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SPORTS MEDIA AND PHOTOS [thru Oct 3] |
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Soccer- SHP 3- Newark Academy 2 [2 OT]
[photos RCM]
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Morristown 21 - SHP 14 [photos RCM]
Saturday, September 27, 2003
BY SEAN REILLY, For the Star-Ledger He
can be a quarterback, wide receiver or running back; hes also a defensive force in the secondary and he's a reliable kicker and punter.
But Morristown junior
Shaun Adair doesnt care where he lines up on the field as long as he can walk off a winner.
It doesnt matter where I play, he said. Its all about teamwork.
Adair didnt play quarterback yesterday, but he energized Morristowns offense by taking several direct snaps for big gains, including a 13-yard touchdown run, and he
also intercepted a pass at his own 5 with 31 seconds remaining to clinch Morristowns 21-14 victory over Seton Hall Prep in Morristown.
Morristown rallied with
two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Andy Yawger scored on a 1-yard sneak on the first play of the period, and Adair followed with a two-point conversion carry for a
14-14 tie.
Travell Robinson, who ran 20 times for 169 yards, scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 39-yard dash through traffic with 5:59 left.
Seton Hall Prep got the ball back at midfield following a punt with 1:08 remaining and, without any timeouts at its disposal, got as far as the Morristown 25 before
Adair snuffed out its hopes with his interception near the right sideline.
Shaun was by far the best athlete on our team even last year, Morristown coach John
Porcelli said. We dont want him away from the middle of the field because he covers so much ground. Were also just starting to scratch the surface with him offensively. Hes a very
intelligent kid, so he can run routes, play quarterback and take those snaps out of the shotgun.
The direct snap play was something Morristown inserted into its
game plan this week.
The coaches called the right plays, Adair, who ran six times for 72 yards, said. It really helped us out.
Seton Hall
was the better team for much of the game. It took the opening kick and drove 66 yards in 15 plays, finished off by Jeff Emmas 8-yard run with 5:14 remaining in the first quarter.
Seton Hall Prep botched the snap on the extra point, but holder Bobby Dombrowski completed a conversion pass to Chris ODougherty.
Seton Hall Prep also had two
fourth down conversions on that drive, and was 5-for-5 on fourth down attempts on the game.
Morristown closed to 8-6 with 4:51 to go in the second quarter on a
fourth down play of its own. On a fourth-and-three from the 13, it employed the direct shotgun snap to Adair for the first time, and he broke through a seam on his right side to
score. A two-point conversion attempt failed.
Seton Hall extended its lead to 14-6 with 5:10 remaining in the third when quarterback Ryan Squillante, who took
over when Dombrowski suffered a hip flexor injury early in the second quarter, threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to wide open tight end Alex Wujciak on a fourth-and-three play.
Morristowns next possession began at its 20 after Seton Hall missed a 47-yard field goal with 3:31 remaining in the third.
Adair took the
first-down snap and ran for nine yards. Morristown tried the play again, and this time Adair dashed 35 yards to the Seton Hall 36. Seven plays later, with 11:56 left in the game,
Yawger supplied his TD and Adair ran the direct snap play successfully on the conversion play for a 14-14 tie.
Seton Hall then moved as far as midfield, but
Squillante was corralled by Khyle Osborne for a five-yard loss on third and nine.
Morristown then began at its 23 following a punt, and Robinson immediately ran 29 yards to the
Seton Hall 48. After Robinson picked up three more yards on the next play, a pass interference penalty gave Morristown a first down at the 30. A holding call, followed by a false
start penalty, backed up Morristown five yards before Robinson scored the game-winning TD from 39 yards out.
Seton Hall Prep (0-2) 8 0 6 0--14
Morristown (2-0) 0 6 0 15--21
S--Emma 8 run (ODougherty pass from Dombrowski) M--Adair 13 run (run failed) S--Wujciak 20 pass from Squillante (kick
failed) M--Yawger 1 run (Adair run) M--Robinson 39 run (Adair kick)
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FOOTBALL OPENER
Columbia 24 - SHP 12 [photos RCM]
BY MIKE KINNEY, For the Star-Ledger
Jason
Briggs perspective on the Columbia-Seton Hall Prep rivalry is strictly a personal one. Its history carries little relevance prior to his freshman season in 2000.
So, to Briggs way of thinking, Columbia had lost three straight games to Seton Hall, when in fact it was seven. And three seemed bad enough.
Thats the worst feeling in the world. It makes you feel like you cant beat a team, no matter what, the senior linebacker said. Its horrible.
Thats all past
tense now. Briggs made 14 tackles to lead a swarming, turnover-happy defense that consistently provided Columbias offense with prime field condition and set the tone for a 24-12
victory yesterday at Underhill Field in Maplewood.
Columbias last victory over the Prep was 6-0 on Nov. 11, 1995.
After the first series
we knew we could take them, Briggs said. We knew where they were going every time and we just ran to the ball. We needed this.
Columbia got what was needed with
a quick, aggressive defense that produced four fumble recoveries and an interception to spoil the debut of Seton Hall coach John Finnegan.
I thought we moved
the ball, but we tended to hurt ourselves with the turnovers, Finnegan said. It was our mistakes that killed us.
Seton Hall did outgain Columbia both on the
ground, 125-122, and in the air, 129-100. But Columbia dominated possession in the telling first half and capitalized on Seton Halls numerous errors.
Jason
Brown retrieved teammate Roy Barnes blocked punt at the Seton Hall 16 with 2:09 left in the first quarter, setting up a two-play advance capped by quarterback Jason OConnors 7-yard
run.
On the next series, Jon Brown recovered a fumble at the Seton Hall 36. Six plays later, Chris Yergan kicked a 33-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead with 8:38
remaining in the first half.
Those turnovers were very important, two-way Columbia tackle Tom Hall said. It took the momentum from Seton Hall and gave it to us
early in the game. And we capitalized.
It was OConnors steady field direction, not Seton Hall mistakes, that helped Columbia open a 17-0 lead early in the third
quarter. The senior quarterback completed two passes for 34 yards and rolled right end for 13 to complete the eight-play, 80-yard move.
Seton Hall pulled to
within 17-6 late in the third with a 12-play, 65-yard advance capped by Matt Brays 1-yard run.
But the steam it had gathered from that strong push dissipated on
the very next possession. Thats when Jordan Williams intercepted a pass by Bobby Dombrowski and returned it 27 yards for a 24-6 lead with 6:18 left in the game.
I thought our interior line and linebackers were terrific. And our secondary, I thought, was excellent, Columbia coach Jeff Boni said. We had people in the right places pretty much
all day long. The kids responded very well to this challenge.
Jon Brown, an outside linebacker, made six solo tackles and was in on five others and Hall had a
hand in on seven tackles to anchor Columbias defense. Brown, Donny Bellamy, Denzel Burrell and Zach DiMeo each recovered a fumble.
Weve been hungry for three
long years, Hall said. Losing, getting blown out (28-0 last season) makes you that way. I think this shows that its made us stronger.
Dombrowski hooked up with
Ryan Squillante on a 12-yard scoring pass with 1:09 left for Seton Hall. End Anthony DiTommasso paced the Seton Hall defense with 10 tackles, including five solos, and one and one
half sacks.
Seton Hall Prep (0-1) 0 0 6 6--12
Columbia (1-0) 7 3 7 7--24
C--OConnor 7 run (Yergan kick) C--FG
Yergan 33 C--OConnor 13 run (Yergan kick) S--Bray 1 run (pass failed) C--Williams 27 interception return (Yergan kick) S--Squillante 12 pass from Dombrowski (pass failed) |
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SHP 3- EO Campus 1 [photos 1-24]
SHP 0 - Livingston 0 OT [photos 25-49]
[photos RCM] |
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The 2003 edition of the Soccer Team kicked off their
season with Columbia HS. The September 12th game at So. Orange's Cameron Field resulted in a hard-fought 1-0 setback for the Pirates to the highly regarded Cougars.The Pirates
entered the season as repeat Iron Hills Conference Champions.
[photos RCM]
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