Hillsborough Dukes Pop Warner hosted their home opener during the rainy conditions on Sunday, Sept. 9. The Dukes cheerleaders and fans braved the elements and came out in full force to cheer on our teams.
Flag Football
The Dukes Flag Football team played their home opener on Sunday against the Flemington Falcons. John Billings had strong performances on both sides of the ball, scoring the Dukes’ three touchdowns and leading the team with multiple flag pulls.
Josiah Malek and Jackson Karsay were defensive MVPs with key stops throughout the entire game. Defense came up huge with an end of the game goal line stance on the 1-yard line. Billings busted through the middle forcing a quarterback fumble and ball recovered by Billings.
During the next play from the 9-yard line, the defensive line broke through the blockers and defensive end Malek stopped the running back with a game-ending flag pull. We look forward to taking on Metuchen on the road on Sunday, Sept. 16.
Mighty Mite Football
The Hillsborough Dukes Mighty Mite team faced the Flemington Falcons in less than ideal weather conditions in their home opening improving their record 2-0 with a 33-6 win.
Sanjay Mills led the offence with 30-yard, 20-yard and 45-yard touchdowns. Daniel Gaffney added to the total with a big 65-yard touchdown and quarterback Aaron Feath scored a 50-yard touchdown on a quarterback keeper.
The Dukes defense behind Caden Walinsky who had two forced fumbles, recovering one kept the Flemington Falcons to seven points. Frankie Cocuzza broke up a big play with a near interception and Jake Jones also with a fumble recovery.
The entire Dukes Mighty Mite team played exceptionally well while battling in chilly and wet conditions. They hit the road next week to take on the Metuchen Bulldogs.
Junior Pee Wee Football
The Hillsborough Dukes Junior Pee Wee team played against the Flemington Falcons on a wet and rainy Sunday. The Dukes came out victorious with a final score of 26-6.
The Dukes offense was led by Logan McDermid and Quinn Hayden with a pair of touchdowns for each of them. Strong runs were completed by fullbacks William “Bubba” Hayes, David Dewberry and Shaan Ladhia. Opening up holes all game long were Tyler Pirog, Evan Puleio, Alex Zysk, Jason Strachan and David Yacka.
The Dukes defense was led by “Bubba,” who had a major impact on the outcome of the game due to hard hits. Quinn Hayden also had many key tackles along with Joshua Malek with three sacks and seven tackles.
Both defensively and offensively, Cooper Karsay was a strong player on the field today.
Next weekend, the Dukes will compete against the Metuchen Bulldogs.
Pee Wee Football
The Dukes Pee Wee team was in action against the Flemington Falcons on Sunday. Both teams struggled to move the chains in the bad weather but a late touchdown in the final minutes gave the Flemington Falcons an 8-0 win.
Junior Varsity Football
Sunday afternoon under heavy clouds and nagging rain, the Hillsborough Dukes Junior Varsity football team won their home opener by a score of 7-6 in an out of conference match-up against the Central Jersey Conference Monmouth Falcons.
After climatological conditions mostly stalemated the first quarter, the Dukes aerial attack gained traction at the start of the second quarter, with quarterback Jack Moran completing passes to Michael Schmelzer and Jack O’Donnell for first downs.
The Dukes’ only touchdown of the afternoon would come during the same drive when Moran found O’Donnell in the south endzone with the latter making a brilliant catch among circling Falcons.
Coach Toth’s defense proved the deciding factor in the Duke’s win, with defensive ends Luke Scott and Billy Meszaros leading the team with tackles and sacks, and corners Jackson Roberts and Antione Hinton also making several critical stops. The defense was also bolstered by contributions from several newcomers, including Joey Biviano, Devin Gonzalez and Noah Simplice.
“Our defense never let us down this afternoon,” Defensive Coordinator Alex Toth said after the game. “They overcame four offensive turnovers and spent most of the second half digging us out of trouble.”
The Dukes JV team continues their season next week on the road.
