Hodges leads Raiders over injury-riddled Herd

Paulsboro's first three possessions yesterday ended in disastrous fashion:

A fumble returned for a Woodbury touchdown;

A fumble recovered by Woodbury near midfield;

A snap over the punter's head that led to a partially blocked punt that put Woodbury on the Paulsboro 13.

Woodbury, however, could not capitalize on the latter two miscues, and it came back to haunt the visiting Thundering Herd.

"We have to have a killer instinct and get something off the turnovers," Woodbury coach Zack Valentine said.

Paulsboro overcame an early 7-0 deficit - and the early mistakes - to rout injury-plagued Woodbury, 27-7, and clinch at least a share of the Colonial Conference Patriot Division title.

Gerald Hodges, a junior quarterback/safety/returner, scored three touchdowns and threw another to engineer the victory and raise Paulsboro's record to 7-0 overall and 3-0 in the Patriot.

Paulsboro, which has won or shared the last eight league titles, had to overcome an early deficit as Dyshawn Davis recovered Hodges' fumble and scored with 9 minutes, 2 seconds left in the first quarter.

James Bundy recovered a fumble at the Red Raiders' 48, but Paulsboro's defense quickly forced a punt.

A high center snap caused Gary Grimes' punt to be partially blocked late in the first quarter. That gave Woodbury (5-2, 1-1) the ball at the Paulsboro 13. Again, Paulsboro's defense - led by lineman Robert Sargent, sophomore linebacker Zach Greenwald (13 tackles), and linebacker Grimes - was up to the task.

Aided by Sargent's sack, Paulsboro allowed Woodbury to only get to the 10 before the drive ended when Donte Harvey's pass went off the fingers of a leaping Shawney Kersey in the end zone.

"We felt real fortunate to only be down 7-0" at that point, Paulsboro coach Glenn Howard said.

Hodges had a hand in all three of Paulsboro's second-quarter TDs, as the Red Raiders took a 20-7 halftime lead. His performance was needed because Woodbury, led by Mike Lavin (eight tackles), held running back Stephon Archie to 20 yards on nine carries.

Hodges scored on a 78-yard run to tie the game and later scrambled on a 40-yard TD run. On the second score, Hodges received a key downfield block from receiver Willie "Little Flipper" Anderson, whose father, Flipper Anderson, was a Paulsboro standout who later played in the NFL.

Hodges (131 yards on eight carries) scrambled and hit a wide-open Amir Love with a 54-yard TD pass to give Paulsboro a 20-7 lead with 1:06 left until intermission. Midway through the third quarter, Hodges finished the scoring with a 74-yard punt return in which he broke two tackles.

Paulsboro's defense did the rest. It allowed just 154 yards, including only 56 in the second half.

"Our offense hasn't had to do much because our defense has been carrying us," said Hodges, who also stars as a safety.

Woodbury7 0 0 0 - 7

Paulsboro0 20 7 0 - 27

W: Davis 28 fumble return (Bundy kick)

P: Hodges 78 run (Polimeni kick)

P: Hodges 40 run (Polimeni kick)

P: Love 54 pass from Hodges (kick failed)

P: Hodges 74 punt return (Polimeni kick)