Football: Watchung Hills keeps playoff hopes alive with OT win over Hunterdon Central

WARREN - If the Watchung Hills Regional High School football team was to stay in the North 2, Group V playoff race Friday night, scoreboard watching absolutely couldn’t be part of it, as nothing Ridge did at Elizabeth or Union at Bridgewater-Raritan meant anything if the Warriors didn’t outlast Hunterdon Central at Tozier Field.

“We really had to worry about our stuff,” said coach Rich Seubert, after his team’s 13-10 overtime victory.

Outlast they did, and extra time was needed to complete the task.

Senior Brian Puccio delivered his second game-winning OT field goal in three weeks, this time a 34-yarder, as Watchung Hills improved to 3-5. The Warriors won their third straight, something they hadn’t done since 2012, the last time they qualified for the playoffs. They also surpassed last year’s win total of two.

“The team believes they can win, as we have gained confidence in the way we’ve played this season,” Seubert said. “Having confidence is something that happens with hard work and determination, it has been a process since June and it’s finally paying off.”

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Beating Hunterdon Central wouldn’t guarantee Watchung Hills a spot, but losing would have guaranteed another trip to a "consolation" game. Watchung Hills was seeded ninth – one spot and three points behind Ridge before the game. Union was 11th, but had played six games, meaning it had more opportunity for power points. Ridge won and Union lost.

“We were focused on this game before anything else,” said senior tight end/linebacker Jon Taub, who scored the Warriors’ touchdown in the fourth quarter.

“We had to do our part,” said senior linebacker/tight end Jeff Poggi, who had a big second half pick.

They did their part in a game as tight as expected, a game where Watchung Hills made three fruitless trips inside the Red Devils’ 20.  Central (3-5) was also desperate for the game. A win likely would have sealed a Central Group V spot. The Red Devils were eighth with several teams on their back.

Central’s Logan Matthews kicked a 33-yard field goal to tie it at 10-10 with 1:20 left in regulation. That was about five minutes after Watchung Hills had taken a 10-7 lead on freshman quarterback Chad Martini’s 44-yard TD pass to Taub, and Puccio’s kick

“It was a slant and flat route combination, the corner followed the slant inside and I just went to the flat and nobody was there, I just ran, trucked one guy and that was it,” said Taub.

That lead wouldn’t last and an unsportsmanlike penalty during the ensuing kickoff didn’t help. That gave Central great field position leading to Matthews’ field goal. But the defense didn’t break.

“Our kids played tough all year, and this pretty much summed it up,” said Seubert, the former Giant lineman and Super Bowl champ. “These kids have fought their tooth and nails off. We pushed them to the max. They are tough kids.”

The Warriors got the ball first in overtime. Kevin Badger opened it with a 3-yard run. But the Warriors were penalized with a false start setting up a second-and-12 from the 27. Martini connected on an 11-yard pass to Taub. Badger was dropped for a yard loss, so Seubert sent for Puccio. He delivered a 34-yard field goal to give the Warriors the lead they’d protect.

Central junior Mike Bryant, who had a strong second half, picked up three yards. But two pass incompletions were followed by a missed 39-yard field goal.

The Warriors stormed the field. Whether they made the playoffs seemed very irrelevant as they mobbed each other. Nobody in gold seemed to know what Ridge or Union or anyone else had done.  The Ridge win especially hurt, but there’s still a chance. Dickinson losing to Teaneck Saturday afternoon should do it, or East Orange losing to Morristown on Saturday and then to West Orange next weekend. That seemed trivial to the Warriors as they celebrated. They have flaws indeed, but nobody could question the improvement.

“We are hitting our stride at the right time,” Taub said.

HUNTERDON CENTRAL 7-0-0-3-0-10

WATCHUNG HILLS 0-3-0-10-3-13

SCORING PLAYS:

HC: Kovi 5 run (Matthews kick)

WH: FG Puccio 20

WH: Taub 44 pass from Martini (Puccio kick)

HC: FG Matthews 33

WH: FG Puccio 34