Mid-State 37 football roundup for Week 6
Simeon PincusSaturday’s games
North Hunterdon 49, Scotch Plains-Fanwood 27: Luke Wain ran for 146 yards and two touchdowns and Matt Busher threw for a score and ran for another as North Hunterdon remained undefeated. Jared McMahon and Trent Fitzpatrick caught touchdown passes for the Lions and Connor McMahon returned a kickoff 95 yards for a score. Anthony Hale threw a scoring pass in the victory. Cooper Heisey tossed two touchdown passes and Javin Scott rushed for a pair for Scotch Plains-Fanwood (0-6).
GAME STORY: Puccio's three field goals sends Watchung Hills over Plainfield in OT
Pingry 36, Montclair Kimberly 14: Obi Nnaeto rushed 20 times for 106 yards and a touchdown, adding an interception return for a score, as Pingry improved to 3-3. Clyde Leef and Brian Benson also scored for the Big Blue.
Hillside 51, Dayton 8: Shadon Willis scored three times for Hillside (4-2). Dayton is 1-5.
Friday’s games
Franklin 14, Union 13: Tony Scott and Dalen Merricks scored touchdowns and Asare Bampoe-Parry connected on both his extra-point attempts as the Franklin High School football team scored a huge victory, 14-13 over Union at home Friday night.
Scoreless at halftime, the Warriors scored first, as a Tayo Badru interception set up a short field midway through he third quarter and Scott’s 15-yard run capped the drive, giving Franklin a 7-0 lead.
Union tied it at the end of the third quarter, connecting on its PAT to make it 7-7, but Franklin wasn’t done. A bad punt gave the Warriors a short field, and a Tykey Reinberry run converted a 3rd-and-12 to keep the drive alive long enough for Merricks to score on a two-yard run. Bampoe-Parry’s kick then made it 14-7 with 1:46 remaining in regulation.
But Franklin had some more adversity to deal with. First, the Farmers returned the ensuing kickoff 85 yards for the touchdown to make it 14-13, but when the extra-point attempt missed with 1:32 left, Franklin looked like it would be able to close things out without any more drama after it recovered the onside kick attempt.
But it wasn’t going to be that easy for a team that managed a win earlier this season against Montgomery, but saw another slip away two weeks ago in overtime at Hunterdon Central. Franklin (2-3), looking to run a few plays and wind the clock down, fumbled the snap on the first play from scrimmage, giving Union a chance to march down and win it. But the Warriors defense stepped up, denying the Farmers, and completing the stunning upset to send Union to 2-3.
“It’s a great win,” said Franklin first-year head coach John Paczkowski, who took over a program that went 1-9 last year and has not won more than twice in a season since 2012. “It’s a great win for the seniors, who have been through a lot, a great win for the program to get us moving in the right direction. The kids have been working hard. They had some self-doubt from what they’ve been through the last two years, but they finally believed and they finally finished.”
GAME STORY: Immaculata upends Ridge
GAME STORY: Bound Brook blasts Bernards
GAME STORY: Bridgewater-Raritan handles Linden
Hillsborough 35, Hunterdon Central 6: Tyler Boatwright ran for 106 yards and two touchdowns and Matt Moore completed two touchdown passes, as Hillsborough rolled to a Delaware Division victory. Charles Amankwaa added 91 rushing yards and a 57-yard scoring run for the Raiders (4-2). Boatwright’s scoring runs were for 37 and 55 yards, respectively. Jackson Parham caught a 17-yard TD pass and Justin Brown nabbed a 15-yard scoring toss in the victory. Mike Bryant scored on a one-yard run in the third quarter for Hunterdon Central (2-4).
Manville 14, Brearley 7: Steven Garcia scored on a one-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and Nick Firth snapped a 7-7 tie in the fourth with an 11-yard scoring run as Manville stays alive in its quest to win the Union Division. The Mustangs (5-1) need to beat Roselle Park in Week 9 and hope Bound Brook falls to either Brearley or Dayton the next two weeks to claim their first-ever crown. Brearley falls to 3-3.
Voorhees 23, Delaware Valley 13: V George Eberle threw a touchdown pass and ran for another as Voorhees scored two unanswered touchdown in the fourth quarter to rally from a four-point deficit and improve to 5-1. John Roncoroni caught a TD pass for the Vikings, who also got a rushing touchdowns from Colin Tong. Tyler Neal scored a touchdown and Justin Carney kicked a pair of field goals for Delaware Valley (3-3), which led 13-9 early in the fourth quarter.
Somerville 60, Governor Livingston 7: Jalahn Dabney gained 114 yards on just four carries and scored two rushing touchdowns, throwing for another as Somerville (5-1) clinched the Mid-State 37 Mountain Division title for the second straight season. Robbie Fiorentino, Ryan Pedrani and Kyree Hinton all scored rushing touchdowns for the Pioneers, while Joe Ciempola and Da’Shuan Smith caught TD passes from Ryan Kovacs and Ethan Hillman grabbed one in the end zone on a Dabney toss. Chris Bruno scored on a 30-yard touchdown reception from Dylan Dwyer for Governor Livingston (1-4).
Warren Hills 14, Montgomery 10: Quarterback Ryan Furey completed 21-of-26 passes for 201 yards and one touchdown, but Montgomery fell to 1-5. Ryan Cashman caught a 31-yard pass for the score in the second quarter and Chandler Turner hit the extra point to give the Cougars a 7-0 lead. Turner also kicked a 27-yard field goal in the third quarter for Montgomery. Cashman finished with 10 catches for 74 yards and one touchdown. Grant Papa rushed seven times for 54 yards and finished with 24 yards on three catches for the Cougars. Garrett Koch ran for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter as Warren Hills (3-3) rallied for the win.
Belvidere 28, South Hunterdon 0: David Kinney ran for three touchdowns to fuel Belvidere (4-2). South Hunterdon trailed 21-0 at halftime and fell to 1-6.
Summit 31, Cranford 13: Max Hayford and Justin Tyler scored two touchdowns each to fuel Summit (4-2). Cole Zuckerman and Jamelle Harper scored fourth-quarter touchdowns for Cranford (3-3).
Roselle 52, Belleville 0: Craig McCrae ran for three touchdowns and Marvens Lormejuste added a pair of scoring runs to power Roselle (4-2). McCrae also recorded 13 tackles and two sacks in the victory.
Saturday's Mid-State 37 football schedule
Dayton at Hillside, 1 p.m.
Elizabeth vs. Westfield at Rutgers University, 1 p.m.
North Hunterdon at Scotch Plains-Fanwood, 1 p.m.
Watchung Hills at Plainfield, 1 p.m.
Pingry at Montclair Kimberly, 1:30 p.m. (independent)