Simmons sinks Gloucester Catholic as Schalick captures Horizon crown
GLOUCESTER -- For a few minutes after he made one of the plays of the game, Schalick's Kenai Simmons thought he might have cause to regret it.
Simmons' 34-yard touchdown run with 2:07 left looked like icing on the cake in Saturday's West Jersey Football League Horizon Division championship game, won by the Cougars, 33-26.
The problem was there was still more baking to do.
"We ran super power right," Simmons said. "Two pulling guards and a lead blocker. I had to cut it back, with the safety over top. Then I made a move and got in there. I should have taken it down. I should have taken a knee. But the game wasn't over."
Gloucester Catholic quarterback Jack Mustaro completed four passes on the drive that followed. The last went to his brother, RJ Mustaro, with 42.6 seconds left, and covered the last 17 yards in a frantic march to the end zone.
Jack Mustaro was 16-for-28 passing for 338 yards. RJ caught 10 of those balls for 221 yards and two touchdowns.
It was 33-26 when the Rams recovered the onside kick that followed, but a whistle blew immediately -- Gloucester Catholic had employed an illegal "pop-up kickoff," which nullified the play.
Schalick recovered the re-try that followed and went into the victory formation.
Three things we learned
What is a pop-up kickoff? It's a kickoff driven into the ground in hopes of getting a high bounce that makes the kick difficult to handle. It was outlawed four years ago, at the same time as the blindside block.
Two unsportsmanlikes: Another fairly recent rule change is one that automatically ejects a participant for a second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. It was levied on Gloucester Catholic coach Casey Murphy with 4:16 left in the third quarter. Murphy was flagged for overzealously questioning a call, and flagged again when he yelled "Go ahead!" at the official who'd flagged the first infraction.
Weight-room heroes: T.J. Hymer, David Sipovicz, Ethan Hardy, Jermaine Loney, Logan Hancock and Jaquan Redfern were the muscle out in front of Cougars ball carriers, who totaled 333 rushing yards.
"The offensive line has done a great job all year," Schalick coach Mike Wilson said. "And for us it starts in the weight room. We lift year 'round, and our kids bought into it, and I think it showed on that fourth and 2 (in the second quarter), to keep the chains moving, and on that last drive, that sealed the game."
Game balls
For Gloucester Catholic, RJ Mustaro: You just don't see many 200-plus yard receiving games, and Mustaro earned those yards. There weren't any 80-yard plays. He grabbed balls in traffic and took some hits.
For Schalick, Fuquan Sutton: Simmons put up big, glamor numbers, but Sutton was the guy who ran between the tackles and moved the chains, with 17 totes for 89 yards and a touchdown.
They said it
Schalick left guard TJ Hymer, on the team's playoff prospects:
"I hope so. I know we suffered a lot of injuries, but I do have my guys over everybody. I believe in us."
Simmons, on the 61-yard TD catch that opened the scoring:
"One thing that people do underestimate about us is our passing game. I feel like we're pretty decent with it. We're obviously not the best team in the Group, but we've got a very underrated quarterback and offensive line. If I get open, my quarterback is going to get it to me."
Wilson, on what a division championship says about Schalick.
"This is our third year here, as a staff. In 2020, when these seniors were sophomores, it was rough on them. we went 0-7. Last year we were able to rip a couple at the end and go 4-5. This year, we're 7-2, able to win the division and hope we sneak into the playoffs. Huge accomplishment."
John A. Lewis is a sports writer for the Burlington County Times, the Courier Post and the Vineland Daily Journal. E-mail him at jlewis@thebct.com. Please consider supporting local journalism with a subscription.
This article originally appeared on Burlington County Times: Simmons, Schalick o-line highlight effort in win over Gloucester Cath
