Salem football, with Lydell Mitchell on hand, gets big victory over Pennsville

  • 10/22 - 12:00 PM FootballFinal
    Pennsville 35
    Salem 46
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SALEM - With a legendary running back looking on, the Salem rushing attack stepped up in a big way to deliver a crucial victory on Saturday afternoon.

Jonathan Taylor ran for 276 yards and two touchdowns and Zaire Jones added 166 yards and three scores as the Rams outlasted rival Pennsville, 46-35, in West Jersey Football League-Diamond Division action.

Salem improved to 4-2 overall and 1-2 in the division with a much-needed win in the quest for a South Jersey, Group 1 playoff berth. The Eagles, who won the Group 1 title in 2015, fell to 4-2, 2-1.

"After the bye week we started saying that every game is a must-win," Taylor said. "We want to get our foot in the door so we can make a run at the championship. We knew coming into this game that these guys were last year's champion, so this would be a big statement, but also a great way to get our foot in the door in the playoff hunt."

Lydell Mitchell, a 1968 Salem graduate who starred at Penn State and played 10 seasons in the NFL, was in attendance and addressed the team after the win. He witnessed a terrific performance by Taylor and Jones, who received outstanding blocking from the offensive line of Taleem Thompson, Jamere Furbush, Nick Galante, Treyvon Stanback and Zaire Eason.

"They were hungry," Jones said of the line. "They wanted it just as bad as we wanted it."

"Those guys stick together every day; they hang with each other outside of (football)," Salem coach Montrey Wright added. "They do a very good job at practice of picking things up, and you can see that in the games. Those guys are playing great football every week and I'm impressed with them."

The Rams overcame adversity throughout the game, including a number of penalties in the first half and an 86-yard touchdown by Nick Bard on the opening kickoff. They answered that TD with a huge play of their own, as Taylor's 63-yard touchdown run on Salem's first possession set the tone for a back-and-forth battle.

"When teams score fast like that, it's important to let them know that we're here and ready to play as well," Taylor said. "I made it a priority to make sure we scored on our opening drive."

Pennsville took a 27-20 lead into halftime, but Ray Bentley's 65-yard kickoff return for a touchdown brought the Salem fan base alive to start the second half. Jones added a 12-yard touchdown run later in the quarter to give the Rams the lead for good, and he also broke free for an 80-yarder in the fourth quarter to make it a two-score game.

Jones, who started his career with the Rams before playing for Woodstown last season, transferred back to Salem for his junior campaign.

"That guy is electric," Taylor said. "He brings an extra spark to our offense. I watch his moves and try to incorporate that into my game as well."

Pennsville didn't go away quietly after Jones' third TD of the day, as P.J. Halter (two TD passes, one TD run) hit Robbie Saulin for an 8-yard TD pass along with the ensuing two-point conversion to make it 38-35 with 4:46 left.

But Salem recovered an onside kick and quarterback Keanan Cheeks scored on a 21-yard run to seal a big win.

"I think big is an understatement," Wright said. "We expected it to be a shootout with Pennsville. They're a well-coached team and coach (Ryan) Wood does a great job with that program. We wanted to focus on what we had to do as a team."

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