PHS, MHS also winners
By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
ALLENTOWN — Rob White could sense he and his West Windsor-Plainsboro North football teammates were getting closer to that elusive first victory.
On Friday night, thanks to a huge second half, the Knights got the win.
Sean Reed scored three touchdowns and White threw a pair of touchdown passes as WW-P North recorded its first win under new head coach Chris Casamento, 34-6, over Allentown. The Knights led just 7-6 at halftime before breaking out with a big second half.
”We’re really more of a second-half team,” said White, who completed just two passes, both of which went for touchdowns. “We’re more explosive in the second half. Even last week we played better in the second half. We just wanted to come out and do what we’ve been training to do. I never feel like we’re out of a game. I feel like we’re always working hard and playing right to the end.”
White connected with Ryan Phelan for a 72-yard scoring play in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead. Allentown got within 7-6 by halftime, but in the third quarter the Knights broke the game open. Reed scored on a 2-yard touchdown run just moments after a Len Bellezza interception. After an Allentown fumble, White hit Reed with a screen pass that resulted in a 42-yard touchdown play. Bellezza and Reed added touchdown runs in the fourth quarter.
”We’re coming together,” said White, who is in his first full season as the Knights’ quarterback. “We have some real good running backs and receivers. We’re gelling. We have some tough games coming up. It helps to have a win. Any win helps propel a team. We feel better now going into the next three weeks.”
Casamento has seen his team come close to a win on several occasions this season, so finally getting that first one felt good.
”It’s coming together,” Casamento said. “There is still a lot of work to do. We have to clean up the penalties. We have to clean some stuff up. Our offense is coming along. We like to throw the ball. We just have not had a lot of consistency. We have not been able to go from one to the other. It’s been feast or famine. We’ve had times, like the Hopewell game, where we’ve thrown the ball 10 times in a row and marched right down the field. I’m still getting used to them and they’re still getting used to the plays.
”(Bellezza’s interception) was the turning point. It all came together. We finally played offense and defense for an entire quarter and a half. There have been parts where we’re scoring and then we let them score right away. Or we stop them and then we can’t score. This was the first time it really started to click.”
Elsewhere in the Packet-area, Princeton and Montgomery both came away with huge wins as far as making the playoffs is concerned.
Princeton won its fourth straight since a season-opening loss to Nottingham, topping Steinert, 21-16. Josh Gordon ran for a 106 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Connor Ryan threw for 267 yards, including a touchdown pass to Gordon.
”Nottingham came in here on opening day and let us know we had a lot of work to do,” Princeton coach Steve Everette said. “Our focus ever since has been to make sure we work to get better. Every week, play by play, minute by minute everything we do is so we can get better.”
The Little Tigers trailed, 16-7, before Gordon scored on a pass play from Ryan and then on an 11-yard run in the fourth quarter to rally Princeton to the win. Skye Ettin’s fourth interception of the year in the closing seconds sealed the win.
Montgomery improved to 3-2 with a 16-6 win at Monroe on Friday night. The win was the second straight for the Cougars, who received a big performance from junior J.T. Tartacoff.
Tartacoff led the Cougars on the ground and in the air, rushing for 180 yards and a touchdown while also completing four passes. Tartacoff and D.J. Ruhlman each ran for a touchdown, while Mathys Mesters added a field goal.
The Hun School suffered its first Mid-Atlantic Prep League loss of the season when it fell at Blair, 49-20, on Saturday night. Nick Williams returned a kickoff for touchdown, while Brendan Dudeck and Donald Coleman also ran for touchdowns for the Raiders, who fell to 3-2 on the season.

