Football: Special teams shine in Hillsborough victory
HILLSBOROUGH - Often the most overlooked aspect of the game, it was the effort by the special teams that led the Hillsborough High School football team to a divisional victory on a soggy Friday evening.
Hillsborough (3-1) blocked two punts, and scored a touchdown on the second blocked punt, in the second quarter to lead the Raiders to a 27-13 victory over Delaware Division rivals Phillipsburg.
“It was so huge, I felt great about our defense, but somebody had to get us some points,” Hillsborough coach Kevin Carty Jr. said. “The special teams just got it going for us."
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The Raiders offense sputtered in the first quarter and desperately needed a spark. With the ball deep in its own territory, Phillipsburg attempted a punt, but it was blocked and recovered by senior Greg Alboum on the two-yard line.
Three plays later, Hillsborough junior quarterback Matt Moore rolled to his left and tossed a four-yard touchdown pass to senior running back David Amankwaa with 8:29 left in the first half.
“Once we had that lead, it was easy for us to dial it back a bit offensively because of the cushion the special teams gave us," Carty said. “It’s hard to play from behind in a game like this, with the (wet) conditions, but our special teams put us ahead, and that really worked in our favor.”
The Raiders blocked another punt on Phillipsburg’s ensuing drive. This time junior Charles Amankwaa got a hand on the ball at the Phillipsburg 11-yard line and junior Jack Edwards recovered the ball and returned it for a 2-yard touchdown, his first varsity score, to give the Raiders a 13-0 lead with 6:38 left in the second half.
“The first punt, the wing came out and blocked me, so the next time I dipped inside,” Amankwaa said. “I saw the ball right there, so I tried to take the ball off his foot, but I just hit him, and Jack scored his first varsity touchdown.”
Junior running back Tyler Boatwright padded the Raiders’ lead with an 80-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, but Phillipsburg scored 10 unanswered points, including a 24-yard field goal with 1:46 left to play, to cut the deficit to 20-13. The Raiders’ defense did a great job stopping the Phillipsburg running game deep in their own territory, limiting them to a field goal as opposed to a touchdown which would have made it a one field goal game.
Senior running back Kyle Kauffman then sealed the victory with a 47-yard touchdown run to go up 27-13 with 48 seconds left to play.
“Against a team like that, you know it’s not going to be over until the whole thing is over,” Carty said. “To stuff them running like we did, I’m really proud of them.”
Staff Writer Daniel LoGiudice can be reached at dlogiudice@gannettnj.com. Follow him on Twitter @danny_logiudice.