By MARK TRIBLE
Staff Writer
WOODSTOWN — In a rivalry that has lasted more than 100 years, with several more matchups than that, Friday night brought it under the lights for the first time.
Fans from far and wide packed in to see the show at Clint Wade Field at Memorial Stadium.
Kaciir Street and Salem’s football team stole the stage. The Rams (8-3) dismantled rival Woodstown (8-2) in the second-ever postseason clash between the Turkey Day foes, 31-6.
From the start, it seemed clear this Central Jersey Group 1 semifinal meant a little more than just advancement in the bracket.
Boy, did it.
Star lineman Josh Johnson delivered the first blow when his punishing sack forced the ball to the turf. Teammate Zilon Cupe scooped it and rumbled 32 yards for six. It came less than four minutes into the game. A long Da’Shon Bundy run later in the first frame set up Street’s first touchdown, a 3-yard plunge.
Salem didn’t need more. Still, they added it with pleasure.
After Abu Hall scored late in the first half, Street quickly darted 40 yards down the left sideline. Bundy crossed the goal line two plays later and it stood at 19-6 at intermission.
Street served as the X-factor throughout. He only touched the ball a dozen times. The senior racked up 145 yards and two scores with the ball in his hands. A juke-and-move masterpiece went for six in the second half from 21 yards out.
“It feels very good, winning against our rival that we’ll see again on Thanksgiving,” Street said. “It feels amazing.”
No matter what the forecast, that holiday rematch will be chilly in demeanor and heated between the sidelines. The two sides have no love lost, a fact that gained more traction in the postgame handshake line.
The Rams were miffed earlier this year to hear from the NJSIAA that both of their first two games would be counted as forfeits due to players who’d suited up for the Wolverines’ varsity program in 2018.
Both results — to Pleasantville and Cedar Creek — were losses. However, residual power points would have counted despite the defeats. Not so in the case of forfeiture.
Salem discovered their cross-county brethren had turned them in and it became a topic of boisterous conversation after Friday’s matchup. Woodstown responded in kind with claims their players had been poached over from blue-and-orange to blue-and-white.
A good and old fashioned rivalry gained some more histrionics. Not that it needed any extra oomph. None of that mattered between the whistles. There, the Rams were more than prepared for the task at hand.
“We’re back man, back where we belong,” Salem coach Montrey Wright said. “The kids worked hard for it. We came out, executed and did what we had to do.
“Woodstown had a good season. Those guys came out and played some good football earlier this year, but it came down to us.”
Street’s superlative slices through the defense brought big plays the roster in horned helmets always seems to have in spades. Bundy provided strength on the ground — another Rams staple.
He rushed 17 times for 107 yards and two scores.
“We knew we had them and it was going to be a dogfight,” Bundy said. “We knew we were going to have to eat.
“We knew we wanted it more and that nobody was going to outwork us from Week 1. When it got down to the second round, we knew Woodstown was in our way on this last dance we have. We knew we had to finish them and put them in the dirt.”
Bundy and Co. will travel north to face Willingboro in the final. The top-seeded Chimeras (10-1) escaped Buena’s upset bid in the other semifinal, 30-28.
Updates of that scored trickled down the visitor’s sideline throughout the second half, as this one got put out of reach. Preparation could wait after the splash of satisfaction as the stadium stood empty with a scoreboard long turned off.
Thirty-one years after topping the Wolverines in the postseason, Salem did it again.
“We’ve got the motto that ‘Nobody will ever work harder than us,’” Wright said. “We’re going to play assignment football. Every game, we want to be on top and finish strong — that’s what we did tonight.”
Mark Trible is a former sports reporter for the Courier-Post in Cherry Hill and one of the most popular high school writers in South Jersey. Follow Mark: @Mtrible on Twitter; facebook.com/marktriblewords/