"Rain doesn’t affect us,” said Summit head coach John Liberato.
A good quality to have in a team, because once the rain started, it did not let up.
The Scotch Plains-Fanwood Raiders (1-6) started out the game against the Summit Hilltoppers (7-0) looking confident. On the first drive of the game, the Raiders entered Hilltopper territory. Summit senior Mike Watts sacked the quarterback before they could pose any major threat, which set the tone for the rest of the half.
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The Raiders would not find themselves in Hilltopper territory again during the first half. Summit dominated on both offense and defense. Dwaine Dabney and Matt Rea scored the first and second and third touchdowns. Dabney showed his speed as he took off on a long run down the field for the first touchdown. Rea scored on a short run into the endzone. Dabney would run one more into the endzone at the beginning of the second quarter.
A solid return by Dabney was followed by a short drive that ended with Joe Jaskolski finding Marcel Godino in the endzone for the fourth touchdown of the game.
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Watts, Brian Feeney, Danny Feeney, and Nick Oristanio held the Raider offense behind their own 20-yard line and forced the punt. Dabney was in for the return and took off down the field for the Hilltopper’s fifth touchdown and Dabney’s third of the day.
Alex Melendez converted all five PAT’s in the first half. He remains perfect on the season.
The Scotch Plains-Fanwood Marching Band braved the downpour to perform a selection of James Bond music.
Despite a 25-minute delay due to lightning, the game did continue. However Scotch Plains-Fanwood’s Homecoming was cancelled. The winners will be announced during homeroom on Monday.
The second half was a different game entirely. The Hilltopper’s second string came out ready to play, so anyone who stayed got to see a preview of Summit’s future as well as a chance to see the Raiders’ talent shine through a couple times.
The Hilltopper defense read a Raider pass perfectly and intercepted it, then ran it 20 yards down the field. Quarterback Ryan Bringewatt found Sal Liberato who ran the ball down the field. Scotch Plains-Fanwood’s defense nearly ran him down and with one yard to go he reached out in hopes of getting the ball into the endzone. When he went down he fumbled the ball and it was brought out for a touchback.
The Raiders start with the ball on the 20-yard line. They handed off to Quintin Blackwell who showed impressive speed and strength as he tore down the field, pushing opponents out of his en route to an 80-yard touchdown run. Spurred on by Blackwell’s touchdowns, the Raiders seemed to get a second wind.
A wayward pass from Hilltopper second string quarterback, Bringewatt, was intercepted by the Raiders. On the next play, Blackwell showed his speed again as he broke three tackles on his way to scoring his second touchdown of the game, this one for 68-yards.
Bringewatt finally found his stride late in the fourth quarter when he capped off a drive by completing a 10-yard pass for a touchdown making the score 42-14. The game would end that way.
“It’s great when our young guys can get some reps in,” said Coach Liberato. “Our job is just to get better every week.”
Scotch Plains-Fanwood falls to 1-7 for the season. The Raiders next face Rahway High School in Rahway at 1 p.m. on Halloween.
The Summit Hilltoppers continue their perfect season, with seven straight wins. They face North Plainfield High School at home at 1:00 on Halloween.
