Penns Grove rallies to beat Woodbury

On a soggy field, Penns Grove's football team began yesterday's South Jersey Group 1 quarterfinal against host Woodbury playing like a water-logged unit. The Red Devils were a step slow and suddenly three touchdowns behind.

Fifth-seeded Penns Grove slowly got its footing and completed a stunning rally by scoring the game's final 28 points in a 28-21 win over Woodbury.

Penns Grove (7-2) advances to the second round, where it will host No. 8 seed Haddon Heights in this weekend's Group 1 semifinal.

"I'm so proud of the fight and tenacity we showed," Penns Grove coach Kemp Carr said.

Carr credited the Red Devils' conditioning for coming back from the 21-0 second-quarter deficit.

"We were still going very strong in the second half," he said.

Actually, it all began in the second quarter. Woodbury had jumped to its 21-0 lead when rumbling 5-foot-10, 263-pound sophomore fullback Karon Gibson scored his second touchdown, on a 25-yard run. He had gotten Woodbury on the board with a 33-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, running over anybody who was standing in his way.

Penns Grove, which didn't complete a pass all game, got back in the game after Aaron Hayward made an interception, giving the Red Devils the ball on their own 25-yard line near the midway point of the second quarter.

The Red Devils would score on a 13-play 75-yard drive. Jay Brown went the final five yards on a quarterback sneak with 55 seconds left in the half. The first of two, two-point conversion runs by Daron Mills cut the margin to 21-8 and offered the Red Devils a needed jolt of confidence.

"Getting that touchdown right before the half really gave them life," Woodbury coach Zach Valentine said.

In the second half, it was Hayward's turn to wreck Woodbury from the offensive side of the ball. For the game, Hayward gained 230 yards on 24 carries and scored two touchdowns. He rushed for 169 yards and two touchdowns in the second half.

First, it was a 41-yard score, one play after Woodbury failed on a fourth-and-1 run.

Hayward would set up his next score with a 71-yard jaunt to the Woodbury 10. The only thing that stopped him taking it to the house was the hustle by Woodbury's Shawney Kersey, Hayward's future Rutgers teammate, who never gave up on the play.

It didn't matter.

Two plays later, Hayward scored from five yards out and the Red Devils led, 22-21, with 5 minutes and 49 seconds left in the third quarter.

The wet field didn't help either team's execution. Both teams made three turnovers.

Penns Grove would score its final touchdown on Brown's two-yard run with 8:15 left in the fourth quarter.

"We really struggled in the beginning," Hayward said. "But we believed in ourselves and knew what we were capable of doing."

And Valentine knew, too.

He was never comfortable with the big lead, especially since he knew about the big-play capability of Penns Grove.

"I think once we got the lead, the kids got a little bit complacent," said Valentine. "But give Penns Grove all the credit, because they did what they had to and deserved to win."

Penns Grove 0 8 14 6 - 28

Woodbury 14 7 0 0 - 21

W: Gibson 33 run (kick failed)

W: Purnell 1 run (Blackwell pass from Purnell)

W: Gibson 25 run (Vine kick)

P: Brown 5 run (Mills run)

P: Hayward 41 run (Mills run)

P: Hayward 5 run (run failed)

P: Brown 2 run (run failed)