the Cougars sealed it when kicker Hunter Dragotta drilled a rocket of a kickoff that bounced off the return man’s helmet and was recovered by Nylan Sutton at the 23.

Simmons took a knee twice and the Cougars had their victory in the longest running series in their program’s history.

“We’ve been preaching since the offseason and you’ll see it on our shirts, it’s called Find A Way To Win,” Cougars coach Mike Wilson said. “We told the kids it would take 48 minutes and play every play like it’s a new play and they did that tonight.

“They believed in themselves, they’ve been working hard and they truly found a way to win. We made some young mistakes tonight, but we persevered and found a way.”

Gloucester opened the game with an 80-yard touchdown drive, but Schalick answered with Levi Freeney-Childers’ 5-yard touchdown run and took the lead with Dragotta’s extra point. Dragotta also kicked a 32-yard field goal on the final play of the first half to give the Cougars a 10-6 halftime lead.

The kicker was setting up for a 29-yarder late in the third quarter that would have extended the Cougars lead, but a bad snap foiled the attempt.

Schalick controlled the ball in such a fashion Gloucester ran only 16 plays in the first half and 21 through three quarters.

Those last five plays were the start of the drive that Schalick eventually stuffed at the goal line. The Lions had gotten to the 1 on third down, but Hymer and his linemates stuffed Lions quarterback Jake Seibert twice.

“The center couldn’t push me around; I stood my ground and made sure I was playing,” Hymer said. “That’s probably the tiredest I’ve ever felt in a football game, but I knew I had to fight. I had to.

“I knew it was coming right to me because they thought they could bully us through the way they charged the ball down the field. Well, I stood up and made a stop. We made a stop. I knew that center was nervous, he had to get the push but didn’t, and I took it and ran with it. I didn’t come this far just to sit down and cry. I had to keep on pushing.”

Wilson considered taking a safety when his offense didn’t move the ball off the goal line, letting Dragotta kick it deep on the free kick and putting it in the hands of his defense from long range.

He did put it in the hands of defense, but from only 25 yards away as the Cougars punted from their end zone. They almost held the Lions there, but Gloucester scored its go-ahead touchdown against a broken coverage.

**Schalick lineman T.J. Hymer (56) made two huge stops on the goal line to keep the Lions out of the end zone. (Photo by Heather Papiano)**

Schalick 17, Gloucester City 14

GLOU CITY (14)		SCHALICK (17)
11	1st Downs	13
21-111	Rushes-yds	38-134
5-9-2	Passes	5-5-0
91	Passing yds	34
3-2	Fum-Lost	0-0
0-0	Punts-avg	0-0
6-60	Penalties-yds	2-10

Gloucester City	6	0	0	8 —	14
Schalick	7	3	0	7 —	17

Scoring plays
GC – Jaden Garris 22 pass from Jake Seibert (kick failed), 4:52 1Q
S – Levi Freeney-Childers 5 run (Hunter Dragotta kick), 0:35 1Q
S – Hunter Dragotta 32 FG, 0:00 2Q
GC – Justin Frazer 19 pass from Jake Seibert (Jaden Garris pass from Jake Seibert), 4:38 4Q
S – Kenai Simmons 20 run (Hunter Dragotta kick) 0:56 4Q

**Schalick’s L.J. Loney (57) and Alec Bramell bring heavy pressure to Gloucester quarterback Jack Seibert. (Photo by Heather Papiano)**

Legacy opener

Schalick has a lot of history with opening-night opponent Gloucester City; Cougars to recognize 2003 title team, former player

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE – If Mike Wilson weren’t coaching football, chances are you’d find him wandering around some old Civil War battlefield soaking in all the history it has to offer.

He’s been to almost all of them. The self-described “history nerd” could probably give you a tour of Gettysburg off the top of his head and make it just as real as if he were standing under a witness tree watching the battle unfold in front of him.

**Friday: Gloucester City**
**at Schalick, 7 p.m.**

History is a big part of the talks he gives his Schalick football team and it’s the underlying theme as the Cougars open their season at home Friday night against Gloucester City.

The teams may be 30 miles apart but have a rich history together. The Cougars have played the Lions more than any team in their football history (43 times). You could look it up. Assistant coach Frank Amar did.

“One of the coaches said we’ve played them so much how come they’re not our trophy game,” Wilson said.

The teams have played almost continuously since 1977, missing only in 1989 and 1990 and 2018-21. Gloucester won the first meeting 12-0 and leads the series 29-13-1, but the tide has turned in recent years with Schalick winning 12 of the last 18. The Cougars’ first win came in 1984.

There’s more history than that surrounding this game and this season. The Cougars will recognize the 20^thanniversary of their 2003 South Jersey Group I championship team and honor the memory of former player and local legend Anthony Allen, who lost his battle with cancer during the offseason.

No Schalick player will wear Allen’s jersey number this season and the team will wear a commemorative “42” decal on the back of their helmets in tribute to a player whose legacy in the community goes beyond the football record book.

“I think it’s important to remember history,” Wilson said. “We talk about that a lot with the kids, the history of our program. It’s important for the kids to know what came before them so they can build on that.”

The Cougars will be out to make some new history Friday night. They haven’t won a season opener since 2019 (Palmyra 30-8) – the year before Wilson became head coach – and lost to the Lions in last year’s opener 21-0 when the series renewed after a four-year break.

“We’ve been preparing for this game probably the past month,” fullback Riley Papiano said. “We’re more than ready for this game, getting every single player as we can the most ready we can be for any team we’re going to be playing.”

It’s certainly not an easy opener. The Lions are a hard-nosed, blue-collar type team that went 9-3 last year and return 13 starters from a group that lost to Willingboro in the Central Jersey Group II final.

“We felt looking at our division schedule and our goal is to play playoff football; we needed to somebody with a higher strength index,” Wilson explained. “They were junior heavy last year, we were kind of senior heavy and this year we’re switched. They were last year what we are right now.”

The Cougars may be a little younger than their opening-night opponent, but they have a returning group Wilson says “who can play with anybody.” They’ve also added a dimension the Lions didn’t see last year.

They have injected enough of a passing element to their offense to make teams respect that part of their game and Kenai Simmons has come along to become an effective dual threat. Simmons says it will make them “way harder” for teams to stop them this season.

“We’re ready,” Wilson said. “As a coach you always want more preparation, but we’re ready to go.”

Photo: Kenai Simmons (L) has moved to quarterback with an increased role as a passer for the Cougars and Riley Papiano is in a new role at fullback.

This week’s schedule

Here is the Salem County high school sports schedule for the week of Aug. 20-26. The football games of Aug. 25 are regular-season openers, everything else listed is a scrimmage

Aug. 21
FOOTBALL
Buena at Pennsville, 10 a.m.

Aug. 23
GIRLS TENNIS
Millville at Schalick, 9 a.m.
Vineland at Pennsville, 10 a.m.

Aug. 24
FOOTBALL
Haddon Heights at Pennsville, 6 p.m.
Delsea at Woodstown, 7 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Pleasantville at Penns Grove, 10 a.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Salem at Deptford Twp., 9 a.m.
Woodstown at Triton Regional, 9 a.m.
West Deptford at Pennsville, 10 a.m.

Aug. 25
FOOTBALL
Burlington City at Penns Grove, 10 a.m.
Gloucester City at Schalick, 7 p.m.
Salem vs. Executive Education Academy at Lafayette College, 7 p.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Penns Grove at Pleasantville, 10 a.m.
Pennsville at Millville, 10 a.m.

Cover photo by Ellen Sickler

Rams settle in

Salem’s only preseason scrimmage before season opener nets good results for new coach Mendoza; Schalick, Woodstown also scrimmage Saturday

TRI-STATE SCRIMMAGE
at Thomas McKean HS, Wilmington
McKean 8, Olney 0
Salem 0, Olney 0
Salem 14, McKean 0

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WILIMINGTON, Del. – It was about an hour before the not-so-meaningless preseason scrimmage and new Salem football coach Danny Mendoza was standing in the end zone inspecting the field on which his team was about to play.

As he watched the other two teams on the program – Philly’s Olney High and host Thomas McKean – warm up, he didn’t mind saying he was feeling butterflies for the first time in a while. It was a lot like the feeling he had before his first spring game as a head coach in Florida.

Here he was, a new coach with a new team, teaching a whole new offense and defense to a team that was about to face a couple outside opponents in live action for the first time – and only time before opening the season for real next week. What was there to be nervous about?

“It’s the new beginnings, taking over a program with the tradition that we have here,” Mendoza said. “It’s the unknown right now and seeing if they bought into what we were selling and what we were doing and hoping all the work we put and the belief that we have in them showed and it came to fruition.

“That’s always the deal. Not nervous for myself, more nervous for them and it worked out well at the end.”

Outside of the usual glitches that accompany a first time on stage, the Rams acquitted themselves well in their two halves of action.

They dominated Olney in their first half and by rights should have scored two touchdowns, but had to settled for a scoreless tie after two fumbles from inside Trojans territory killed their possessions. They came back and beat McKean 14-0, yielding only 31 net yards, with most of those coming on one disputed pass completion late in the game.

“I think they were a little nervous going out there and once we warmed up a little bit and got it going … we definitely saw what we wanted to see in the second half,” Mendoza said. “The offense we’ve got to clean some stuff up, kind of believe in what we’re doing, but at the end of the day solid performance from everybody. Without the mishaps, we should be a team to be reckoned with.”

**Salem QB Ramaji Bundy watches his defense at work in Saturday’s scrimmage.**

One of the more intriguing parts of Mendoza’s first camp in Salem is implementing a new offense while replacing an All-Diamond Division quarterback with an All-Diamond receiver.

Ramaji Bundy, who has nearly 1,500 receiving yards the last three seasons, has been handed the keys to the Rams’ offense and even though he’s learning on the go, it’s as if he’s never left.

“I like it well,” Bundy said of the transition. “I played quarterback all my life since pee-wee league, so coming up playing quarterback again, it’s not really too hard. I just have to get that experience again because it’s on the high school level this time.

“(The offense) kind of fits me well. We’ve got a 50-50 pass-run offense and we’re mixing in a lot of stuff. Everything is running well, to be honest. It’s like the Baltimore offense and (he’s like) Lamar Jackson … I’m a big Lamar fan, but I like Jalen Hurts better.”

Bundy was 1-for-5 passing in the scrimmage with a 36-yard completion to Omarion Pierce against Olney, and had a couple other nice throws that didn’t connect. He rushed for 57 yards in the two halves and scored on a 13-yard run against McKean. He would’ve had more against Olney, but was charged with a big loss when he lost the handle preparing to pass and tried to kick the ball out of bounds.

“He’s a ballplayer and we knew that coming into it,” Mendoza said. “We saw a hell of a player that’s going to have a hell of a season and we just look forward to watching that kid shine.”

Terrance Smith scored the first touchdown of the Mendoza era with a 25-yard burst in the first series against McLean. Ethan Young kicked both extra points. Smith rushed for 38 yards and Jared Pew had 44.

The defense made several big plays with Markhai Brown delivering a bone-jarring hit, Kyree Little packing a sack, Detric Simmons making life miserable for opposing ballcarriers and Kaden Robinson snaring an interception. The Rams held their two opponents to a combined 1 net yard rushing on 10 total carries.

“Seeing guys fly around like that, I’m excited for our defense,” Mendoza said.

The Rams play their first real game of the Mendoza era Friday in Lafayette College’s Fisher Stadium against Executive Education Academy of Allentown, Pa.

**Terrance Smith (4) is congratulated by his teammates after scoring Salem’s first touchdown for new coach Danny Mendoza in Saturday’s scrimmage.**

Cougars come alive

DEPTFORD – Schalick played two live-ball varsity quarters against Deptford Twp. and after a slow start scored on its last two possessions to win that portion of the scrimmage 14-6.

Deptford opened the scrimmage with a 19-play drive, pushing it in from the 1, and then held the Cougars to a three-and-out. Once the Cougars got comfortable, they came alive.

Quarterback Kenai Simmons found the end zone from the red zone and Reggie Allen scored from the goal line. The defense had a three-and-out and takeaway on downs after the opening drive.

Sophomore kicker Hunter Dragotta hit both extra points, including a long first one backed up by a celebration penalty. Dragotta was 19 of 23 on PATs last season and at one point made 16 in a row.

“We kind of woke up a little bit, shook the cobwebs off and generated a lot of pressure,” Schalick coach Mike Wilson said. “We could’ve played a whole game today. Our kids aren’t even tired. I like our conditioning. We’re definitely in football shape.

“We’ve got to clean stuff up, there’s things we have to get better, but for a game scrimmage we got better since Wednesday. Just get better next week and get ready for when it gets real.”

The Cougars open their season at home Friday 7 p.m. against Gloucester City.

Woodstown focuses on passing

PINE HILL – Woodstown continues to work towards enhancing its passing game and that was its main focus at Overbook. During some evenly matched 10-and-10 segments with the 1s, the Wolverines ran it only a couple times.

“We threw the ball a ton,” Wolverines coach John Adams said. “We really didn’t work our run game in much and when we did work our run game in we had some good runs.”

Garrett Leyman caught a touchdown pass from Max Webb and had another big play on a nice screen.

“I thought we got what we wanted out of it,” Adams said. “We really wanted to see the on film the route running, making sure our spacing’s correct, the timing’s correct, the O-line pass block a lot and set the pocket for Max and I thought we did really, really well with it.”

The defense also continued its progression. For the second scrimmage in a row it didn’t give up a live-ball touchdown.

“The last scrimmage was more split, pass and run, this one was more pass and the next one (Thursday against Delsea) will be more game-like, like calling it in the flow of the game,” Adams said.

Top photo: New Salem football coach Danny Mendoza gives his team a thumbs up after it dominated two opponents in Saturday’s scrimmage.

An overall good one

Pennsville has a positive first scrimmage, sophomore QB McDade has made ‘huge strides’ from last year; Penns Grove, Schalick also scrimmage Wednesday

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – It was only one play early in the second series of the first scrimmage of fall camp but it was a perfect example of how far Robbie McDade has come in one year as Pennsville’s QB1.

The sophomore smoothly sucked Pemberton’s defense into the pocket, then softly deposited a screen pass into the waiting hands of Skye Eppes, who took it 41 yards to get the Eagles across midfield on the way to their first touchdown of the scrimmage with Pemberton and Bishop Eustace.

A year ago that play wouldn’t have happened. Not because McDade couldn’t necessarily pull it off, but with the kind of team they had at the time the Eagles wouldn’t have even called it. Now, with a more confident McDade pulling the trigger it’s part of the mix.

“He’s definitely taken huge strides and the biggest thing with him is the amount of work he’s put in in the offseason and how much he’s worked to step into that job and take a leadership role from there,” Eagles coach Mike Healy said. “He’s still a sophomore and making some mistakes, but he is, to me, doing way better than last year.

“I’m very happy with his progress so far and he’s getting better every day.”

McDade split time at quarterback with Randy Hall last year, but his time increased as the year went along. He wound up completing 25 of 52 passes for 363 yards and two touchdowns. When Hall decided not to return, McDade won the position by default, but he still had to show his stuff.

The scrimmage Wednesday was his first opportunity with the offense in his hands alone and he was looking forward to the experience. He completed 10 of 15 passes for 152 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Malik Rehmer.

“I was really excited,” the quarterback said. “Coming off a bad year last year I really wanted to step it up this year and show everybody what we’ve got. I knew what we had to get done and we did it. We’re just going to keep building on it and get better and better.”

The Eagles got the best of both opponents in the varsity portion of the scrimmage and Healy proclaimed it “overall a good scrimmage.” In addition to McDade’s numbers, Rehmer caught three passes for 54 yards and scored once against each team, and Eppes had 105 yards rushing and receiving. The first-team defense gave up 21 yards, didn’t allow a touchdown and Hunter Hiles had a 25-yard pick-six against Eustace.

“Scoring touchdowns is a lot of fun,” McDade said. “We’ve got to keep it up.”

Of course, it wasn’t perfect, but even when there was a negative play McDade bounced back with a positive result.

He fumbled rolling out on the first play against the Eustace defense, then came back with a 13-yard pass play to Eppes. Later in that aforementioned drive against Pemberton Eppes had a screen pass touchdown called back by a blindside block. The very next snap the Eagles called a wider screen and Rehmer took it to the house for his first touchdown.

“That was something I was really happy to see today because last year that’s not something we would have done,” Healy said. “We would have been upset and angry and then not executed the next play. That’s what we really needed to work on. Whether it’s a good call or a bad call, the call’s made, there’s nothing we can do, bounce back, get to the next play, make up for it and that’s what we did.”

The Eagles scrimmage again Monday at home against Buena. That 10 a.m. exercise will be more drive-driven as they work towards a dress rehearsal scrimmage with Haddon Heights Aug. 24.

**Pennsville quarterback Robbie McDade (3). (Top photo) McDade floats a soft pass over the Pemberton defense to Skye Eppes that goes for 41 yards.**

Schalick: Little bit of everything

LINWOOD – The Cougars saw “the good, the bad and the ugly” as they rotated a lot of players in their four-way exercise with West Deptford, Lower Cape May and host Mainland Regional.

They got 30 minutes with each team and saw “in limited small bursts what we wanted,” coach Mike Wilson said.

“It wasn’t all good, it wasn’t all bad and there were some ugly parts to it,” Wilson said. “Our goal was to get reps in by many people, get in and out healthy. It was exactly what a scrimmage was. We needed to get kids on tape.”

They had a big run against Group IV power Mainland called back for holding and scored against the other two teams. Quarterback Kenai Simmons played a limited number of snaps against each team but was “efficient” in the Cougars’ growing passing game with one incompletion.

“The last three years we could not do what we did today,” Wilson said.

Dylan Sheehan made two big catches, scoring a long touchdown against Lower Cape May and taking a slant for 60 yards against West Deptford.

“He was exactly what we thought he would be,” Wilson said of the sophomore receiver. “He was a freshman last year and played a little varsity at the end. We saw it in practice, but we really wanted to see it against other people and he stepped up and had a good day today.”

They’ll game scrimmage again Saturday 10 a.m. at Deptford Twp. The starters are expected to play at least two full quarters.

Penns Grove: ‘Happy with work we got’

MAPLE SHADE – The Red Devils were already back home by the time either of the other two county teams finished their scrimmages and by all accounts dominated their day.

Both teams got four series in the 8 a.m. exercise before doing situational work. The Red Devils were “a little sloppy” on offense, but their decision-making was adequate, had some big plays and they scored on their first two possessions. The defense coach John Emel called “as good as anybody in Group I in the state” was solid throughout against a scheme similar to what they’ll see in the season opener in nine days.

“It looked like a first scrimmage,” Emel said. “All in all, I was happy with the work we got. It’s a building block for the next one.”

The Red Devils will scrimmage again 10 a.m. Friday at Highland Regional, where Emel says they’ll be “trying to get game-quality reps but not try to show too much” to come out healthy for the opener.

Woodstown: Looking for ‘normal’ first one

WOODSTOWN – The Wolverines expect to do and see “normal first scrimmage things” in Thursday’s 9 a.m. workout with their visitors from Hammonton – 10 and 10 with the first and second groups and then some special teams work.

“We are just looking for the kids to execute our basic stuff,” Wolverines coach John Adams said. “We’re not going to show a lot, (just) see how they are hitting and facing another opponent.

“We want to see the quarterback command the offense, make sure people are in the right spots, make sure timing on motions and all are good and the line is blocking the right guys. Defensively, we want to make sure we are sound in getting lined up and making our standard checks and just see the kids play fast and physical.”

You know, normal first scrimmage stuff.

Ready for some football

Salem County teams scrimmage for first time Wednesday in the run-up to their season openers

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

Their season opener is still 10 days away and as far as the Schalick Cougars are concerned it can’t get here fast enough.

Well, that wait is almost over. It might not be a “real” game, but the Cougars get a chance to finally see what this year’s full squad looks like against somebody else Wednesday when they travel to Mainland Regional for their first scrimmage of preseason camp. Lower Cape May and West Deptford also will be there.

“Everything is going well,” Wilson reported earlier in the week. “We’re so much further along than we ever have been. We could play a game tomorrow if we had to.

“It’s Year 4 for us, the kids know the routine. Most of the junior class has been playing since they’ve been freshmen, so they’re used to the way we practice. We’ve gotten a lot of football stuff done. We’re ready to go. “

The Cougars are one of three Salem County teams scrimmaging Wednesday. Penns Grove gets the action started with an 8 a.m. joint practice at Maple Shade and Pennsville hosts Bishop Eustace and Pemberton at 2 p.m.

Woodstown hosts St. Joe’s of Hammonton in its first scrimmage Thursday (9 a.m.) and Salem goes for the first time Saturday at 5 p.m. in a tri-state scrimmage with Philly’s Olney Charter and host McKean in Wilmington.

In Schalick’s scrimmage the teams will get 30 minutes with each other however they want to play it. The Cougars’ rotation will start with Mainland. Their plan for that one is to go 10 plays on offense and defense with the varsity, 7 and 7 with the 2s, give the JVs some work and wrap up with some down-and-distance and goal-line work.

Wilson plans to approach it like an preseason NFL game. It won’t be quite like the Eagles’ exhibition opener with Baltimore where the starters didn’t play, but the Cougars will rotate a lot of players into the mix. The “real game” look will come Saturday against Deptford.

“There is a group of kids who are in our varsity group right now that we’re expecting some big things from,” Wilson said. “Right now, when we go first-team with subs we’re looking at 18 to 20 kids we’re considering varsity football players, all of whom have a legitimate shot to see the field Friday nights. We’ve got a lot of competitions going on right now.”

PENNS GROVE at MAPLE SHADE: Red Devils coach John Emel has a good idea what he’d like to get done in this early morning exercise – and it involves a little bit of everything and what he hopes will be a lot of live work.

“We want to get a lot of reps,” he said. “I want to see who can block and tackle. We want to feel good about our team going into Friday. We’re not going to run a lot of stuff, we’re going to shrink down the playbook and we’re going to give our guys an opportunity to play fast and be real aggressive. That’s what you want to see.

“We‘ve got to find out who can play football while we can still go live and we got an opportunity to go against somebody else. We haven’t played a game since early last November. This is the longest stretch we’ve had (off the field) so it’s an opportunity to go out there and play somebody else, so everybody should be excited.”

They certainly aren’t easing into it when it comes to their scrimmage opponents. Maple Shade played for the South Jersey Group I championship last year and Highland Regional, Friday’s foe in a more game-like exercise, is Group III.

In the past, they’ve had a regular preseason relationship with perennial South Jersey contender Delsea. Emel wouldn’t have it any other way.

“If you look at us the last few years, we always try to play a team better than we’ll play in the early part of the season or we play a team that gets us ready for the team we’re going to play,” he said. “We do try to scrimmage tough teams because I want my guys to get challenged when it doesn’t count, when there’s not a score or a loss.

“I want them to play somebody and get their butts kicked and that’ll make them better. I’m a big believer in that. It’s not good for your morale and maybe not your physical health, but you get better by losing, by failure. We want to simulate the game in the preseason so we can get better before that and we can see who can’t do what and who can do what.

“I don’t want a cupcake team. I’ve got a tough team and they’ve got to play a tough schedule so we have to get them ready.”

The Red Devils open their season Aug. 25 against Burlington City.

PENNSVILLE vs. BISHOP EUSTACE, PEMBERTON: The Eagles will see a little bit of everything from everybody, which will give them a better picture of the team they expect to be. It’s expected to be 10 plays on offense, 10 plays on defense and then rotating drives among themselves. The scrimmage was moved to 2 p.m. from an original 10 a.m. start.

“You just want the kids show they can be competitive and they’re doing what they’ve been taught, what we’ve been going over, spending so much time doing,” Eagles coach Mike Healy said. “And I want to know who are my players, who are they not.

“We’ve still got two scrimmages after that (but) I need to start getting an idea. I’ve got an idea who some are, but I need to figure this out.”

Photo: Penns Grove runs a play during Tuesday’s practice.

Scrimmage schedule

Here is a listing of this summer’s preseason scrimmage games for the Salem County high schools. A complete day-by-day regular-season schedule for the county schools, as well as schedules for football, field hockey, soccer and tennis can be found elsewhere on the website

Aug. 16
FOOTBALL
Schalick, West Deptford, Lower Cape May at Mainland Regional, 10 a.m.
Bishop Eustace, Pemberton at Pennsville, 2 p.m.
Penns Grove at Maple Shade

Aug. 17
FOOTBALL
St. Joseph Academy at Woodstown, 9 a.m.

Aug. 18
FOOTBALL
Penns Grove at Highland

Aug. 19
FOOTBALL
Schalick at Deptford Twp., 10 a.m.
Woodstown at Overbrook, 10 a.m.
Salem, Olney Charter at McKean (Wilmington), 5 p.m.

Aug. 21
FOOTBALL
Buena at Pennsville, 10 a.m.

Aug. 23
GIRLS TENNIS
Millville at Schalick, 9 a.m.
Vineland at Pennsville, 10 a.m.

Aug. 24
FOOTBALL
Haddon Heights at Pennsville, 6 p.m.
Delsea at Woodstown, 7 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Pleasantville at Penns Grove, 10 a.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Salem at Deptford Twp., 9 a.m.
Woodstown at Triton Regional, 9 a.m.
West Deptford at Pennsville, 10 a.m.

Aug. 25
GIRLS TENNIS
Penns Grove at Pleasantville, 10 a.m.
Pennsville at Millville, 10 a.m.

Aug. 28
GIRLS SOCCER
Schalick at Kingsway, 9 a.m.
Cumberland at Penns Grove, 10 a.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Clearview at Schalick, 9 a.m.
FIELD HOCKEY
Woodstown at Timber Creek, 9 a.m.
Deptford Twp. at Pennsville, 10 a.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Williamstown at Pennsville, 10 a.m.
Woodstown at Ocean City, 11 a.m.

Aug. 29
FIELD HOCKEY
Salem at Hammonton, 4 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Cumberland at Penns Grove, 10 a.m.
Woodbury at Salem, 10 a.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Pennsville at Buena, 10 a.m.
Salem at Woodbury, 10 a.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Woodstown at Kingsway, 9 a.m.

Aug. 30
FIELD HOCKEY
Salem, Schalick, Bridgeton at Cumberland, 8:30 a.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Schalick at Cumberland, 9 a.m.
Penns Grove vs. Gloucester Co. Christian at Paulsboro, 10 a.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Cumberland at Schalick, 9 a.m.
Williamstown at Woodstown, 9 a.m.
Paulsboro at Penns Grove, 10 a.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Cumberland at Schalick, 9 a.m.
Woodstown at Timber Creek, 9 a.m.
Pennsville at Deptford Twp., 10 a.m.

Aug. 31
GIRLS TENNIS
Delsea at Pennsville, 10 a.m.
Penns Grove at Haddon Twp., 10 a.m.
Salem at Bridgeton, 10 a.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Gloucester City at Woodstown, 9 a.m.
Haddon Heights at Pennsville, 9 a.m.
Penns Grove at Salem, 10 a.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Salem at Bridgeton, 10 a.m.

Sept. 1
FIELD HOCKEY
Salem at Buena, 10 a.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Woodstown at Haddon Twp., 4:15 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Haddon Twp. at Woodstown, 4:15 p.m.

Sept. 5
GIRLS SOCCER
Bridgeton at Salem, 4 p.m.
Clayton at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Gloucester City, 4 p.m.
Timber Creek at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Gloucester City at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Penns Grove at Clayton, 4 p.m.
FIELD HOCKEY
Woodstown at St. Joseph Academy, 9 a.m.
Our Lady of Mercy at Woodstown, 3:30 p.m.
Highland Regional at Salem, 4 p.m.
Millville at Pennsville, 4 p.m.

Salem County by day

Here is a day-by-day schedule for the high school fall sports teams in Salem County; the schedule will be posted at the start of each week during the school year

Aug. 25
FOOTBALL
Burlington City at Penns Grove, 10 a.m.
Gloucester City at Schalick, 7 p.m.
Salem vs. Executive Education Academy at Lafayette College, 7 p.m.

Aug. 31
FOOTBALL
Pleasantville at Penns Grove, 10 a.m.
Pennsville at Lindenwold, 6 p.m.
Haddon Heights at Woodstown, 7 p.m.

Sept. 1
FOOTBALL
Pitman at Schalick, 7 p.m.

Sept. 2
FOOTBALL
Salem vs. Camden, noon, site TBD

Sept. 5
GIRLS TENNIS
Penns Grove at Glassboro, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Overbrook, 4 p.m.
Salem at Pitman, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Schalick, 4 p.m.

Sept. 6
GIRLS TENNIS
Woodstown at West Deptford, 4 p.m.

Sept. 7
FIELD HOCKEY
Clayton at Salem, 4 p.m.
Gloucester Catholic at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Woodstown, 4 p.m.

BOYS SOCCER
Overbrook at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Penns Grove at Glassboro, 4 p.m.
Salem at Pittman, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Schalick, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Glassboro at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Overbrook, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Deptford Twp., 4 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Penns Grove at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Pitman at Pennsville, 4 p.m.

Sept. 8
FOOTBALL
Woodstown at Paulsboro, 11 a.m.
Salem at Pleasantville, 6 p.m.
Schalick at Wildwood, 6 p.m.
Lower Cape May Regional at Pennsville, 7 p.m.

FIELD HOCKEY
Pennsville at Gateway, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Woodstown at Deptford Twp., 4 p.m.

Sept. 9
FOOTBALL
Penns Grove at Woodbury, 10:30 a.m.

BOYS SOCCER
Gateway at Schalick, 10 a.m.

Sept. 11
BOYS SOCCER
Penns Grove at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Salem at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Salem Tech at Salem, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Glassboro at Salem, 4 p.m.
Penns Grove at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Pitman, 4 p.m.

Sept. 12
FIELD HOCKEY
Pennsville at Salem, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Deptford Twp., 4 p.m.

Sept. 13
BOYS SOCCER
Clayton at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Penns Grove at Salem, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Gloucester Catholic at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Clayton, 4 p.m.
Salem at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Salem Tech at Woodstown, 4 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Overbook at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Salem, 4 p.m.

Sept. 14
FIELD HOCKEY
Clayton at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Glassboro, 3:45 p.m.
Salem at Deptford Twp., 4 p.m.
Schalick at Clearview, 4 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Penns Grove at Palmyra, 4 p.m.

Sept. 15
FOOTBALL
Gateway at Pennsville, 7 p.m.
Riverside at Schalick, 7 p.m.
Woodstown at Deptford Twp., 7 p.m.

FIELD HOCKEY
Cumberland at Woodstown, 4 p.m.

BOYS SOCCER
Buena at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Pitman at Woodstown, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Gateway at Salem, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Cherry Hill West, 4 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Woodstown at Cumberland, 4 p.m.

Sept. 16
FOOTBALL
Salem at Penns Grove, noon

GIRLS SOCCER
Schalick at Delsea, 10 a.m.

Sept. 18
FIELD HOCKEY
Glassboro at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Woodstown, 4 p.m.

BOYS SOCCER
Salem at Pennsauken Tech, 3:45 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Salem at Bridgeton, 7 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Penns Grove at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Salem at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m.
Wildwood at Pennsville, 4 p.m.

Sept. 19
BOYS SOCCER
Overbook at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Glassboro, 4 p.m.
Wildwood at Salem, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Glassboro at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Penns Grove at Overbook, 4 p.m.
Salem at Wildwood, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Pennsville, 4 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Woodstown at Overbook, 4 p.m.

Sept. 20
FIELD HOCKEY
Overbook at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Salem at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Deptford Twp., 4 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Glassboro at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Gloucester Catholic at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Salem at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.

Sept. 21
BOYS SOCCER
Glassboro at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Gloucester Catholic at Salem, 4 p.m.
Penns Grove at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Overbook, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Overbook at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Glassboro, 4 p.m.
Salem at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.

Sept. 22
FOOTBALL
Glassboro at Woodstown, 7 p.m.
Schalick at Pennsville, 7 p.m.

FIELD HOCKEY
Bridgeton at Salem, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Washington Twp., 4 p.m.

BOYS SOCCER
Audubon at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Haddon Heights at Pennsville, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Schalick at Woodstown, 4 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Gloucester Catholic at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Glassboro, 4 p.m.
Salem at Woodstown, 4 p.m.

Sept. 23
FOOTBALL
Penns Grove at Haddon Heights, 11 a.m.
Rumble on the Raritan
SHI Stadium at Rutgers, Piscataway
Salem vs. Cedar Creek, 3 p.m.

Sept. 25
FIELD HOCKEY
Timber Creek at Schalick, 4 p.m.

BOYS SOCCER
Glassboro at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Salem at Clayton, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Overbrook, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Clayton at Salem, 4 p.m.
Overbrook at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Penns Grove at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Glassboro, 4 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Glassboro at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Pitman at Salem, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Woodstown, 4 p.m.

Sept. 26
FIELD HOCKEY
Overbrook at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Clayton, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Glassboro, 4 p.m.

Sept. 27
BOYS SOCCER
Gloucester Catholic at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Pitman at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Salem at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Wildwood at Schalick, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Penns Grove at Pitman, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Salem, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Wildwood, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Pennsville at Pitman, 4 p.m.
Wildwood at Salem, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.

Sept. 28
FIELD HOCKEY
Deptford Twp. at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Salem, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Highland Regional at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Penns Grove at Clayton 4 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Our Lady of Mercy at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.

Sept. 29
FOOTBALL
Pennsville at Cumberland Regional, 6 p.m.
Lindenwold at Schalick, 7 p.m.
Salem at Woodstown, 7 p.m.

BOYS SOCCER
Penns Grove at Haddon Twp., 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Paulsboro, 4 p.m.
Salem at Haddon Heights, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Palmyra, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Salem at Pennsauken Tech, 3:45 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Penns Grove at Overbook, 4 p.m.
Salem at Pennsville, 4 p.m.

Sept. 30
FOOTBALL
Paulsboro at Penns Grove, noon

Oct. 2
FIELD HOCKEY
Pennsville at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m.
Salem at Clayton, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Schalick, 4 p.m.

BOYS SOCCER
Clayton at Penns Grove, 6:30 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Kingsway at Woodstown, 4 p.m.

Oct. 3
BOYS SOCCER
Glassboro at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Overbrook, 4 p.m.
Pitman at Salem, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Overbrook at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Penns Grove at Glassboro, 4 p.m.
Salem at Pitman, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Schalick, 4 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Penns Grove at Wildwood, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Salem, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Pennsville, 4 p.m.

Oct. 4
FIELD HOCKEY
Deptford Twp. at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Salem at Pennsville, 4 p.m.

Oct. 5
FIELD HOCKEY
Cumberland Reg. at Schalick, 4 p.m.

BOYS SOCCER
Salem Tech at Salem, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Penns Grove at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Salem at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.

Oct. 6
FOOTBALL
Overbrook at Pennsville, 7 p.m.
Penns Grove at Glassboro, 7 p.m.
Schalick at Bishop Eustace, 7 p.m.
Woodbury at Woodstown, 7 p.m.

FIELD HOCKEY
Salem at Audubon, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Williamstown, 4 p.m.
Woodstown vs. Delsea at Total Turf, Pitman, 5:45 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Woodstown at Delsea, 4 p.m.

Oct. 7
FOOTBALL
Paulsboro at Salem, noon

BOYS SOCCER
Schalick at Woodstown, 5 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Schalick at Our Lady of Mercy, 4 p.m.

Oct. 9
FIELD HOCKEY
Our Lady of Mercy at Schalick, TBD
Salem at Gloucester City, 4 p.m.

BOYS SOCCER
Gateway at Woodstown, 10 a.m.
Paulsboro at Salem, 4 p.m.
Washington Twp. at Schalick, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Schalick at Washington Twp., 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Audubon, 7 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Salem at Wildwood, 4 p.m.

Oct. 10
FIELD HOCKEY
Schalick at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Salem, 4 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Gloucester Catholic at Salem, 4 p.m.
Overbrook at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Wildwood, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Penns Grove, 6:30 p.m.

Oct. 11
BOYS SOCCER
Clayton at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Pitman at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Salem at Overbrook, 4 p.m.
Wildwood at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Salem Tech at Penns Grove, 6:30 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Overbrook at Salem, 4 p.m.
Penns Grove at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Pitman, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Clayton, 4 p.m.

Oct. 12
FIELD HOCKEY
Schalick at Glassboro, 4 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Gloucester Catholic at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Pitman at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Salem at Overbrook, 4 p.m.

Oct. 13
FOOTBALL
Pennsville at Penns Grove, 6:30 p.m.
Schalick at Cumberland, 7 p.m.
Woodstown at Haddonfield, 7 p.m.

FIELD HOCKEY
Salem at Gloucester Co. Tech, 4 p.m.

BOYS SOCCER
Glassboro at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Penns Grove at Overbook, 4 p.m.
Salem at Wildwood, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Pennsville, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Glassboro at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Overbook at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Wildwood at Salem, 4 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Bridgeton at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.

Oct. 14
FOOTBALL
West Deptford at Salem, noon

Oct. 16
FIELD HOCKEY
Deptford Twp. at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Gloucester Catholic at Salem, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Oakcrest, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Overbook, 4 p.m.

BOYS SOCCER
Palmyra at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Salem at Gloucester City, 6 p.m.
Woodstown at Sterling, 7 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Gloucester City at Salem, 4 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Pennsville at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Glassboro, 4 p.m.

Oct. 17
BOYS SOCCER
Overbook at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Glassboro, 4 p.m.
Salem at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Glassboro at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Gloucester Catholic at Salem, 4 p.m.
Penns Grove at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Overbrook, 4 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Pennsville at Haddon Heights, 4 p.m.

Oct. 18
FIELD HOCKEY
Oakcrest at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Overbrook, 4 p.m.
Salem at Glassboro, 4 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Overbrook at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Penns Grove at Salem, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Wildwood, 4 p.m.

Oct. 19
BOYS SOCCER
Gloucester Catholic at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Penns Grove at Wildwood, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Pitman, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Salem, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Pennsville at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m.
Pitman at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Salem at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Wildwood at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.

Oct. 20
FOOTBALL
Gloucester Catholic at Schalick, 7 p.m.
Pennsville at Pitman, 7 p.m.

FIELD HOCKEY
Clayton at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Glassboro at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Overbrook, 4 p.m.

BOYS SOCCER
Clayton at Salem, 4 p.m.
Overbrook at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Penns Grove at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Glassboro, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Glassboro at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Salem at Clayton, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Overbrook, 4 p.m.

Oct. 21
FOOTBALL
Salem at Woodbury, 10:30 a.m.
Woodstown at Penns Grove, 11 a.m.

Oct. 22
GIRLS SOCCER
Penns Grove at Woodbury, 4 p.m.

Oct. 23
BOYS SOCCER
Salem Co. Vo-Tech at Pennsville, 7 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Ocean City at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Pitman at Salem, 4 p.m.
Salem Co. Vo-Tech at Pennsville, 5:30 p.m.

Oct. 27-28
FOOTBALL
NJSIAA Playoffs

Nov. 3-4
FOOTBALL
NJSIAA Playoffs

Nov. 10-11
FOOTBALL
NJSIAA Sectional Finals

Nov. 17-19
FOOTBALL
NJSIAA Semifinals

Dec. 1-3
FOOTBALL
NJSIAA State Championship Games

Not passing on the pass

Schalick plans to open up the offense more this football season to give it a better shot at postseason success; Wilson: ‘We will have a passing game this year’

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE – Mike Wilson has run all kinds of offense in his years as a football coach and a lot of them have leaned heavily on the run. But one thing he learned last year is you’ve got to leave the ground every once in a while.

So this year expect to see Wilson’s Schalick Cougars throw the ball a bit more than usual. Now, they’re not going to change the A.P. in A.P. Schalick to Air Patrol, but they will put it up “more than we have in our first three years there.”

“One thing I have learned from coaches, if you can’t throw the ball you can’t win,” Wilson said. “I’ve coached all types of offense – spread, wing-T, double wing; I’ve played ‘em all. It comes down to one thing: When you’ve got equal talent in the playoffs, if you can’t throw the ball it’s hard.”

The Cougars learned that the hard way last year. They had gotten back in the playoffs for the first time since 2018 and played Woodstown in the first round. They lost 45-8 to a team that also ran the ball heavily, but completed 5 of 8 passes for 79 yards and two touchdowns.

“They’re a run team, but they threw the ball, exposed us and got rid of us really early in that game,” Wilson said. “If you talk to them, they found out over coach (John) Adams’ career over there being an option wing-T they had to run and throw the ball, too.”

The Cougars were so top-heavy on the ground only teams that didn’t throw at all threw less. They had only 46 passes all season for 383 yards, while rushing 424 times for 2,935 yards. The year before they were 79 percent run.

They never threw more than nine passes in any game and had one three-game stretch in which they threw a total of five. There was one game they didn’t throw any.

“We will have a passing game this year,” Wilson said.

You can’t argue with the formula, though. In Wilson’s three seasons, the Cougars’ passing yardage has gone down each year, but the rushing yardage and, most importantly, the win total has increased. Still, they recognize for long-term success that ratio has to change.

“Our run game has been dominant the last two years, but I feel like to beat the better teams we’re definitely going to have to start opening up the passing game,” junior quarterback Kenai Simmons said. “We were like a 90-10 (run-to-pass) team, so it was pretty predictable seeing what we were doing every game.

“Most people game-planned for the run. They weren’t really expecting the pass, so that’s what we’re looking for this year … to see a lot of run but definitely a lot more throwing. You’ve got to respect our throwing game this year.”

The Cougars threw only four touchdown passes last year. Simmons, the team’s leading rusher and receiver, caught three of them. Now, he’ll be the one looking to get it in the hands of senior Jake Siedlecki, second behind Simmons last year with six catches for 97 yards, sophomore Dylan Sheehan and junior Nylan Sutton.

The last time Simmons played quarterback was in eighth grade and he led his team to a championship. Of course, that was more of a Wildcat situation as anything, but when he did throw it on the halfback pass he was good for 40 yards in the air.

Knowing his role will expand this season, he has been working this off-season on improving his timing and pre-snap reading of defenses. In one early 7-on-7 game this summer, he threw three straight completions on the first possession and produced the game’s first touchdown.

It’s still a work in progress, but there’s been progress nonetheless. After a bad read in one of the games in Tuesday night’s 7-on-7 with Cumberland and Sterling, Simmons approached his position coach and admitted he didn’t pick up a lurking linebacker.

“I did it before so I think I can get back in the habit of doing it,” Simmons said. “I wouldn’t say I loved the quarterback spot, but I definitely am a team player so I’ll do whatever it takes for our team to succeed.

“Put the ball in my hands, I promise I’ll do something great with it as long as my blocking is there. The only thing I can say is don’t underestimate us this year.”

SCHALICK OFFENSE UNDER COACH MIKE WILSON

YEAR (W-L)	RUSHING	PASSING
2022 (7-3)	424-2935-39	19-46-7-383-4
2021 (4-6)	279-1222-14	27-72-1-439-5
2020 (0-7)	132-188-2	59-135-10-600-4

Rushing: Attempts-Yards-TDs; Passing: Comp-Att-Int-Yds-TDs

Photo: Schalick coach Mike Wilson (L) talks with Cougars quarterback Kenai Simmons (R) and Reggie Allen during a recent 7-on-7 tournament.

Remembering a legend

Schalick Cougars plan to honor the memory of Anthony Allen with helmet decal, retiring number

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE – There’s not a football player in the game who doesn’t love applying decals to the back of their helmets every week. Those tiny badges of honor that signify goals met during the season.

Every player on the Schalick football team will have a special decal on their helmets this year, one that holds special meaning to everyone in the community and one player in particular.

The Cougars will be wearing a “42” decal on the back of their helmets going forward to honor the legacy of former Schalick standout Anthony Allen who died last November after a battle with cancer. He was 48. The jersey number also will be retired.

“If you are from Pittsgrove and you’re from Schalick, the Allen family stands everywhere,” Cougars head coach Mike Wilson said. “Aunts, uncles, everybody. They’re a cornerstone of Schalick. The Allens are Schalick.”

There are still a number of school records with Allen’s name on them – and he graduated in 1993. After starring for the Cougars, he went on to play small college football. His brother, Freddie, runs the community’s youth football program and other family members sit on the boards of other sports.

The last Schalick player to wear the 42 was a freshman last year. The Cougars didn’t wear a No. 50 last season as a tribute to Chris Jambor, a rising senior player who died from injuries suffered in a roadside bicycle accident the previous April.

“Freddie called me one night and goes, ‘With Anthony passing away what do you want to do?’” Wilson recalled. “I said we’re going to honor him all season. We’ll do a moment of silence at a couple games. We’ll work through it. The Allen family is such a big part of Schalick and Pittsgrove we had to do something.”

Reggie Allen remembers he cried the day school officials told him they were going to honor his uncle with the special decal and it will “mean a lot” to him when he sees it for the first time. A three-sport athlete at the school, he plays the same type position on the football field as his uncle, a linebacker-safety hybrid.

“It means a lot to me because he was a big part of my life,” the junior said. “He’s one of my inspirations to play football. He lived in Atlantic City and didn’t come down, but when I’d see him he’d ask me how I did and we’d talk about things I needed to improve on. I’m glad Coach Wilson realized that and is retiring his number.”

Reggie hasn’t suited up since his uncle passed. He isn’t quite sure what he’ll do during the season to honor his uncle, but he knows he’ll do something appropriate.

“I might write something on my cleats,” he said. “He’s always going to be with me when I’m out there. The last time seeing him was when he left my house and he told me he loved me.”