Penns Grove freshman Thomas makes impressive high school debut, has third-best game in state last week; includes Salem County football leaders through Sept. 5
CARNEYS POINT – Jaivon Thomas may have surprised the world in his first ever high school football game last Friday night, but the folks around the Penns Grove football program have known the freshman was special for a long time.
“Ever since he was 5 years old he was good,” Red Devils coach Damian Ware said.
Thomas burst on the scene with the third-best rushing performance in the state last week in the Red Devils’ 48-20 win at Buena. He ran for 290 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries, threw a touchdown pass and had an interception on defense. Only Gateway’s Lamar Smith (30-344-3) and Camden Catholic’s Nymir Daily (31-305-4) had more yards on the ground last weekend.
The Red Devils’ leading rusher all last season only collected 293 yards.
Ware called Thomas a “future phenom” when he talked about him in the preseason, but the 5-6, 145-pound freshman showed the future is now against the Chiefs. He has the potential to have another big night this week when the Red Devils play Lindenwold Saturday.
Thomas scored on runs of 17, 70 and 60 yards and had another 59-yard burst that didn’t reach the end zone, often squirming his way through traffic to break into the open field. He threw a 65-yard TD pass to Jerry Wooton. His interception came at the 1, then he covered the 99 yards going the other way on the next two plays.
“He has some instincts and some things he does and his understanding of the game when you talk to him about it … he’s a different type of player,” Ware said. “During a timeout I was throwing it out there that I think I want to run the halfback pass. He looked at me and said, ‘yeah, yeah, run it coach. I’m gonna dime that thing.’ He definitely dimed it. It was right on stride, Jerry caught it and kept running.”
The last freshman running back to make such an impact on the Red Devils’ program was Karon Ceaser, and he was the program’s first true freshman skill position starter in nearly 20 years when he started against Burlington City in the 2023 opener. Ceaser ran for 155 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries in that game on his way to a 1,000-yard season.
Thomas made his developmental bones with the Olympus youth football program. That group produced several Penns Grove natives currently starring in other programs in the region, but Thomas is “locked in” to his hometown school.
“We knew who he was, he had a reputation coming into high school,” Ware said. “He came up to me in the beginning of the summer and said, ‘Coach I’m staying here. I don’t want to play anywhere else. I want to play for Penns Grove.’ He was locked in from the start.
“Everybody wanted him. Everybody still wants him. He’s going to have great success in Penns Grove. It’s not about where you’re at, it’s about what you do where you’re at.”
He’s already off to a great start.
THIS WEEK’S GAMES
Friday’s Games
- Schalick at Woodstown, 6 p.m.
- Pennsville at Pitman, 7 p.m.
Saturday’s Games
- Audubon at Salem, noon
- Lindenwold at Penns Grove, noon
Salem County Football Stat Leaders
Rushing
| PLAYER | CAR. | YARDS | TD |
| Kenny Bartee, Schalick | 22 | 361 | 6 |
| Jaivon Thomas, Penns Grove | 12 | 290 | 3 |
| Cole Ware, Woodstown | 36 | 223 | o |
| David Stewart, Schalick | 15 | 167 | 3 |
| Terrell Thomas, Penns Grove | 9 | 85 | 3 |
| Ayden Jenkins, Schalick | 13 | 84 | 0 |
| Cashmir Parsley, Salem | 14 | 77 | 1 |
| Mason Middlemiss, Woodstown | 19 | 68 | 3 |
| Tristan Horner, Pennsville | 21 | 57 | 2 |
| Aidan Collazo, Pennsville | 5 | 53 | 0 |
| Freddie Allen, Schalick | 7 | 47 | 1 |
Passing
| PLAYER | C-A-I | YARDS | TD |
| Jake Layfield, Pennsville | 50-80-2 | 589 | 6 |
| Owen McDonald, Salem | 9-25-3 | 76 | 1 |
| Mason Middlemiss, Woodstown | 7-13-3 | 72 | 1 |
| Kenny Bartee, Schalick | 2-9-0 | 32 | 0 |
| Damien Robinson, Penns Grove | 3-5-0 | 10 | 0 |
3 attempts min. per game
Receiving
| Player | NO. | YARDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chase Johnson, Pennsville | 19 | 313 | 3 |
| Lucas Thomas, Pennsville | 9 | 64 | 1 |
| Aidan Collazo, Pennsville | 7 | 78 | 0 |
| Tristan Horner, Pennsville | 7 | 34 | 0 |
| Jacob Kimani, Pennsville | 6 | 69 | 1 |
| Jerry Wooton, Penns Grove | 4 | 69 | 1 |
| KaiSiere Muhammad, Salem | 2 | 46 | 0 |
| Gio Alicea, Schalick | 2 | 32 | 0 |
| Nehemiah Carter, Woodstown | 2 | 23 | 0 |
| Dante Cummings, Pennsville | 2 | 11 | 1 |
| Cole Ware, Woodstown | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Isaiah Santiago, Salem | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Based on number of receptions
Team Leaders
| TEAM | RUSH | C-A-I | PASS | PF | PA |
| PENNS GROVE (1-0) | 415 | 4-6-0 | 75 | 48 | 20 |
| PENNSVILLE (1-1) | 48 | 50-80-2 | 589 | 54 | 49 |
| SALEM (0-2) | 89 | 9-25-3 | 76 | 20 | 63 |
| SCHALICK (2-0) | 699 | 4-11-0 | 59 | 91 | 12 |
| WOODSTOWN (1-1) | 309 | 7-13-3 | 72 | 28 | 34 |