New Plays Secure 12-14 Team's Victories

It was Monday Night Football at the Hillsborough Complex, with the Division 2 (ages 10-12) Pittsburgh Panthers facing the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.  After a first tough half of driving plays down the field, the Pittsburgh Panthers remained strong as ever against the Rutgers Scarlett Knights, who were winning 12-0.  With an interception caught by Keegan Minter in the 3rd quarter, the Panthers forged forward with exceptional blocking by Connor Leoni, Kevin Diaz, Sean Ostergren, Jacob Schmidt, William Chen, Patrick Marshall, Michael Patron and Michael Jandoli. The Panthers gained their sought out touchdown as David Yost soared into the end zone.   The extra point, kicked by Travis Finetto, set the game in motion for a 12-8 score.  The Panthers continued to drive down the field with passes caught by David Yost and Sean Ely, and yards gained by Ari Weinberger and Keegan Minter.  Inches from the goal line once again, Travis Finetto penetrated the line for another touchdown.  The Panthers defeated the Scarlet Knights by a score of 14-12 bringing their record to 3-2.

In the Junior Skylands League, the Hillsborough Junior Raiders Varsity team (ages 12-14) faced Bridgewater at Bridgewater High School with Hillsborough defeating Bridgewater by a score of 32- 22.  Zach Williams scored 3 touchdowns on 262 all purpose yards to lead the Hillsborough Junior Raiders Varsity to victory.  Ryan Melillo opened the scoring for Hillsborough and had 129 yards on 14 carries.  Jim Suseck had a touchdown and 2 catches and Rob Wardell was 5 for 7 throwing and 2 touchdown passes.  Defensively, Connor Genes, Ben Pasternack, Jim Suseck, Damian Gonzalez, Shay Sarkar, and Matt Matson led the team in tackles.  Jim Suseck also recovered a fumble and Damian Gonzalez had an interception to help seal the Hillsborough victory.

The Hillsborough Junior Raiders JV team (ages 10-12) lost to the Bridgewater Panthers JV team by a score of 20-0 on Saturday evening in Bridgewater. J. J. Bagdan racked up 64 yards in the losing cause while defensively, the Raiders were led by J. R. Metallo with 7 tackles. Jackson Parham and Brian Reilly each had 4 tackles in the losing battle. Their next opponent is the Phillipsburg JV at Phillipsburg High School, Saturday October 15th at 6:00.

The Division 3 (ages 8-10) USC Trojans defeated the LSU Tigers in Hillsborough with a final score of 13-0.  USC’s Mike Swetz scored two touchdowns and rushed for 119 yards and Trent Seidel had an extra point and 70 yards in the win; both were Offensive MVPs in the game.  Jake Ford and Tyler Watson were the Defensive MVPs for their great play in defending the LSU rushing attack.  Ford also recovered a fumble to help secure the win.  LSU’s Brody Finetto helped move his team’s efforts along with a punt return of 5 yards, while Anthony Scannelli helped hold USC with several key tackles.  Tommy Ramsey blocked USC from scoring the extra point after their first touchdown and also caused a USC fumble, while Kevin Rolon was able to recover a fumble and get the ball back into LSU’s possession.  USC was cheered on by the Junior Pee Wee 1 squad and LSU was cheered on by the Gem squad.

The Division 2 (ages 10-12) Navy Midshipmen secured their second victory of the season in impressive fashion by defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions in Hillsborough by a score of 28-0.  Navy took control of the game in the first quarter by grabbing a 14-0 lead on touchdown runs of 23 yards by Dylan Boczon and 4 yards by Ryan Wilke on Navy’s first two possessions.  The highlight of the game came on a second quarter interception returned 51 yards for a touchdown by Kyle McAvaddy that extended Navy’s lead to 21-0 heading into halftime.  Anthony Fodera added a fourth quarter touchdown on a 5 yard run in the fourth quarter to produce the game’s final result; Navy 28 – Penn St. 0 .  Game MVP was Navy’s Kyle McAvaddy.

The Division 1 (ages 12-14) Ole Miss Rebels posted their 4th victory of the season Saturday in Hillsborough, with a hard fought 12-0 win over the USC Trojans. The Ole Miss defense, lead by Brendan Nork and Matt Schultz, shutdown the explosive USC attack.  Missing starters on defense, and losing John Tammara early, Defensive Coordinator Bob Richardson devised a plan that not only kept USC out of the end zone, but they never came closer than the Ole Miss 35 yard line. USC’s first possession, a promising opening drive, was cut short as Kyle Richardson forced a fumble that Tyler Welches recovered for Ole Miss. Both defenses held the offensive attacks at bay and the first half ended in a physical scoreless tie.  Ole Miss took the 2nd half kickoff and drove down the field behind the offensive line, lead by center Steven Rudd, guards Kyle Richardson and Tyler Welches, Tackles Artun Peker and Matt Schultz.  After a long drive the Rebels faced a critical 3rd down. Quarterback Jack Bosken rolled left and hit tight end Josh McDevitt on a 25 yrd. touchdown pass.  “We just put that play in this morning” Ole Miss head coach Russ Surace exclaimed. The PAT failed, but Ole Miss had the lead at 6-0.  The adjustments Ole Miss made at halftime continued to pay dividends. With starting receivers Michael Surace and Zack Sullivan sidelined with injuries. Ole Miss continued the ground and pound. Josh Villa came in at QB and lead the Rebels on a long drive that looked like it would lead to another score. Ole Miss got close, but was stopped by penalties.  As the 4th quarter continued the Ole Miss defense once again rose to the challenge. Artun Peker, Boskin and Rudd each had tackles in the backfield. Josh Mcdevitt recorded a quarterback sack. Ben Versaci broke up a down field pass, just failing to hang on to the interception.   Ole Miss got the ball back near midfield. This time there was no stopping the Rebels. Brendan Nork took a handoff, swept right, broke 2 tackles, cutback left, got a block from John Getz and raced 63 yds for a touchdown that sealed the victory for Ole Miss. Again the extra point failed. Ole Miss hung on to a satisfying 12-0 victory.

In Flag (ages 6-7) news, the Chargers met the Saints at the Triangle Road Football Complex. The first half was primarily a battle of defenses until the Charger’s Mike Kondratiuk executed a perfect Tight End Reverse and ran 15 yards for the first touchdown of the game.  In the second half, the Charger’s Nolan Kouroupas ran wide to the right side where he was able to turn the corner and score on a 10 yard run.  Logan Eilbacher and Elizabeth Ford led the Charger’s defense by making great plays throughout the game.  Brett Cerenzio, Sal Volpe and Shane Donoghue led the charge for the Saints with important stops.  Evan Adinolfe scored the Saints lone touchdown late in the 2nd half making a sharp cut on a 6 yard run off the left side. The Saints’ Brady MacKenzie made a valiant effort on the extra point but was stopped short.  Saints Cole Thornton and Charlie Volpe made nice runs to keep the drive alive.

The Giants flag team (ages 6-7) clashed with the Cowboys this past Saturday in an offensive and defensive struggle.  The Giants led by quarterback Andrew Drinkwater ran the ball on the legs of Andrew Ely, Jayce Loniewski and James Barone in addition to throwing an incomplete pass to Andrew VanLangen only to be stopped short of the goal line.  After a successful defensive stance the Giants regained possession of the ball and after a short yardage run by James Curley scored on a sweep play by a handoff from quarterback Marc Gulla to Adam Movshin.  The extra point pass attempt to Corey DeRasmo was unsuccessful.  After another few defensive series the Giants were able to make it downfield on runs by Chris Dinardi, David Ortiz and Cameryn Loniewski.  Quarterback Ryan Vierbuchen scored on a bootleg and Nikolas Koll scored the extra point with a run up the middle. Andrew Santa Barbara scored for the Cowboys with a 40 yard touchdown run.  Defensively, James Vandervilet and Ryan Hauser led the Cowboys with 5 flags a piece, and Zachary Conklin and Thomas Dieterman pulled their first flags.

Also in Flag (age 5), the Rookie Gold team had a dominating offensive attack this week.  John Kelly ran the reverse and scored a touchdown.  Joey Cicciari had a forty yard run to score another Rookie Gold touchdown.  Pierce Skala out witted the defense and brought the ball down to the two yard line.  Hudson Ruh punched it in to score another for the Gold.  On defense the Rookie Gold led by Pierce Skala shut down runs from one side of the field to the other.  Carson DeRoner and John Kelly on the defensive line broke through the offense to cause havoc and force the offense to rush their plays. The Rookie Maroon team offense marched up and down the field, led by Anthony Morgan.  Maroon’s Ian McCauley showed the crowd his speed with a long touchdown run.   The Maroon defense also kept the Gold team in check led by standout tackle Christopher Knoph.

October 2, 2011 Games:

In Hillsborough, the Division 3 (Ages 8-10) LSU Tigers continued their winning streak with a win of 13-6 over the Army Knights.  Offensive MVP Tommy Ramsey earned 9 carries throughout the course of the game and helped lead his team to victory.  Defensive MVP Clayton Bonsignore helped secure LSU’s lead with several key tackles, holding Army to only one touchdown.  Dylan Van Cleef and TJ Schultz each scored a touchdown for LSU and the extra point was run in by Spencer Liccardi.  This week’s Captains for LSU were Zack Pryslak, Anthony Scannelli and TJ Schultz.  LSU brings their record to 2-2 and Army’s record drops to 0-4.  The teams were cheered on by the Jr. Pee Wee 1 Squad.

Division 2 (Ages 10-12) Navy’s first rematch of the season brought their first victory as the Midshipmen defeated the Pittsburgh Panthers by a score of 27-13 in Hillsborough.  Pittsburgh cut into Navy’s 13 -0 first half lead on their opening possession of the second half, cutting the lead to 13 -6.  But two third quarter touchdowns by Navy increased their lead to 27 -6 before the Panthers added a 4th quarter touchdown, which produced the games final result of Navy 27- Pittsburgh 13.  Noteworthy performances for the Midshipmen included touchdown runs of 63, 22, and 52 yards by Dylan Boczon, a 35 yard touchdown run and a 12 yard tackle for loss by Kyle McAvaddy, and a stellar defensive tackle play all game long by Tommy Zdroik. 

Also in Division 2, the Iowa Hawkeyes met the Penn State Nittany Lions in Hillsborough.  Iowa pulled away from Penn State in the second half to win by a final score of 27-6.  The Hawkeyes scored on runs by Chris Zickert, Michael Golankiewicz and Ryan Gemignani behind key blocks from Ray O’Callaghan, Justin Nitschke and Matt Wybraniec.  Matt Popadiuk completed three two-point conversions, one running and two passing.  The Hawkeyes defense was led by Greg Koll, David Finer and Daniel Rolon.

In Hillsborough, the Division 1 (Ages 12-14) Ole Miss Rebels revenged their only loss with a solid 25-20 win over rival LSU. Both teams came into the game with 2-1 records.  Ole Miss jumped out to a 6-0 lead on their first possession.  On 3rd and long QB Jack Boskin connected with Josh McDevitt for a 50 yard TD pass. The extra point was stopped, but Ole Miss had the lead and the momentum. The defense forced a quick 3 and out giving the ball back to Ole Miss. The Rebels wasted no time putting the ball back in the end zone, as Brendan Nork swept around the left side for another touchdown and a 12-0 Ole Miss lead.  After the teams exchanged punts, LSU got on the board on a long pass and extra point that cut the lead to 12-7. The Tigers were flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct following the play, giving Ole Miss a short field. On its next possession, the Rebels offensive line, led by guards Kyle Richardson and John Tammara, took control and drove down the field. Brendan Nork barreled in from 3 yards out, behind the blocking of FB Max Nelson. Boskin converted the point making the lead 19-7. As the half ended, Ole Miss appeared to score on defense when Steven Rudd picked up a fumble and raced 40 yard to the end zone. The play was nullified by a penalty, and the half ended with Ole Miss comfortably ahead.  LSU mounted a 2nd half comeback with a 2 long touchdown drives that ate up much of the clock. In between drives, Ole Miss added their own 2nd half TD on a Jack Boskin 5 yard run.  The Defense lead by LB Patrick Cahill, DT Artun Peker, and the defensive backfield of Josh Villa, John Getz, and Ben Versaci all contributed to hold off the Tigers and secure the win.  Ole Miss Head Coach Russ Surace called then game a total team victory in which everyone contributed. Ole Miss will try to keep the winning streak alive as they host the USC Trojans on Saturday.

In Flag (Ages 6-7) the Redskins met the Chargers in Hillsborough.  Tanner Boczon and Patrick O’Kane scored a touchdown each for the Redskins.  On Redskins defense, Kevin Shelton grabbed four flags, and Nicholas Donnelly, Austin Quandt, Joseph Witcoski and Patrick each had three.  In the middle of the first half, Charger’s Mike Kondratiuk executed a Half Back Blast to perfection by running up the middle then breaking to the outside and running 60 yards for a Charger’s touchdown.  Then, the Chargers scored again late in the first half when Logan Eilbacher ran seven yards on the muddiest part of the field for the score.  The Charger defense played well and even successful executed a goal line stand during the game.   

The Junior Raiders Rookie Maroon and Gold flag teams (age 5-6) got muddy - much to their delight. The Maroon offense shined and was led by game MVP Ryan Soli who scored on a brilliant touchdown run.  Jake Battagliese and Jack McLaughlin also scored.  All touchdowns followed the great blocking of Joey Cheslock.  The Maroon defense swarmed the Gold, led by standouts Dylan Peterson and Nathan Drab.