Salem football beats Penns Grove on pass from Shareef Jefferies to Teron Nance at :17

  • 10/03 - 12:00 AM FootballFinal
    Penns Grove 16
    Salem 22
Complete Box Score »

SALEM -- Teron Nance blamed it on the gloves. It had to be the gloves. Why else would he drop a pass wide open in the crucial moments of a game in which he could have been the hero?

The Salem High School senior wide receiver angrily pulled his gloves off and tossed them aside, but Rams' quarterback Shareef Jefferies wouldn't let it go. He told Nance to keep his head up and eyes open. He was going back to him again later—and this time, for the winning touchdown.

Maybe Jefferies possesses a clairvoyance no one knows about, because with :17 left against rival Penns Grove, on a soggy, mushy field on Saturday, Jefferies hit Nance, who literally a minute before dropped a pass alone down the sideline, with a 13-yard touchdown strike between three defenders for the winning difference in Salem's dramatic come-from-behind 22-16 victory.

With three lead changes in the fourth quarter, it was easily one of the most exciting games in South Jersey so far this young season. It also kept Salem’s record spotless at 4-0 overall, while Penns Grove dipped to 3-1.

Jefferies was spectacular. He showed poise and confidence in his teammates in the mouth of adversity. He completed 10 of 17 passes for 216 yards, including three touchdown passes, two to Ramon Bentley and Nance, who both previously dropped passes with no one around them, only to catch more difficult tosses when Jefferies looked their way later.

“I told everyone to keep their heads up,” said Jefferies, whose scramble made the game-winning play possible. “I kept us up, and told everyone to keep fighting. When we did a lot of crossing routes, they didn’t know what to do. They were confused. It left the middle wide open. I always believe in my guys, because they believe me. Ramon and Teron trust me, and I trust them. On the touchdown pass, I saw Teron with his hands up, and for a second, he was wide open. It was a difficult throw, because I was leaning one way. He just caught the ball.”

The Jefferies-Nance winning play came just 65 seconds after Penn Grove went up 16-14, on a 60-yard screen pass from Jason James to Tyreke Brown, who bowled over about five Salem defenders down the sideline for the score. It was the only source of offense the Red Devils had the entire second half.

Until that play, Salem held Penns Grove to 47 yards of total offense and just four first downs -- two coming off penalties.

“We made some plays to go ahead, but we didn’t make the plays to win the game,” said Penns Grove coach John Emel, still beaming moments after addressing his team. “We have to play better in the stretch. Our defense has played good all year, good all summer and we came in here and made some crucial mistakes. Not just at the end of the game, all day. We gave up three passing touchdowns. We shouldn’t give up three passing touchdowns all year. We have to sure some things up. We took it away and they found a way to take it back.”

Salem’s Montrey Wright has yet to lose in his first season as head coach of the Rams.

“I have a great belief in these kids,” Wright said. “I told them in the huddle, especially Ramon and Teron, that we were going to come right back to them. They dropped passes, and they both came back to score touchdowns. We all believe in each other. That came out today. This means a lot. It shows we can get through what we need to get through. The seniors are leaders, and we have Shareef. He’s ‘Superman.’”

And a clairvoyant Superman at that.

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.