Inspired by new black-on-black uniforms just for the occasion, Woodstown’s Belinfanti scores 3 TD, defense blanks Salem at Homecoming
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – The worst thing Salem could have done to Woodstown’s Bryce Belinfanti Friday night was stop him on the goal line on the first drive of the game.
The Rams may have stopped the junior once, but he was determined they weren’t going to do it again if he had anything to say about it. And he had plenty to say about it.
SALEM 0
NEXT: Woodbury at Woodstown, Fri., 7 p.m.
Paulsboro at Salem,
Oct. 7, noon
The Wolverines’ lead back didn’t get in the first time, but he did get in the next time and then twice in the second half to lead his team to a 27-0 victory over their longest-standing rivals in front a Homecoming crowd of 1,400 at Clint Ware Field.
Salem stymied Belinfanti at the goal line on a fourth-and-goal from the 1 at the end of a 70-yard drive that consumed the first seven and a half minutes of the game. The next two times he touched the ball he went for 29 and 17 yards. The 17-yarder went for a touchdown and he later scored on runs of 48 and 16 yards in the second half.
“I was just ready to run it up from there,” he said. “They were hyped that they stopped us and honestly I thought I scored there, but we had to come correct it the next time. I was sitting on the sideline thinking about it and it really got to me. I ran it hard. I needed my touchdown.”
It was an emotional night in a lot of ways for the Wolverines (4-1). Besides the Homecoming festivities, they held a pre-game moment of silence for a beloved teacher and coach Dave Lewis who passed away earlier in the week.
On a lighter note, Wolverines coach John Adams surprised the team with new black jerseys he’s been secreting away in his classroom closet since June. He broke them out during the pep rally earlier in the day and when junior lineman Bump Carter came out wearing the ensemble for the big reveal the players went nuts.
“We’ve been waiting on them for a couple years now and tonight we came out with the black jerseys and showed Salem what’s up,” running back/linebacker Bobby Donahue said. “We had no idea the black jerseys were coming. Homecoming Night in black jerseys was real special. A shutout against Salem under the lights on a Friday night is very special, especially without a Thanksgiving game.”
The game for the longest time had been played on Thanksgiving Day. It was only moved two years ago to accommodate the new conference scheduling and playoff formula. This was the 114th time the teams have played. Salem leads the series 64-40-10, but Woodstown has now won four of the last five.
If the Wolverines play their cards right they might get to wear these special uniforms again this year. Adams said if they get a home playoff game they might bring them out, but the intention is to only wear them once a year.
“We’re only allowed to wear these like once a year, so we knew we had to come play good in them instead of come lose,” Belinfanti said.
The play Belinfanti was stopped on the opening drive wasn’t the first the Wolverines had denied from the 1. A few plays earlier they didn’t execute the Eagles’ “Brotherly Shove/Tush Push” properly and instead of quarterback Max Webb burrowing in from the 1 for the game’s first score, the Wolverines were penalized back to the 6 for aiding the ballcarrier.
“It’s on me for not coaching them up on it, but at the high school level you can’t do what they do to (Eagles quarterback Jalen) Hurts,” Adams said. “You can move the pile, you can’t actually push the runner. That’s what we got flagged on there and it was disheartening because I think our quarterback probably got in on it on his own.”
Webb got the Wolverines back to the 1 and Belinfanti was stopped with Salem linebacker Jared Pew leading the charge.
But that didn’t stop Belinfanti. Besides scoring on the next series and twice in the second half, he finished the game with 164 yards rushing on 17 carries.
“He runs the ball hard and I knew when they stopped him there that he was going to get his the next time,” Adams said. “That’s just how Bryce is. He feeds off it. He’s a good player.”
NOTES: Pop Jackson provided much of Salem’s offense for the second game in a row. He rushed for 123 yards on 23 carries … It was the first shutout in the series since Salem’s 49-0 win in 2018 and Woodstown’s first shutout in the series since a 19-0 victory in 2013 … Taylor Sparks was named Woodstown’s Homecoming Queen. Earlier in the day injured running back James Hill was introduced as the Homecoming King … Woodstown hosts Woodbury next week in the Diamond Division game of the year. Salem (0-6), meanwhile, has a Saturday home date with Paulsboro in the projected first game of its new on-campus stadium, but crews are racing the clock to have the facility ready so the game likely will be played at historic Walnut Street Field.
Woodstown 27, Salem 0
| SAL | WOOD | |
| 8 | 1st Downs | 12 |
| 39-216 | Rushing | 32-249 |
| 0-4-1 | Passes | 3-5-0 |
| 0 | Passing | 16 |
| 1-1 | Fum-lost | 0-0 |
| 4-30.0 | Punts-avg | 3-33.0 |
| 10-60 | Penalties | 4-40 |
| Salem (0-6) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 – | 0 |
| Woodstown (4-1) | 7 | 0 | 7 | 13 – | 27 |
Scoring plays:
W – Bryce Belinfanti 17 run (Jake Ware kick), 0:48 1Q
W – Bryce Belinfanti 48 run (Jake Ware kick), 1:40 3Q
W – Bryce Belinfanti 16 run (Jake Ware kick), 7:37 4Q
W – Bobby Donahue 1 run (kick failed), 0:51 4Q
On the cover: Woodstown’s football team stretches prior to the start of the second half in brand new black uniforms they expressly broke out for Homecoming.
Riverview Sports News 