Pennsville picks up win on the road
HAMMONTON – The last time Mike Healy went to St. Joseph Academy here, it was his first year as Pennsville’s head coach and it wasn’t a good day for the Eagles. Nine years later he came back to Salem County with a much better result.
The Eagles scored early to get the lead, made a couple big defensive stops in the second half to stay in front and were able to run out the clock after a clutch leaping catch by C.J. Johnson to beat the Wildcats 20-17 Friday night.
“The last time we played them (a 53-0 loss), that was one of the harder games I coached in my career; they were an unbelievable team,” Healy said. “We knew it was going to be a tough, physical game, but the kids, they played hard. They did what they’ve done all season; they will fight to the end of the game.
“That’s one thing about this team. Doesn’t really matter what’s going on in the game, they’re going to keep coming back, they’re going to keep fighting and they’re going to keep plugging away. They have a belief in themselves that we can get the job done regardless what’s going on.”
The Eagles (4-3) opened a 20-3 lead in the first half on two Aidan Collazo touchdowns and one by Javion Sydnor. The Wildcats made it 20-10 at halftime with a touchdown in the final minute of the second quarter.
The Wildcats cut it to 20-17 in the third quarter after the Eagles gave them a short field with a botched punt. The Eagles’ defense came up with several stops, including a fourth-down tackle for loss by Aidan Clark after the Wildcats had a touchdown called back by a penalty.
“It was kind of the opposite of the rest our season,” Healy said. “We had a great first half, where we usually have a bad first half. What it was we stopped the self-inflicted wounds, the penalties, the negative plays.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game going in. We had a couple injuries going into the game, also, so we had some kids who had to step up and play either more than they’ve ever played or they started when they had never started before … and they got the job done. I couldn’t be prouder of the kids. We wish we were a little better the second half, but we stepped up and took care of business when it mattered most.”
Salem’s surge continues
CLAYTON – Salem continued its climb up the South Jersey Group 1 power point standings Friday with a 26-6 road win over Clayton. It was their third straight win, coinciding with the return of quarterback Desmund Thomas.
The Rams (4-3) took control of the game from the start. Cashmir Parsley ran for two touchdowns, Thomas ran for one and Ahmad Tucker scored on a 57-yard punt return. Clayton avoided the shutout with 1:06 left in the game when Nycere Walls got behind the defense and finished off a 50-yard pass play.
Tony Merendino led the defense with had 2.5 sacks.
“Total team effort, total team win,” Rams coach Kemp Carr said. “Salem’s on the rise.”
Resilient Woodstown falls short
WOODSTOWN – Woodstown was missing a lot from its lineup, but the Wolverines showed a lot as well.
The Wolverines lost four key players to injury during last week’s game at Salem to injury. They battled throughout the night, but ended up falling to Overbrook on Homecoming 38-35.
Quarterback Mason Middlemiss was the only one of the four to return. He ran for three touchdowns and threw to Nehemiah Carter for another. TyRell West ran for Woodstown’s other score.
“I think the kids really battled tonight,” Wolverines coach Frank Trautz said. “Ultimately it just came down to we just had too many self-inflicted wounds. Self-inflicted wounds in the first half put us in the hole.”
The miscues led to a 26-14 Overbrook lead at halftime. The Wolverines cut the deficit by scoring on their opening drive of the second half, but the Rams answered and the teams traded scores after that.
It was a three-point game with two minutes left and it looked as if the Wolverines might get a chance to pull it out. They had Overbrook fourth-and-6 and no timeouts, but the Rams got the first down and ran out the clock.