Van Cleef's Touchdown Run Leads Jr.Raider to Victory

The Division 3 (Ages 8-10) LSU Tigers, led by Coach Michael Scannelli, scored their first victory of the season with a win of 20-7 over the Army Knights at the Hillsborough Football Complex.  Offensive MVP Dylan Van Cleef led his team to victory with a 50 plus yard run resulting in a touchdown as well as scoring a second touchdown in the first half of the game.  QB Spencer Liccardi helped further play along with a long pass to Anthony Scannelli, who caught the ball and ran another 13 yards for a first down.  Scannelli also received a pass from Liccardi for the extra point after LSU’s second touchdown.  Defensive MVP Kevin Rolon helped secure LSU’s lead with 11 tackles, holding Army to only one touchdown in the second half.

The Hillsborough Junior Raiders JV (Ages 10-12), led by Head Coach Jamie Moore, had their third shut out against Watchung Hills on Saturday evening at Hillsborough High School upping their record to 3-0. Offensively, JJ Bagdan rushed for 67 yards and 1 TD behind some solid blocking upfront. QB Matt Moore was again on fire completing 7 out of 10 passes and a touchdown pass to Jackson Parham. Patrick Vinchur rumbled into the end zone for a 3 yard TD to solidify the victory in the 4^th quarter. Defensively, the Junior Raiders were led by Tim Yost with 8 tackles, Trevor Pavenski, Michael Dooley, and Parham each had 7 tackles, along with 4 tackles from Vinchur, Alex Shutz and Shane Terraciano. Bagdan and Brian Reilly each had an interception. The final score was Hillsborough 19, Watchung Hills 0.  Their next opponent is the Bridgewater JV at Bridgewater High School, October 8^th at 6:00.

 In Division 2 (Ages 10-12) news, the Iowa Hawkeyes stopped Pitt Panthers at the ½ yard line as time expired to hold on to defeat Pitt 12-6 on Saturday in Hillsborough.  Michael Golankiewicz and Braden Stack scored rushing touchdowns behind the blocking of Justin Nitschke, Ivan Lin and David Finer.  Iowa’s defense played well behind Greg Koll and Stephen Mondoro.   Both teams now have a 2-1 record.

The Division 2 (Ages 10-12) Navy Midshipmen fell to Iowa Hawkeyes by a score of 19-0.  A 73-yard drive by Iowa on the game’s opening possession gave the Hawkeyes a 7-0 lead and provided all the first half scoring as Navy had two long drives in the opening half stalled inside the 15 yard line.  Iowa would add two second half scores to produce the 19-0 final score handing Navy their third defeat of the season.  Vivek Mantha had an outstanding game on defense for the Midshipmen with 9 tackles overall the 4 tackles for loss.  Iowa record increased their record 2-1, while Navy’s dropped to 0-3.

In Division 1 (Ages 12-14), the Ole Miss Rebels, led by head coach Russ Surace, got their 2^nd win of the season with a convincing 19-6 win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Ole Miss controlled the ball for much of the first half, but could not reach the end zone. Both defenses played well and the first half ended in a scoreless tie. The second half was a different story as the Ole Miss offense got rolling, scoring on every possession in the second half. QB Jack Boksin hit WR Artun Peker on a 40 yard pass for the first points of the day. Boskin then swept around the right end for the conversion and a 7-0 lead. After a quick 3 and out by Nebraska, Ole Miss quickly scored again on a 53 yard run by Boskin. The point after failed, giving Ole Miss a 13-0 lead. Nebraska quickly got back into the game as the ensuing kickoff was returned for a touchdown cutting the lead to 13-6. It only took Ole Miss 2 plays to once again put points on the board. Brenden Nork broke off tackle for 40 yrds extending the lead to 19-6.  The game ended that way as the Ole Miss Linebackers, Patrick Cahill and Max Nelson shut down the Nebraska attack. Steven Rudd and Kyle Richardson lead the team in tackles.  Ole Miss now has a record of 2-1 while Nebraska’s dropped to 0-3. 

The Division 1 (Ages 12-14) USC Trojans defeated the LSU Tigers by a score of 18 to 6.  Luke Yakely scored a first quarter touchdown to put USC on top 6-0.  Key blocking on the play from Chris Grimmer and Isiah Casanova helped pave the way for Yakely.  LSU countered with a touchdown pass to tie the game.  In the second half, Joe Schultz ran for 35 yards, aided by a key block from Ryan Grimmer, to setup the next score.  Luke Yakely scored from 4 yards out to put USC up 12-6.  Center Evan Dunigan anchored the Trojan offensive line of Anthony Lobelo, Brandon Bessaparis and Michael Everett.  Brandon Moore scored on a 39 yard score in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring for USC.  Alex Trani and Zachary Friedman were outstanding on the defensive front.  Both teams now have a record of 2-1.

The Giants flag team played visitor to the Chargers this past Wednesday night under the stadium lights in Hillsborough.  The Giants marched down the field on runs up the middle by Jayce Loniewski and scored on a sweep from Cameryn Loniewski with an extra point pass completion by Ryan Tasetano.  The Giants defense had notable flag pulls from Marc Gulla, Andrew Ely, Corey Derasmo, Nikoloas Koll.  Late in the second half the Giants Ryan Vierbuchen intercepted a pass and ran it back for a touchdown.  Moments later Adam Movshin scored an extra point with a run up the middle. The Chargers’ defense played well and demonstrated great team work throughout the game.  The lone score was in the first half when Mike Kondratiuk broke free around the right end and hustled down the sideline for a 35 yard touchdown.  

In Junior Raiders Flag (Ages 6-7) news, the Cowboys met the Saints. The Cowboys James Vander Vliet scored his first ever touchdown on a 15 yard run.  The Cowboys’ Liam Harding and Vincent Castellano both had big offensive plays when they each ran for nearly 25 yards. A rain soaked field could not stop the Saint’s Sal Volpe from twice gaining crucial yardage to extend a long first drive down the right side.  Saints teammates Dilon Cace and Brett Radomski flexed muscle by penetrating the defensive line for several key flag pulls.  The Saints Kyle Cartmell showed a lot of heart by returning to action after a minor injury.

In Flag, the Giants hosted the Redskins this past Saturday in a defensive battle.  There was no score in the first half but plenty of action.  Nicholas Donnelly made an interception and Logan Klaproth grabbed four flags for the Redskins.  On offense, Logan completed a 10 yard pass to Kevin Shelton and Kevin ran for another 15 yards.  The Giants scored on a 60 yard quarterback bootleg from Cameryn Loniewski and an extra point attempt from David Ortiz.  The Giants also rumbled downfield close to a touchdown on a fourth down conversion from Ryan Vierbuchen.  Moments later Ryan Tasetano converted a sweep into a touchdown.  Chris Dinardi attempted the extra point but was held back by a stingy Redskins defense.  Notable Giants flag pulls for were made by James Barone, Andrew Vanlangen and Andrew Drinkwater.

The Rookie Gold (Age 5) worked hard on blocking and defense this week and it paid off as they faced the Rookie Maroon.  The Gold’s John Kelly and Blair Yusko had some key stops.  Hudson Ruh and James Ruh III had some explosive offensive plays.

The Rookie Maroon team also had an outstanding week.  The Maroon offense created long drives and controlled the clock.  After a crushing block by Jack McLaughlin, Brian O’Kane left players in the dust with a long touchdown run.  The defense was dominating and led by the Maroon’s outstanding linebacker Jake Battagliese and standout defensive end Tommy Rice.