West Deptford blanks depleted Paulsboro team

The Paulsboro-West Deptford football rivalry is among the best in South Jersey, but Friday night's meeting was missing two key ingredients: suspense and players.

Playing a depleted Paulsboro squad because of suspensions, West Deptford defeated the visiting Red Raiders, 56-0, in an interdivisional Colonial Conference game.

Ranked No. 8 in South Jersey by The Inquirer, West Deptford (11-0) will host Haddonfield in Friday's South Jersey Group 2 final, while Paulsboro (9-2) will visit Glassboro in next Saturday's South Jersey Group 1 final.

Paulsboro suspended 12 players from school and subsequently for the game for what coach Glenn Howard termed inappropriate comments made about the Woodbury team in a video posted on YouTube. According to Howard, the players recorded a number of comments after a 10-0 playoff win over Woodbury on Nov. 20. The video has been taken off YouTube.

Howard and Paulsboro school officials went over the video several times, and anyone who had anything to do with the video was suspended.

"This is not what Paulsboro is about," said Frank Scambia, Paulsboro's superintendent. "After talking with the youngsters, they realize it is inappropriate and won't happen again."

The players were suspended from school for two days and were ineligible to participate in or even attend Friday's game. Scambia said they would be able to play in the South Jersey Group 1 final against Glassboro.

"I told the guys that were here that I was proud of them," Howard said. "They were there [when the video was made], and they made the decision not to participate and their families should be proud of them."

According to Howard, only four full-time starters played on offense: linemen Nick Curl and Sal Vernacchio, tight end Steve Warren, and quarterback Billy Coleman. On defense, the regulars were Curl and fellow linemen Zach Funk and Dyonte Davis.

In addition, two-way junior lineman Austin Im was at the game, but was unable to play because of a concussion, according to the coaching staff.

"It was tough out there," Curl said. "Our guys tried their hardest."

West Deptford's Vaughn Scott needed just 13 seconds to become his school's single-season touchdown leader. Scott returned the opening kickoff 98 yards for his 33d touchdown of the season. That eclipsed the mark of 32 set by current Rutgers running back Kordell Young.

Scott and most of the regulars played just in the first half.

Paulsboro   0 0 0 0 – 0

West Deptford   28 14 7 7 – 56

WD: Vaughn Scott 98 kick return (Ben Cornelius kick)

WD: Jason Fox recovered fumble in end zone (Cornelius)

WD: Scott 6 run (Cornelius kick)

WD: Jordan Haines 26 pass from Jake Hannan (Cornelius kick)

WD: Scott 31 run (Cornelius kick)

WD: Rob Fearon 10 run (Cornelius kick)

WD: Arrin Bundy 9 run (Cornelius kick)

WD: Troy Scott 28 run (Cornelius kick)