Penns Grove football facing possible ban from state tournament

Penns Grove's football team faces the prospect of being banned from this year's NJSIAA South Jersey Group 1 state tournament after an incident during Saturday's game in which the visiting Red Devils beat Salem, 62-0.

In the first quarter, a fracas broke out. Three Penns Grove players and one Salem player were removed from the game, according to Salem athletic director Dave Suiter.

According to NJSIAA Rule 1, Section B: "Any varsity team accumulating three or more player or coach disqualifications for flagrant unsportsmanlike conduct prior to the start of the NJSIAA Tournament will not be permitted to participate in same. Seeded teams will forfeit their right to compete if a disqualification limit is reached prior to the start of the tournament for the team."

Penns Grove coach Kemp Carr said he wouldn't comment on the incident, but did say, "There is a difference between being thrown out and not allowed back in. I can't say anything else until we have the precise documents and facts."

The NJSIAA likely won't take long to make a ruling once it has all the facts.

Penns Grove (2-1) is considered a serious Group 1 contender. The Red Devils' lone loss was a 13-12 defeat to another contender, Glassboro.

Injury update. Seneca junior guard Tim Barton, suffered a season-ending dislocated ankle and broken fibula in Friday's 26-21 loss at Paul VI.

"He's a first-year starter and a great kid," Seneca coach Bill Fisher said.

Getting offensive. Nick Aristone was on the offensive for Shawnee in Friday's 44-7 win over Clearview. Aristone scored two TDs, which is more impressive when considering he plays linebacker.

The 6-foot, 185-pound senior caused a fumble and returned it 25 yards for a score and then scored on a 25-yard pass interception.

Aristone is a first-year starter.

"He's a great kid and a program player," Shawnee coach Tim Gushue said. "He had some game against Clearview."

Heated ending. Tempers got heated following the conclusion of Winslow Township's 33-7 win over Cherry Hill East on Saturday.

A brief melee occurred, but no players were ejected according to coach Tom Coen of Cherry Hill East and Winslow Township's coach Mike McBride, who both said they couldn't comment further.

Winslow scored on a 40-yard pass in the game's final play, which apparently led to some bruised feelings during the postgame handshake.

Scrambled Group 3. Going into the season, Timber Creek and Seneca were considered among the top South Jersey Group 3 teams. Both teams are 1-2 and will meet before the playoff cutoff, ensuring at least one of them will have three losses.

It's possible that a three-loss team can qualify in Group 3, but no certainty. The eight teams with the highest power ratings by the Nov. 7 cutoff will qualify for the playoffs, provided there are eight teams with .500 or better records.

"Group 3 is a packed house," said Winslow Township coach McBride, whose 3-0 team's power rating of 42 leads the group according to Gridironnewjersey.com. "There is not a lot of room at the dinner table."

Probably the biggest surprise has been Moorestown (2-1), whose only loss is to unbeaten Paul VI. The Quakers' two wins have been over Seneca and Timber Creek.

"I said to a few people that with our early schedule, we could be 0-5 and still be a good team," Moorestown coach Russ Horton said. "I am happy where we are."

Moorestown has another killer game this week against 2-0 Group 4 contender Williamstown.

Leading the way for Moorestown has been junior quarterback Andrew Lisa, who has completed 57 of 93 passes for 735 yards, eight touchdowns, and two interceptions.

Delsea, which is the two-time defending South Jersey Group 2 champion and was expected to be rebuilding, is 3-0, although the Crusaders escaped with an 8-7 win over Cumberland (1-2) on Friday.

Woodrow Wilson, also up from Group 2, is 2-0.

Also in Group 3, Hammonton is the defending sectional champion. Despite several key graduation losses, the Blue Devils are 3-0 and again a major threat.

Lacey is 3-0 and has outscored opponents, 107-7. Many feel Lacey could be the team to beat.

Among the other contenders for playoff spots are Pinelands, (2-1, with a 42-0 loss to Lacey), Burlington Township (2-1), and Kingsway (2-1).

Two high-scoring forces. St. Joseph (2-0) is averaging 47.5 points and its defense has not yielded a point. Of course, that stat is in jeopardy since the Wildcats visit No. 7 Holy Spirit (3-0) on Friday. Spirit has outscored opposing teams by 130-13.

The Langerman file. Here are some of the latest nuggets from area historian Chuck Langerman.

After three weeks of play, Vineland, Atlantic City and Lower Cape May are a combined 8-0. Last season after three weeks of play those teams were a combined 0-8.

Willingboro defeated Maple Shade 26-0. It was the first time these Burlington County schools have played each other even though Maple Shade has been playing football since 1972 and Willingboro since 1974.

In Cherokee's 39-14 win over Eastern on Sept. 17, sophomore Anthony Robbins of Eastern threw a 99-yard touchdown pass to Mark Burwell. That ties the national, state, and South Jersey record for longest touchdown pass. The original South Jersey record was set in 1979 when Burlington Township's Lonnie Jackson threw a 99-yard touchdown pass to Brian Cognigni. It was duplicated by Burlington City's Jeremy Pruden to Brian Davis in 1998 and in 2003 when Burlington Township's Jimmy Jeffers connected with D.J. Golden.

Now that West Deptford stopped Woodbury's win streak at 11 games, Hammonton has the longest active win streak among teams from the seven-county South Jersey area with seven straight victories.

Woodrow Wilson junior Sean Walters returned a punt 99 yards for a touchdown in Saturday's win over Bishop Eustace to tie a South Jersey record established in 1973 by Rancocas Valley's Jerry Felton and tied in 1994 by Wilson's William Spearman.

Paul VI has won 12 of its last 13 games.

What a week. This is one of the top weeks for games in South Jersey. Besides the St. Joseph-Holy Spirit matchup, here are some other key 7 p.m. contests on Friday: Shawnee at Seneca; Washington Township at Cherokee; Williamstown at Moorestown; Camden at Camden Catholic; and West Deptford at Haddonfield.