Division I (Grades 7-8)
In Division I, the Michigan Wolverines faced the Pitt Panthers at the Triangle Road Football Complex. The Wolverines were led by the passing of QB Matthew Kuc who threw for over 100 yards. Kuc’s main target this week was Tight End Jake Pollak. Pollak hauled in three catches, one for a TD. Kuc also connected with Jordan Foust, Matthew Hendrix and J. J. Bagdan, who made a spectacular diving catch.
Michigan’s offensive line was excellent in pass protection anchored by guards Jack Fenimore and Connor Stack. Center Tony Geremia, tackles Christian Graverson and Alex Schutz cleared the way for some big runs as well. FB Matt LaSala scored the second Wolverine touchdown on a 3 yard plunge.
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Michigan’s defense was stingy when it counted, allowing the Panthers only one TD. Karman Dhillon and Chris Santa Barbara turned in a big game making numerous tackles and Tyler Welches snatched up a fumble recovery. The Wolverines held the Panthers, defeating them by a score of 12-6. The Wolverines are now 4-0. Game MVP for the Wolverines was Jake Pollak.
The Division I Ole Miss Rebels survived a late 4th quarter rally by the Texas Longhorns to hold on to a well earned 13-6 win on Saturday, September 29th. Ole Miss jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead, when Tyler Minter ran 54 yards for a Touchdown on the second play of the game. Kierre Mayer converted the extra point which made it 7-0. It looked like Ole Miss would run away with the game. On their next series, Matt Moore hit Ben Versaci with a deep post pass. Versaci outraced the Texas Defense to the endzone, but the play was called back for an illegal block. The Rebels went back to the ground game. This time Minter, who rushed for 127 yards, ripped off a 48 yard TD run, behind Eric Lisanti’s block. The extra point failed leaving the score at 13-0.
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Both defenses stiffened in the 2nd half with the teams exchanging turnovers. The Rebel defense intercepted Texas twice. Mark Kwietek got his 3rd of the year, while P. J. Catalano recorded his first career interception. Michael Kaufman also recovered a fumble to stop a Texas drive. Kyle Richardson led the defense with 5 solo tackles. David Lynch and Collin Purdy each had 4.
With the game in it’s final minutes, the Longhorns got on the scoreboard when Tyler Boatwright, broke free down the sidelines for a touchdown. The extra point was blocked by Kyle Richardson.
Texas then recovered the onsides kick to make an exciting finish in the games final minute. The Ole Miss Defense held on as time expired. “It wasn’t pretty but we’ll take the win” said head coach Russ Surace, “The Offensive line played very well. We hope to build off this game, continue our success and put a winning season together”. The Rebels evened their record at 2-2.
Division III (Grades 3-4)
The Hillsborough Jr. Raiders Division III UConn Huskies beat Alabama for the second time in two weeks on Saturday, September 29th, by the score of 18-12, to remain undefeated on the season.
The Huskies were led by halfback Thomas Amankwaa who racked up 137 yards on 12 carries and scored two touchdowns. Loukas Ganas also had 53 yards on 8 carries, and Drew Ryan had 20 yards and scored the team's 3rd touchdown on the day. UConn won the toss and elected to receive the ball first. And on the third play of the game, Amankwaa broke away on a 50 yard touchdown run as he dodged defenders and hurdled tacklers. The extra point failed, and UConn led 6-0.
UConn's defense stopped Alabama on their first possession and the punted the ball away. UConn defenders Camron Hill, James SanFillippo, Kyle Emalis, Chris DiNardi, Ryan, and Amankwaa all made great tackles. Then on their 2nd possession, UConn was stopped by inches on 4th & 4 and turned over the ball. Alabama was stopped again, and punted on their 2nd possession. UConn's defense was backed by more good plays by Hunter Jorgensen, Ryan, and Hill.
UConn got the ball on the Alabama 47 yard line. On 4th down, Amankwaa broke away again for a 20 yard gain for a first down, but the play was called back due to an illegal block. UConn elected to punt the ball on 4th & 17, and Ganas booted the ball 30 yards.
In the 2nd Quarter, Alabama began marching down the field. Then on 4th & 5, Alabama went for it and fumbled the pitch. Noseguard SanFillippo recovered for UConn, and the Huskies took over on their own 40 yard line. UConn's Jason Ortman and Nicholas West also contributed to the defensive stop.
On UConn's 4th possession, after two runs for losses, Amankwaa ran over defenders for 15 yards, but came up 1 yard short of a 1st down. On 4th & 1, UConn went for the 1st down and was stopped up the middle. Alabama took over, but tackles by Amankwaa, Ortman, and Hill stopped the Tide as time ran out in the half. UConn led 6-0.
When the 2nd half opened, UConn's SanFillippo recovered a second fumble as Alabama turned the ball over again. Fullback Ganas then pounded runs of 3 and 4 yards, and Ryan gained another 2 yards on a QB sneak. On 4th & 1, Amankwaa broke away again down the sideline, for a 24 yard Touchdown run. The extra point failed, and UConn led 12-0.
On Alabama's 5th possession, they once again began marching down the field, and recorded three first downs. But on the 10th play of the drive, Alabama decided to go for it on 4th & 15, and UConn's Ortman made the tackle in the backfield, and stopped the Tide once again. Holden Stack and Maysen Lane provide support on the Huskies' defensive stop.
UConn took over on their own 34 yard line, and after a 4 yard loss, Amankwaa broke yet another long run for 41 yards. But with an illegal motion penalty after two short runs, and an incomplete pass, UConn was faced with 4th down and came up one yard short again, turning the ball over on downs.
Alabama took over with 1st & 10 from their own 20 yard line, but UConn's SanFillippo recovered a third fumble as Alabama turned the ball over once again.
UConn then rang up another score as Ryan plowed into the end zone from 15 yards out. Ganas also pounded two 4 yard runs on the drive. The extra point failed, and UConn led 18-0.
Alabama got the ball back, and after five positive yardage runs, they scored their first touchdown late in the 4th quarter. The extra point kick attempt failed, and UConn led 18-6. UConn's SanFillippo, Emalis, DiNardi, and Thomas Dieterman all contributed defensively.
UConn then took over on their 8th and final possession. After an illegal motion penalty and a recovered fumble under center, the Huskies went for it on 4th & 13 and came up short, turning the ball over on downs after a 4 yard run by Lane.
With seconds left on the clock, Alabama scored on their next and last play, from 45 yards out. The extra point kick attempt failed. UConn's Dieterman received a birthday win, with the final score 18-12. Co MVP's for UConn were Thomas Amankwaa and James SanFillippo.
The Division III Princeton Tigers played a strong game against the USC Trojans. On defense the Tigers held the Trojan to one touch during regulation play with strong defense by Patrick O’Kane, Andrew Santabarba, Andrew VanLangen, Samir Guzman, David Ortiz, James Vandervliet and Ryan Diaz. On offense the Tigers got off to a slow start but where able to score a touchdown with time running out. Notable offensive plays were made by Michael Hoffman, Luke Popaduik, Adam Movshin, Cole Psemeneki and Ryan Vierbuchen. The offensive line play by Brett Radomski, Michael Sateary, Joey Schwarz, Andrew Ely and Brett Cerenzio contributed to Tigers success by forcing the game into overtime. A touchdown was scored by both the Tigers and Trojans in overtime but the Tigers were unable to convert the extra point and fell to the Trojans by a score of 13-12.
Flag (Grades 1-2)
Under the lights on Wednesday, September 26th, the Jr. Raider Vikings flag team had another solid outing against the 49ers. The offense started to click with key, first half runs by Ryan Siwiec (15 yds), Nick Koll (15 yds) and James Barone (25 yds). In the second half, Matt Gaspar led the way on the opening drive. He had one run of 20 yds and another run of 25 yds, which resulted in a touchdown. The extra point was made by Nick Koll with a run up the middle. On defense, Jayce Loniewski led the way with 5 flag pulls, 3 for a loss. Ryan Soli had 4 pulls and two resulted in lost yards for the 49ers. James Barone had 3 flag pulls and one kept the 49ers out of the end zone for a point after attempt. Also, Matt Gaspar (3), Jack Storipan (3) and Tommy Rice (3), each had strong outings on defense. Vikings MVP was Matt Gaspar.
The 49ers were excited for their first game under the lights on Wednesday against the Vikings. On offense, Cole Thorton showed his blazing speed with a long touchdown run. Shane Donahue and Aiden Casey also had touchdowns runs and the night was highlighted by Patrick Irwin’s spectacular run. The 49er defense was led by Nathan Drab, who had multiple flag pulls and Graham Ross who was spent most of the night in the opponents backfield.
The Vikings continued their momentum from the Wednesday night game to Saturday when they faced the Lions. On offense, Daniel Allen had two key runs (8 yds and 13 yds) on the opening drive. On the second drive, Jayce Loniewski had a 20 yard run off a sweep and Tommy Rice earned a key first down by gaining 8 yds up the middle. Matt Gaspar ended the drive with a 25 yd sweep around the left side to finish the first half. Nick Koll orchestrated a key drive to start off the second half. He gained 15 yds on a QB bootleg had solid runs by Josh Reilly (12 yds) and Jack Storipan (10 yds). Jayce Loniewski ended the drive with a 25 yard touch down run with a run for the extra point made by Nick Koll. The defense was led by Jayce Loniewski, who had 6 flag pulls, 3 for a loss and one stopped an extra point attempt by the Lions. Owen Albert and Jack McLaughlin had 4 flag pulls apiece and each had two pulls for a loss. Game MVP for the Vikings was Jayce Loniewski.
The Lions had the best game of the season so far this year on against the Vikings. The Lions had some long possessions in which Blair Yusko, Parker Keenan, and Nicholas Santa Barbara carried the ball, gaining needed yards for the team. Defensively, Luke Donnadio had a fantastic diving flag pull! Jack Miller, Tyler Oram and, Nicholas Santa Barbara assisted the Lions in stopping the Vikings offensively.
The 49ers also continued their strong defensive effort on Sunday against the Broncos. Although the opponent had a few scoring plays, the 49er defense showed their might with multiple flag pulls. John Kelly shut down the opponent on his side of the field and Ian McCauley showed his speed tracking down Bronco runners. The 49ers offense, led by Brian O’Kane and Charlie Volpe, had their best blocking game of the year.
The Broncos took the ball on the first offensive series and moved the ball against a tough 49ers defense. After a couple of key first down runs by Lance Eilbacher and Nate Kondratiuk the Broncos were going in for the score. The 49ers defense displayed tremendous flag pulling and forced the Broncos into a 4th down situation. Behind strong blocking from the Broncos offensive line, Jehki Williams took the handoff to the right side and scored from 20 yards out on 4th down. The Broncos defense was forced to match the strong 49ers offense who utilized the shotgun formation to move the ball into Broncos territory. After some strong flag pulling from Tyler Jackson, Jonathan Lobello and Lance Eilbacher, the Broncos were able to keep the 49ers out of the endzone. During the next Broncos offensive series, Jehki Williams run of 25 yards helped set up a Broncos score. Logan Eilbacher took the ball to the left side and cut his way through the 49ers defense for a 35 yard touchdown run. Dylan Siracusa took the handoff and got around the end to get into the endzone for the extra point. The Broncos defense continued to pull flags and limited the strong 49ers offense. The defense was lead by the flag pulling of Logan Eilbacher, Dominick Monsorno, and Ryan Leary. The next offensive series for the Broncos saw Logan Eilbacher break off a 70 yard run to just inside the 10 yard line of the 49ers. The 49ers defense held tough and kept the Broncos out of the endzone. The 49ers took over on downs. It was on the first 49ers offensive play, that Brandon Lobello grabbed the QB’s flag in the endzone for an amazing safety. The Broncos offense had a couple more big runs by Nate Kondratiuk and Max Treonze, but the 49ers defense held tough again. To help close out the game on defense, the Broncos Nate Kondratiuk intercepted a 49ers pass and returned it 15 yards to return the ball to the Broncos Offense. A great game by both teams. Offensive MVP for the Broncos was Logan Eilbacher; defensive MVPs were Brandon Lobello and Nate Kondratiuk.
