The rise of Schalick football. How did the Cougars go from afterthought to No. 1 seed?

Before the Schalick High School football team left the field following its 45-8 setback to Woodstown in the Central Jersey Group 1 quarterfinals last season, offensive coordinator Frank Amar snapped a photo of the scoreboard.

It was the Cougars’ first playoff appearance since 2018, but neither the players nor the coaches had any interest in moral victories.

Instead, 45-8 became a rallying cry. The squad’s account, @SchalickO, on X, formerly known as Twitter, tagged most of their posts #458. It hung a hard copy of Amar’s picture in the weight room.

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“We got to work harder,” head coach Mike Wilson said of the team’s mindset. “We’re there, but we’re not there yet.”

They are now.

Schalick, the No. 1 seed in the Central 1 bracket this season, captured its first postseason victory since 2007 on Oct. 27, shutting out eighth-seeded Audubon 35-0.

“It’s been a very special season,” junior quarterback Kenai Simmons said. “Going off last year, losing to Woodstown in the first round, that hurt a lot. … That motivated us like, I’m talking about players crying. They love the game so much that they cried. It motivated us a lot. We wanted it really bad.”

The passion within program has grown exponentially since Wilson took over in 2020.

“We were able to go from like 28 kids (in 2021, the staff’s first full season due to COVID) to 65,” Wilson said.

Schalick had both JV and freshman teams this season, uncommon for many Group 1 schools, and the youth organization had more than 100 kids in it, Wilson added.

“I know so many kids that text me, I want to go to Schalick when I grow up,” junior running back Reggie Allen Jr. said. “We’re inspiring people to come here and change the program.”

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Allen was one of a handful of players that always knew he wanted to be a Cougar, even when the team was struggling.

The Allen family has been an institution within the football program, with Anthony, Fred and Melvin Allen all starring for Schalick previously.

“Since I was in elementary school, I always said I was going to come here and be like them one day,” Reggie said. “And look at it, it’s all playing out how I hoped when I was a little kid.”

That took a lot of work and commitment, not just from Allen but his teammates.

Simmons and Allen made a promise to each other in middle school that they were going to help turn the Cougars around. They’ve had lead roles since joining the team, and have either thrown for, rushed for or caught 28 of the squad’s 32 offensive touchdowns this season.

“After we won our championship in eighth grade in Pittsgrove Midget Football, after that season we’re like it’s time to lock in,” Simmons said.

Simmons and Allen were freshman starters in 2021, but Wilson played a host of other youngsters too as he tried to build from the ground up.

Schalick went 4-6 that year, then improved to 7-3 last season. However, the seven victories didn’t buy much belief from outsiders because of the team’s schedule.

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The Cougars made a statement in Week 0 this year though when they took down Gloucester, a returning Central 2 finalist, 17-14.

“That game was just so important,” Simmons said. “So many people were doubting us, we took that into our head. We’re proving that we’re not backing down to anybody. There’s a lot of good schools, a lot of good coaches, but we’re not backing down from anybody.”

There are still doubters. Schalick is considered an underdog by many against fourth-seeded Shore in this Friday’s sectional semifinal. The Cougars are used to it though.

“We’re tired of it, but one of the kids came up to me and said everybody thinks Shore is going to win, that’s normal,” Wilson said. “I think the kids take that underdog mentality. … As the Eagles would say, hungry dogs eat better.”

And Schalick is hungry. After it beat Audubon, there was no carryover celebration. The kids wanted to know what time practice was Saturday.

“Our expectation going forward is 1-0 every week,” Simmons said. “Start this week with Shore, and after that we can talk about after Shore.”

Josh Friedman has produced award-winning South Jersey sports coverage for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and the Burlington County Times for more than a decade. If you have or know of an interesting story to tell, reach out on Twitter at @JFriedman57 or via email at jfriedman2@gannettnj.com. You can also contact him at 856-486-2431. Help support local journalism with a subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Schalick High School football has embraced underdog role