Football: Strong second half lifts Hillsborough over North Hunterdon

HILLSBOROUGH - Leading by only four points at halftime, the Hillsborough High School football team quite literally ran away with the game in the second half on its way to a lopsided victory Friday evening.

The Raiders (4-3) scored four touchdowns in the second half, including two long rushing touchdowns, and outscored North Hunterdon 27-0 in the final half to win 48-17 on Hillsborough’s senior night.

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“North Hunterdon made a ton of good plays on third down, but we were able to get them off the field in the second half,” Hillsborough coach Kevin Carty said. “Getting them off the field led to us making big plays offensively. Our guys were running the ball so well, and the line was giving them a shot.”

After a back-and-forth first half, the Raiders held a 21-17 lead at halftime. The Raiders opened up the second half with a 26-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Matt Moore to senior tight end Jake Pollak to take a 28-17 lead with 10:26 left in the third quarter.

On the ensuing drive, junior running back Tyler Boatwright ran for 49-yard touchdown to extend the Raider lead to 35-17.  Senior running back David Amankwaa followed his fellow tailback with an impressive 65-yard cutback touchdown run to make it an insurmountable 42-17 lead with 3:33 left to play in the third quarter.

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“We try to work hard every practice, and I think that leads to what happens in games,” Boatwright said. “We just focused on the second half and went about our business.

Former Giants offensive lineman and Hillsborough graduate Shaun O’Hara attended the game as a part of a halftime ceremony that honored past and present Hillsborough coaches. The Super Bowl champion also addressed the Raiders in a pregame speech.

“It was very inspiring,” Boatwright said. “I felt every word he said. It motivated me personally.”

Carty, who was honored during the ceremony, said he believes O’Hara’s pregame speech and halftime remarks lit a fire within his team.

“He’s a Super Bowl champion who was once in that locker room and he’s talking to them, how could they not be fired up?” Carty said. “It had to have given them a lift coming out of the second half knowing they were part of something special.”

The Raiders tied the game at seven with 3:29 left in the first quarter on a 40-yard interception return by junior corner back Charles Amankwaa. On the Raiders’ next drive, Boatwright broke one tackle and spun out of another and ran for a 65-yard touchdown to take a 14-7 lead with 10 minutes left in the first half.

Staff Writer Daniel LoGiudice can be reached at dlogiudice@gannettnj.com. Follow him on Twitter @danny_logiudice.