FOOTBALL

NJ FOOTBALL: Mid-State Conference Week 9 roundup

Simeon Pincus
Bridgewater Courier News

NJSIAA first round

Central Group III

Somerville 35, Raritan 14: Senior quarterback Jalahn Dabney rushed for 317 yards and four touchdowns as top-seeded and defending champion Somerville cruised past eighth-seeded Raritan at Brooks Field on Friday night. AJ Pena and Markus Lauber paced the defense, recording 13 tackles apiece in the victory. Bobby Wortman connected on all five of his extra points for the Pioneers, who play host to fourth-seeded Holmdel in the second round.

READ: Hunterdon Central falls to Manalapan in playoff opener

Central Group II

Bernards 31, Lincoln 6: Teddy Gouldin rushed nine times for 102 yards and two touchdowns to lead fifth-seeded Bernards (8-1) on Saturday. Cookie Desiderio rushed 19 times for 81 yards and one touchdown. AJ Mino scored on an 103-yard interception return. Steven Lopez kicked a 37-yard field goal and connected on two extra points. Luke Burns finished with one fumble recovery and Desiderio had one sack. Bernards will travel to top-seeded Hillside in the semifinals. 

Manasquan 40, Delaware Valley 21: For seventh-seeded Delaware Valley (5-5), Tyler Neal rushed 18 times for 108 yards and two touchdowns. Lane McCarty caught three passes for 31 yards and one touchdown. Tylor Blake went 8-of-11 for 90 yards and one touchdown. 

North 2 Group V

Ridge 28, East Orange 7: Ryan Sweeney rushed 15 times for 75 yards and three touchdowns as fourth-seeded Ridge (8-1) advanced to the North 2 Group V semifinals. Cameron Lloyd finished with three receptions for 105 yards and one touchdown. Jack Perry rushed five times for 59 yards and recorded six tackles. Wes Hudkins went 10-of-13 for 156 yards and one touchdown, a 46-yard pass to Lloyd. Jake Stein finished with seven tackles. The Red Devils face top-seeded Piscataway or eighth-seeded Bridgewater-Raritan next weekend.

Union 28, Elizabeth 17: Michel Lucien tallied 178 yards and three touchdowns as third-seeded Union advanced to the semifinals and a date with second-seeded Union City.

Union City 21, Westfield 7: The Blue Devils’ three-year reign as North 2 Group V champ officially came to an end Friday night.

North 2 Group IV

Cranford 30, Linden 12: Rob Schrok ran for 208 yards and two touchdowns to send fifth-seeded Cranford to victory over No. 4 Linden in the Cougars’ debut as a Group IV club. Michael Kalnins also ran in a score for Cranford, while Connor Katz hit Cole Blazek with a scoring pass in the victory. The Cougars face top-seeded Phillipsburg in the semifinals.

Phillipsburg 49, North Hunterdon 7: Cole Matthews finished 18-of-26 for 264 yards and one touchdown for eighth-seeded North Hunterdon (3-6). Griffin Honthy recorded eight catches for 147 yards and one touchdown. Dylan Farina and Anthony Masters each had seven tackles.

North 2 Group III

Rahway 48, Parsippany Hills 21: Zion Pendleton ran in three touchdowns and Dashon Moore took in two more and third-seeded Rahway advanced. The Indians will play host to seventh-seeded upstart South Plainfield, which shocked second-seeded state power West Essex on Friday night.

Summit 57, Voorhees 39: For eighth-seeded Voorhees (4-6), George Eberle went 19-of-30 for 268 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. He also connected on three extra points. Jacob Baytoff caught two passes for 45 yards and one touchdown and rushed four times for 50 yards and one touchdown. Jason Knoll caught seven passes for 80 yards and one touchdown, and also rushed 12 times for 182 yard and two touchdowns. Marshall Mills added three receptions for five yards and one touchdown. Charles Eberle recorded 20 tackles. Cole McGourty finished with nine tackles. Joseph Scarcia totaled four tackles and one fumble recovery.

North 2 Group I

Shabazz 46, Bound Brook 7: Jahman McNeil scored on a fourth-quarter run for eighth-seeded Bound Brook.

Hasbrouck Heights 42, New Providence 0: Jason Purdie scored three touchdowns for second-seeded Hasbrouck Heights and No. 7 New Providence’s first loss of the season ends its playoff run.

Metro League

Pingry 27, Fieldston 14: Nate Hefner rushed 26 times for 149 yards and one touchdown as Pingry (4-5) took third place in the Metro League. Sam Williams rushed six times for 135 yards and one touchdown. Peter Nicoletti also scored and Luke Engelje recorded two interceptions. 

Consolations

Scotch Plains-Fanwood 49, Kearny 0: Anthony Porter finished with six carries for 159 yards and two touchdowns to power Scotch Plains-Fanwood (1-8). Alex Oslislo had eight carries for 120 yards and one touchdown. Anthony Robinson finished with six carries for 52 yards and two touchdowns. Matt Power had two carries for 20 yards and one touchdown. Dakota Verico recorded seven tackles and one sack. Jahsyn Silver  had eight tackles and two sacks while Zack Zimmerman had four tackles and one sack.

THURSDAY

Consolation games

A.L. Johnson 40, Spotswood 6

Franklin 28, Old Bridge 14

Governor Livingston 28, Carteret 25

Hopatcong 39, Belvidere 20

Hopewell Valley 36, North Plainfield 15

A.L. Johnson 40, Spotswood 6

Manville 31, Riverside 22

Montgomery 48, Watchung Hills 45

Roxbury 14, Plainfield 13 

South Hunterdon 34, Point Beach 0

Wood-Ridge 19, Brearley 13