Hillsborough Dukes home opener brought exciting competition

On Sunday, Sept 12th, the Hillsborough Dukes played their home opener at Hillsborough High School.

Similar to the week before, the Dukes 14U team found themselves down 8-0 in the first quarter against the A & M Redbirds, but Kevin Jones returned the kick off to get the Dukes on their 31 yard line. The Dukes then stormed down the field with Josh D’Ambrosio gaining enough yards so that Zion Grant could carry the ball into the end zone. The offense continued to pressure the Red Birds when Trey McFadden returned the kickoff and a 60 yard rush by Zion Grant gave the Dukes another TD.

The Defense had key tackles by Isaiah Bennett, Josh D’Ambrosio, Ellinton Hinds and Will Hayes which forced the Redbirds to throw on 4th and long, only to be intercepted by FS Cooper Karsay. The Redbirds lead 14-12 at half-time.

The Dukes defense led by Caiden Miller and Josh D’Ambrosio stopped the first offensive drive of the second half. Dukes offense answered with yard gaining runs by Ryan Gear and Quinn Hayden that put Zion Grant into position to once again push into the end zone. The nail-biter of a game continued but the Dukes defense proved too tough for the Redbirds when they stopped a 4th and 17 with 1:45 seconds left in the game. The final score was 18-14 Hillsborough Dukes.

The undefeated Dukes are now 3-0.

Hillsborough 12U Dukes welcomed the Franklin Warriors to their home opener.

The Dukes rebounded from last week's game with a dominating performance on both sides of the ball to secure a 18-0 victory over the previously undefeated Warriors.

The defense held the Warriors to two (2) total first downs for the entire game and were led by linebackers Owen Miller (6 tackles) and Liam Carberry (5 tackles).

Defensive Ends Mike Araujo & Caden Walinsky chipped in with (2) two solo tackles each, while Ryan Spinelli and Xavier Harrigan kept the Warriors from gaining any momentum. The entire defensive line swarmed the Warriors all afternoon making it a long day for the Warrior high powered offense.

On offense, the Dukes used several backs enroute to controlling the game while scoring 3 Touchdowns in the victory. The offensive line was led by Ashton Goldberg and Frankie Cocuzza who's physical play opened up rushing holes for the Dukes all afternoon. Mason Ughetta scored a pair of TD's ( 3 yd & 1yd) to go along with his 64 rushing yards and 30 receiving yards. Ryan Spinelli ran for 60 yds on 8 carries including the opening score of 2 yds in the second quarter. Owen Miller chipped in with 31 yds on 5 carries while Mike Araujo had 16 yds on 6 carries.

The 12U team will host Hamilton at Noonan Field on Sunday, Sept. 19th.

10U Hillsborough Dukes played their home opener against Franklin. It was going to be a tough battle for the Dukes, but despite a disappointing loss, the entire team put forth heart, grit and 100% effort the entire game.

The Dukes defense was tested in the first quarter but the D-Line of Matthew “Salami” Simonitis, Ta’Maire “Big T” Faire-Drakeford, and Victor Orzol allowed for key tackles by Jackson Karsay, Carter Walinsky, Jaxxon Lugo and Mason Smith. The O-line Center Matthew “Fish” Fedora helped QB’s Jace O’Donnell and Ryan Hornhorst find RB Isaac Harrigan to get the Dukes into scoring position.

Mason Smith opened up the second quarter with the first TD for the Dukes (and the first time an opponent has scored against Franklin this year). Tackles by Jake Jones and Jack Barmore helped the Dukes to keep the Franklin offense in check, and an exciting pass thrown by Mason Smith to Jackson Karsay gave the Dukes another TD against Franklin. Mason Smith kicked it through the uprights for another 2 points to round out the first half.

A valiant effort by the Dukes was put forth in the second half and highlights included an interception by Isaac Harrigan and run plays by Jake Jones and Mason Smith.

The final score was 26-14 Franklin. The Dukes are now 2-1 on the season.

Hillsborough Dukes Team A Flag Football team had a great game verse Franklin!

On defense, Tristin was a beast and captured at least 5 flags! Ari and Nico also had a great defensive game breaking up plays in the backfield! Peter, Nico, and the Big Ragu (Carmine) had great blocking and Tristin got the game ball!

Team B also had an outstanding game with 5 TDs. Ryan scored 2 Touchdowns, while Calvin, Charlie, and Chase K all scored 1 touchdown each. All 4 were monsters on defense too!

Shoutout to Ryder for not giving up on a defensive play and pulling a late flag after chasing a kid down! Jack did the BEST blocking for the entire team with most of the long runs coming to his side!

The Dukes return home to Noonan Field on Sunday, September 19th to take on Hamilton Pop Warner.