Submitted Content
Last weekend, the Hillsborough Jr. Raiders played a number of football and field hockey games with teams around the region.
The following is a submitted collection of the weekend’s results.
Jr. Skylands Football Conference
RARITAN DIVISION
Hillsborough Varsity Gold (Burke) – Bye
Hillsborough Patriot JV Gold (Riccardi) – Bye
DELAWARE DIVISION – Varsity
Hillsborough Varsity Red (Shelton) vs. Voorhes Varsity Silver – Won 18-7
The Red Raiders advanced to the semifinals of the playoffs with a 18-7 victory over the Voorhees Jr. Vikings.
Mike Miller passed for 1 touchdown and ran for another and Cole Jara returned an interception for a touchdown. Dilon Cace was on the receiving end of Miller’s pass for his first touchdown of the year.
The Raiders will get ready this week for their semifinal game against the number one seed North Hunterdon.
Hillsborough Varsity White (Nussbaum) vs. Bridgewater Varsity Red – Won 26-6
Under the lights, on the future field of many of the Jr Raiders football players, the Varsity White team took on the Bridgewater Varsity Red team in first round playoff action.
Bridgewater elected to kickoff to start the game and that gave the Varsity White team a chance to get a quick start. Samir Guzman took the opening kickoff and weaved his way through the defenders and down the right side for a 70-yard touchdown run. The extra point kick was blocked and the score was Varsity White 6-0. The score stayed the same for the remainder of the first quarter as the teams traded punts. At the start of the second quarter, Dominick Monsorno took a handoff and raced 49-yards for a touchdown. Nick West converted the extra point and the Varsity White led 14-0. Bridgewater would not quit and started to move the ball late in the second quarter. On a fourth down with time running down, the Bridgewater quarterback took a ball and ran up the middle and into the end zone for a Bridgewater touchdown. The extra point was no good and the score at the half was 14-6.
The Varsity White kicked off to begin the second half and forced a quick 3 and out on the Bridgewater team. Dominick Monsorno took a handoff and busted a 50-yard run. A helmet to helmet penalty on the Varsity White quarterback tacked on 15 more yards. On the next play, Dominick Monsorno went off the left side for an 11 yard touchdown run. The extra point was no good and the score became a 20-6 Varsity White lead. The Varsity White defense started to turn up the heat on Bridgewater. On the next series, Nick Lovacca sacked the quarterback to force a turnover on downs as the third quarter ended. After another Varsity White punt, sacks by Nick Lovacca and Nick West on consecutive plays ended another drive by Bridgewater. The secondary of CBs Matt Antonelli and Matt Amofa along with the S Evan Sabo played excellant defense in shutting down the passing attack of the Bridgewater Varsity Red team. On the next Varsity White possession, Dominick Monsorno added his third touchdown run of the night this time from 55 yards out to stretch the lead to 26-6 and that is how the game ended.
The Varsity White will stay home next week and host a semi-final matchup between the winner of the Philipsburg Varsity Red and the Delaware Valley Varsity Silver.
DELAWARE DIVISION – JV
Hillsborough Patriot JV Red (Minetti) vs. Voorhees JV Silver – Lost 19-0
Hillsborough Patriot JV White (Drab) vs. Del Val JV Silver – Lost 26-6
DELAWARE DIVISION – Pee Wee
Hillsborough Patriot Pee Wee Red (Goldberg) vs. Phillipsburg Pee Wee Red – Lost 18-6
While the Pee Wee Red squad did not end the season with a win, it was there best game all year. Facing a very good Phillipsburg team, the players came to play and did their best to keep the game very competitive. The team was able to play as a solid unit with great tackling and hard running. The offense was led by running backs Anthony Mayo, Owen Miller, and Jayden Carter, who scored on a 42-yard touchdown. The blocking was led by solid performances by Zachary Miller, Connor Lamb, Kyle Simonitis, Keanu Whittlesey and Jack McLain. The defensive effort was very strong with great tackling by Kaden Schepler, Chase Shepler, Niko Gaeta, Owen Miller, Matthew Siegelaub, David Gubitosa, Pryce Pina and Ashton Goldberg. Great team effort by all the boys.
Hillsborough Patriot Pee Wee White (Amato) vs. Pope John Pee Wee Red – Lost 19-0
Pee Wee White played a spirited game against Pope John but came up a little short. The defense started slow but came on strong allowing no points in the second half. Defensively led by: Andrew Schwarz four tackles, Mason Westlake three tackles and a fumble recovery, Aiden Herrera three tackles and a forced fumble, Tommy Marcketta three tackles, Gavin Wacaster three tackles, Nick Britanak two tackles and Aiden McKenna one tackle. Offense led by Andrew Schwarz 50 yards running, Damian Amato 25 yards combined passing and rushing, Nick Mc Cauley 20 yards rushing and Liam Roarty 10 yards receiving.
A word from Chris Porter, Flag Football Director: “I would like to thank all of the players, coaches and parents who participated in the 2017 Flag Season. Special thanks to all of the coaches who gave their time over the past few months to provide our kids with a great experience. This would not be possible without your dedication to the program. Good Luck to all of the second graders who are moving up to the tackle program next year.”
DIVISION – Flag
Hillsborough Flag Jets (Albert) vs. Hillsborough Flag Raiders (Ross)
RAIDERS: In a high scoring affair, the Silver and Black battled the Jets on the last game of the season. On the defensive side Vincent Lavecchia and Gavin Ross lead the effort with four flags each. The other flag pulls were completed by Kevin Van Cleef with two flags and Alex Zieziula, Anthony Shrewsbury, Bennett Thomas, Christopher Seamon, Dante Mayo with one flag each. The offense was led by Gavin Ross with two touchdowns and 27 yards, Vincent Lavecchia and one touchdown and 57 yards. The lone extra point was put in by Ryan Shimp on a awesome run to the right side. Other great runs were completed by Anthony Shrewbury (40 yards), Matthew Simonitis (7 yards), Dante Mayo (7 yards), and EJ Risher (4 yards). The yards were completed with superior blocking by Aiden Desatnik, Collin Tucker and Johnathan Albanese. A successful end to a good season with a great group off kids.
Hillsborough Flag Steelers (Walton) vs. Bears
The final game of the season for the Steelers was on Saturday morning against the Bears. The defense made some big stops only allowing two touchdowns for the Bears. Defense led by Justin Amato, Matteo Cicciari, Jonah Bergman & James Casey each with three flag pulls, Robbie Jugan with two flag pulls and Jayden Johnson and Devin Cozine each with one flag pull.
Also assisting on the defense was Brody Donough, Matt Gubitosa and Jordan Padilla.
James Casey led the offense with two touchdowns with 75 yards rushing and Robbie Jugan with one touchdown with 15 yards rushing. Justin Amato with 30 yards rushing and one extra point conversion. Matteo Cicciari and Devin Cozine each with 15 yards rushing. Jonah Bergman with nine yards rushing. Mason Jacquish with three yards rushing. Great offensive line blocking by Brody Walton, Jack Barmore, Ethan Canterbury and Miles Dawes.
Thank you to all the coaches; Ernie Walton, Matt Johnson, Nick Amato and especially Brendan Ruh for stepping up and helping out the Steelers.
Please come out and show your support for this great group of young athletes.
Hillsborough Flag Rookies:
A word from Coach Shawn –
“I just want to take some time out to reflect on a great season here coaching the Flag Rookie Giants. We had a slow start in training camp learning new faces and teaching the boys the basics and fundamentals of flag football. All of the boys were more than willing to learn and grasped the concept rather quickly once we exited camp and started to play in actual scrimmages and games. After the third game or so, we decided to extend our weekly games and scrimmage to Wednesdays. This seemed to be the ice breaker and once we were able to spend two days a week with the boys scrimmaging on Wednesdays and playing games on Saturday things started to move at a smoother and faster pace. We are now running, passing, QB sneaking, and even throwing some trickery into our game scheme with reverses and trick plays. Special thanks go out to our snack mom’s and our team moms. Liz and Nicole, great job. They make sure the boys have a nice snack and drink after their hard played games. They are also coordinating the team party for next week, as well as the medal ceremony after our game tonight under the lights. Coach Craig Cebula, Coach Kristin Sudol, Coach John Novak, and Coach Jay Ibrahim have all been valuable assets, and we certainly would not be at the level we are at today without their help and support. Thanks for everything you guys and gals do to help our team. I’m looking forward to an exciting game tonight under the lights, and an even more excitement coaching next year. Go Giants.”
Jr Raiders Flag Jamorbee
A team of Jr Raider Flag players ventured up to Sparta on Sunday to compete in the End of the Season Jamboree. Without the benefit of a practice this group of Jr Raiders bonded together quickly and went an impressive 2-0-1 in the Round Robin tournament.
After two impressive 18-0 wins over Pope John I and Pope John 2, the Jr. Raiders battled Phillipsburg to a 0-0 tie in a hard fought defensive struggle.
The day was highlighted by multiple long touchdown runs, great blocking along the line, a few completed passes and a defense that did not give up a first down the entire day.
The team was made up of Justin Amato, Dante Mayo, James Casey, Anthony Shrewsbury, Gavin Ross, Vincent Lavecchia, Christopher Seamon, Rocco Gaeta, Lukas Richards, Matthew Simonitis and Matteo Cicciari and was coached by Scott Ross. The Jr. Raiders would like to thank these players and their families for representing our organization proudly at this event.
Jr Raiders Field Hockey
Mini Chix (K-2)
Mini Chix end their season clinics with a fantastic morning scrimmaging and ending the year off with a fun day. It is a tremendous opportunity to engage these girls in this sport at such a young age. We hope to see all of our minis next year whether back at clinics or entering out Little Stix Program. Be on the lookout for these names in years to come in Field Hockey News: Briella Betkowski, Addison Daisey, Chloe Delacruz, Abigail Demaio, Eviana Doyal, Brielle Emmich, Eleanor Enna, Serafina Erb-Wagner, Katie Falk, Avery Fedo, Julia Fidziukiewicz, Gabrielle Harris, Olivia Kay, Delaney Kiernan, Scarlett Russo, Mia Samartino, Mya Schulte, Sabrina Shields, Gianna Sica, Anna Stokes, Sadie Strandberg, Taylor Thiele, Casey Timler, Jocelyn Venezia, and Milena Zaranski.
Thank you to our dedicated coaches: Erika Fedo, Kristin Doyal and Chrissy Strandberg as well as our consistently dedicated Jr Coaches who were at 99 percent of the clinics: Mack Kiernan, Katie Kozimbo, Lauren Alexander, Payton Altman and Jena Myers
Our program does not exist without you ladies.
Little Stix Maroon (3/4) vs. North Hunterdon 24-2
Little Stix Maroon (3/4) played their last game of the season away against North Hunterdon 24-2 Team. The team had only seven girls playing today, so they worked hard and pulled out a nail biting win at 4-3.
North Hunterdon’s offense came on strong, but Maroon stepped up with Bella Ruh as Defender blocking multiple shots on goal – her skills stopped us from ending in a loss today as she kept the pressure on.
Our Midi’s showed they wanted this win, with Morghan DiGanci and Jane Rodrigues playing aggressively and worked together to breakaway out of the circle to change direction. With North Hunterdon’s tough offense, they stayed relentless. Alexa Gaspar supported the team playing multiple positions from defense, wing, and jumped out of her comfort zone to play Midi.
Our offense stepped up and we were happy to see both our wings and centers securing a goal. Rebekah Redlich, as Wing, secured the first goal from a well-played corner with her teammates.
Madelynn Taras used her speed and agility as center, to lock in the next two goals.
And the excitement was heard as Megan Vogt, playing Wing, scored the final goal from a pass that secured the game today.
Overall, we saw great teamwork, passing and plays to end the season on a high note.
Maroon’s final stats of the season were 3-2-3.
Little Stix Gold (3-4) vs. North Hunterdon 24-5
It was a toss-up whether this make-up game would/could happen, but we did it. It was a tough loss losing 3-0 with eight girls in attendance but we definitely showed some of the best skills seen all season, and rightly so, this being our last game.
Our wings and centers got a lot of great offensive play. Miranda Trevino took the ball up the alley several times with her focus and stick strength, along with Peyton Wallace as she shined equally in the wing position being open and ready for some great passing work from Sara Thompson. Laura Weintraub saved the ball and was able to snake it up the alley as well in the wing and center position. Paige Romano had several break-aways in the alley and wasn’t afraid to power up and drive it up the field.
Overall, the coaches were very impressed with the mid-field and offensive passing and communication throughout the entire game. It was very exciting and satisfying to watch. Thank you, Sara Thompson and Sydney Russo, for working very hard on that ALL game long.
Brianna Gibson, Kaylin Agaman and Paige Romano worked very hard to keep the ball out of the defensive area. Paige pushed the ball out to her wing several times. Brianna was in good position every time and Kaylin worked tirelessly to keep the ball out of the defensive circle. Little Stix Gold is ending their season with: 3-4-1
We are the role models for our children and it is easy for us to see why we are so committed and dedicated. Thank you, parents, for a truly wonderful season and for being that amazing example for your children and the community at large.
Your coaches: Coach Russo, Coach Melissa and Coach Chrissy
Junior Stix Maroon (5-6) NJPA Tournament
Our Junior Maroon team merged with our Jr Gold and Jr White for the NJPA Tournament this past weekend and showed off their tremendous game playing alongside their other field hockey peers.
Thank you to our Junior Maroon Coaches: Patrick Vogt and Karl Jordan for a tremendous season and thank you for your instrumental pop-up skills clinics.
Junior Stix Gold (5-6) NJPA Tournament
Team Gold had a fantastic tournament with four extremely tight games. Team gold went 2-2 for the day and both wins were on sudden death shoot outs.
Our first game against Nazareth was 0-0 at the half with our mids Mackenzie McLaughlin, Lily Hand and Isabella Jaucian defending our circle and getting the ball to the offense. A few shoots were so close – just a hair outside the net. Nazareth scores twice in the second half early on. Team Gold answered with a great assist by Brooklyn Citarella to Addison Harkin to make the score 2-1. Our offense had a few more shots to close the game. We fell short by one goal but played great field hockey.
Our second game was fierce and fast and ended 0-0 in regulation time. Our first shoot out was. Nail biter with Grace Gonzalez and Addison Harkin both scoring goals. Kiera Kruchowy our stone wall goalie blocked three goals as we’ll sending Team Gold into a sudden death shoot out. Kiera blocked the first goal from the opposing team and the Grace Gonzalez slammed in her second goal to win the game.
Our third game was very similar to the second again Hillsborough-3. The score was 0-0 in regulation sending us into overtime. Once again Grace Gonzalez knocked one in during the overtime shoot out to tie us 1-1. Kiera blocked four shots – only allowing the one goal in. With the tie Team Gold had there second sudden death shot out. Kiera blocked the first goal once again and Grace Gonzales slammed another goal in to win.
Our final game was a touch lose at 0-2. Our sweeper Maggie Harding played excellent defense keeping the ball out of the circle, but two goals got through. Our offense Emily Enna, Gabi Mazzeo fielded the ball quickly and skillfully with a few shots in the circle big no dive.
Team Gold had a great season and we are looking forward to next fall.
Junior Stix White (5-6) NJPA Tournament
Junior Stix White played in the NJPA tournament and brought this great season to a close on this fantastic, fun tournament day.
Thank you to our Junior White Coaches: Lara Minakas, Tracy Biondi and Jen Smith for an awesome season.
