Summit 2007 Youth D Football

The Summit D Team had an impressive showing in their first game against Morristown. Lead by captains Michael Maldanado, Drew Mulholland, Anthony Campanelli, and Joey Abruzzo, the D team showed consistency on offense and great tackling on defense.

The offense got out to a quick start scoring on a bruising run by Joey Abruzzo that was set up by a 43 yard run by fullback Peter McKinlay. Other scores on offense were made by John Cordrey and Charlie Muller. Cordrey's touchdown was as a result of a fine pass by Chris Zanelli.

The real key to the offensive success was great offensive line blocking by Captain Maldanado, Matt Greenstein, Colin Andrews, Drew Higgins, Steve Raniero, Andrew Helmer, Campanelli, Jason Novo, Alec Fuoti, Will Cassin, Eric Kaufman, Sean Andrews and Peter Kapsimalis.

The 5th grade balanced great running with a great passing game led by Will DeMartin with 2 catches setting up scores.

The Defense, led by former Punt Pass and Kick runner up Coach Gob, sent the Mo-town offense packing. The "Linebacker U hit of the day" was made by Colin Andrews with a terrific hit and tackle. The rest of the defense was led by a stingy defensive secondary with great tackles by John McDonald and Leland Jones.

The Summit 5^th grade team had another successful outing against a tough Springfield rival. This week’s captains Will DeMartin, John Cordrey, Taylor Dillon and Andrew Helmer led the team on and off the field.

The offense had a long sustained opening drive coverting on many 3^rd and 4^th down plays. Fullback Peter McKinlay helped the team on several great runs. Reed Shaffer pitched to Chris Zanelli who hit Brian Cantillo on a halfback pass for the team’s first TD. Joey Abruzzo converted on a tough extra point conversion.

The remainder of the first half was marked by a tremendous defensive effort. The defense gave up no points on this beautiful football Sunday. The defense stopped Springfield on several goal line stands. They were in a word ..”Awesome”. The defense was led by Colin Andrews, Steve Raniero, Rahul Oza, Ian Demarest, Alec Fuoti, Eric Kaufman, Josh Gully, and the hard-hitting Brian Peck (pound for pound the hardest hitter in Summit).

In the second half the offense woke up, scoring several times. The first Td was set up by a great 30 yard pass by tailback Chris Zanelli to the sure-handed Charlie “Joiner” Muller. The final shifty run came from Reed Shaffer on a “Cappelletti-like” sweep resulting in a needed touchdown. The successful extra point was made by Charlie Muller.

The final TD came from QB Zanelli on a 60 yard keep. Zanelli was led into the endzone by a host of blockers including Sean Andrews, Will Cassin, Matt Greenstein, and Kyle Higgins. Jimmy Birle made a great effort on the extra point attempt. Again, great blocking was the key to the offensive success. Significant effort offensively was shown by Charlie Pacilio, Will Huck, Patrick Bauer, Jim Birle, Dylan Diaz and Alex Roduit.

Again the Defense owned the second half, starving the Springfield offense. The defense held on the 10 yard line on 4 consecutive plays, then again on the 1 yard line. Sacks were recorded by Steve Raniero, and several others. Key defensive play was turned in by Patrick Bauer, Sam Griffith, Will DeMartin, Charlie Muller, Sean Andrew, Will Cassin, and Leland "Deacon" Jones.

The “Linebacker U hit of the day” was made by Clayton Wright, right in front of the Summit sidelines. “Wow, what a hit”, said a NY Giants spokesperson. The hit was heard all the way to Cranford. Great effort by the entire 5^th grade team. Next up: Cranford

The Summit 5^th Graders ran into a very tough Cranford team on their home turf. Team Captains Clayton Wright, Colin Andrews, Ian Demarest, and Steve Raniero rallied their team in the second half to a respectable showing.

Offensively, there was little to report in the first half. Defensively, the Hilltoppers struggled but did their best against a tough offense. Several tackles or assists on defense were recorded by Steve Raniero, John Cordrey, Will Demartin, Sean Andrews, Andrew Helmer and Josh Gully.

In the second half, the Hilltopper defense held the Cranford team scoreless, unfortunately so was the Summit offense. The offense did have some highlights, including a great catch and run by Sean Andrews, some great throws by QB Will Huck, a bright spot for the offense. Other notable offensive players included Vincent Bonomo at tight end.

Defensively, Summit made some great stops, led by good performance from Hunter Miller, Aquil Byrd, Colin Andrews, Clayton Wright, Ian Demarest, and Sam Griffith.

Next week the 5^th graders face a tough Berkely Heights team on Sunday at 10:30am at Metro Homes field.

The 5^th Grade Summit D team had another successful showing against an excellent Berkely Heights team. Defensively, the well coached Hilltoppers stymied the BH offense. The leadership of Captains Sean Andrews, Matt Greenstein, Brian Peck and Kyle Higgins helped rally the Hilltoppers after a slow start.

DEFENSE! Wow, what a showing by Summit. After a quick score by Berkely Heights, the “play of the day” was made by Matt Greenstein. Matt owned the extra point, by stopping BH in their tracks and in the end helped pave the way for a Summit success. Offensively, Summit sputtered with a few “3 and outs”, but the offense didn’t lose heart, just a couple yards.

Sean Andrews, Peter Kapsimalis, John Cordrey and the always hard hitting Brian Peck made key plays, and some form tackles on defense. Will Demartin tried to keep the offense in the game by recovering a much needed fumble after a very hard hit on a Berkely Heights ball carrier, but the offense was unable to respond.

The second half was a different story…all Summit, all the time. Charlie Muller made several great runs, and the real offensive highlight came on a 50 yard pass from QB Will “chuck–it” Huck to tight end Andrew Helmer… reminiscent of Manning to Shockey. The celebration in the end zone was worth the price of admission. The much needed extra point came after a great fake by Huck and Leland Jones and an AWESOME run by wideout Clayton “U got that” Wright.

Offensively, the rest of the second half highlights came from great runs by Aquil Byrd, and Leland Jones and outstanding blocking by Eric Kaufman, Charlie Pacilio, Steve Raniero, Rahul Oza, and Peter Kapsimalis.

Defensively, the second half was much like the first half, total domination. John “pull the rip-“ Cordrey’s fumble recovery set up the offense nicely. Other goal line stands held the Berkely Heights scoreless in the second half. Great stops were made by Peter McKinaly, Brian Peck, Chris Zanelli, Drew Mulholland, Reed Shaffer, Jimmy Birle, Josh Gully, Hunter Miller, Zach Rissman and Michael Maldonado. Jim Birle deserves special recognition for 2 great stops in a row on BH’s last drive. This allowed the Summit offense up to control the rest of the game.

The Summit 5^th Grade faced another tough opponent in Westfield on Sunday. Captains Jim Birle, Peter Kapsimalis, John McDonald, and Rahul Oza led the team with outstanding effort. Again Summit’s defense was a bright spot for the D team.

In the first half, Summit’s offense sputtered with some costly turnovers at key times, but the Summit defense bailed them out on several occasions. The defense was led by great tackles by Hunter Miller and a fabulous TD saving interception by Sam Griffith. Other standouts on the defense included the Andrews brothers, Sean and Colin, Steve Raniero, Andrew Helmer, Peter “bloody lip” McKinlay, and inside linebackers Will Demartin and John Cordrey.

Summit’s offense marked the first half with great runs by Chris Zanelli, Peter McKinlay, and Joey Abruzzo. The offensive line gets better each week with great blocking by Matt Greenstein, Colin Andrews, Kyle Higgins, Steve Raniero, Michael Maldonado, Alec Fuoti, Jason Novo, and Anthony Campanelli. Charlie Pacilio also paved the way for some great runs.

In the second half, Andrew Helmer’s diving catch helped spark the 5^th grade offense. Andrew also led the team in “great” blocks at tight end. Other outstanding offensive play was turned in by Chris Zanelli, Reed Shaffer, John McDonald, Eric Kaufman, Charlie Muller, and Josh Gully.

Defensively, Summit was feisty, allowing no points in the second half. Great tackles were recorded by Brian Peck, Anthony Campanelli, Sam Griffith, Rahul Oza, Michael Maldonado, Drew Mulholland, Alex Roduit, and Andrew Helmer.

Next week the Summit 5^th grade team will face a tough New Providence team at home.

10/14 Summit vs New Providence

The Summit D team had a great Sunday against New Providence. Captains Patrick Bauer, Sam "The Man" Griffith, Josh "game saving" Gully, and Leland "Deacon" Jones led a solid offensive and defensive performance. On the first play of the game, Summit’s defense recovered a New Providence fumble. Summit’s offense was helped by great runs by Charlie Muller, Chris Zanelli, Joey Abruzzo and Peter McKinlay. Summit was unable to score on their first drive, despite their coaches pleading. But no harm was done, because the Summit defense was solid.

Summit’s second offensive possession was led by great runs by Reed Shaffer, and then a TD pass by Shaffer to John Cordrey. John’s run was one for the record books, scoring on a 50 yard scamper after his catch. Great blocks on the TD run were made by John McDonald, Alec Fuoti, Rahul Oza, Mike Maldonado, Jason Novo, and Anthony Campanelli. In what would eventually be the game winning score, Reed Shaffer scored on the extra point attempt…inciting a near riot by the Summit players (and coaches) in the end zone.

Summit’s defense was rock solid allowing NP’s offense only 8 yard on their next “3 and out” series. On NP’s 3rd possession, the strong Summit D allowed only 5 yards before making NP punt. Great defensive stops and tackles were made by Steve Raniero, Brian Peck, John Cordrey, Will Huck, Sean Andrews, Chris Zanelli, and Vincent Bonomo.

Summit’s offense played exceptionally well. This success was due to great blocking by the offensive line. Summit’s O-line was anchored by Matt Greenstein, Colin Andrews, Kyle Higgins, Steve Raniero, Ian Demarest, Andrew Helmer, and great blocking by the wideouts and offensive backs, Sam Griffith, Charlie Muller, Will Huck, John McDonald, Peter McKinlay, Leland Jones and Joey Abruzzo.

Andrew Helmer made a great catch resulting in a Summit first down, Brian Cantillo ran for 18 yards resulting in another first down, Will Huck ran all over the place, racking up several first downs and Leland Jones ran hard for another Summit first down. Summit’s offense was alive and well against NP.

On defense for Summit, great plays were made by Taylor Dillon, Will Cassin, Charlie Pacilio, Mike Maldonado, Eric Kaufman, Hunter Miller, Drew Mulholland, Will DeMartin, Dylan Diaz, Patrick Bauer, Zach Rissman (Zach also had some great blocks on offense), and Alex Roduit.

Defensively, the final drive of the day resulted in NP having 4 shots at a score from the Summit 4 yard line. What a goal line stand. This toughness was a direct result of having 2 new coaches, Coach Shyposh and Coach McKinlay, on the field during this nerve wracking stand. The play of the day was recorded by Josh Gully, who prevented the extra point from getting in the end zone and sealed the success for Summit. Great showing by the Summit D team.

10/21 Summit vs. Parsippany

The Summit D team had another great showing against Parsippany. Captains Will Cassin, Eric Kaufman, Hunter Miller, Charlie Pacilio, and Zach Rissman led a strong offensive and defensive effort.

In the first half, the Summit defense continued its domination, sending Parsippany back to the sidelines after an initial “3 and out”. John McDonald’s stop on this first defensive series shut the Parsippany offense down.

The Summit offense was quick to score. On only the second play from scrimmage, Reed Shaffer threw to Peter McKinlay who ran for a 44 yard TD. Charlie Muller completed the success, scampering in for the extra point. This offensive line set the tone for the day with outstanding blocks by Steve Raniero, Matt Greenstein, Colin Andrews, Alec Fuoti and Ian Demarest. Great downfield blocks were made by Will DeMartin and Joey Abruzzo.

The rest of the first half was, again, marked by solid defense. The defense was led by a Division 1 performance by Andrew Helmer, on almost every play. Other tackles and defensive effort was turned in by Colin Andrews, Sean Andrews, Reed Shaffer, Drew Mulholland, Steve Raniero, Will Demartin, John Cordrey, Brian Peck, Rahul Oza, Vincent Bonomo, and Anthony Campanelli.

Offensively, the Summit offense moved the ball by failed to put any more points on the board. Great runs were made by Peter McKinlay, Chris Zanelli, John Cordrey, Will Huck and Joe Abruzzo.

In the second half, Summit dominated. John Cordrey ran several times, gaining valuable tough yards to rack up several Summit first downs. Will Huck, Sean Andrews, Andrew Helmer, Charlie Muller, and Peter McKinlay all made huge contributions to the offense’s second half success. Peter McKinlay scored from 25 yards out with little time left in the game. The run was as good as it gets. The team called on Zach Rissman to run for the extra point. Zach’s hard run came up a little short, despite the great effort.

Other “new” ball carriers included Aquil Byrd, Vincent Bonomo, Patrick Bauer, and Eric Kaufman. All four runners gained valuable yards for the Summit O.

Defensively, Summit shut down Parsippany. Andrew Helmer’s excellent play, again, led the defense. Other great stops were made by Chris Zanelli, Charlie Pacilio, Brian Peck, Anthony Campanelli, Hunter Miller, Michael Maldonado, and Jim Birle.

Congratulations to the “D” team. The Summit 5^th grade will play their last game against Chatham on Sunday 10/28 at 10:30am at Metro Homes field.