Freshman RB, coach make strong first impression as Penns Grove wins opener
BUENA — Freshman running back Jaivon Thomas couldn’t have made a better first impression. And neither could the Penns Grove football team in its first game under coach Damian Ware.
Ware had spoken often about the potential Thomas to be a “future phenom” and he lived up that projection, rushing for 290 yards and accounting for four touchdowns as the Red Devils swamped Buena 48-20 for their first win since 2024.
“He’s amazing, man, that’s all I can say,” Ware said. “If you saw some of these runs that he had today, I don’t know how he got out of there, but he got out of there.”
The last freshman back to have such an impactful debut for the Red Devils was Karon Ceaser, who rushed for 155 yards and two scores against Burlington City in 2023. Ceaser at the time was the first starting freshman running back for Penns Grove in years.
Thomas scored on a 17-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and scoring bursts of 70 and 60 in the fourth quarter. He threw a 65-yard touchdown pass to Jerry Wooton in the second quarter and also had an interception on defense.
Terrell Thomas rushed for 85 yards on nine carries and scored three touchdowns on runs of 20, 29 and 5 yards. Wooton caught four passes for 69 yards.
On the defensive side of the ball, Terrell Thomas had eight tackles, a forced fumble and a recovery, and Jakai Ingram had seven tackles.
The Red Devils went 0-9 last season and hadn’t won a game since their season-finale in 2024. They got a taste of victory in a 31-6 scrimmage win over Wildwood, but Friday night’s game was the first one that counted.
“I’m going to give it all up to the kids,” Ware said. “They’re buying into what we’ve been teaching and all the things that we’ve done in the offseason, all the work we’ve been putting in since July 1 when we officially started training camp, and it kind of all came together in the first quarter.”
The Red Devils jumped out front 26-0, then ran into some adversity in the form of players cramping. Buena scored 12 points in the second quarter against a third-string defensive back and a blocked punt return to make it 26-12 at halftime. The Red Devils extended their lead with two touchdowns in the third quarter.
“At the start of the third quarter we really dug deep,” Ware said. “My message to them at halftime was it’s football. It’s not going to be easy, it’s going to be a war, it’s going to be a battle and it’s going to hurt sometimes and you’ve got to just be able to fight through it and push through it.”
The last time the Red Devils won a season opener was 2022. With all the changes that took place within the program in the offseason, they were possibly the only people who believed they could do it this time. Preseason projections from the so-called experts had them finishing last in the WJFL Independence Division.
“I don’t think the hopes were high,” Ware said. “One thing I did see was they had us finishing last in our division, so obviously they didn’t think we were going to do anything. So to come out today and get this win, a pretty convincing win against a good Buena team, that was a good look for us. And a good confidence builder for the kids coming off a winless season last year to start the season with a win. Now they really believe.”
“I feel like we did what we had to do, but there definitely is room to get better,” Wooton said. “When we work together as a team, we do some good things. Last year we weren’t as disciplined, but it starts up front with the line. Without them we can’t do anything.”
Photo credits to the Penns Grove Carneys Point Regional School District Facebook Page.