FOOTBALL: St. Joe slides past Pennsville
Matchup looked more like a 100-year rivalry than a first-time meeting
PENNSVILLE - St. Joseph and Pennsville made up for lost time Friday night.
The two schools that had never met on the gridiron provided a tight, tough and down-to-the-wire tilt that resembled a chapter of a 100-year rivalry.
A pair of fourth-quarter scores lifted the Wildcats,14-6.
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“That’s how St. Joe was 10 years ago,” legendary coach Paul Sacco told his victors of their rugged, well-coached and vanquished foe in the postgame speech. “It’s like looking in a mirror.”
When the West Jersey Football League expanded last offseason, few squads wanted any part of Sacco’s group, which improved to 4-1.
The Eagles (3-1) did.
“Yeah, we asked to play them,” Pennsville coach Ryan Wood said. “When you want to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best.”
That feat could have been accomplished if not for a gutty play from Wildcats’ first-year quarterback Matthew Tucker.
On fourth-and-14 at the Eagles’ 32-yard line, Tucker looked at freshman Jada Byers, who saw the linebacker up on the line pre-snap.
The duo audibled the route. Goodbye, fly pattern. Hello, post. Nice to see you, end zone.
Byers, a freshman whom coaches raved about all preseason – when St. Joe needed a score in offseason camps, he got the call – couldn’t hold onto a pass in pregame warmups.
He did when it mattered.
“When it’s in the game, I’m in a whole other mindset,” he said. “I’ve just got to do what I’ve got to do.”
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The big play came with 8:48 left in the fourth quarter.
While Byers score put the Wildcats in position to win, defensive lineman Sencere Tapp made sure it the result held up.
With 2:08 on the clock, Pennsville got the ball at its own 12.
Peter Halter Jr. dropped back to pass. The screen game that had kept St. Joe off balance all game got its number called one too many times.
The Eagles’ senior hit Sapp right near the big, red No. 8 on his white jersey. Sapp did the rest with a 10-yard return.
“I was waiting, waiting for it to come,” Sapp said of the play call. “All night they were thinking it. It was right in my hands.
“My first thought was get in the end zone.”
A late drive ended with Mike Mascioli’s sack and forced fumble scooped up by Matt Jackson provide the exclamation point.
The clash of usual winners on the damp sod lived up to any expecations.
Sacco’s group claimed the Non-Public Group B state title last season – the Wildcats’ seventh in a row. Pennsville took Group 1 South’s championship on the same weekend at Rowan.
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Both teams entered with a bloodline of triumph. In the first half, the Eagles’ grit stuck out a bit more.
It started on the first drive of the game with a fourth-and-goal stop. Twice more, Pennsville stopped its parochial visitors on fourth down in the half.
A 44-yard, second-quarter touchdown pass from Halter Jr. to Logan Johnston sent the Eagles into the locker room up 6-0.
But in the end, as it so often does, St. Joe found a way. Yes, even with a young team that Sacco can’t quite get to shape up yet.
“Young bunch of kids and you can see the mistakes,” he said. “It’s putting us in bad positions. It’s week in, week out.
“I was bothered to see kids put their heads down in the third quarter. But, this should do a lot for their confidence.”
Mark Trible; (856) 486-2424; mtrible@gannettnj.com
No. 9 St. Joseph 14
Pennsville 6
Play of the game: Matthew Tucker found Jada Byers for a 32-yard touchdown on fourth down to give the Wildcats a 7-6 lead in the final quarter.
Hat's off to: St. Joe defensive end Sencere Tapp, whose 10-yard interception return for score put away the game.
Well said: "That's how St. Joe was 10 years ago. It's like looking in a mirror." - Wildcats' coach Paul Sacco to his team in reference to Pennsville