Wayne Hills Trounces Roxbury In State Tournament Opening Game

WAYNE, N.J. — Football is back in Wayne with a bang.

The top-seeded Patriots, coming off a tumultuous two weeks during which the team was disqualified and then told they were back in, the state playoffs after an ineligibility scandal, beat up on Roxbury 33-7.

Hunter and Tyler Hayek — the two boys whose family was at the center of the controversy — owned the field, with the former scoring two touchdowns and the latter adding a score of his own.

Hills was up 27-0 after three quarters and 21-0 at the half.

It was a statement game for the Patriots as they look for their ninth state group championship in school history and the first for head coach Wayne Demikoff. It was also the first game after the team's reinstatement.

The NJSIAA banned the team from the state playoffs Nov. 8 because the Hayek brothers were deemed ineligible to play because they did have a bona-fide change of address form on file with the district, the state said.

RELATED: District's Football Investigation Was Not 'Thorough,' Testimony Was 'Incomplete,' State Says

The state's acting education commissioner stayed the ban and the ineligibility the next day. The NJSIAA ruled Tuesday that the players and team were not granted “due process” and said the initial investigation was “incomplete.” The ban and suspensions were subsequently lifted.

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