South Group 1 Football Final: 5 things to know about Salem

  • 12/06 - 12:00 AM FootballFinal
    Salem 0
    Paulsboro 21
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Salem came up with one of the most impressive performances of the postseason when it drilled top-seeded Pennsville, 56-7, in a South Jersey Group 1 semifinal. The Rams had lost to the Eagles, 23-19, earlier in the season.

The fourth-seeded Rams will take on No. 2 seed Paulsboro on Saturday at 12 p.m. at Rowan University to kick off championship weekend in Glassboro as they try to slow down another high-powered offense.

Here are five things to know about Salem as it chases its looks for its second sectional title.

1. Two years ago, the Rams were 0-10: Many of the upperclassmen on this team were part of a winless season in 2012, but when Dennis Thomas took over as coach last year there was a quick turnaround. Salem won six games and was a half away from reaching the championship game then before Penns Grove rallied for victory. Now Salem is 8-3 and headed to the title contest two years after finishing 0-10.

2. Big-play Blake : In the regular-season finale, Daquan Blake totaled six sacks in a shutout. In the opening 22-14 playoff win over Penns Grove, Blake caught a touchdown pass and blocked a punt that was returned for a touchdown. On Thursday, in a 22-21 win over Woodstown, the outside linebacker recovered a fumble and returned it 29 yards for a score. Clearly, the junior has a flair for the dramatic.

3. Triple threat: Senior Dione Alston is a 1,000-yard rusher for the Rams, but he's not the only threat out of the backfield. Freshman Zaire Jones - who scored the winning touchdown in the final minute in the quarterfinal against Penns Grove - has been described by Thomas as a player who could go down as the one of the best athletes in Salem history. Sophomore Jonathan Taylor led the Rams with 143 yards in the semifinal win over Pennsville.

4. Lucky to be here: The Rams' amazing run to the final almost didn't happen as they were down, 14-0, to Penns Grove and had just two first downs with less than 10 minutes to play in the first round. But Blake's two big plays tied the game and Jones scored late to propel Salem into the semifinal.

5. Peaking at the right time?: Salem was 2-3 after the loss to Pennsville but has now won six straight, including a stunning come-from-behind 22-21 win over Woodstown on Thanksgiving Day after trailing by two touchdowns.

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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