Jenkins scores three TDs at North
by Rudy Brandl, Sports Editor
CLINTON Hillsborough High quarterback Tyler Laverty did his best impression of Tom Brady in last Friday night’s football game at North Hunterdon.
The young sophomore, making just his second varsity start, directed two clutch scoring drives in the fourth quarter to rally the Raiders to a 21-14 victory. While Brady has done this many times for the NFL’s New England Patriots, Friday night’s triumph was a new and exciting experience for Laverty.
”It’s amazing, it’s awesome,” Laverty said moments after the Raiders broke from their post-game huddle. “It’s very exciting. I hope we can keep getting better.”
The Raiders (3-5) trailed by a touchdown entering the final quarter but Laverty moved them down the field for the tying score. Unfortunately, Chris Boffa’s extra point kick was wide left by inches, leaving the Raiders down by one point.
That set the stage for Laverty’s late heroics. After a North punt pinned the Raiders deep in their own territory with three minutes remaining, Laverty engineered a 90-yard scoring drive that produced the winning touchdown. Laverty connected with three different receivers while completing 5-of-7 passes in the drive. Junior running back Anthony Jenkins scored his third touchdown of the night on a four-yard burst with 1:01 to play.
”The defense wasn’t ready and we snapped it as quickly as we could,” said Jenkins, who led the Raiders with 79 yards on 17 carries. “It wasn’t really a play. I just bounced it outside.”
Several big completions from Laverty set up the winning touchdown. He opened the drive by hitting Mike Banaciski for 16 yards and Jenkins for 14 yards over the middle. Those plays moved the Raiders into decent position at their own 40-yard line.
After two incomplete passes, Laverty was faced with a crucial third down play. Laverty eluded pressure from North’s line and scrambled to his right before dumping a pass to Jenkins, who picked up 20 yards and a huge first down.
”He played well tonight,” HHS head coach Vinnie Coviello said. “He’s a tough kid. He sits in the pocket and moves around. He did a great job.”
Laverty found Jenkins over the middle again for 23 yards on the next play for another first down. Jenkins finished the night with five receptions for 101 yards, doing most of his damage on crossing routes out of the backfield.
”I was getting behind the linebackers and the safeties were on the wide receivers, so I was open,” Jenkins said. “Once we started making those plays, everything was working.”
”We’ve been working on those plays all week,” Laverty added. “We had the middle open.”
Laverty connected with tight end Frankie Jawidzik over the middle for 13 yards on the next play to give Hillsborough first and goal at the 4-yard line. Jenkins took it in from there and also caught the two-point conversion pass from Laverty to give the Raiders a 21-14 lead.
”It was hard (going 90 yards) but it was a lot of teamwork,” Laverty said. “The line really pulled through. We really battled and had a lot of momentum to pull it out at the end.”
Laverty and Jenkins made several big plays on the drive that cut North’s lead to 14-13 earlier in the quarter. The duo hooked up on a 26-yard pass play that placed the ball at midfield. Jenkins made a diving catch to start a drive that wound up going 75 yards in eight plays. Laverty later hit Banaciski for 12 yards and Jason Smartt for 13 yards to set up the touchdown.
Jenkins sprinted through a hole in the middle for 18 yards to give HHS a first and goal at the five. The junior back barreled in from there on the next play with 6:57 remaining in regulation.
The Raiders did a great job containing standout running back Ted Delia, who had rushed for over 200 yards in his previous four games. Delia managed only 57 yards on 22 carries.
”The defense was focused in,” Coviello said. “We made a point of it. We knew we had to stop him. The kids did a great job.”
Hillsborough overcame a very sloppy first half that featured five turnovers in six possessions. Laverty, who finished the night completing 11-of-20 passes for 174 yards, was intercepted twice in the first half. Despite that and three fumbles, the Raiders only trailed 7-0.
”As badly as we played in the first half, the kids just banded together and picked each other up in the second half,” Coviello said. “It was all them.”
The visitors tied the score on their first possession of the third quarter. Smartt set up the short march with a great 19-yard punt return to the North 21. Two runs by Jenkins and a seven-yard pass from Laverty to Jawidzik place the ball on the five. Jenkins sprinted around right end and Boffa added the kick to tie the game.
North took advantage of a short punt and drove 45 yards for the go-ahead score early in the fourth quarter, but the Raiders answered with two monster drives to win their most dramatic game of the season. The HHS offensive line took control and the skill players did the rest.
”The line really stepped it up on that last drive,” Jenkins said. “Nobody put any pressure on Laverty. He made the plays and he didn’t force the ball. He really stepped up tonight.”