On Sunday, Sept. 9, the Hillsborough Dukes had their 2012 home opener. The Dukes’ various levels hosted Washington Rock for three games and Somerville for one at the high school field starting at 8:30 in the morning.

Flag teams
The two flag teams started the day with a strong effort against Washington Rock. The Yellow squad (5- and 6-year olds) were effective on offense as touchdowns were scored by Adrian Carley, Logan McDermid, Steven Hunt, Francesca Schiro and Cole Hayden, who scored on a pass from CJ Olney. The coaches noted that Cole Hayden and Adrian Carley stood out on defense.

The Red squad (6- and 7-year-olds) were great on both sides of the ball as Jack O’Donnell, Jason Roser, Chris DeCicco and JB McCrea scored a total of nine touchdowns. The defense held Washington Rock to one score. Coaches chose Chris Spinelli and Wade Liedl as the defensive players of the game.

Mitey Mites
James Mazuera and Leo Schiro scored touchdowns as the Dukes Mitey Mites competed against Washington Rock. The defense held their opponent to one score. The coaches noted Leo Schiro, Donovan Nichols, Rocco Viscel and Jason Gonzalez as defensive standouts.

Junior Pee Wee
The Hillsborough Dukes Junior Pee Wee football team defeated Washington Rock, 18-0, and were led on offense by multiple players.

Kyle Hudak, Sean Levonaitis, Jason Chedid and Andre Scheflin led the ground game. Levonaitis scored twice and Scheflin found the end zone once. There were key receptions by Vinnie Aboosamara and Chris Koval to keep drives alive. The offense was led by the blocking of Connor Graverson, Grant Sickles, Kyle Chedid and Arex Wyatt.

The defense was led by Kyle Smith, Levonaitis (with an interception), Mark MClain, Jason Chedid, Kyle Chedid, Aiden Lugo, Graverson, Nick Caporaso, Liam Smith, Jason MClain, Ray Guiliano and Scheflin.

PeeWee
In the final game of the day, the PeeWee team dropped the home opener to the Somerville Rams, 24-0. The Dukes were led on offense by quarterback Dion’Dre Jackson and back Ryan McKenna. Later quarterback Allen Holmon connected in the air attack with Jackson and McKenna. While the Duke defense generally held the Rams to short gains, some key big plays for Somerville made the difference.

Cheer
All of the football teams would like to thank the Dukes cheer squads for their support. The girls led their team in some known favorites, in addition to a few new cheer routines. The halftime routines already seemed set for competition as the cheerleaders looked flawless in their first home game presentation.

Schedule
The Dukes’ next games will be Sunday, Sept. 16, in Watchung Hills. The next home games will be Sunday, Sept. 23, against Somerville.