"We did everything right, almost," Elmer said. "We still have things to work on, but we set the tone for the season."
Glassboro, the defending South Jersey Group 1 champion, was playing its first game under coach Mark Maccarone. The Bulldogs committed turnovers on six of seven possessions in the second and third quarters, and also struggled on special teams.
"It was one of those days when if it could go wrong, it went wrong," said Maccarone, a former offensive line coach who replaced Herb Neilio Jr. "It was Murphy's Law. I don't care if you're the Green Bay Packers. You turn it over seven times and don't show up on special teams, you're not going to win football games.
"We'll lick our wounds and try to learn from our mistakes and bounce back."
Senior running back Corey Mills scored two touchdowns for Penns Grove, which went 8-1 last season but was barred from the sectional tournament after three players were ejected from a midseason game against Salem.
Junior Jabrail Murray caught a 23-yard touchdown - on a pass from Elmer that deflected off a Glassboro player - and returned punts for 44 and 37 yards to set up two other touchdowns.
"We're very happy but not satisfied," Penns Grove coach Kemp Carr said. "We have to get better every week."
Glassboro 0 0 0 0 – 0
Penns Grove 6 26 16 6 – 54
PG: Corey Mills 3 run (run failed)
PG-Jabrail Murray 23 pass from Nick Elmer (run failed)
PG: Anthony Robertson 4 run (pass failed)
PG: Rich Gray 80 interception return (run failed)
PG: Greg Thompson fumble recovery in end zone (TayShon Hayward run)
PG: Hayward 7 run (Elmer run)
PG: Mills 7 run (Hayward run)
PG: Charles Farrington 5 run (run failed)
Contact staff writer Phil Anastasia at 856-779-3223, panastasia@phillynews.com, or @PhilAnastasia on Twitter.
