Andrew Martins, Managing Editor
The Hillsborough Dukes Pop Warner program had an eventful weekend. The Dukes cheerleaders competed in their first competition of the season with both competitive teams winning a championship title and the Dukes football teams ending regular season play and gearing up for playoffs.
Cheer
On Saturday, October 14, Dukes Cheer competed at the 2017 Jersey Valley Conference cheerleading competition. All four Dukes teams performed with Flag and Mighty Mite doing exhibition routines while Pee Wee and Jr Varsity competed for their respective conference titles.
The Flag cheerleaders performed an adorable routine that was loved by all. The 2017 Dukes Flag cheer squad, Kennedy Anderson, Grace Aull, Ashley Bea, Abigail Churco, Lily Cuevas, Abigail Koemple, Bailey McCarthy, Madeline Moran, Demitria Rott, Alyssa Schafer, Hailey Tomson, Hannah Tomson, Makenna Wildgoose.
Mighty Mite cheer, while performing exhibition, proved to be ready to bring it to the mat. The girls performed an excellent routine and will be getting ready to show off their many talents at the NJ State Pop Warner competition on Sunday, October 29th at the CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton.
The Dukes Competitive Pee Wee team is a force to be reckoned with. They not only hold the title of Jersey Valley Pee Wee Level 2 Large Champions, but they also brought home two specialty awards in their Level. They were the highest scoring team in both jumps and stunts at Saturdays Competition. The Pee Wee team will also be competing at the NJ State Pop Warner competition on October, 29 and also qualified to compete in the Eastern Regions Pop Warner Cheer Competition on November 11 at the CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton, which is the qualifying competition for Pop Warner Nationals in Disney World.
Jr. Varsity Cheer is excitedly our Jersey Valley Jr. Varsity Level 1 Small champions. They performed a stellar routine at Saturday’s competition. They proved that this team has what it takes to continue on to compete at both the NJ State Pop Warner competition as well as the Eastern Region Pop Warner Competition. Jr. Varsity with compete in their National qualifier on November 5th, also at the CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton.
Flag
The Dukes flag team played the Watchung Wolverines on Sunday, October 15. The Dukes successfully made it to the endzone four times against Watchung. Tommy Silagy had a nice 40-yard touchdown and then had a second touchdown later in the game. Jack Hayes and Aaron Feath also made it to the endzone.
All Flag players had an excellent game. The 2017 Dukes Flag team, John Bilings, Harry Bugal III, Aaron Feath, Matthew Fedora, Aidan Glennon, Bryce Hayden, Jack Hayes, Logan Jankowicz, Jake Jones, Jackson Karsay, Jaxxon Lugo, Josiah Malek, Tommy Silagy, Tyler Zysk.
The Flag season is coming to an end, be on the lookout for the 2018 registration information and incentives.
Mighty Mite
On Sunday, October 15, the Hillsborough Dukes Mighty Mite team took on the Watchung Wolverines at home.
A true defensive battle where William Hayes was ultimately able to punch one into the end zone allowing the Dukes to improve their record to 6-1 with a 6-0 win over the Wolverines.
Offense was able to control the clock with a strong ground running game led by Kevin Jones and Sanjay Mills, behind another strong performance from the offensive line Lucas Rollan, William Hayes, Cayden Walinsky, Shaun Keker, Adam Vandermeer, Tyler Pirog and Gavin Glazewski.
The Dukes defense lead by William Hayes with five tackles and two sacks. The Dukes also had big defensive tackles made by Quinn Hayden, Tyler Pirog, Lucas Rollan, Kevin Jones and Matt Deville.
The Dukes Mighty Mite team concludes their regular season with an outstanding 6-1 record heading into the playoffs on Sunday, October 22 at home.
Jr. Pee Wee
The Hillsborough Dukes Junior Pee Wee team was home this week against the Howell Lions. At the half, the score was 19-15 (advantage Dukes) led by Cole Hayden with a 60-yard touchdown run, a 60-yard pass for a touchdown to Jason Roser and Peter Sorbera with a 70-yard touchdown run. Key catches from Cole Hayden to Heath Miller to take the Dukes into half time.
Unfortunately, the second half Howell took the lead and kept it with a 37-19 win.
Defense was led by Logan McDermid, Cole Hayden, Edrin Morales, and Brenden Barker.
On Sunday, October 22, the Dukes are home for first round of playoffs against Watchung Hills Gold.
