Jr. Raiders Varsity and JV Teams Defeat North Hunterdon Jr. Lions

Jr. Raiders Skyland Varsity (Grades 7-8)

The Hillsborough Jr. Raiders Varsity football team took on the North Hunterdon Jr. Lions Saturday night at North Hunterdon HS in Lebanon. For the second week in a row the Jr. Raider defense shut out their opponent, winning by a score of 28-0. The defense, led by defensive end Jackson Parham (7 tackles, 4 Tackles For Loss), never allowed the opponent to cross the 50-yard line. The aggressive Jr. Raider defensive front made it a long night for the Jr. Lions. Patrick Vinchur (4 Tackles, 1 Tackle for Loss), Tommy Zdroik, Ryan Wheaton, Jack Edwards, Brandin Melendez all contributed to the effort. J. J. Bagdan led the secondary with 2 tackles and 1 interception.

Offensively, the Jr. Raiders were impressive in sustaining long drives against a nine man Jr. Lion defensive front. Carrying most of the workload were J. R. Metallo (10 carries, 52 yards, 2 TD's & 1 xp) and Tyler Boatwright (11 carries, 42 yards, 1 TD). The Raiders got on the board with a 9 play opening drive that include key runs by Jackson Parham who converted a 3rd and 12 to keep drive alive. On 3rd down from the 12-yard line QB Matt Moore rolled to his left and found Charles Amankwaa (3 catches 27 yards 1 TD) in the end zone for the Jr. Raiders first score. Metallo kicked the extra point after a good snap by Ryan Wheaton and hold by Brian Reilly. The Raiders next score would come on a drive dominated by the Jr. Raider passing attack. Matt Moore (7 of 13 for 100 yards and 2 TD) would hit Amankwaa a few times, Bagdan with a fantastic catch and long run, and Jackson Parham, who grabbed the quick pass and split the North Hunterdon defenders to get into the end zone.

The second half was filled with more dominating defense, with a fantastic interception and return by Metallo. The offense kept pounding the ball with Reilly scoring on 7-yard dive behind the line that kept fighting the aggressive blitzing defense. Eventually the offense wore down the lions when Moore hit Dylan Boczon on a 26-yard play action pass in the fourth quarter. The offensive player of the game was Metallo, the entire defense earned defensive MVP honors and Tommy Zdroik received the Special Teams player of the week.

Jr. Raiders Skyland JV (Grades 5-6)

The Hillsborough Jr Raiders Jr. Skyland JV team (5th & 6th grades) had to battle to overcome a very tough North Hunterdon team, winning by the score 16-7 on Saturday night at North Hunterdon HS. The Jr. Lions were strong at the point of attack and jumped ahead with a remarkable strip/touchdown return in the first half. Boro made solid halftime adjustments and used a ball control offense in the 3rd quarter to take the lead for good.

The Jr. Raiders JV offense featured a balanced ground game led by Matt Michinard with 41 yards and Tommy Ramsey with 34 tough inside yards.  Scoring was capped by Michinard and Anthony Shields, both slashing through huge holes in the line behind strong blocks by Jonathan Seaton. For the 2nd week in a row, Tommy Ramsey kicked two extra points.

Following the theme set by the offense, the defense was exceedingly balanced and featured tackles by 12 different Raiders. Once again, the Jr Raiders played behind the opponent's line of scrimmage. Alex Marsh, Kevin Klein, Aidan Bremer, and Michael Swetz combined for 7 tackles for loss on the day.

The Jr. Raiders look forward to hosting Watchung Hills at Hillsborough High School on Saturday Sept 21 at 5:30pm.