September 15, 2018
Penns Grove began a drive that bridged the first and second quarters, going twelve plays and scoring on a 9-yard swing pass from Kavon Lewis to Tyreke Brown to make it 6-0. Keys plays on the drive were a pair of runs from Nasir Robinson of 14 and 17 yards. The Red Devils received a break when a mishandled punt snap deep in Paulsboro territory was recovered on the 14-yard line. Three plays later, Lewis found Robinson for a 14-yard score to make it 13-0. They struck again when Brown returned an interception 15 yards for a touchdown and a 19-0 lead with just under two minutes left in the half.
Paulsboro came out with the ball in the third quarter and went on a 14-play drive, scoring on a 1-yard quarterback sneak by Nick Pellegrini. The Red Raiders had two more drives into Penns Grove territory, but Paulsboro turned it over on downs both times.
Penns Grove got some payback for their loss in last year’s South Jersey Group 1 final. They made the plays they needed to make and it was a good win for the program.
Quotes:
Penns Grove WR/DB Torvon Ransome – “We stayed focused, stayed together, and never gave up.”
Penns Grove LB Jay Tillman – “We watched a lot of film this week, all week long, and we were prepared. When faced with adversity in the second half, we dug in.”
Penns Grove TE/RB/LB Tyreke Brown – “Last year we were in the moment, but this year we have something to prove. There are only four seniors on the team and we want to want to be victorious.”
Penns Grove head coach John Emel – “We won the game in the last two minutes of the first half, with great field position on the second touchdown and the interception return. I was concerned when Paulsboro scored in the third quarter, but I was more confident when they drove into our territory the other times.”
Paulsboro head coach Glenn Howard – “Hats off to Penns Grove. They’re a good team with good athletes, and we didn’t do the things we needed to do to win. We have to play better against a team like them.”