Pennsville scored four of its five touchdowns on the ground.
Cummings?
He rushed for 169 yards and two touchdowns on - get this - 35 carries. The mad bomber from last year attempted only 18 passes, completing 8 for 166 yards and a touchdown.
So is Air Pennsville a thing of the past?
Not really.
The Eagles can still chuck it in their no-huddle offense. It's just that even though they returned seven starters on offense, they lost some key receivers.
"We are still trying to figure out who we are," Pennsville coach Ryan Wood said.
It must be nice to be able to do the figuring while scoring one touchdown after another.
Wood has adapted to his personnel. He has great depth on the offensive line, using six players in the five spots, which came in handy on a muggy day.
Those linemen were juniors Steve Collins (6-foot-1, 225 pounds), Kyle Colletti (5-9, 220), Tim Esham (6-3, 215), Cody Dooley (6-1, 300), and Kane Hiles (6-0, 265), and senior Thomas Friant (6-1, 190).
Cummings actually bulked up for the season. The program lists him at 6-0 and 170 pounds, but he confessed to being 5-10 and 156 - still more than 20 pounds heavier than last year.
"He worked like a beast in the weight room," said 5-7, 145-pound receiver Drew Burdsall, another undersize player capable of doing plenty of damage.
Burdsall caught five passes for 140 yards and a 73-yard touchdown, scored on a 7-yard run, and hit four conversion kicks. He also was a force in the secondary, and after the game didn't appear to be gasping for breath.
"We worked hard in the offseason for days like this," he said.
Pennsville had to be on its game to beat a talented Salem team that was 5-5 and lost to eventual South Jersey Group 1 champion Glassboro, 28-24, in the playoffs.
The Rams have speed to burn, and sophomore Dione "Fats" Alston showed it by scoring on a 99-yard run and then increasing the Rams' lead to 12-0 with an 84-yard interception return.
By the way, Alston is 5-8 and 160 pounds and earned the moniker because he was a chubby baby, although he long ago burned off that baby fat.
While Pennsville's strength is in its junior class, Salem has sophomores such as Alston and quarterback Levi Shockley to build around.
"We didn't let the cat out of the bag this summer, but we are talented," Salem coach Randy Johnson said.
The cat is now out.
Both teams wore down in the second half, and that's when Pennsville unleashed junior running back Eric "Bullet" Bundy, one of three players who had to sit out the first half for what Wood said was a violation of team rules.
Bundy rushed for 144 yards on 18 carries and scored the winning touchdown, an 8-yard run with 7 minutes, 32 seconds left in the fourth quarter, erasing a 28-27 deficit.
Cummings insists that he doesn't care if he comes close to matching last year's passing statistics.
"It's all about getting the 'W,' " he said.
That's a grounded view on an offense that looks different but is just as dangerous as last year's potent unit.
Pennsville 7 20 0 7 - 34
Salem 12 16 0 0 - 28
S: Dione Austin 99 run (kick failed)
S: Austin 84 interception return (kick failed)
P: Dylan Cummings 10 run (Drew Burdsall kick)
P: Burdsall 7 run (Burdsall kick)
S: Davon Mills 42 pass from Levi Shockley (Austin run)
P: Burdsall 73 pass from Cummings (Burdsall kick)
S: Tahir Davenport-White 72 kickoff return (Robert Blake run)
P: Cummings 1 run (kick failed)
P: Eric Bundy 8 run (Burdsall kick)
*To view this story as it appeared in the South Jersey edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer, click here .*
Marc Narducci: ONLINE EXTRA
Pennsville quarterback Dylan Cummings talks about the victory over Salem.
www.philly.com/rallyvideos
Contact Marc Narducci
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