Wednesday’s sports report: Schalick field hockey (12-0) blanks Woodstown; Pennsville tennis (14-0) tunes up for semifinals with sweep
By Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN — Caylan Taylor capped a strong field goal with a third-quarter goal, Ava Scurry had a goal and an assist and Lydia Gilligan came up with another shutout as Schalick’s best-ever start hit 12 in a row Wednesday in a 2-0 victory over Woodstown.
The Cougars are now 12-0, besting their previous best start of 11-0 in 2020. They are one of only two remaining undefeated teams in Group I, one of four in the state and the only one in South Jersey.
The other remaining undefeateds are Madison (NJ G1), Northern Highlands (NJ G3) and East Brunswick (NJ G4).
“I’m not surprised, but I am surprised,” Schalick coach Heather Cheesman said. “I don’t want the girls to get too comfortable. They know they have to work hard every single game. We try not to focus on records. We just want them to work hard every game because when you relax, that’s when the other team swoops in and takes a win.”
Woodstown actually had the best of it early in the game, but Scurry broke the scoreless tie with her 26th goal of the season in the second quarter. Taylor gave the Cougars a 2-0 lead in the third quarter off an assist from Scurry.
“Caylan killed it,” Cheesman said. “She was getting back, everywhere the ball was when it was around here she seemed to pick it up. The field was tough to adjust to. She did such an amazing job.”
Gilligan again was steady in the cage. She made 10 saves in recording her third straight shutout and fifth of the year. She has allowed only three goals in her last seven games.
PENNSVILLE 2, GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 1: Laura Tamberella and Sophia Marandola scored goals for the Eagles (4-6-1).
Girls tennis
Pennsville coach Dan LaMont was really glad his team had a match between its two South Jersey Group I playoff matches Wednesday to give his new doubles teams some work and they both came through with straight set victories in the Eagles’ 5-0 win over Haddon Heights. They host Haddon Twp. in the semifinals Thursday, 3 p.m.
Woodstown’s Chew wins Salem County Cross County boys race, Schalick’s Hadfield wins girls race, their squads win team titles
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN — Two races. Two winners. Two vastly different reactions.
Schalick’s Jordan Hadfield repeated as the Salem County girls cross country champion and Woodstown’s Karson Chew made his first varsity win a big one in the boys race, but the reactions to their victories couldn’t have been more different.
CHEW
Chew was over the moon after he won the boys race at Salem Tech in 17:00.79, while Hadfield was visibly upset walking away from the finish after winning the girls race in 19:15.79.
Woodstown won the boys team title for the first time since 2021 with 17 points. Schalick edged Woodstown by nine points in what amounted to a dual meet for the girls crown.
Chew admitted he wasn’t a very good classmate or student for much of the school day because he was so locked in to winning the race. He’d come up short each of the last two years, finishing fifth as a freshman and second last year, and wasn’t sure how he’d finish this year because his teammates were equally strong, but he was determined to go for it.
He was the fastest Salem County boys runner in a Tri-County Conference batch meet on the Salem Tech course Oct. 1 (seventh overall).
“I came into it today thinking I need a win, so I went for it and here we are,” Chew said. “Honestly, this year has been rocky for me. I’ve had a couple meets where I didn’t do my best; I had one DNF, which has never happened to me before. A couple meets before this I ran my PR for the season and I was like I know I can do this.
“I knew in my heart, in my head and my legs that I could do it and I did it and I’m super proud of myself for that. I love the energy that all gave me. I’ve been in the top 25 since my freshman year, this year I’m top seven, and I was like, county, this is it, I’m going to win it.”
He’s the first Woodstown boy to win the county crown since John Turner ran a 17:58 to lead a 1-2-4 Wolverines finish in 2021 at Schalick.
He went out in a pack with several teammates, but quickly separated himself with teammate Jacob Marino. They came through the midpoint of the race stride for stride, but then halfway through the second loop he went for it and eventually beat his teammate to the line by 15 seconds. Wolverines senior track captain Cole Lucas, running cross country for the first time, was third.
“I was in my own world the whole day; I was thinking to myself about this meet the whole day,” Chew said. “This is a big thing for me. I needed this so much.
“This was the meet that my coach was hyping me up about. He was like, ‘Who’s it going to be, you or Jacob, who’s it going to be? I kept thinking to myself I need this to be me. For the rest of my season to go well, I need this to be me.”
HADFIELD
Winning races might be a new experience for Chew, it’s a regular occurrence for Hadfield. So much so that the quality of the run is as important as the finish.
And that’s what had her coming out of the finishing chute with her face in her hands on the verge of tears and then walking across the field to be consoled by coach Missy Pine. She led wire-to-wire without much push and won by more than a minute, but the 19-minute run over the flat course just wasn’t up to her standard.
She was hoping for something closer to the 18:22 she ran while winning her race Six Flags on Sept. 28 as she prepares for a run at states.
“It should not have been that,” the Cougars senior said. “I’m trying to be better each time and today I guess wasn’t me. I just wasn’t feeling good or something, I don’t know. We need to look forward to Saturday (at Dream Park) and forget about this and just focus on that.”
In her defense she was running her second race in five days and ran into a strong headwind several times along Wednesday’s route. She finished third in her race at Holmdel Park last Saturday.
“It’s definitely a lot racing multiple times a week, it definitely gets you for sure this part of the season,” she said. “You definitely felt the wind. I don’t know if that was a part of it. My first mile was fine and then after that, that’s when I fell off.”
In the team standings, Woodstown put five of the first six runners across the line in the boys race. Salvatore Longo of Schalick finished fourth to prevent them from scoring a cross country shutout. Schalick’s girls placed seven runners in the top 12 overall and had five of the first eight counters.
“It’s a small county but these small programs have always had quality teams,” Woodstown coach Steve New said. “You might think that winning Salem County is small and not that big of a deal, but I think beating some of these teams that are around here is impressive. I don’t think it’s a small feat to win this county title. It takes a lot of work to do it.”
Schalick’s Jordan Hadfield comes across the finish line to win the Salem County Cross Country girls race. On the cover, Woodstown’s Karson Chew made the boys race his first varsity win.
Salem County XC Championship
BOYS TEAM SCORES: Woodstown 17, Schalick 41, Salem Tech 77, Salem 101, Penns Grove 141. GIRLS TEAM SCORES: Schalick 25, Woodstown 34.
Schalick’s Price on hot streak, Willoughby erupts for five goals in girls game, Salem Tech gets first volleyball win of the season, and more
BOYS SOCCER Schalick 7, Overbrook 1: Luke Price scored three goals and Anthony Sepers and Connor Jackson both had a pair of assists at Schalick. Price has scored eight goals during the Cougars’ current four-game winning streak.
Woodstown 3, Penns Grove 1: Blake Bialecki and Bryce Ayars scored second-half goals to snap a 1-1 tie and hand Wolverines coach Darren Huck career win No. 295.
Pennsville 3, Salem Tech 0: Shane Puckett, Sam Hassler and Evan Pessoa all scored and Coen Rinnier made seven saves in posting the shutout.
Salem at Clayton
GIRLS SOCCER Schalick 9, Overbrook 1: Abby Willoughby erupted for five goals and Gia Martellacci scored twice to lead the Cougars to their third straight win. Willoughby has scored nine goals against the Rams in two games.
Woodstown 4, Penns Grove 0: Talia Battavio, Blair Baldi, Emma Perry and Gina Murray all scored for the Wolverines.
Clayton 10, Salem 2: Diondria Simon and Ava Delaney both had hat tricks for the Clippers.
Glassboro 3, Pennsville 0: Amina Brown scored two goals and Tamia Smith had the other.
Salem Tech at Pitman
VOLLEYBALL Salem Tech 2, Highland 0: Cori Farnkoph delivered nine aces and Tiara Bazemore had four kills and nine assists to lead the Chargers (1-6) to their first win of the season, 25-16, 25-10. Valeria Camacho-Martinez had five kills and Alanis James had five assists. The Chargers didn’t win their first match last season until their 14th match.
Pennsville’s reworked doubles teams sweep to clinch undefeated Eagles SJ Group I quarterfinals win over Schalick; Woodstown eliminated by Haddon Twp.
South Jersey Group I Tournament Tuesday’s quarterfinals No. 3 Haddon Twp. 3, No. 6 Woodstown 2 No. 2 Pennsville 3, No. 7 Schalick 2 No. 4 Gateway 3.5, No. 5 Lower Cape May 1.5 No. 1 Pitman 4, No. 9 Audubon 1 Thursday semifinals Haddon Twp. at Pennsville, 3 p.m. Gateway at Pitman, 3 p.m.
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – When a team is on the kind of roll Pennsville’s girls tennis team is enjoying the absolute last thing it needs is any kind of disruption. Especially in the doubles department in its sport where chemistry is everything.
The Eagles faced a potentially big disruption last week when they lost one of their steadiest doubles player to an injury. But coach Dan LaMont pulled out the depth chart, shuffled the deck and the Eagles haven’t missed a beat.
And it was one of those shuffled doubles teams that came through for them in a big way Tuesday, winning a super tiebreaker at No. 2 doubles to clinch their 3-2 win over Schalick in the South Jersey Group I quarterfinals.
The second-seeded Eagles, now 13-0 and one of two remaining undefeated teams statewide in Group 1, will host third-seeded Haddon Twp. in the sectional semifinals Thursday.
“It wasn’t the prettiest,” LaMont said. “There were times we were good. There were times we were not so good. And there were times we were able to pull it out.
“We’ve been finding ways all year and that’s what I keep on telling them. Who’s going to be the next hero? Who’s the one who’s going to pull out (the match)?”
That would be the No. 2 double teams of Naomi Hess and Morgan Holt, first-time partners who regrouped after losing the second set and won the clinching point 6-0, 2-6, 10-5 over Kayleigh Veach and Annie Podehl.
The Eagles’ lineup had been steady all season until Gabi Forino turned her right knee crashing into the fence before the Overbrook match. It forced LaMont to reshuffle his deck, but luckily he had cards to play.
He initially moved Holt into Forino’s spot at first doubles with Emma Cornette and they played together for two matches. He put Izzy Schrenker in that spot Tuesday and placed Holt with Hess, who had been paired with Schrenker for six matches.
“We really consider our top eight, nine our varsity,” LaMont said. “We always get them ready. I made a little decision, almost like a rotation with Morgan and Naomi, but they each always got matches in.
“A couple weeks ago (Forino) also had a little nagging injury, so we had a feeling; I don’t know why. But we got a challenge match in, so we have it all legal. I know they can play together. Even though they haven’t done much we have to make it work. We don’t have any other choice in the matter.”
Holt and Hess breezed through the first set like they were long-time partners, but Veach and Podehl evened the match with a big second set.
In the super tiebreaker, the first team to 10 was going to win it. The Schalick side went up 3-1 and 5-3, but Holt and Hess figured it out on their own – the changeover was still four points away – and won the next seven points to secure the win.
“We knew we had to win the tiebreaker,” Hess said. “We did everything we could to win the tiebreaker.”
“It was definitely scary,” said Holt, “because you really don’t want to lose. You don’t want to let your coach down and you don’t want to let your team down because everybody tries so hard. You just want to win. You want to win for everybody. I just didn’t want to lose.”
The match was just more of the same nailbiters the teams had been playing during the season. Pennsville won the first meeting 3-2 with Edwards clinching the match at No. 3 singles. The second meeting was suspended by weather with Schalick leading 2-1, but Pennsville leading in both doubles matches; that match is scheduled to resume Oct. 24.
There were still two points up for grabs as No. 2 doubles battled it out Tuesday. Pennsville won at No. 1 doubles (Cornette-Schrenker) and No. 3 singles (Edwards). Schalick won at No. 1 singles (Emma Adams) and Ally Green was leading at No. 2 singles making the doubles match the swing point.
The Cougars were the seventh seed, but a win would keep alive their hope of returning to the State Final Four. They lost in the state semifinals last year, but were looking to write their own history this year.
“I wanted to talk to them before we came out on the court and I told them I felt like all year long we hadn’t really put a full match together,” Cougars coach John Romano said. “We had spots here and there and, sure, we were beating people, but I told them you’re not riding the coat tails of last year’s team. You have your own legacy to set and today is going to be that day.
“We did really well. We were up 5-3 and had a shot to win it in the tiebreak and it just didn’t fall our way; kudos to them. I went over after and asked (Veach and Podehl) if they were OK and they said yes. I said I thought they played really well. I thought they both played a great tiebreak early on and then they both said they don’t know what happened.”
Pennsville tennis coach Dan LaMont visits with Naomi Hess (R) and Morgan Holt after the doubles team won the clinching point in Tuesday’s South Jersey quarterfinals match with Schalick.
Here are the results and details of Monday’s high school sports action involving Salem County teams
FIELD HOCKEY Pennsville 0, Salem 0: Kelsey Cook made 12 saves to keep Salem out of the net and Ava Rogers made two saves in Salem’s goal. It was Pennsville’s first tie since 2022 and the Eagles’ first scoreless tie since before 2010. It was Salem’s first tie and scoreless tie since a match with Glassboro in October 2022. Schalick 5, Glassboro 0: Ava Scurry had a hat trick and Phoebe Alward scored twice as the Cougars ran their record to 11-0. It’s their best start since 2020 when they also opened 11-0 before falling to Delsea. They were unbeaten in their first 11 matches in 2019 (10-0-1). BOYS SOCCER Pennsville 1, Gloucester 0: Maddox Efelis scored in the 27th minute and Coen Rinnier stoned nine shots in the goal to make it stand. Woodstown 2, Gateway 0: Landon Guglielmo and Bryce Ayars scored goals, and Ben Stengel made four saves for his fourth shutout of the season. GIRLS SOCCER Gloucester 6, Pennsville 0: Bailey Schoenfeldt scored two goals in the first half and Meghan Gorman scored two in the second half. Ava Rodgers had a goal and two assists. GIRLS TENNIS WOODSTOWN 3, KINGSWAY 2 Skylar Grabarski (K) def. Gabby Kurpis, 6-1, 6-3 Abby Malesich (K) def. Camille Osborn, 6-4, 6-4 Aubrie Rennie (Wo) def. Molly Baldino, 6-2, 6-2 Alyssa Berry-Julianna Lindenmuth (Wo) def. Krishani Parikh-Mishi Chaturvedi, 6-3, 6-7 (2-7) Nathalie Neron-Noelle Neron (Wo) def. Sophia Campbell-Kelsey Dion, 6-1, 6-3 Records: Woodstown 9-3, Kingsway 5-8.
Here is the Salem County sports schedule for Oct. 7-12, featuring Schalick’s rescheduled football game, SJ girls tennis tournament and County XC Championship; all events 4 p.m. unless noted
MONDAY FOOTBALL Schalick at Paulsboro, 4 p.m. FIELD HOCKEY Pennsville at Salem Schalick at Glassboro Woodstown at Deptford BOYS SOCCER Pennsville at Gloucester City Woodstown at Gateway GIRLS SOCCER Paulsboro at Penns Grove Pennsville at Gloucester City, 7 p.m. GIRLS TENNIS Schalick at Mainland Woodstown at Kingsway
TUESDAY GIRLS TENNIS South Jersey Group I quarterfinals Woodstown at Haddon Twp., 3 p.m. Schalick at Pennsville, 3 p.m. Lower Cape May at Gateway, 3 p.m. Audubon at Pitman, 4 p.m. BOYS SOCCER Overbrook at Schalick Penns Grove at Woodstown Pennsville at Salem Tech Salem at Clayton, 6 p.m. GIRLS SOCCER Clayton at Salem Glassboro at Pennsville Salem Tech at Pitman Schalick at Overbrook Woodstown at Penns Grove VOLLEYBALL Highland at Salem
WEDNESDAY FIELD HOCKEY Gloucester Catholic at Pennsville Schalick at Woodstown GIRLS TENNIS Haddon Heights at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m. Woodstown at Millville, 3:45 p.m. OLMA at Salem CROSS COUNTRY Salem County Championship, Salem Tech, 3:30 p.m.
THURSDAY FOOTBALL Delran at Penns Grove, 6:30 p.m. GIRLS TENNIS South Jersey Group I semifinals Woodstown-Haddon Twp. winner vs. Schalick-Pennsville winner Lower Cape May-Gateway winner vs. Audubon-Pitman winner BOYS SOCCER Glassboro at Penns Grove Pennsville at Salem Salem Tech at Wildwood Schalick at Woodstown GIRLS SOCCER Penns Grove at Glassboro Overbrook at Pennsville Salem at Pitman Wildwood at Salem Tech Woodstown at Schalick FIELD HOCKEY Gateway at Pennsville Salem at Maple Shade Schalick at Mainland, 4:15 p.m. VOLLEYBALL Gloucester Catholic at Salem Tech
FRIDAY FOOTBALL Audubon at Collingswood, 6 p.m. Glassboro at Cinnaminson, 6 p.m. Schalick at Gloucester City, 6 p.m. Salem at West Deptford, 7 p.m. FIELD HOCKEY Cumberland at Salem Woodstown at Ocean City, 3:45 p.m. GIRLS SOCCER Audubon at Schalick Salem at Gateway BOYS SOCCER Haddon Heights at Salem Schalick at Audubon GIRLS TENNIS Pennsville at Bridgeton Vineland at Woodstown
SATURDAY FOOTBALL Willingboro at Woodbury, 10:30 a.m. Camden Catholic at Overbrook, 11 a.m. Woodstown at Haddon Heights, 11 a.m. Pennsville at Paulsboro, noon CROSS COUNTRY SJCTA Meet at Dream Park
Eagles end seven-year drought with Penns Grove to take the Wildman Willey Boot; Woodstown handles Pleasantville to go 5-0 for second time in three seasons; Saturday’s Schalick-Paulsboro game postponed due to security threat
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE — Mike Healy has been trying to get his hands on The Boot his entire coaching career.
Once he finally got his mitts on it Friday night and raised it above his head during the joyous post-game celebration, he said it was “a little bigger than I thought,” but beyond that, holding the trophy was “just perfect.”
Pennsville claimed the Pennsville Lions Club Award that goes to the winner of the Pennsville-Penns Grove game – better known as the Norm Wildman Willey Boot – for the first time since 2016 Friday when it made big play after big play on critical downs, especially in the second half, to secure a 19-12 victory.
It was the first time Healy had won it in his seven-year coaching tenure with the Eagles. The Red Devils’ seven-game winning streak in the Riverview Rivalry was the longest by either team in the series.
“It was awesome to finally do it,” said Healy, who also got soaked by the ice bucket in the celebration. ‘This game means so much to our kids and our town.
“We had our pep rally today and everyone was excited. Everyone kept asking me ,‘Are we going to get it? Are we going to get it?’ I felt good, but just to finally get that feels so good. There’s not much else I can say.”
It means a little more residing in the Eagles’ trophy case. Willey was a three-time Philadelphia Eagles All-Pro way back in the day and a teacher in the Pennsville school district for more than 30 years. One of his original game cleats adorns the top of the trophy.
The trophy was a late arrival at Lou D’Angelo Stadium. The Red Devils left it back at school and Penns Grove athletics director Anwar Golden drove back to retrieve it, returning with trophy in hand just as they started playing the national anthem, and it stayed on their sideline until it wound up in the Eagles’ hands at the end of the game.
“It was everything I thought it would be,” quarterback Robbie McDade said. “We came in here wanting to get The Boot, knowing we had to get The Boot. It’s been so long, it felt really good.”
The Eagles never trailed in the game, but they never could relax.
Penns Grove closed to within 13-12 on MahKye Murray’s 40-yard touchdown catch late in the third quarter. But Pennsville answered it with another long touchdown drive to push its lead to 19-12.
The Eagles went 73 yards in 10 plays that included three long completions on crucial downs to move the chains.
McDade hit Luke Wood in stride down the sideline on a 48-yard pass on third-and-21. He hit Rylan Hardy for 24 yards on third-and-20. And the Eagles scored on an 18-yard pass to Wood on fourth-and-17 with 8:10 to play. They ran the same play to Wood on the snap before, but to the other side of the field, that was out of his reach.
The Eagles converted a fourth-down situation in each of their two touchdown drives in the first half, too.
“That’s what we’ve been looking for on offense,” Healy said. “When we’re in those big moments are we going to step up and get it done and tonight we stepped up and got things done. We know our kids are capable of it. They’ve just got to constantly believe they can do it. If they buckle down they’re capable of doing anything.”
“It’s just all about trusting your guys,” McDade said. “You’ve got to trust your receivers, you’ve got to trust the offensive line. I trusted myself to make that play all the time. We’ve just got to do our job and I think we did that and we got big plays out of it.”
McDade was 9-of-14 for 146 yards passing. Wood, a senior playing his first year of varsity football, caught four balls for 81 yards.
“They used to play this game on Thanksgiving Day and the centerpiece of our table would be The Boot whenever my dad would win it,” said Wood, whose dad Ryan was a longtime Eagles head coach and now a Healy assistant. “So, if there was one game I had to win it was this one.
“I grew up every Thanksgiving looking at that in the middle of my table and we haven’t had it in so long it feels so good.”
There was still plenty of time after Pennsville scored for the Red Devils to come back and retain The Boot.
They got it down in the red zone, but Melo Erickson’s fourth-and-5 pass to KaRon Ceaser from the 10 with less than four minutes to play fell incomplete.
“That’s me; I’m an athlete, I can make a play,” Ceaser said. “That’s on me. The quarterback put in a route to get it. I should’ve went to go get it.”
Ceaser was a big part of the Red Devils’ offense all night. He had two 11-yard runs and a 17-yard catch to keep that drive moving. He finished with 107 yards rushing and 17 yards receiving.
There was some confusion late in the drive that may have cost the Red Devils a down. The pass to Ceaser gave the Red Devils a first down at the 15. Erickson ran for 2 yards on the first-down play, then the Red Devils were flagged for delay of game. The next play they ran was third down.
Erickson hit Knowledge Young for 8 yards, but it left the Red Devils to face what the down marker read as fourth-and-5 for The Boot.
They lost another scoring chance at the end of the first half on a similarly confusing situation. Erickson looked like he spiked the ball at the 8 to stop the clock with 15.8 seconds left, but it later was explained to Healy the quarterback took too long making the spike and that’s what drew the flag for grounding.
The Red Devils lost yardage, lost the down and eventually time expired.
Pennsville 19, Penns Grove 12
PG (12)
PV (19)
10
1st Downs
16
22-134
Rushing
36-148
7-14-1
Passes
9-14-0
86
Passing
146
1-0
Fum-Lost
1-1
2-34.5
Punts
2-29.5
5-36
Penalties
6-45
Penns Grove (1-5)
6
0
6
0-
12
Pennsville (3-3)
7
6
0
6-
19
SCORING SUMMARY PV-Malik Rehmer 8 run (Luke Wood kick), 4:02 1Q PG-KaRon Ceaser 39 run (kick failed), 2:22 1Q PV-Robbie McDade 1 run (kick failed), 4:03 2Q PG-MahKye Murray 40 pass from Melo Erickson (pass failed), 2:17 3Q PV-Luke Wood 18 pass from Robbie McDade (pass failed), 8:10 4Q
Woodstown’s Bryce Belinfanti is about to leave the Pleasantville defense in the dust on the way to his game-breaking 50-yard touchdown Friday night. (Photo by Ellen Sickler)
Woodstown remains undefeated
WOODSTOWN — Bryce Belinfanti rushed for 189 yards and two third-quarter touchdowns and went 60 yards on a screen pass to set up their first score as Woodstown handled winless Pleasantville 24-12 to go 5-0 for the second time in three seasons.
The Wolverines were 5-0 in 2022 as well, but coach Frank Trautz doesn’t get caught up in all that.
“Obviously it’s another win and it feels great, but we’re not looking at 5-0,” he said. “We’re not looking at 2, 3, 4 weeks down the line. We’re on to Week No. 6 and trying to get that one.
“It’s our approach and our staff’s approach to take it a week at a time and we try to do our best to win that game. It’s our goal to try to win every week. If you were to ask me at the beginning of the season, I was focused on Week No. 1. Now, I’m focused on Week No. 6. We’re not done writing the story yet. We’re focused on the next chapter.”
For Belinfanti it’s never a case of if he’s going to break a long one but when. The Homecoming crowd didn’t have to wait long on this night. The senior took a screen pass from Jack Holladay and bolted downfield 60 yards to set the stage for the Wolverines’ first touchdown. Holladay finished it off with a 1-yard run.
In the third quarter, Belinfanti scored on a 50-yard run and a 1-yard run to help the Wolverines stretch their lead to 24-6.
He had a 25-yard touchdown run in overtime to win the opener against Delsea and has had other scores of 35, 85, 37 and 44 this season.
“He’s got that big play capability,” Trautz said. “We do a good job up front with our blocking, he sees a little window and he’s got the ability to go.”
Woodstown 24, Pleasantville 12
Pleasantville (0-6)
6
0
0
6-
12
Woodstown (5-0)
7
3
14
0-
24
SCORING SUMMARY W-Jack Holladay 1 run (Jake Ware kick), 3:30 1Q P-Nazir Griffin 55 run (run failed) W-Jake Ware 37 FG, 4:56 2Q W-Bryce Belinfanti 50 run (Jake Ware kick), 7:09 3Q W-Bryce Belinfanti 1 run (Jake Ware kick), 0:57 3Q P-Dajaun Martin 6 pass from Ahmad Jones (pass failed), 8:09 4Q
Woodstown’s Rocco String (21) tries to sake off a block so he can chase down a Pleasantville ballcarrier. (Photo by Ellen Sickler)
Schalick-Paulsboro ppd.
PAULSBORO — Schalick’s first-ever regular-season meeting with Paulsboro Saturday has been postponed due to a “security concern” that is being investigated by the host school district. According to sources, Paulsboro became aware of a threat specifically linked to the football game earlier Friday and took action.
“Both school districts have collectively determined that postponing the game is in the best interest of our students and families while the investigation is underway,” Schalick principal Yvette DuBois Trembley and athletic director Doug Volovar said in a joint statement from the Cougars. “The safety of our students, staff and community remains our top priority.”
It wasn’t immediately known if or when the game would be rescheduled. The game does have South Jersey Group I playoff seeding implications as both teams are currently ranked in the top seven in the sectional power points standings.
The teams have played four times previously, all in the South Jersey Group I playoffs.
WJFL DIAMOND DIVISION
DIV
ALL
Glassboro (4)
3-0
5-0
Woodstown (1)
3-0
5-0
Schalick (7)
2-1
3-2
Woodbury (12)
1-2
2-3
Salem (23)
0-3
0-5
Penns Grove (18)
0-3
1-5
NOTE: Number in parenthesis is South Jersey Group I UPR power ranking through Sept. 28
THURSDAY’S GAME Woodbury 35, Gateway 6 FRIDAY’S GAMES Glassboro 51, Deptford 0 Pennsville 19, Penns Grove 12 Woodstown 24, Pleasantville 12 SATURDAY’S GAMES Schalick at Paulsboro, ppd. Middle Twp. at Salem. noon
WJFL PATRIOT DIVISION
DIV
ALL
Camden Catholic
3-0
5-0
West Deptford
3-1
3-3
Paulsboro (5)
3-1
4-1
Pennsville (14)
2-2
3-3
Collingswood
1-2
3-3
Audubon (20)
0-3
1-3
Overbrook
0-3
2-3
FRIDAY’S GAMES Camden Catholic 48, Haddon Heights 22 Collingswood 20, Sterling 6 Haddonfield 30, West Deptford 28 Pennsville 19, Penns Grove 12 SATURDAY’S GAMES Schalick at Paulsboro, ppd. Clayton at Overbrook, 11 a.m.
Wolverines soccer program to unveil Wall of Fame Saturday enshrining the all-time greats of its boys and girls teams
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – The Woodstown athletics program has a long and storied history, but much of it, it seems, is an oral history. Outside of the trophies in the case and the stories the old-timers tell in the stands, there’s not really anything that recognizes the heroes of their history.
But one of the school’s longest-tenured coaches is setting out to change that, even if it is just in his little corner of the world.
Darren Huck has a nose for these kinds of things. After putting together a comprehensive statistical history of both the boys and girls soccer teams, he set off on a project to recognize the all-time legends of those programs.
The result is a Woodstown Soccer Wall of Fame that will have its public unveiling Saturday before Huck’s Wolverines boys team plays Northern Burlington at the Ron Udy Soccer Complex. No one has seen the sign but Huck and the designers
“Almost every school out there has a Hall of Fame or a Wall of Fame; Woodstown High School does not have one,” said Huck, in his 26th season as the Wolverines’ boys coach. “When I look around at all these schools I go to, I see all these schools that have it and we don’t have anything. That’s no disrespect to people in leadership there now or in the past. For whatever reason there’s nothing there.
“This isn’t to compare Woodstown soccer to Pennsville or Audubon or anything like that. It’s just for us to recognize these are the best players who have played at Woodstown High School and recognize and honor them.
“I don’t know of another high school in South Jersey – and maybe even the state – that has anything like this, their own boys and girls soccer Wall of Fame. For our school, since we don’t have anything like that, this will be a little groundbreaking and something to be super proud about.”
School officials aren’t involved in the project, but they did give their blessing.
The list of players that will appear on the wall is more than just that year’s statistical leaders. All the inductees must meet a rigid criteria for inclusion. Huck put it together through painstaking research, checking and cross-referencing multiple sources, to devise a scorecard for everyone who has played in the program.
Through it all, 134 players have made the cut. The list goes all the way back to 1982 – 17 years before Huck became the head coach.
He had already done a lot of the legwork while researching the complete statistical record for his boys program, a seven-year endeavor that became the all-time records board posted on the wall at the entrance of the soccer complex. And then he started on the girls program.
“In the back of my mind I always had the vision of putting a Wall of Fame together,” he said.
Huck didn’t want to have a committee to select the roster of players. Instead, he put together a scoring sheet with all the possible accomplishments a player could have in their careers. Things like captaincies, letters won, all-star recognition, and, of course, statistical credentials were considered. He plugged every player into the formula and if a player met the threshold they made the wall.
Huck, who is on the verge of becoming Salem County’s second 300-win coaching veteran, is not on the Wall. He was a very good outside back for the Wolverines back in the day, but his biggest claim as a player he says was being a three-year varsity starter on one of the program’s the top five defensive teams of all time.
He showed his grading system to several coaches for validation and without them seeing the players’ statistical component all said he was right on the mark.
“I didn’t want anyone to look at it and judge it as, well, looks like everybody got in or it was too easy,” he said. “I didn’t want it to lose its legitimacy and it didn’t. There are some good players who didn’t make it, but that’s not a bad thing, because it just shows it’s legit. If you’re good, you’re in it.”
HUCK
The 8-x-4-foot blue metal sign with orange and white lettering was designed by Glassboro’s Astro Sign Company, whose co-owner Nick Painter played for Huck. The roster of honorees wraps around the Woodstown Soccer Wall of Fame crest designed by another former Wolverine, Rylie Gantz, who is on the wall (2021).
The sign cost “a couple thousand dollars” and the program raised the funding for it. All the inductees will receive a special gift commemorating their inclusion on the Wall.
The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
Huck spent weeks gathering contact information for all the players who qualified to be on the wall and there were only about a half dozen he was unable to reach. Almost 100 of the 134 from nearly a dozen states have RSVP’d their intention to return. Andrew Blaszczyk (2016) is coming from California on leave from the Navy. Todd Shimp in coming up from Florida with his family to honor his late brother Kevin (1992).
“People are coming up and coming down and coming over from all over; it’s pretty remarkable,” Huck said. “There are a ton of brothers on the wall, sisters on the wall, brothers and sisters, mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, fathers and sons and daughters (among the inductees).”
Players will be added as they reach the criteria or may have been missed in the previous research. No doubt future inductees will include current Woodstown seniors Adrian Ibarra, Ben Stengle and Talia Battavio.
The unveiling and player recognition begins at 9 a.m. and will be broadcast on the new Woodstown soccer YouTube channel.
“It’s a way of almost having a reunion but also honoring the best of the best,” Huck said. “The only thing that could ruin it maybe is rain and I’m telling you right now even the rain I don’t think can dampen the enthusiasm that’s around all this.”
WOODSTOWN SOCCER WALL OF FAME 1982: Brian Udy, Doug Hathaway 1983: David J. Fedora Sr., Mike Bickford 1984: Eric Sigurdson 1985: David “Mugsy” Nathans, Kevin Udy, Magnus Ramquist, Robert Hammond, Steve Demarest, Tom Boger 1987: Jack Reistle 1988: Cherie Hill Lombardo, Jon Gonzalez 1989: Amy K. Hill, Bobbi Andrews Elwell, Scott McCall 1990: Brian Ritchie, Daniel Emmans, Sean Weiser 1991: Becky Gantz Blum, John Burger, Thanh Mai 1992: Dr. Kevin M. Shimp 1993: Lauren Eichmann Morgan, Lauren Weaver, Raechelle Hatchell 1994: Amy Bender McGroarty, Amy Gray, Bill Olbrich, Carrie Ann Flemming, Craig Patterson 1995: Laura Flitcraft Merkle, Lauren Weist, Matt Foote 1997: A.J. Washington, Jeff LaPalomento, Kim Merkle-Souder 1998: Brian Bender, Bruce L. Bobbitt Jr., Laura J. Sanderlin 1999: Paul Hughes 2000: Amanda Clark Rondon, Amy Wasersztein Fredrick, Brian Roberts, Oscar Hernandez 2001: Bleigh Ahl Garcia, Bradford L. English, DR Ayers, Jessica Coles, Randall Clark 2002: Christine Monforto, Lauren Tavani, Lindsay Thompson, Rebecca Callen Iacovone 2003: Dana Ayars Hitchner, David Roman, Rob Polk 2004: Jenny Finocchiaro, Jillian Sigars, Leslie Long, Probyn Allen 2005: Ashley Jones, Julia Godsmark, William Layton 2006: Corie Coles, Craig Bober, Lucia V. Allen, Megan Beal, PJ Tucker, Randy Wickersham, Ta-Monica Moore 2007: Brynn Really Bross, Elena Layton, Emma Geiger, Greg Tavani, Kathryn LaPann, Lindsey Butler 2008: Ethan Kavanagh, Travis Goss 2009: Noelle Kitchin, Tori Malpezzi 2010: Alexander Zeidler, Chelsea Norbuts, Drew Geiger, Michael Love, Rachel Norbuts, TJ Schaefer 2011: Fran Smith, Jacob Allen 2012: Greg Conner, Jon Robbins, Marlyn Malpezzi, Zachary Smick 2013: Bonnell Reynolds, Dillon Martell, Victoria Smick 2014: Alexandra Sottile, Astasia K. Williams-Bertles, Brandon Dean, Clark Hathaway, Eric Hepler, Fallon Secaur, Kelly O’Kane, Lexi Brown, Matthew Simmermon 2015: Alex Norbuts, Cole Kugler, Mickey Demarest, Tom Brady 2016: Andrew Błaszczyk, Dylan Varner, Geoffrey Schaefer, Paige Rodriguez 2017: Brice Monefeldt 2019: Chris Williams 2020: Maddy Hunt, Nathan Hitchner, Sadie Boatright, Shaye Kelly, Trevor Lodge, Zac Moore 2021: Ava Lammersen, Jake Moore, Justin Olbrich, Rylie Gantz 2022: Chase Prater, Dean Sorantino, Will McQueston 2023: Elizabeth Morgan, Ellen Olbrich, Gabrielle Saia, Jordana Fredo, Tatum DeVault
Here are the scores and highlights from Thursday’s high school action involving Salem County teams
FIELD HOCKEY SCHALICK 6, PENNSVILLE 0: The Cougars scored five goals in the first quarter and cruised to their 10th straight victory to remain undefeated. Luci Virga and Alexis Smith both had a hat trick.
WOODSTOWN 4, SALEM 0: Brae DiGregorio, Shyann Higinbotham and Megan Donelson all had a goal and an assist as the Wolverines handed Salem its first loss of the season. Hannah Hitchner scored Woodstown’s other goal and Shelby Foote recorded the shutout.
BOYS SOCCER COLLINGSWOOD 3, PENNSVILLE 2: John Lara scored the game-winner in the 63rd minute. Maddox Efelis and Shane Puckett scored Pennsville’s two goals, both of which tied the game.
GIRLS SOCCER CUMBERLAND 7, PENNS GROVE 1: Alee Lorito had a hat trick and Ellie Bodine scored twice for the Colts.
SCHALICK 1, GLASSBORO 0: Abby Willoughby scored in the second half off a Quinn Berger corner kick and the Cougars won on Senior Night.
PENNSVILLE 5, GLASSBORO 0 Megan Morris (P) def. Ella Killelea, 6-0, 6-0 Regan Witt (P) def. Kaylee Johnson, 7-6 (12-10), 7-5 Lily Edwards (P) def. Halle Lazarus, 6-0, 6-0 Emma Cornette-Morgan Holt (P) def. Alana Killelea-Taylor Adcock, 6-0, 6-0 Cassandra Fortenberry-Devon Sebell (P) def. Anatasia Baratta-Amani George, 6-1, 6-2 Records: Pennsville 12-0, Glassboro 4-4. Notes: Pennsville is now off to its best start in more than 15 years. The Eagles have won 18 regular season matches in a row going back to last season.
Wednesday sports report: Stengel’s stop of penalty kick sparks Woodstown soccer to second-half uprising, and more
BOYS SOCCER Penns Grove 6, Gloucester Catholic 3 Pitman 5, Salem Tech 0 Schalick 3, Wildwood 2 (OT) Woodstown 6, Pennsville 0 Glassboro at Salem
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – Scoring a goal always gets a team excited, but sometimes stopping a goal can be a spark.
Woodstown goalie Ben Stengel stopped a penalty kick in the second minute of the second half to keep their game with Pennsville scoreless Wednesday and it lit a fire under his team.
STENGEL
The Wolverines scored three goals over the next 12 minutes to take complete control and six in the entire half to pull away from Pennsville 6-0.
“It definitely lit a spark,” Woodstown coach Darren Huck said. “Ben’s save definitely was the spark plug. It energized the guys, like, wow.
“And what it did was reiterated what I told them at halftime that any little thing can happen. A ball squibs this way, spins that way, hits a patch of dirt one way, all of a sudden we could be down one-zero after we pretty much controlled the first half.”
Although the game was completed in regulation, both defenses worked overtime to keep it scoreless in the first half. Pennsville keeper Coen Rinnier turned back 10 challenging shots as most of the half was played in his defensive end. And whenever Pennsville pushed into Woodstown territory, the Wolverines’ back line was right there to turn back any threat.
But it all changed early in the second half. The Wolverines were called for contact in the box 90 seconds in – a call both coaches found questionable – and it sent Pennsville senior John Thomas to the spot for a penalty kick.
Stengel stood his ground. Thomas hit the shot straight on into the keeper, who leaned towards his left and raised his arms to keep it from catching the underside of the crossbar and batted it away. He collected the rebound, cleared it through the box and the game continued scoreless.
It was the second PK in three attempts Stengel had turned away this season.
“It helped a little bit that (Coach) Huck wanted to come out and ask about the play, so that was good; it built up the anticipation up there,” Stengel said. “He was scared to death just sitting there, his teammates were telling him where to kick, they were like pointing fingers this way so when he goes to kick I know exactly where he’s going. It was just all the nerves building up from waiting.
“I was ready to dive. I don’t know if you guys could see from where you were but there’s a little bit of a hole on the PK (spot) and he just took like a bad step and hit it weird. That’s what I was kind of waiting for. You’ve got like guess. I was ready to dive, he hits it weird, you’ve just got to react real quick and stand back up.”
Stengel said stopping the penalty kick “killed everything” in the Eagles. The Wolverines, meanwhile, kept up the pressure they exhibited in the first half only this time they were able to finish.
Ayden Ellis, Erich Lipovsky and Bryce Ayars scored over the next 12 minutes to make it 3-0. Before the half ended, Adrian Ibarra was credited with a pair of goals – his third straight two-goal game – and Sid Leevy scored his second goal of the year.
In defense of Rinnier, who faced 32 shots total, there wasn’t a lot he could do on several of the goals. Although it won’t be reflected on the stat line, Pennsville coach Derek Foglein called it “the best game I’ve ever seen Coen play.
“He was all over the place. He commanded his box. He slowed the game down. He did everything right. Even in the second half, you take a look at a lot of those goals, there aren’t many that are his fault. It was really one of those things where Woodstown, they didn’t execute in the first half, they executed in the second half.”
SCHALICK 3, WILDWOOD 2 (OT): Brad Foster headed home a corner kick from Jaxon Weber seven minutes into the first overtime to give the Cougars their seventh win in eight games and hand coach Joe Mannella his 300th career victory. Luke Price scored Schalick’s first two goals, both in the first half. Mannella is 300-123-28 — all at Schalick, his alma mater. (See related story).
PENNS GROVE 6, GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 0: Anthony Braxton opened the scoring three minutes into the first half and the Red Devils proceeded to score six goals in the first half. Frankie Juarez Reynoso had two, while Sebastian Hernandez, Edward Swank and Angel Perez Herrera each had one.
PITMAN 5, SALEM TECH 0: Elijah Crispin, who recently returned to the Panthers’ soccer team, scored his first two goals of the season. Crispin had nine goals and 11 assists last year.
Glassboro at Salem
GIRLS SOCCER WOODSTOWN 3, PITMAN 0: Talia Battavio scored two goals, raising her career total to 55, and Sophie Wells scored once for Woodstown. The Wolverines are unbeaten in their last four games and all three wins in the stretch have been shutouts. Ellie Wygand made five saves in the latest shutout.
Gloucester Catholic 5, Penns Grove 0 Salem at Glassboro Salem Tech at Pennsville
GIRLS TENNIS Pennsville matched its best start in four seasons when it swept Overbrook in straight sets, 5-0. The Eagles’ 11-0 start matches the start of the 2021 team.
Pennsville keeper Coen Rinnier punches a shot clear in the first half to keep the Eagles’ game with Woodstown scoreless. On the cover, Woodstown keeper Ben Stengel stops a penalty kick early in the second half.
