N.J. high school football team wins sectional title after winless season in 2024

The Salem High School football team celebrates its 38-14 win over Paulsboro in the Central Jersey Group 1 final at Paulsboro High School in Paulsboro, New Jersey on Saturday, November 14, 2026. Kevin Emmons/South Jersey Sports Zone

PAULSBORO — Three gold balloons — a single No. 1 balloon and two No. 0 balloons — were accompanied by a decorated cake.

The Salem High School football team was prepared to celebrate coach Kemp Carr’s 100th career win.

The Rams arrived as a team that expected to win and left no doubt as Carr secured his 100th victory with a 38-14 triumph over Paulsboro in the Central Jersey Group 1 championship on Saturday afternoon.

"It's another game," Carr said. "It's a dash. It was a big moment in front of us today. We wanted to take the opportunity to cash in on what was in front of us today."

Red plates of pancakes lathered in Aunt Jemima’s syrup complemented the balloons and cake during the postgame celebration.

If a player makes a pancake block, they are treated to a plate of pancakes after a game. It became a competition among the players to earn a plate of flapjacks after a hard fought battle. The ritual adopted by Salem began earlier in the season and has grown each week.

With a sectional crown captured in dominating fashion, there were more pancakes to go around on Saturday afternoon.

“It’s motivation,” Carr said. “Anything you can do to get an edge. The coaches jumped in and found a way to be able to boost the momentum and boost the morale. It's crazy because they get excited about the pancakes, especially when we had one dish and only one person could get it. They were actually encouraging each other and never got discouraged from each other. ... It went from one plate to two plates to 12 plates because the receivers are in on it."

Salem set the tone with 18 unanswered points in the first half. The Red Raiders cut the deficit to 10 points on a TD run by Jeremiah Carr. An opportunity to narrow the margin to four points appeared until Kane Green intercepted a pass in the end zone to preserve the double-digit lead as time expired in the second quarter.

The Rams led by as much as 24 points in the second half.

Sophomore running back Cashmir Parsley ran for 196 yards and three touchdowns in the victory. Through 12 games, Parsley has 1,500 yards and 19 TDs on the ground.

“I ran the ball aggressively,” Parsley said. “The left side was the weak side. We liked what we saw on the left side and kept running it that way.”

Salem’s Cashmir Parsley runs with the football against Paulsboro in the Central Jersey Group 1 final at Paulsboro High School in Paulsboro, New Jersey on Saturday, November 14, 2026. Michael Taylor for D2 Sports Network

Quarterback Demund Thomas shed multiple tackles and ran for a 52-yard score in the first quarter. He was a perfect 2-for-2 passing for 14 yards and ran for 104 yards as the Rams accumulated 324 yards on the ground.

"The play is not over until the whistle blows," Thomas said. "I just kept moving and kept fighting."

Ahmad Tucker returned a punt for a 45-yard TD in the second quarter and Adrian Alleyne added a 2-yard score late in the fourth quarter.

In Carr’s first season at the helm, Salem finished with a 0-9 record. The second year of his tenure ended with a 6-5 record and a loss to Glassboro in the South Jersey Group 1 semifinals.

"I never had a fast pace (for a rebuild)," Carr said, "and I've never had the cabinets full. I always had to build a program from Penns Grove to Winslow to here. Sometimes it takes time. Once the guys buy in, they understand what we are doing, we start to see ourselves in these type of positions."

The Rams have also won eight games in a row and nine of their last 10. An 0-2 start included an 8-6 loss to Paulsboro on September 5.

Salem experienced a reversal of fortune on Saturday.

“The mentality was to comeback and be a whole different team from Week 1," Parsley said.

Paulsboro concluded its campaign at 9-3.

The Rams will visit Salem County rival Arthur P. Schalick in the Group 1 state semifinals next week. The winner advances to the Group 1 state championship at MetLife Stadium. Salem suffered a 15-14 loss to the Cougars on a controversial touchdown call on September 18.

Preparation for the rematch will begin on Monday.

Today, it's about celebrating the program's first sectional title during Carr's tenure.

"It feels amazing," Thomas said. "God's timing. He blessed us with this big achievement."