Jr. Raiders Continue to Excel in Week 5 Games

Summaries of Jr. Raider Games from October 5th:

Skylands Division Varsity (Grades 7-8)
The Hillsborough Jr. Raiders Varsity team defeated the Ridge Jr. Devils 26-16 on Saturday October 5th at HHS to move to 5-0 on the year. The offensive line of Pat Vinchur, Ryan Wheaton, Nolan Washburn, Greg Koll, Jack Edwards, Trevor Pavenski, Brandon Melendez and Tom Zdroik opened holes all night for Tyler Boatwright to run for three touchdowns and 171 yards. Boatwright added a 43-yard touchdown reception from Matt Moore. A 2-point kick was made by Ryan Wheaton to cap the scoring for the Jr. Raiders.

The defense, led by Jackson Parham (6 tackles), Wheaton (6 tackles) and Vinchur (5 tackles), have not given up a rushing touchdown all year. Parham and Vinchur each added an interception. JJ Bagdan led the secondary with 4 tackles.

The top special teams players were Pavenski, with 3 tackles and Charles Amankwaa, with a 23-yard kick return. The Jr. Raiders next face Phillipsburg in Phillipsburg on Saturday Oct. 12th at 7:30.  Game MVPs were Trevor Pavensky (Special Teams), Tyler Boatwright (Offense) and Patrick Vinchur (Defense).

Skylands Division Junior Varsity (Grades 5-6)
The Hillsborough Jr. Raiders Skyland JV team jumped out to a 24-0 halftime lead and coasted to the victory over Ridge on Saturday at Hillsborough High School. Boro, now 5-0, takes over sole possession of 1st place in the Skyland JV division with the win.

The Jr. Raiders once again displayed the balance of their power running game and efficient passing to score touchdowns on each of their first three possessions. Six different running backs carried the ball, contributing to 125 yards rushing on the night, paced once again by Matt Michinard with 36 yards on 5 carries. The combination of Andrew Rygiel and Alex Marsh were a perfect 5 for 5 passing for 71 yards, headlined by a 43 yard catch and run from Rygiel to TE Gavin Hauser.  Scoring was led by Alex Marsh with 2 TDs and 1 by Tommy Ramsey. Ramsey also contributed 6 points with 3 point after TD kicks.

Defensively, the Jr. Raiders were a Maroon wall, holding the Jr. Devils to just 44 total yards on the night, and their 3rd shutout of the year. Mirroring the workload distribution of the offense, 13 different Boro defenders notched tackles, led by linebacker TJ Schultz and safety Matt Michinard with 7 each. Once again, the defense was a force behind Ridge's line, with Ric Sarkar, Mike Swetz, and Schultz each racking up Tackles for loss. Sarkar and Gerard Redden also each forced fumbles.

The Jr. Raiders look forward to travelling to Phillipsburg to meet the 4-1 Little Liners next Saturday.

Patriot Division Junior Varsity (Grades 5-6)
The JV White team faced Watchung Hills at home at the Triangle Road Complex.  Josh Quick had three interceptions while Kevin Rolon and Jordan Nussbaum each had a touchdown as the Patriot JV White team defeated Watchung Hills, 12-6. Special mention goes to Frank Townsend with a game-saving tackle and a good game at quarterback.  Josh Quick was recognized as the game MVP.

The Hillsborough Red JV team improved to 5-0 with a 25-0 away win over Voorhees.  Thomas Amankwaa lit up the scoreboard with 3 touchdowns while running for over 100 yards. Two of his touchdowns came on long runs while the third came on a punt return of 67 yards. QB Vinnie Versaci punched in the last Raider touchdown on a short run.  The Raiders defense collected its third shut out of the season. Stars on defense were Sam Beni, James Bambo, Luke Monsorno and Dylan Valis. The defense forced 3 turnovers including a spectacular interception and return by Ryan Diaz. Hillsborough Red will be back at home to face Bridgewater after a long 3 week road trip. When asked about being back in front of the home crowd next week, OT Michael Marvosa said "it will be good to be home again, I like wearing the red jersey.”

Division III (Grades 3-4)
The Division III Rutgers team overcame an early deficit to defeat a first place Princeton team by the score of 18-6 at the Triangle Road Complex. Princeton began the game with a long successful offensive drive lead by quarterback Tanner Boczon and running backs Michael Kondratuik, Ryan Vierbuchen, James Vander Vliet and Luke Cahill. Ryan Vierbuchen scored a touch down but the extra point run by Quarterback Tanner Boczon was nullified by a penalty.

Rutgers showed great resilience by immediately responding with a long drive of their own. Tyler Michinard earned several tough yards with bruising runs and Rutgers scored on a 30-yard bootleg by quarterback Ryan Tasetano around the right end.  Rutgers defense tightened for the remainder of the half on the outstanding play of Shane Donoghue, Marc Gulla, Evan Adinolfe, Mayson Lane, and Michinard. Rutgers added another score before the half to take a 12-6 lead, fueled by the 40-yard run of Kevin O’Sullivan around left end to the Princeton 9-yard line. Ryan Taestano improvised and scored the touchdown from 4 yards out on a broken play.

Rutgers picked up where they left off in the first half, limiting the Princeton offense with key tackles by Brian O’Sullivan, Ryan Hauser, Holden Stack and Anthony Hatz. Rutgers scored again behind excellent offensive line play, capped by an 8-yard touchdown run Tyler Michinard to widen the margin to 18-6.   

Princeton rallied in the fourth quarter, driving the ball inside the Rutgers 20 yard line on an exciting 25 yard run by Luke Cahill around right end almost taking it for a touchdown if not for Zach McCann chasing him down from behind with a diving tackle. Two plays later, Tyler Michinard intercepted a pass to end the scoring threat and seal the victory for Rutgers.  Notable defensive plays for the Tigers were made by Michael Kondratuik, Aidan Lang, Mathew Lang and Dominick Bonsignore.  Game MVPs were Rutgers’ Tyler Michinard and Ryan Tasetano.

The Division III Michigan Wolverines blanked the UConn Huskies 14 – 0 at the Triangle Road Complex.  Early in the first quarter, Michigan’s FB Andrew Santa Barbara took it up the middle and broke free for a 55 yard score.  HB Camryn Loniewski ran off-tackle for the XP, giving Michigan an early lead.  Late in the first quarter, Loniewski scampered 65 yards for another Michigan TD, but the score was nullified due to an illegal block.  Later in the second quarter, Santa Barbara had another long run and TD.  He scored the extra point as well, giving Michigan a 14 -0 lead at the half.  In the second half, UConn was driving towards the goal, but their momentum was cut short when Camryn Loniewski intercepted a pass.  Michigan’s defense, led by Loniewski, the Volpe brothers (Sal and Charlie), Kevin Shelton, Logan Klaproth, and Brandon Lobelo held firm and kept the Huskies scoreless, sealing the victory for Michigan.