By: Rudy Brandl
It was absolute destruction.
The Hillsborough High football team rolled to its third consecutive victory last Saturday night at Noonan Field, pitching an impressive 34-0 shutout over Watchung Hills. The Raiders (3-1) scored early and often, gave the reserves considerable playing time and stormed into October with a serious head of steam.
After an inconsistent effort at Hunterdon Central on Sept. 15 and a slow start at Franklin last week, the Raiders have started to peak. The Raiders haven’t allowed a point in seven quarters and enter Friday night’s home game vs. North Hunterdon having scored 62 unanswered points.
"The guys did a helluva job," HHS head coach Rick Mantz said afterward. "They made plays on both sides of the football and played a complete game. We got a lot of guys in the game and they all played good football."
Hillsborough’s defense set the tone right from the opening drive. A misplayed kickoff pinned the Warriors deep in their own end and the Raiders never let them out, forcing a punt after three running plays.
The home team took over at the Watchung 31-yard line and went right to work. Hillsborough needed nine plays to methodically run over the Warriors for the game’s first score. Four different runners contributed, with Steve Hess finishing the surge with a six-yard burst over the left side of the line. Kristian Molloy’s kick made it 7-0 with 5:25 to play in the first period.
Hillsborough stuffed Watchung on three plays on the ensuing possession to force the second of eight Warrior punts on the evening. Watchung’s three other drives ended with turnovers, including interceptions by Danny Phillips and Matt Campbell in the second quarter.
One of those punts was blocked by Jeff Kelly, who had sacked Watchung quarterback Jeff Bassman on the previous play in the third period.
Campbell also recovered a fumble in the first quarter after Shane Newell hammered Bassman behind the line of scrimmage. The Raiders allowed only three first downs and 110 total yards, but 63 of those came on one play.
Bassman connected with Jay Flank in the middle of the field, but Molloy ran him down and saved a touchdown. Campbell’s fumble recovery came two plays later.
"We really executed defensively," Mantz said. "We read our keys and we were very disciplined. I was also extremely pleased with the way our second unit played later in the game. We were able to stop their starters from moving the ball."
While the HHS defense dominated, the Raider offense moved the ball at will. Phillips only touched the ball six times, but accumulated 91 yards and scored two touchdowns plus a two-point conversion.
The junior scored on a 61-yard burst in the first period and a 19-yard sprint early in the third quarter. Phillips rushed for 79 yards and caught a pass from Steve Simborski that gained a dozen.
Simborski enjoyed his second straight solid outing, playing his best ball in the second quarter when he accounted for both Hillsborough scores. First, the senior field general broke free on an option play and outran the Watchung defense for a 44-yard touchdown. Simborski hit Phillips for the two-point conversion pass.
"There was a huge gap," Simborski said. "I had to make the read and there was just grass ahead of me. I just had to run."
Late in the quarter, after the Raiders had stopped Watchung and used a time-out to keep the visitors from running out the clock, Simborski struck again. This time, he connected with senior wide receiver Scott Robinson for a 40-yard touchdown. It was the second one-play scoring drive of the night for the Raiders.
"It all started out with the line," Simborski explained. "They gave me all the time. I had all day back there to sit and wait. I just had to throw it out there."
Simborski and the rest of the starters didn’t play much in the second half. Once they opened the quarter with an eight-play, 66-yard march into the end zone, Mantz called off the dogs and started getting the clean shirts into the fray.
Four different runners gained yardage on the drive, which was aided by a 13-yard pass play from Simborski to Robinson. Caliph Santiago set up the score with a 17-yard burst to the Watchung 19. Phillips took care of the rest on the next play, scoring his team-leading sixth touchdown of the season.
The Raiders used 10 different players to accumulate 340 rushing yards. Phillips (4-79), Santiago (9-67) and Simborski (3-47) led the way, but Molloy (5-36), Ben Schweitzer (8-35), Greg Hawzen (7-27), Dylan Beese (6-20), Hess (3-19), Colin Bruno (2-7) and A.J. Herold (1-3) also got involved. Hillsborough amassed 16 first downs and didn’t commit a turnover for the second straight week.
"It was a solid effort by everyone on both sides of the ball," Simborski said. "We had to come out and play four solid quarters from beginning to end. The line came out and set the tone right from the beginning. It was a well-rounded game."
