November
25, 2006
 |
 |
| Will Hill threw for two scores and returned a kickoff 95 yards for the game-clinching TD as St. Peter's Prep won its sixth straight Hudson County title and stayed unbeaten heading into the state final. | |
JERSEY CITY -- Had all gone according to plan, Saturday's matchup between St. Peter's Prep and Hoboken would have been for all the marbles, a showdown between two unbeaten teams battling for a Hudson County championship between the white lines before heading off for the state finals in Giants Stadium. But when Hoboken lost last week in the state tournament, the game went from the be-all, end-all to a trap game for Prep, which was just trying to stay unbeaten heading into its rematch against Don Bosco in the Non-Public Group 4 final.
Hoboken did its part by keeping it close throughout and putting the Marauders in a position they had not been in all year, in a close game in the fourth quarter. But when the Marauders need a play, they only need to turn to one player, Will Hill. The do-everything junior, showed once again why he is one the most electrifying players to come along in some time.
 |
| Hoboken's Damien Bates, the state's leading scorer, added two more TDs to bring his season total to 35. |
After the Red Wings cut the lead to seven with just over seven minutes to go in the game, they took the risk of kicking it off to Hill. It was an error in judgment that dashed any hopes of a comeback. Hill dropped muffed the kickoff at the five-yard line, but he collected it just before it went in the end zone. He then looked up and went on a run for the ages.
Hill took the kickoff the distance to put the game away and provide the final margin as St. Peter’s Prep remained unbeaten heading into the state final with a 35-21 triumph.
“When (Hill) gets the ball, you never know what can happen and that’s what makes him so dangerous,” said Hoboken head coach Lou Taglieri. “I thought we did a good job of containing him except on three plays, but that’s the measure of a great player who has patience because he turned those three plays into touchdowns and that was the difference in the game.”
After a botched snap on a punt, St. Peter’s Prep took over on the Red Wings’ 15-yard line. Sheriff Harris made two big runs from there to give the Marauders the lead. He got a tough yard on a fourth-and-one from the 6 to keep the drive going. Three plays later, he ran off tackle for a five-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
 |
| Shariff Harris' TD gave St. Peter's Prep an early 7-0 lead. |
Hoboken came right back and showed a gamelan it would use throughout the day, running the ball in between the tackles. As he has been all year Damien Bates, the state’s leading scorer, was the workhorse. He carried the ball eight times on the drive with the last of those runs being the most defining. The senior got hit at the line of scrimmage and carried two Marauder defenders into the end zone. Rodney Clark booted the extra-point to tie the game at 7 early in the second quarter.
It took just two plays for Prep to retake the lead with Hill doing it all on his own. After getting flushed out of the pocket to his left, he looked to find a receiver downfield, but they were all well-covered. He then saw an opening back to his right and that was all he needed. The quarterback busted through the hole, avoided a tackle by Bates and was off to the races for a 65-yard touchdown and a 14-7 lead.
While his athleticism has been on display for two full seasons now, the most telling moment of the game came on the Marauders’ final drive of the half when they had to use implement the two-minute drill into their offense.
 |
| Bearthur Johnson and the Hoboken offensive line opened holes all day long. |
With under a minute to play, Hill was once again flushed out of the pocket to his left. Instead of trying to make things happen with his legs, he went through his progressions and saw Joe Valentine sneak behind the safety in the secondary. He flicked the ball perfectly just over the safety’s hands and into Valet’s in the end zone for a 42-yard touchdown and a 21-7 lead at the half.
“To be honest, I don’t think that is a play I would have made last year,” said Hill. “I’m more mature now and I think it showed on that play. Last year, I wouldn’t have even thought about making that throw, I would have just tried to run with it. The coaches here have really been preaching me to be poised and to be more of a leader. So I just tried to buy time until someone could get open and I was able to hit him.”
It appeared to most as if that touchdown would be the final nail Hoboken’s once promising season. But the hard-nosed Red Wings fought back and made it a game by scoring on the opening drive of the second half. Bates was once again the catalyst behind a mammoth offensive line led by Bearthur Johnson and Tyquan Ashley. Bates was ripping off three to six yards a pop before breaking his longest run of the game to close it out. He busted through as big hole between the right guard and right tackle and went untouched 26 yards to pay dirt, cutting the lead to 21-14.
 |
| Michael Lang breaking free of the last defender on his way to a TD that gave St. Peter's Prep a 28-14 lead. |
After a three-and-out on each side, the Marauders took over on their own 47. On a third-and-one, Hill hit Harris on a screen pass that went for 27 yards. Two plays later, he hit Mike Lang on a quick out. Lang than broke a tackle and walked into the end zone on the last play of the third quarter to push the lead back up to 14 points, 28-14.
Even down two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, the Red Wings chose not to use one of the country’s premier wide receivers, Duval Kumara (1 catch, 7 yards), and steadfastly stuck to the running game. It worked on this drive as Bates kept churning out tough yards and a personal foul kept the drive alive.
On the play following the 15-yard mark off, Hoboken quarterback Norman Smith dove into the end zone on a nine-yard bootleg to cut the lead to 28-21 with 7:03 to go. The Red Wings knew they needed to make one stop and it was a game once again. Instead, it was all but over just 17 seconds later.
Hill went to make an over-the-shoulder catch on the kickoff, but dropped the ball behind him. It looked like it was going to bounce into the end zone, but Hill was able to grab the ball and keep his feet inbounds. Seeing a gaping hole on the right side, he burst through it and took off down the sideline. After darting into Hoboken territory with two defenders in hot pursuit, he cut back at the 30-yard line and left both defenders in his wake and went untouched the rest of the way for the final 35-21 score.
 |
| Desmond Bates and the Hoboken ground game moved the ball against one of the state's top defenses. |
“On a kickoff, I envision what I’m going to do when I get through the hole,” added Hill. “With the kickoff team we have, I know there is going to be a hole somewhere, I just have to find it and hit it. Once I get through the hole, I know what I want to do and I feel confident that I can get to the end zone if I can see the whole field.”
Bates led Hoboken (9-2) and polished off a fantastic season personally with 171 yards on 36 carries. He scored a pair of touchdowns, including his state-leading 35th of the season.
Hill finished with 250 total yards and Steve Pankowitz led the defense with 10 tackles for the Marauders. With the win, head coach Rich Hansen moved one win of tying the school’s all-time mark for wins by a head coach, Bill Cochrane’s 154 victories. St. Peter’s Prep (11-0) also won its sixth straight HCIAA title and remains the state’s top-ranked team. They will face the state’s No. 2 ranked team, unbeaten Don Bosco Prep, for all the marbles.
Hansen knows that if there is one player who can be a difference, it’s Hill.
“He’s compared to a lot of players, but I think he is getting to be in a class by himself,” said Hansen. “He’s like a wild stallion. He has so much speed and talent that he just wants to go, go, go all the time. But when he does all the athletic things that he does and he makes good decisions, then he becomes almost impossible to stop. To beat Don Bosco, we know we are going to have to play our best and I’m sure it will be a great game.”
FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS EVENT OR TO BUY A COLLECTOR'S PRINT OF THIS GAME STORY, PLEASE VISIT 4FeetGrafix.com.
|
|
|
| About Us | Contact Us | Home |
Questions?
E-mail the editor editor@northjerseysports.com
All contents © copyright 2003-2006 HSSportsWeb.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
