County football preview: Woodstown’s Hill eager to play first game; Schalick, Pennsville focused on the details

SALEM COUNTY FOOTBALL
Friday’s games
Riverside at Schalick, 6 p.m.
Woodstown at Deptford, 6 p.m.
Gateway at Pennsville, 7 p.m.
Saturday’s game
Penns Grove at Salem, noon

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – Woodstown running back James Hill has been looking forward to Friday night’s game at Deptford for six months. So has Wolverines’ coach John Adams. The rest of the WJFL, because they know the impact, not so much.

Hill makes his long-awaited season debut against the Spartans, six months removed from the knee injury and surgery during wrestling season.

He was cleared to return for football with limitations in late August and was cleared for full contact last week in time to fulfill his six padded practice embargo in time to play Friday night.

“I’m looking forward to it – a lot,” Hill said. “It’s been the last 6-7 months of rehabbing really strong. Every day I look at the clock and it just inches closer and closer. It’s kind of like Christmas and a birthday put together. No one wants to get older, but everyone wants to get the gifts.”

The plan is to rotate him between inside and outside linebacker this week and ease him into the offense where they need him. Hill has repped at multiple positions this week and, coach John Adams says, “knows the playbook from couple different spots.” Just don’t look for him to be running between the tackles on the Spartans’ artificial turf in his first game back. 

He has rushed for more than 3,000 yards and 31 touchdowns over the last two seasons.

“It’s tremendous (to get him back),” Adams said. “He’s a two-time captain, so getting his athleticism on the field is going to be phenomenal, him getting some of the rust out and stuff like that and get some confidence back in his leg will be big for him, but for us, having that leadership on the field is huge.

“The last two weeks he’s been doing everything he could from the sideline and having that leadership on the field is going to be really, really big for us.”

Hill said he has “no fear in playing football” coming back and is hoping for a big game capped by a victory.

“I just want to individual feel 100 percent confident in everything,” he said. “I don’t want to have any worries about making a cut. I just want to go out there and run around and play a high school football game and not have two thoughts of my ACL was torn seven months ago.”

RIVERSIDE (2-0) at SCHALICK (3-0): In an early-season battle of unbeatens this week is all about details for the Cougars – the I-dotting and T-crossing things that take a good team to great and a great team to special.

It’s things like finishing drives and finishing blocks that lead to bigger runs, winning first down, locking up on tackles and reading keys, and staying focused on extra points.

“That’s what we’ve been preaching all week in practice and that’s what we’re trying to accomplish,” Cougars coach Mike Wilson said. “Getting better at the little things.”

Through three games, junior running back Reggie Allen is emerging as the backbone of the team. He rushed for 144 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s victory at Wildwood and has done most of the heavy lifting on the Cougars’ scoring drives.

He now had 246 yards on 52 carries this season after his 144-yard, three touchdown game last week. He already has half as many touchdowns as he had a year ago, when losing two games to an injury robbed him of a 1,000-yard season.

“Reggie is legitimately our unsung hero,” Wilson said. “I said this his freshman year: Reggie gets lost in the shuffle a little bit, and I don’t know why. Reggie is the backbone of this team. I know a lot of people talk about (quarterback) Kenai (Simmons), but Reggie is the lynchpin of this team, I really believe that.”

Depending on what else happens around the division, this winner could come out of the week in sole possession of first place in the Horizon Division and be its last undefeated team standing.

GATEWAY (1-1) at PENNSVILLE (1-1): The Eagles stand in a bit of a crossroad. A year ago, they won their opener, lost their second game and didn’t win again. They face the same scenario this week after a flat game in their home opener, but this time are confident of flipping the script with the proper approach.

It’s all about players doing their job and trusting the player next to them. Last week’s 28-7 loss to Lower Cape May was about a lot of players trying to do too much that took them out of position. 

This week, back to a regular practice schedule in the first full week of school, it’s all about getting back to basics.

“This whole year is really about getting respect back for the program and we need to show we can consistently play at a high level and go out there and compete like we can as opposed to last week,” Healy said. “We did not show who we really were, I felt like.”

Last year’s Gateway game got away from them and was the turning point in their season. It has the potential to be the springboard for this year as well.

“They’re 1-1 right now, same as us, so we can’t go in there, especially after last week how we played, thinking too much of ourselves,” Healy said. “We’ve got to understand we’re both even going into this game so we’ve got to show up.”

Coming next: Penns Grove’s Emel reflects on Salem’s Walnut Street Field on the eve of its final game

All 5 Salem County football teams in action this weekend, but Pennsville only one playing at home; Woodstown’s Hill cleared for full contact

SALEM COUNTY GAMES
Friday’s games
Salem at Pleasantville, 6 p.m.
Schalick at Wildwood, 6 p.m.
Lower Cape May at Pennsville, 7 p.m.
Saturday’s games
Penns Grove at Woodbury, 10:30 a.m.
Woodstown at Paulsboro, 10:30 a.m.

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – The excessive heat this week has impacted the things Pennsville wanted to get done in the run up to Friday night’s football game with Lower Cape May, but Eagles coach Mike Healy is confident everything is in place for what really is an important early-season game.

The Eagles open their WJFL Royal Division schedule with their home opener. In a division that’s not likely to get more than one team in the playoffs, getting off to a good start in the division is important. Lower Cape May lost one division game in a 6-2 regular season last year and didn’t make it.

“It’s huge from that aspect, if we want to be in that conversation at the end of the year,” Pennsville coach Mike Healy said. “The short term goal is to go 1-0 each week, any coach is going to say that, but long term, you win your first division game and now you’re in that battle all season long and your destiny is in your hands. Obviously it’s a long season, a lot of things can happen, but it feels a lot better when you’re in control of things.

“Division winners are getting in the playoffs, so if we want to accomplish our long term goals then we have to take care of business on Friday. Obviously other things can happen, but it’s better to take care of the division and not have to worry about that.”

The Eagles are 1-0 for the third time in four years. They won their season opener last year, but didn’t win another game the rest of the season. This year, they’re a lot more settled in, showed to be more sound in their technique in the opener and are just more confident going forward. The last time they were 2-0 was 2020 – the last time they beat the Tigers.

“Definitely feeling more confident than we did last year just based on how we played,” Healy said. “Every team makes mistakes during a game, but we didn’t have huge gaping issues that were apparent to us that we’re trying to cover up.

“I feel like we did a very good job last week; obviously, I was happy. It’s a different team this week. They’re 1-1, so they won a game this year. We’ve got to step up to that and I think if we play the way we can play – we want to be confident, but not overconfident – I think the kids are feeling we’re going in the right direction.”

Like all the teams in this part of the state, the Eagles have hit a few speed bumps this week because of the weather, juggling practice schedules to accommodate high temperatures and heat index. As recently as Wednesday they had to wait until the evening to get outside and then they had to start without pads.

“We definitely have changed what we’ve had to do,” Healy said. “We’re not even really sure what time we’re able to get out each day, so we start with a meeting and then we have to wait until we get the OK from the trainer to go outside.

“We’ve had limited practice time and, really, we just had to kind of pick what are the most important things we need to get done to be ready for the game. Everyone’s at a disadvantage from it, so it really comes down to who can adjust and prepare themselves the best in the limited time they’re going to have.

“Considering the circumstance I think we got in what we need to get in. Would I want more time? Yes, any coach is going to say that, but I think we did a good job as a staff getting in what needed to be put in for the game and I think the kids did a good job adjusting to the schedule and kind of just going with the flow.”

The Eagles are the only Salem County team at home this weekend. It’s the only week this season just one county team plays at home.

SCHALICK (2-0) at WILDWOOD (1-0): The Cougars are off to their best start in six years and are looking to go 3-0 for the first time since 2016 (when they started 6-0) as they open the most favorable stretch of their schedule.

But for all their early-season success, they’re also looking to put together a complete game and it starts with their Horizon Division opener – and first road game – against a Wildwood team Schalick coach Mike Wilson says looks to be one of its best in years.

The Cougars are “close,” Wilson said, but they could be a little sharper. They scored on their opening drive each of their first two games to take the lead, then held on for dear life. Last week against Pitman they opened the game with a flawless 74-yard drive that consumed nearly nine minutes, but they weren’t as consistent the rest of the way and needed a bang-bang stop of a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter to save the win.

“In hindsight we won two games against two very good teams, two solid playoff teams, both that will make a lot of noise this year, win a lot of games,” Wilson said. “We’ve just got to get better. I know that’s a coaching cliche, but that’s what it comes down to.”

The Cougars ran the table in their division last year and have won six straight division games. Of the seven games remaining on the schedule the Cougars beat six of them a year ago and the one they didn’t is 0-2 this season and lost to Wildwood last week.

Schalick leads the series with Wildwood 14-1 and have won the last 10 in a row. Last year’s 29-12 win was the closest game of the winning streak.

SALEM (0-2) at PLEASANTVILLE (1-1): The Rams go into their third game under new coach Danny Mendoza looking to put it all together. In their first game the offense and special teams held their own but the defense let them down. Last week it was just the opposite.

More than anything, they need to be sharper in the second half. In the opener they trailed 14-13 midway through the third quarter, then got outscored 28-6. Last week against Camden, a Group III state semifinalist last year, one bad bust on a pass coverage late in the second quarter led to a touchdown and a 7-0 halftime deficit, but they were swamped 27-0 after halftime.

“We competed, we just made really, really bad mistakes at the really wrong times,” Mendoza said. “Against teams with that size and those kind of guys you have to be, not perfect, but you got to be definitely teed in on a different level to be able to take that game from them.

“(What they did in the first half) I’m proud of them, but we have to sustain it. We can’t just be a first-half football team. That’s what we’re working on, understanding how to be a second-half football team … We’ve got to clean everything up. This is a big week for us.”

Salem is scheduled to open division play next week against Penns Grove, but a developing non-football related issue may impact the venue of the game. It is Salem’s home game, but because of the Rams’ on-going stadium project, it was moved to Penns Grove and then last week was moved back to Salem’s Walnut Street Field for what would be the final high school game played there.

But safety concerns around the game make playing it there an open question. Salem police declined to comment, deferring to the high school. Salem High officials call it an “ongoing situation” and continue to collect information. Penns Grove remains willing to host the game.

Saturday’s games

WOODSTOWN (1-0) at PAULSBORO (0-1): The Wolverines have had this game circled on their calendar for nine months, ever since the Red Raiders knocked them out of the playoffs.

They blanked Paulsboro during the regular season, but the script flipped in the higher-staked rematch. If that game taught them anything, it was the importance of being sharp and winning the turnover battle, lessons they’re sure to recall when they hit the field Saturday.

“It’s been something we’ve talked about since Day One, coming up short in that game and how well they played and executed and we didn’t,” Woodstown coach John Adams said. “It’s been a big focus … on doing our job, executing and finishing.”

The Wolverines got good news Wednesday when running back James Hill was cleared to return to full contact practice. Hill had been rehabbing off-season knee surgery and was cleared to return to football without contact last month.

He was expected to get full clearance Sept. 13, but his recent evaluation came in time to fulfill his six full practice requirement to be available for Game 3 next week at Deptford. He practiced Wednesday in shoulder pads and helmets because of the heat and Adams said “he looked good, he’s moving around good” and is “itching” to get back to full duty.

When Hill does play, he’ll probably start out at outside linebacker and maybe get in the mix at receiver before transitioning into the backfield. He’s a 3,000-yard career rusher.

PENNS GROVE (0-2) at WOODBURY (1-0): The Red Devils take a different approach and a lot of motivation into their first road game of the year and Diamond Division opener against the defending Group I state champions.

For the first two weeks, the emphasis was ball security and eliminating turnovers, but the Red Devils had 13 in the first two losses (nine lost fumbles) and are minus-9 in turnover ratio. Four of the turnovers have been inside their opponents 30 – two after sizeable gains – and seven inside the 40. That doesn’t count a fourth-down stop inside the 15.

Opponents have turned five of the takeaways into touchdowns, either directly on the return or on the ensuing possession. The Red Devils have converted two of their takeaways into touchdowns, including  their only score against Pleasantville, and that’s the messaging going forward.

“Maybe I ought to change my emphasis from ball security to winning the turnover battle,” Penns Grove coach John Emel said. “We scored off our turnover so I think the key emphasis for me is turnovers lead to points and if we’re going to turn the ball over the other team is going to score more points than us. We need to get more turnovers and we need to protect the ball.

“I think we played better last week. Our defense can be pretty good. We cut down on the penalties, we played more disciplined, we limited big plays, but, again, we have to protect the football. We’re not good enough on offense to just waste possession and that’s what we’ve been doing.”

The Red Devils have plenty of motivation to break into the win column in this one. Woodbury has knocked them out of the playoffs each of the last two years and on a lesser scale the Thundering Herd rallied from a 12-0 deficit to beat them in the finals of the Taliaferro Foundation 7-on-7 tournament in June.

Photo credit: Lorraine Jenkins