By Justin Feil, Packet Media Group
The bright spots are growing brighter for the Hillsborough High School football team, but mistakes darkened another chance at victory.
Jackson Parham had a breakout performance to help the Raiders stay within striking distance and Hillsborough had a chance to tie Phillipsburg before their fifth turnover of the game doomed the Raiders in their 28-21 loss Friday.
“We find different things each week,” said Raiders head coach Kevin Carty Jr. after slipping to 1-4. “That is frustrating. We talk about one thing one day and we do something else another day.”
The game began an hour later than scheduled due to a thunderstorm, and the Raiders defense came out strong with a stop on the first Phillipsburg drive. But Phillipsburg took advantage of its first interception of the game to set itself up for a score that made it 7-0. Hillsborough drove the ball nearly into the red zone in the second quarter only to be picked off again.
“I think we just have to cut out mistakes as much as we can,” Carty said. “We have to cut out the mistakes and still have effort and make plays.”
The Raiders finally scored to tie the game, 7-7, when Al Fisher connected with Dillon Zimmerman on a 10-yard touchdown pass with less than six minutes left in the half. Phillipsburg went back ahead, 14-7, with 26 seconds left before halftime.
Parham gave a peek of what was to come when he took the second-half’s opening kickoff and returned it 95 yards for a touchdown, but a penalty negated the return, another mistake that proved costly to a team that is still learning every game with plenty of new varsity contributors this season.
“I think they’re getting more experience,” Carty said. “We play a fair number of guys. We rotate more than 11 in. I think we’re making less mistakes, just making too many.”
Hillsborough had to punt after the penalty and saw their deficit increase to 21-7 late in the third quarter. The Raiders gained momentum going into the fourth quarter when Joe Schultz hit Parham for a 34-yard touchdown pass to trim it to 21-13 with 14 ticks left in the third quarter.
“Schultz played more at quarterback this game,” Carty said. “He hadn’t played much in the last two. Joe got in and we scored pretty quick. He ran the ball pretty well. It was his biggest contribution of the season. Al’s been our starter, and Joe will probably play more. He had a good game.”
The momentum was short-lived as Phillipsburg stretched its lead again on the first possession of the fourth quarter. There was still plenty of time left, however, when the Raiders saw Schultz again hook up with Parham, this time for a 68-yard touchdown, and then again for the ensuing 2-point conversion with more than 10 minutes left in the game. The Raiders defense got a quick stop to give the ball back to Hillsborough for a chance to tie.
“Our defense played much more physical and tough,” Carty said. “They got some big plays, but we shut them down. Jackson Parham had kind of a breakout game. He had eight catches for 160 yards and a kick return that was called back. It was all in the second half. He was impressive. And Dillon Zimmerman had a good game.”
Parham is just a sophomore, but the receiver is getting more valuable each week. He’s growing into a primary target for the Raider quarterbacks.
“He’s been very good,” Carty said. “I think this game, he made more big plays. He started to break out.”
Hillsborough drove into the red zone only to fumble their chance to tie it with 5:52 left, and the Raiders never got the ball back in the hands of their playmakers for another shot.
“We couldn’t get a stop,” Carty said. “They made two fourth downs. I thought we’d get another shot. That was it.”
The loss is the second straight for the Raiders since their 42-0 win over Hunterdon Central. Hillsborough fell, 28-0, to Bridgewater-Raritan leading into the Phillipsburg game.
“Bridgewater was frustrating,” Carty said. “That was tough. I would have liked to play them tougher than we did. We’ve been battling in every single game.”
The Raiders will look to get back to winning at Union 7 p.m. Friday. Hillsborough has three of its final four games on the road.
“Union is big and athletic,” Carty said. “They’re pretty good. They had some close losses also. They lost to Bridgewater by six points. They’re 2-3 but they could be better.”
Carty is hoping that his team will play better. He sees highlights that they can build on against Union. Keys are the Raiders using their speed on offense, and defensively matching Union’s physical play.
“I hope our receivers can get some big plays in the pass game,” Carty said. “We also stopped the run pretty well this week and that’s what they want to do.”
If the Raiders can get those consistently, and reduce the mistakes that have plagued them in their losses, they have the ability to put together a win streak.
“While we are frustrated, I think our guys are ready to go to work,” Carty said. “And our young guys did some pretty nice things so we’re encouraged by that.”
