Salem football relies on defense, Daiquan Blake to beat Glassboro

  • 09/19 - 12:00 PM FootballFinal
    Glassboro 14
    Salem 24
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SALEM -- In a one-possession game in the third quarter, Salem High School football head coach Montrey Wright didn't lose it on the sidelines after a costly miscue.

The punter decided to try to make the first down on a 4th-and-19. He came up nine yards short and gave Glassboro the ball on the Rams' 25-yard line.

"I honestly think my 'D' is one of the best in Group 1," the rookie head coach said. "My guys fly around. I like the aggression we play with. They know, when their backs are against the wall, they have to play that much harder. We have to keep fighting and play that much harder."

The defense held its ground and didn't let the Bulldogs get the game-tying score. The Rams allowed just one offensive touchdown and recorded three interceptions, including a great individual effort by Daiquan Blake in the fourth quarter which turned the tide, in knocking off Glassboro Saturday afternoon, 24-14, ending a 10-game losing streak against the Bulldogs.

"I tell them all the time that big-time players make big-time plays," Wright, whose team had been outscored 364-47 (five shutouts) in the 10 games since last beating Glassboro in 2004, said. "Daiquan is one of the best players in South Jersey. He knows when it is game time to strap it up and make a play. That's what he did today. He knows what is expected. He plays at a high level all the time. He came up with a great play. He's a freak. It was a great interception. It was a big game-changer."

Salem running back Jonathan Taylor (24 carries for 210 yards and a career-high three touchdowns) scored his second with 7:33 remaining for an 18-6 lead. Glassboro got the ball at its 45. On the first play, the Bulldogs tried a quick slant, but Blake leaped into the air and picked the pass cleanly at the line of scrimmage. Five plays later, Taylor waltzed into the end zone from a yard out to seal the deal.

"Hey, I am an All-Stater," Blake, a senior, said laughingly of the play. "We never let up. Our defense is our bread and butter. Our defense wins games. All of our defensive players give effort."

Two offensive plays into the game, Salem was up 6-0. Taylor scored from 50 yards out. Both teams struggled moving the ball after that. It wasn't until there were 34 seconds left in the half when the Rams found the end zone again. Ramon Bentley caught a 32-yard pass from Shareef Jeffries for the 12-0 lead at the break.

"At first, everything was opening up," said Taylor, a junior, who had nine carries for 98 yards at the break. "But Glassboro made a few adjustments. So once we came up and made adjustments, things strarted opening back up. We preach 'alignment and assignment.' Everyone came out here, a couple of mistakes here and there, but everybody did their alignment and assignment. Coach told us that if we played 'allignment and assignment,' we would win the game."

Isom Golden returned the opening kickoff 85 yards to get Glassboro on the board.

It had the ball on Salem' 25 with 9:49 left in the third with a chance to tie following the failed "rugby play" punt. However, senior linebacker Trebor Maldonado made two big plays on the drive (a tackle for no gain and a batted ball) to prevent Glassboro from making it a game. David Still caught a 13-yard fade for a score with 4:16 remaining, the first offensive score allowed by the Rams' defense this season. Glassboro (1-1) recovered the onside kick, but a sack by Dakota Marich halted a comeback attempt.

"We just need to get healthy," head coach Mark Maccarone Glassboro said. "We are missing key players."

Salem is feeling good about getting two wins out of the gate.

"We are were we need to be," Wright said. "We want to take it a game at a time. We knew if we came in here and played tough we would leave 2-0. And us being 2-0 is great. We haven't beaten these guys in 11 years. It feels great to finally get one. It's awesome. It's all good. I am proud of my guys. They played hard; they played tough. Being 2-0 is good, but they know every game is going to be a hard-fought game."

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