WARREN, NJ - Watchung Hill Pop Warner football season has begun.
Game wrap ups are:
Mitey Mite
The Watchung Hills Mitey Mites rolled to their 2nd victory of the season defeating the Roselle Park Panthers 27-7. The Wolverines jumped out to an early 20-0 lead after long runs by 3 different players. Liam Morris set the scoring off with a 35 yardrun off tackle and was sprung thanks to a great downfield block by Marc Drews. Aidan Grochowski rolled right and found Marc Drews in the end-zone passing to convert the extra point. Danny Attanasio follow up on the next series running left for 60 yards untouched thanks to outstanding blocking by the entire team and a great downfield block from Austin Kolakowski. The Wolverines expanded their lead to 20-0 after Michael Carroll broke loose for a 40 yard TD and capped off the drive with an inside dive for the conversion from Niko West. Joseph Bateh rounded out the Wolverines scoring in the 3rd quarter breaking 2 tackles from 20 yards out. Marc Drews and Austin Kolakowski were in the mix again making great downfield blocks for their teammate.
The Wolverines defense let up a long TD run after a good misdirection play from Roselle Park but recovered quickly and shut down their offense the rest of the game. Austin Kolakowski racked up 5 tackles roaming sideline to sideline all day. Ty Gechtman, Evan Collazo, Tommy Ryan, Danny Attanasio, Joseph Bateh, Ethan DellaCruz, Kaisan Edmonds and Matthew Dubois led the Wolverines defense with a host of tackles among them and 2 fumble recoveries.
JR PeeWee (Fenton)
The Watchung Hills Wolverines Jr Pee Week team wrapped up week two with another decisive victory over conference rival South Plainfield with a score of 20-0. The defense held South Plainfield to a scoreless game and did not allow a first down. Leading the way on defense was Rocco Salerno, Brennan Fahs and Cristian Gioia. On the offensive side Brennan Fahs, Ryan Johnson and Scott Drews all contributed with strong running touchdowns. Secret weapon Braden Fenton kicked for the point after rounding out the scoring. Dylan Downey and Kyle Checcio also contributed to the run game gaining yardage on every carry. The Wolverines face an out of conference opponent next Sunday at their home field, this week the boys will be hard at work getting ready for their next game.
PeeWee
The Watchung Hills Wolverines Peewee squad won a defensive battle against the Central Ward Blue Devils at Shabazz Stadium in Newark, NJ 6-0. The game was played between the 30's. The Wolverines defensive effort was led by Nirio Garcia who had eight solo tackles and also caused two turnovers. Anthony Reale had a forced fumble and Tyler Simpson had the only score off of a 30 yard pick six. The Wolverines offense earned some tough rushing yards all day led by Jarvis Jones and Dante Gioia. Both the offensive and defensive lines earned their stripes Saturday battling in the trenches against the tough Central Ward Blue Devils. This victory puts their record at 2-0 on the season. The Wolverines look to continue their winning ways against the Flemington Falcons This upcoming Sunday.
Junior Varsity
September 10, 2017
Watchung Hills Pop Warner Junior Varsity team (2-0)
Watchung Hills 20
New Egypt, NJ 0
The Watchung Hills Pop Warner Junior Varsity team travel to Plumsted Township for the second year in a row to take on one of south Jersey’s top teams. As they did last season, the Wolverines returned with a strong road win over a tough New Egypt squad. The final score this year was 20-0 and game captains today were Mac McAteer, Damon Schumann, Sherrod Hudson and James Palaia.
Watchung received the opening kick-off and had a solid drive but a long run was called back by a penalty. The Wolverines ended up turning the ball over on downs as New Egypt would take over around mid-field. The home team did manage a first down as the quarter was coming to a close but a big defensive stop by Watchung early in the second quarter gave the ball back to the Wolverines.
Another promising Watchung drive ended with a turnover and New Egypt would take back possession. Not discouraged at all, the Wolverine defense responded and New Egypt had to punt almost immediately. The following drive would be fruitful. Billy Black had a long run to the goal-line and a play later he ran it in for a 6-0 Watchung advantage.
The Wolverine defense would come through all day long. Just before the half, safety, Jamarques Lawrence hauled in an interception of a New Egypt long pass attempt and the game would go to the half with Watchung Hills holding that 6-0 lead.
The home team from New Egypt took the ball to start the third quarter but again they were forced to punt rather quickly. The big defensive play during this series was a Hudson tackle for a loss. Palaia, known for some authoritative runs, sprinted free after a rather tricky play. It was hard to follow the movement of the ball from quarterback Ty Marion as he slipped it into Palaia’s grasp. The result was another Wolverine touchdown and a 12-0 lead. Will Grabko executed the 2-point kick after a perfect snap from center, Jake Checchio and the Wolverines took a 14-0 lead to end the 3rd quarter of play.
To start the 4th quarter, the Wolverine defense was back to its stingy ways. A strong play on the edge by cornerback, Tyshaun Anderson turned the runner back inside toward a pack of Wolverine defenders who squashed any chance New Egypt had to move the ball. When the Wolverines took over, they had a hard time on offense as well and found themselves in a 4th and long situation. Fortunately, Marion found Lawrence streaking across the field. The pass, reception, and subsequent run was good for another Watchung touchdown as they took a commanding 20-0 advantage.
The game would close with yet another failed New Egypt possession. The Wolverines would get it back, advance it for another first down, and then Marion took a knee to run out the clock. With the win, the Wolverines move to 2-0 on the young season as they have outscored the opponents 52-0 in two games.
And last week:
Mitey Mite
In today’s Mitey Mite game the Watching Hills Wolverines faced off against the Bridgewater Panthers. The Panthers came to the Wolverine’s field ready to play with a tough team and great coaches. The Wolverines offense run by Aidan Grochowski and Ethan DelaCruz racked up 4 scores and never gave up the lead. The game started close separated by 1 point when Austin Kolakowski broke a 30-yard run set up by a great outside block from Liam Morris. Aidan Grochowski punched it from 10 yards out on the next play followed up by an outside run from Austin Kolakowski for the PAT. But Bridgewater answered back with a long drive failing to convert on the extra point and still trailed the Wolverines by 1. A determined Watchung Hills team stiffened on defense and refused to allow any more points. They spread the ball around with 4 different players reaching the end zone. In the second quarter, Liam Morris broke a long 70-yard run on an off-tackle play sprung on a great downfield block by Marc Drews. Aidan Grochowski scrambled right for the PAT.
In the second half the Wolverines next scoring drive was set up by a great defensive play when Danny Attanasio pierced the offensive line disrupting the play in the backfield forcing a fumble and Evan Collazzo pounced on the loose ball regaining possession. The Wolverines marched 40 yards down the field and punched the ball in from 3 yards out with a strong inside run by Michael Carroll. Quadir Williams found the end zone for the 1-point conversion. Danny Attanasio capped off the Wolverines scoring with a 50-yard touchdown on a toss sweep with a few minutes to go in the 4th quarter but the conversion attempt failed with a great backfield play by the Panthers.
Both teams played hard, showed great sportsmanship and most importantly had a lot of fun playing each other. Congratulations to both teams for a great effort and good luck the rest of the season to their respective programs.
Joe Attanasio – Watchung Hills
Pictures: #32 Austin Kolakowski, #4 Ethan DellaCruz #1 Daniel Attanasio
JR Pee Wee
The Watchung Hills Wolverrine Jr Pee Wee Team lead by Head Coach Mark Fenton kicked their 2017 season off with a 21-0 victory over a tough Howell Lions team. The team came out strong on defense lead by Defensive Coach Carl Checchio and held their opponents to limited first downs and yardage which ultimately led to the shutout. The defense was led by Cristian Gioia, Brennan Fahs, Ryan Johnson and Braden Fenton all making key tackles. Offensively the Wolverines had 5 separate scorers, Jack Clintock and Cristian Gioia both caught passes for TD's one from Scott Drew's and the other coming from Ryan Johnson. Brennan Fahs with a series of strong runs scored a TD. Scotty Drews ran in an extra point as Braden Fenton rounded out the scoring by kicking the extra point. A great team performance all around, the boys will be working hard this week preparing for their next away match vs. South Plainfield on Sept 9th.
Tony Clintock – Watchung Hills
Pee Wee
The Watchung Hills Wolverines PeeWee squad opened their season today with a decisive win over the Panthers of Bridgewater! From the outset of the contest, the Wolverines dominated play by jumping out to a 19-0 lead with three first quarter scores. Dante Gioia, Michael Tales, and Jarvis Jones all contributed rushing touchdowns. Another Touchdown came later in the game from Nirio Garcia. Brandon Lombardo also added a score kicking a PAT. A plethora of players contributed exemplary performances on both sides of the ball including but not limited to Dylan Simon, James Burke, and Tyler Simpson. The Panthers defense was subdued by the dominant line play of Nathan Downey, Jack Tierney and Justin Sanchez. Final score 27-7. The Wolverines next game is in 2 weeks at Roselle Park.
Pat Downey – Watchung Hills
Flag
Powerful Start for WHPW Flag Football Wolverines
WHPW Flag Football Team opened its 2017 season against Bridgewater this Sunday. Both the White and Blue squads put together impressive efforts, scoring 14 touchdowns and pulling 29 flags collectively—it was truly a team effort. For the White squad, Zeke Freijomil broke off four runs for 80 yards with two touchdowns and took two shots down the field on pass attempts. Both Alex Simpson and Drew Rosenfarb ripped off two runs for 37 and 36 yards, respectively, with a touchdown each. Antonio Llanes pounded two runs for ten yards, scoring the last touchdown for the White squad. Dante Glynos and Gabe Ribeiro contributed to the drive with ten yard darts each, and Matt Carroll, Russell Granese, Anthony Ingrassia, Cooper Quinn, and Jayden Schmalz also contributed to the White squad’s running attack that compiled over 200 yards of offense. On the defensive side of the ball, Jayden Schmalz led the White squad with three flags, followed by Anthony Ingrassia, Antonio Llanes, and Zeke Freijomil grabbing two each. Russell Granese, Cooper Quin, Drew Rosenfarb, and Alex Simpson also joined the fray by snagging a flag each. For the Blue squad, Michael DiBella led the charge with two runs for 78 yards, including two touchdowns. Both Carson Kelly and Remi DeHaven scampered for 40 yards to score a touchdown each. Chase Capone also went on a tear for 36 yards and scored. Chris Dahl and Dominic Leonardis each snapped off two runs totaling 41 yards and a touchdown each. Luke Lijo and Roman Ricci took it to the house with pounding runs of ten and five yards, respectively, for a touchdown each. Gabe Richardson and James Prisco helped the dominating Blue squad offense with a 38 and 30 yarddashes, respectively, and Julian Collazo, Santino Del Forno, and Lyrik Shonibare all contributed to the Blue squad’s total of 367 rushing yards for the day. Snagging four flags each for the Blue squad were Chris Dahl and Dominic Leonardis, with Carson Kelly grabbing another three. Julian Collazo and Remi DeHaven pulled two flags each, and Santino Del Forno grabbed another one for the Blue squad. All-in-all, both the White and Blue Flag Football squads put forth a tremendous display of effort and technique on Sunday, evoking cheers and pride from coaches and fans alike. It was a great day.
Junior Varsity
August 27, 2017
Watchung Hills Pop Warner Junior Varsity team (1-0)
Watchung Hills 32
Hillsborough Dukes 0
The Watchung Hills Pop Warner Junior Varsity team began the 2017 season with an easy home win 32-0 over the Dukes from Hillsborough. The team has high aspirations for the season as this is the group that has been to the Eastern Region Finals for three straight years, winning twice and advancing to the Pop Warner Super Bowl in Orlando, Florida in 2014 and again in 2016. Last season the team went 11-2 before losing to eventual Champion Northwest Miami. In 2015, the team lost the Regional finals to Ward 5 from Washington, DC and went 11-1 overall. The first Disney team in 2014 went 14-1, beating Lenape Valley, PA in the regions before falling to the eventual champions from Chicago. The squad has gone 36-4 over those three seasons and today’s win versus Hillsborough is win #37. Games captains this afternoon were Sherrod Hudson, Kaden Everly, Johnny King, and Jake Checchio.
The Dukes made some progress offensively on their next possession completing a few passes and earning a couple first downs. The drive stalled around mid-field, however, as several Wolverines made key defensive plays. Anthony Bateh had a tackle for a loss. Everly and Billy Black then tracked down the Dukes quarterback for a co-sack forcing Hillsborough into 4th and long. The Dukes punted the ball back to Watchung and the Wolverines put up another touchdown as the first quarter came to a close.
A great block by Everly set up a long run by Black around the left side which almost went for a TD but the follow-up play, another Black run, resulted in an easy score. The Wolverine kicking game unfortunately failed for the third time and the first quarter would end with Watchung Hills leading 18-0.
It didn’t take Watchung long to get the ball back in the second quarter and this time it was King and Mac McAteer providing the key blocks while James Palaia carried for another Wolverine touchdown. Will Grabko executed the 2-point conversion kick and the lead extended to 26-0 at that point.
On the defensive side, Watchung was ready with big plays. First, Checchio had a tackle for a loss pushing the Dukes backwards. Then, Hudson intercepted a Dukes pass attempt and returned it for a touchdown. The ‘pick-6’ gave Watchung Hills a commanding 32-0 advantage going into the halftime break.
Pop Warner safety guidelines state that a team must have minimum active players to compete. The Dukes started the game precariously close to the threshold and unfortunately fell below the number by halftime. The game was called for safety at that juncture.
With the win, the Watchung Hills Pop Warner team begins the 2017 season 1-0 at the Junior Varsity age group (they are essentially an 8th grade team.) They went 11-2 last year at the Pee Wee level. During 2014 and 2015, both at Junior Pee Wee, the team went 14-1 and 11-1 respectively. An overall 4-year record now at 37-4 has the Wolverines striving for the 40 winplateau as well as dreaming of a return trip to the Nationals at Disney World.