Football playoffs, 2014: Salem rallies in fourth quarter to stun Penns Grove

  • 11/15 - 12:00 AM FootballFinal
    Penns Grove 14
    Salem 22
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SALEM – Sweet revenge.

A year after losing a 17-0 halftime lead in a 22-17 semifinal loss to Penns Grove, the Salem High School football team returned the favor on Saturday afternoon, scoring 22 points in the final 10 minutes to stun the Red Devils, 22-14, in the NJSIAA/Sports Care Institute Football South Jersey Group 1 quarterfinal.

Freshman Zaire Jones scored on an 8-yard touchdown run with 52 seconds to play, snapping a 14-14 tie and capping an unlikely comeback.

“It’s a shame somebody had to lose, but I’m glad it wasn’t us,” said Salem coach Dennis Thomas.

Salem quarterback Shareef Jeffries was stuffed on fourth-and-inches from his own 19 early in the fourth quarter, and Penns Grove’s Keyshawn Seals scored on a 20-yard run to make it a 14-0 game with 11:03 to play.

Considering the Rams had a total of two first downs in the game to that point, chances for a comeback looked slim.

But Daquan Blake slipped behind the defense and Jeffries found him for a 32-yard score on the ensuing drive, cutting the Red Devil lead to 14-8 with 9:34 remaining.

Suddenly, the Salem bench and crowd came alive and the momentum carried through the rest of the game.

Salem forced a three-and-out, and Blake came through to block a punt after a high snap. Jamere Furbush picked up the ball and rumbled 35 yards for the game-tying score.

Penns Grove didn’t get a first down the rest of the game. Salem stopped Craig Ransome on a third-and-1 and took over with five minutes to go.

The Rams marched 47 yards in 10 plays, with Jones going in off the left side to send Salem into a semifinal matchup against top-seeded Pennsville. The win took a little sting off last year’s semifinal defeat.

“This feels good, that was a horrible loss last year,” said Blake. “We got revenge … Now we’re going to go beat Pennsville.”

The Rams stayed in the game early by making four fourth-down stops inside its own 20.

“The game isn’t over until the final whistle blows,” said Penns Grove coach John Emel. “We could have been up 28- or 35-0. We dominated field position. We’ve played well in every game, and we just had real crucial breakdowns in the end.

“Breakdown on a pass, getting a blocked punt, that happens in any game it’s hard to win no matter how big your lead is.”

Salem will have another chance at redemption next week. Pennsville scored in the final minute to beat Salem, 23-19, earlier this season.

“Sixteen penalities to two … We hurt ourselves,” said Thomas. “We have to go in there and rectify that.”

Bill Evans can be reached at bevans@njadvancemedia.com or by leaving a note in the comments below. Follow him on Twitter @BEvansSports. Find the NJ.com High School Football page on Facebook by following this link.

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