Spotswood rolls to 42-6 victory over Highland Park

A week after getting shut out, the Spotswood High School football team returned to basics, parlaying a simple offensive formula into a 42-6 Greater Middlesex Conference Blue Division victory over Highland Park on Saturday.

Senior running back Chase Fee rushed for 143 yards and two touchdowns, while Mason White returned a fumble 39 yards for a score and Spotswood teammate Jake Bacchetti had a 27-yard interception return for a touchdown.

Fee scored on runs of 84 and 17 runs and Ryan Long scored on a 2-yard run for the Chargers (2-1), who led 42-0 at halftime.

Spotswood quarterback Ryan Smolin connected with Nick Bacskoczky on an 84-yard touchdown pass.

Ryan O’Shea’s 5-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter helped Highland Park (0-3) avert the shutout. The Owls allowed 271 yards from scrimmage.

“We had a lot to reflect on after the loss,” said Spotswood coach Andy Cammarano, referring to last weekend’s 10-0 setback to Shore Regional.

“We went back to basics this week and did what we worked on in the summer; some old-school Wing-T stuff.”

Spotswood had been utilizing a spread Wing-T formation this season to take advantage of Fee’s athleticism and game-breaking ability, but the Chargers essentially ran about six plays out of their old Wing-T formation on Saturday.

“Everybody knows chase Fee is going to get the ball,” Cammarano said, noting he wanted to get Ryan Long, who had two more carries than Fee against Highland Park, more involved.

“We really did nothing fancy. We wanted to keep it simple (offensively) and play good defense.”

SPOTSWOOD (2-1) - 14 28 0 0 - 42

HIGHLAND PARK (0-3) - 0 0 6 0 - 6

S - Long 2 run (McCloskey kick)

S - White 39 fumble return (McCloskey kick)

S - Fee 84 run (McCloskey kick)

S - Fee 17 run (McCloskey kick)

S - Smolin 84 pass to Bacskoczky (McCloskey kick)

S - Bacchetti 27 interception return (McCloskey kick)

H - O’Shea 5 pass (run failed)