Lopsided loss knocks team out of playoff hunt
by Rudy Brandl, Sports Editor
Halloween night turned into a nightmare for the Hillsborough High football team.
The haunted house was located at Ridge High, where the Raiders suffered a shocking 32-7 loss that knocked them out of the state playoff hunt. Nothing went right for Hillsborough, which lost its third consecutive game to drop to 4-4.
HHS head coach Vinnie Coviello was surprised to see his vaunted defense yield five touchdowns, but gave credit to an impressive Ridge team that clinched the No. 2 seed in North Jersey Section 2, Group 4 with a 7-1 record.
”They’re a good football team,” Coviello said. “They’re well balanced, probably the most balanced offensive team we’ve seen all year. They can run, they can throw and they’re tough to stop.”
No team had been too fast, potent or skilled to score more than two touchdowns in the same game against the Raiders through the first six weeks of the season. HHS had allowed only seven touchdowns in the first seven games. Last Friday night, Ridge reached the end zone five times.
”It wasn’t the kind of game we expected,” Coviello said. “They just took it to us. We knew what we had to do. They were just very good.”
Hillsborough’s offense has struggled all season but made things hard on the defense with three turnovers at Ridge. The Red Devils took advantage by turning three interceptions into touchdowns to put the game away by halftime. Ridge bolted to a 25-0 lead at the intermission.
Ridge quarterback Ryan McGuirl completed 13-of-17 passes for 137 yards and a touchdown. The Red Devils scored four touchdowns on the ground in the first half, surpassing the entire season total against the Raiders in the first seven games.
Hillsborough couldn’t move the ball on the opening possession and Ridge went right to work with a 13-play, 65-yard drive that took five minutes. The Red Devils scored three touchdowns in the second period after HHS quarterback Mike Daly was intercepted.
”The three turnovers hurt,” Coviello said. “Each one was a different circumstance.”
Ridge completely dominated the line of scrimmage, running 46 times for 211 yards to accumulate 348 total yards. The home team controlled the ball for over 30 minutes and enjoyed a whopping 64-39 edge in total plays from scrimmage.
”When teams can spread you out, it’s tough to stop,” Coviello said. “We had a chance to make some plays but they were just very good.”
Hillsborough finally got on the board with 9:20 remaining in the fourth quarter when junior running back Mike Banaciski broke free for an 87-yard touchdown run. Banaciski finished with 129 yards on 12 carries to lead the Raiders. That run accounted for nearly half the team’s offense (189 yards) on the night.
Daly completed a 28-yard pass to E.J. Williams and 16-yarder to Jason Smartt but misfired on his other eight attempts. Two years ago on the same field as a sophomore, Daly made a sparkling debut engineering two late scoring drives to rally the Raiders in a tough 14-13 loss.
Friday night’s ugly loss was more disappointing and much more damaging because it knocked the Raiders out of the Central Jersey Group 4 playoffs. HHS is left with two regular season contests a Friday night date at border rival Montgomery and a consolation game on the weekend of Nov. 14-15 against an opponent to be determined by the NJSIAA.
”We still have two games left and we’re going to prepare for them and try to win just like we do every week,” Coviello said. “We have to motivate the kids to prepare themselves just like in Week 1.”

