By MARK TRIBLE

South Jersey Glory Days Senior Football Writer

On X @Mtrible

GLASSBORO — It didn’t look like the real Kenny Smith on Friday night here when the senior tailback twice put the ball on the turf in enemy territory.

His turnovers had asterisks by them on the ledger as a defensive struggle between unbeatens — the Bulldogs and Woodstown — inched further into the night.

The second miscue halted third-quarter momentum for the hosts as they trailed the Wolverines, 7-6. It was unfathomable for a player of Smith’s caliber to find himself on the wrong end of big plays.

On his next touch — the next offensive snap — Smith looked like the player he’s been for the entirety of his excellent high school career. On a power handoff, he raced 71 yards to paydirt. Then, on the first play of the fourth quarter, he took a screen pass 45 yards to the house.

That’s all Glassboro, the No. 8-ranked team in the South Jersey Football Frenzy Show Best 11, needed to pull out a 20-7 win.

“I knew my team believed in me,” Smith said. “They trusted me to get the ball after I fumbled twice. I just knew I had to prove them right.”

The Bulldogs (8-0, 5-0) took the West Jersey Football League Diamond Division crown and the top seed in the Group 1 South playoff pool with the triumph.

Smith led the way with 159 yards on 15 carries. His defense allowed a mere 114 yards on the night, including only 27 in the second half.

In a clash where Glassboro had five turnovers, coach Timmy Breaker’s bunch still found a way to beat one of its top challengers in the Wolverines (7-1, 4-1 WJFL Diamond). The aim is to return to Rutgers, where the Dogs dropped the state final in 2023.

The back who broke it open on Friday adds another dimension for the Bulldogs. A star at Hammonton for three seasons, Smith switched schools in the offseason. He sat out the start of the season due to the state’s transfer rule.

Now, he’s maroon-and-gold all the way and ready for the postseason. He has more than 4,000 career rushing yards and now has 53 total touchdowns.

“It felt great but that’s the expectation for us,” Smith said of clinching the top seed. “We’ve got keep our heads down and keep working.

“We’ve got bigger fish to fry.”

While Smith explained that “disappointment is an understatement” for his miscues, he relished the trust his coaches and teammates had to feed him again.

“It was big for him,” Breaker said. “… It doesn’t matter if he makes mistakes.

“He could fumble four times. But those next two? It will go the distance. As a coach I’m going to keep coming, I’m going to keep giving it to him.”

The approach paid dividends on the backbreaker, a screen called on 4th-and-7. The offensive line got out in front of Smith. He did the rest.

“He’s an amazing leader,” senior offensive lineman Kyle Williams said of Smith. “He’s one of the best teammates I’ve been around just with how much he pushes me to be a better athlete.

“He’s an incredible person to be around.”

Last year, Glassboro used this stingy defense — it forced three turnovers of its own on Friday — and big plays to upend Woodstown twice. The first came in the regular season and the second came in the state semifinals.

That proved to be the case again. And the two could very well see each other again down the line, just like 2023.

If they do, it would be right back here.

“We wanted to secure this. Woodstown is a tough place to play on the road,” Smith explained. “For us, the playoffs started today.”

That’s the mindset of a resilient back who’s logged his share of big carries. One who put the past behind him and took hold of the present when it mattered most. The guy who wants the ball when it’s time to move on.

Now, that’s the real Kenny Smith.

Mark Trible is the host of the South Jersey Football Frenzy Show. You can check it out every Wednesday at 7 p.m. at facebook.com/sjglorydays. The show features highlights, analysis, rankings and more.