A very tough and enduring Scotch Plains football season has two games left in it for the Raiders to try to carry some momentum into the 2010 campaign.
The first of those two contests is a challenging game at North Hunterdon Friday night at 7 p.m. in Annandale.
While the Lions from Hunterdon County only boast a record of 2-5, they might be among the best teams in the state with that kind of record.
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Setbacks by less than seven points have come at Montgomery 16-14, at home to Westfield 3-0, at Warren Hills 25-20, and most recently at home to Hunterdon Central 13-7 last Friday night.
Sparked by the play of Penn State-bound senior tight end Kevin Haplea, North Hunterdon defeated a 4-0 Linden squad 21-14 at home on Oct. 16 and led a 7-0 Hunterdon Central squad 7-6 in the third quarter last weekend.
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In what was reported as an evenly-played game, Hunterdon Central amassed 342 yards of total offense, with North Hunterdon producing 321.
Scotch Plains will have to game-plan for speedy junior tailback Korey Salvo, who rushed for 230 yards on 18 carries against Hunterdon Central, including a 70-yard touchdown run that helped the Lions take a 7-3 lead midway through the second quarter.
Not often do you find running backs from a team that is 2-4 rush for as many as 230 yards against a team that is 7-0.
It was also reported that North Hunterdon’s wins were against teams that were undefeated at the time. That is wrong. Linden was undefeated at 4-0, but when the Lions defeated Ridge 32-17 in Basking Ridge for their first win of the season on Oct. 2, Ridge was coming off a 30-28 loss at Union in a battle of 3-0 teams.
Union defeated Ridge with a field goal with exactly nine seconds left.
North Hunterdon is out to obtain its first 5-5 season since 2004. The Lions finished 4-6 in 2008, 2007 and 2006 following a 1-9 season in 2005.
North Hunterdon will need to beat Scotch Plains, win its North 2, Group 4 consolation game next weekend and then top host Voorhees on Nov. 20 to finish .500 for the first time in five years.
This will be the second straight non-playoff season for Scotch Plains, which has struggled all year long to score points.
Last Saturday at Veterans Field, the Raiders were blanked by host Rahway 34-0, which was the third consecutive shutout victory for the Indians.
No doubt, even with Union and Elizabeth coming off the schedule, that this first Mid-State 39 Conference-Watchung Division slate for Scotch Plains was a very tough one, especially for a team that does not include many experienced seniors at multiple key positions.
Immaculata, Phillipsburg and Hunterdon Central are perennial playoff powers, Summit is having one of its finest seasons ever and Rahway – although the Indians might not make the playoffs in Central Jersey, Group 2 – has one of its best defensive units in some time.
Just think, Scotch Plains played four teams – Immaculata, Phillipsburg, Hunterdon Central and Rahway – who played in state championship games last year and another – Summit – that missed playing in one by just five points.
That’s tough.
However, the Raiders still have two more games to go and could look at them in a positive manner toward next year.
Next weekend’s season-ending North 2, Group 3 consolation game could be at Millburn, which is the team ahead of Scotch Plains at the moment in the N2, G3 power point standings.
SCOTCH PLAINS RAIDERS (1-7)
(A) Scotch Plains 26, Cranford 24
(A) Linden 35, Scotch Plains 0
(H) Warren Hills 12, Scotch Plains 6
(A) Immaculata 41, Scotch Plains 0
(H) Phillipsburg 40, Scotch Plains 0
(H) Westfield 30, Scotch Plains 6
(H) Summit 42, Scotch Plains 14
(A) Rahway 34, Scotch Plains 0
Nov. 6 at North Hunterdon, 7 p.m.
Head coach: Steve Ciccotelli
Section: North 2, Group 3
Conference: Mid-State 39
Division: Watchung
Record: 1-7
Home: 0-4
Away: 1-3
Points for: 52
Points against: 246
Shutouts: 0
Overtime: 0-0
NORTH HUNTERDON LIONS (2-5)
Sept. 11 (A) Immaculata 31, North Hunterdon 0
Sept. 25 (A) Montgomery 16, North Hunterdon 14
Oct. 2 (A) North Hunterdon 32, Ridge 17
Oct. 9 (H) Westfield 3, North Hunterdon 0
Oct. 16 (H) North Hunterdon 21, Linden 14
Oct. 23 (A) Warren Hills 25, North Hunterdon 20
Oct. 30 (H) Hunterdon Central 13, North Hunterdon 7
Nov. 6 Scotch Plains, 7 p.m.
Nov. 20 at Voorhees, 7 p.m.
Head coach: John Mattes
Section: North 2, Group 4
Conference: Mid-State 39
Division: Raritan
Record: 2-5
Home: 1-2
Away: 1-3
Points for: 87
Points against: 126
Shutouts: 0
Overtime: 0-0
