Monsorno, Loniewski, Cohen, Boczon, Thornton: Game MVPs for Oct. 6 Jr. Raider Flag Play

Flag (Grades 1-2)

The Broncos squared off against the Vikings in the 11:00am Flag Game this past Saturday, October 6th.  The Broncos offense continued to gain positive yards.  On the first offensive series for the Broncos, Nate Kondratiuk took the handoff to go 30 yards for a first down and put the Broncos in scoring position.  Ryan Leary took the handoff to the left and went 15 yards for his second touchdown of the season.  Kondratiuk finished off the scoring by getting into the end zone for the extra point.  For the Broncos second offensive series, Lance Eilbacher took the halfback sweep to the right for a 60 yard touchdown.  Rich Loniewski added the extra point by getting into the end zone on a nice cutback to the left. 

The Broncos defense continued to get excellent flag pulling from many of the defensive players.  Lance Eilbacher and Loniewski led the way with many flags.  Jehki Williams, Kondratiuk, Max Treonze, Dominick Monsorno, Brandon Lobello, Jonathan Lobello and Tyler Jackson all pulled flags to help the Broncos defensive efforts.

For the Broncos next offensive series, Loniewski put together a big run of 15 yards as he cut back against the Vikings Defense to get the Broncos into scoring position again.  Williams took the handoff and went 30 yards for a Broncos Touchdown.  The extra point was completed by a pass from QB Max Treonze to Logan Eilbacher in the corner of the end zone.  The Broncos continued to gain positive yards on their next offensive series.  Jackson put together a couple of runs, but his longest of 20 yards put the Broncos in Vikings territory.  Lobello ran for 15 yards during the series and finished it off with his second touchdown of the season with an 8 yard TD run.  The Broncos scoring was closed out with the longest run of the day by Monsorno.  He ran the QB sneak for a 65 yard TD run as he cut across the field and through the Vikings defense to notch his second TD of the flag season. 

Game MVPs were Dominick Monsorno (Offensive) and Richie Loniewski (Defensive).

Against the Lions, the Redskin offense didn’t miss a beat.  Nicholas Donnelly, Tanner Boczon, Kevin Shelton and Joseph McChesney all scored touchdowns - with Joe Witcoski and J. J. Lotierzo making two of the point after attempts.  M. J. Cohen led the team with the most rushing attempts and made several spectacular runs.  On defense, Witcoski led the skins with 7 flags pulled, followed by Cohen and Kevin Sheltons with four each.  Game MVPs for the Redskins were M. J. Cohen and Tanner Boczon.

Also in flag play, the 49ers and Bears played one of the most exciting games of the season on Saturday.  Both teams played outstanding defense.  The 49ers defense was keyed by Aidan Casey and Jake Battaglises, both of who had multiple flag pulls.  Big time efforts by 49ers John Kelly, Charlie Volpe and Joey Cheslock on the defensive line helped keep the Bears at bay.  In the 2nd half, the Bears were able to strike on an 80 yd TD run, followed by the 49ers denying the extra point attempt.  With about 7 minutes left, the 49ers got the ball and drove the field.  Two 20 yard runs by Ian McCauley were followed by a 30 yd TD scamper by Cole Thornton on the games final play.  Game MVP for the 49ers was Cole Thornton.

Division III (Grades 3-4)

Hillsborough Jr. Raiders Football Division III UConn beat Princeton for the second time this season on Saturday, by the score of 18-0, to improve its record to 5-0.

The Huskies were led by fullback Loukas Ganas who pounded 139 yards on 7 carries. Thomas Amankwaa had 135 yards on 8 carries with 3 touchdowns, one on a 60 yard punt return. Drew Ryan also added 31 yards, and Camron Hill, James SanFillippo, Justin Gloria, Kyle Elmalis, and Chris DiNardi all carried the ball for positive yardage.

Princeton won the toss and elected to receive the ball first. The Tigers came out clawing, making short gains on the ground and a first down. Safety Amankwaa then made a stifling tackle from in the backfield for a 4 yard loss. And two more short runs left Princeton with 4th & 8. They punted to give UConn the ball on their own 40 yard line. Husky defenders Maysen Lane, Holden Stack, DiNardi, Nicholas West, SanFillippo, Jason Ortman, Hunter Jorgensen and Ganas all made plays on the stop.

UConn took over and started shaky with a loss in the backfield, a no gain run, and a holding penalty. Ganas then booted a 30 yard punt on 4th & 10, and the Tigers made a 10 yard return.

The Tigers started their 2nd drive on their own 40 yard line. Once again they ran the ball hard with short gains and two first downs. But two recovered fumbles under center, and a backfield tackle by safety Ryan for a 4 yard loss, stopped the drive short and Princeton punted on 4th & 14. With a 10 yard punt, returner Ryan was tackled for no extra yardage. Ryan McLaughlin also added a tackle for UConn.

UConn took over on their own 12 yard line, and again came out flat on their 2nd possession. After two short gains and an 11 yard run called back on a holding penalty, UConn punted again on 4th & 4. Ganas booted another 30 yard punt, but Princeton returned the ball to the UConn 27 yard line.

The Husky defense showed its teeth and stopped the Tigers in their tracks. Gloria and Ganas both made great tackles and Princeton was left with 4th & 11. They elected to go for it, and only gained 2 yards. UConn took over on their own 25 yard line.

After a 4 yard sack and an illegal motion penalty, the Husky's offense stepped it up and Amankwaa sprinted down the sideline for a 20 yard gain. Ganas then showed his own footwork by breaking open a 45 yard run up the middle. Ryan added 3 more yards before Amankwaa ran his own up the middle for another 20 yard blast, this time into the endzone. The extra point pass was dropped and UConn was finally on the board with 6-0 lead, late in the 1st half.

Princeton was stopped again on their 4th possession, as Amankwaa made the backfield tackle on 4th & 5, and they turned over the ball on downs.

UConn got the ball on the Princeton 35 yard line. Ryan threw a 14 yard pass to Amankwaa, who scrambled for another 6 yards. Then UConn was muffled with offsides and illegal motion penalties. And with time running out, Ryan connected with Amankwaa again for another 14 yards, but came up short of the endzone. UConn led 6-0 at halftime.

The Huskies got the ball to open the 2nd half, but were stopped with a few short runs and yet another illegal motion penalty. Ganas punted for the third time with a 29 yard kick, and Princeton returned the ball to their own 43 yard line.

The Tigers couldn't spark their offense as the Huskies hosed them down with a wall of defenders. Ganas made another backfield tackle for a loss of 2 yards, and Ortman, Jorgensen, Ryan and Amankwaa also contributed to the stop. Princeton punted to the UConn 40 yard line, but specialist Amankwaa was there to scoop the ball up and elude the Tiger's return team as he broke another down the sideline for a 60 yard touchdown return. The extra point pass failed and UConn led 12-0.

On Princeton's 6th possession, they completed a pass but lost yards on the play. And with another penalty, and great defense plays by UConn, the Tigers punted again on 4th & 20 to their own 35 yard line.

UConn was riddled with penalties, and after another illegal motion call, Gloria, Ryan, Ganas, and Elmalis all gained yards before Amankwaa took the ball in again, from 20 yards out as he dove into the endzone for the 6. The extra point failed and UConn increased their lead to 18.

Princeton started to drive with more short runs and another 1st down, but on 4th & 6 Amankwaa plowed through the Tiger's line and made another backfield tackle as Princeton turned the ball over on downs again. Stack, Hill, and West all made great plays to hold them.

UConn took over on its final possession, and after a 3 short runs, elected to go for it on 4th & 5. The ball was fumbled under center, and Princeton took over on the UConn 47 yard line.

On Princeton's final possession, SanFillippo and Elmalis both made tackles for losses. After two short runs with good defensive play by Jorgensen, Hill, and Thomas Dieterman, the clock ran out on the Tigers.

On offense the Tigers moved the ball up and down the field on the legs of Luke Popaduik, Adam Movshin, Cole Psemeneki and Michael Hoffman. The Tigers fought hard but were unable to score any touchdowns.  On defense the Tigers played stingy defense with notable tackles by Ryan Diaz, Patrick O’Kane, Andrew SantaBarbara and Ryan Vierbuchen.

UConn took the win 18-0 and remains undefeated. Co MVPs for UConn were Loukas Ganas and Thomas Amankwaa.  UConn takes on the USC Trojans next week, who will be looking for revenge on their loss of the first meeting.

Division I (Grades 7-8)

The Ole Miss Rebels moved into second place in Division I tackle football, with their 12-0 victory over the Pitt Panthers on Saturday. Both teams battled in a scoreless first half as the Rebel's offense was plagued by turnovers.

After 2 promising drives, Quarterback Matt Moore was intercepted twice near the Pitt goal line, which prevented Ole Miss from getting on the scoreboard early. "The wind played havoc with our passing game in the first half" said Head Coach Russ Surace, "At halftime we decided to just stick with our power running game".

That decision paid off as Ole Miss drove the ball in the second half behind their big offensive line. Kyle Richardson, P. J. Catalano, Jackob Harmon, Collin Purdy and Michael Surace filling in for tackle Eric Liscanti, dominated the line of scrimmage opening wide holes for Tyler Minter and Michael Kaufman to run through. Minter capped the opening drive of the 2nd half with a 5 yard run for the first points of the game. Kaufman's extra point sailed wide, but Ole Miss turned over the 6-0 lead to their defense. 

The defense stopped Pitt from gaining a first down with Mark Kwiatek perfect contain and tackle on the sweep play. "That was picture perfect" commented coach Surace, "You can't play it any better than Mark did ".  As Pitt was forced to Punt, Michael Surace broke through and blocked the kick giving Ole Miss a short field. They quickly took advantage of it with another Minter touchdown run and the 12-0 lead.

That was what Ole Miss needed as the defense kept Pitt bottled up - limiting them to only a few first downs the entire game. Richardson led the defense in the middle, with 6 solo tackles. Ben Versaci, Minter and Catalano each had 5. Surace had 4 and a quarterback sack. The secondary of Josh Villa, Dominic Dinardi, Dale Jules, David Lynch, Matt Moore and Kwiatek shut down the outside runs and the passing game.
 
Said Coach Surace, "I am extremely proud of our team this week. We had a short week of practice, for a tough Pitt team, but our guys focused and we were extremely prepared for them. Our line dominated on both sides of the ball, and we wore them down physically in the second half".