Cranford 8th Grade PAL Completes Perfect Regular Season; Turn Towards Playoffs

The Cranford PAL 8th grade football team completed its regular season with a perfect 8-0 record by defeating archrival Parsippany on Saturday by a score of 16-0. Cranford's offensive line set the tone early, springing half back Jack Schetelich for touchdown runs of 64 and 18 yards in the first half.  

Center Brian Manginelli, guards Kevin Doran and Will Fries and tackles Chris Kiame and Alex Reddy consistently controlled the line of scrimmage, opening wide running lanes for their teammates to take advantage of throughout the hard fought win.

Thanks to the offensive line’s stellar play the Cougars outscored their opponents by an impressive 234-48 margin over eight games, recording a league best 31 touchdowns while yielding only seven.  

"Our running backs may carry the ball, but our offensive line carries the team," said offensive coordinator Keith Donahue.

Cranford was led on the defensive side of the ball by Andrew Tomkins and Lucas Ramadan who each recorded six unassisted tackles.

The Cougars, who have adopted the motto "27 Strong" due to contributions from each and every member of their 27-man roster, begin their playoff run with a quarterfinal match up against the Cougars of Chatham on Sunday, Nov 13th, 12:30pm in Chatham.