Summit 20 Cranford 13
The Summit 6th Grade C team took the field against an always tough Cranford team. The day was wet, the players were excited, the announcers were in place, the chain gang was prepared (kinda), all were ready for the start of the 2010 Hilltopper season. Our captains Liam Higgins, Sam Zanelli, Conner Mayes, Michael Huston, Kohl Shaffer, and Patrick Moriarty started the season with an accurate coin toss call and the rest took care of itself. One for one on the coin toss. Summit ball to start
Summit’s offense sputtered at first with two very nice offsides penalties. Nerves? Then, fresh from a 3hr car ride that only took 2 hrs, Phillip “Deion Sanders” Angelo broke a reverse for a long gain and a great Summit first down. Kohl Shaffer threw to Sam Zanelli for another long gain. Mike Flanagan ran the ball on the next couple plays and gained some hard yards and Sam “freight train” Zanelli took the next play into the endzone for Summit’s first score. Great blocking by Summit’s tough O-line: Michael “bigger than my brother” Huston, Liam” Schmiggins” Higgins, Liam “Doc” Dougherty, Jamie “Zeee” Zusi, Mike “the hatchet” Mahecha, Joe Donini, Sean McGrath and Patrick Moriarty. Summit failed on the extra point, here we go again.
Cranford took over and a tough Summit defense ran onto the field. With excited parents in the stands, a chain crew that barely had the chains set, Summit’s defense stormed Cranford’s offense on the first play causing a fumble that Summit recovered. One and out! Oh my, that never happens (great coaching). Summit’s defensive star Michael Flanagan recovered the fumble. Summit’s next offensive possession was a quick 4 and out (better than one and out).
Summit’s stingy defense sprinted onto the field (the gassers were paying off). On Cranford’s first play they fumbled, the refs really really thought Cranford recovered, Cranford maintained possession after a Summit player (having recovered the ball) gave it back to the ref. Zanelli and Clay Galiardo made a great tackle on the Cranford ball carrier. After 4 plays Cranford punted a low “dead duck” of a punt, some coaches were thinking “get away from it”. Sam Zanelli would have nothing of it, he scooped up the ball, with his mouthpiece fully in place (not like his brother), and returned the ball a whole bunch of yards into the endzone. TOUCHDOWN Summit. Great blocking by the entire punt return team including Thomas Rasweiller, Matthew Murdoch, Conner Mayes and Patrick Moriarty. The extra point was next, oh my. It was a pretty good play call (we thought), but unsuccessful, again. 12-0 Summit. End of the first quarter, pretty explosive I would say.
Cranford’s ball first and ten. Phillip Angelo and Thomas Rasweiler tackled Cranford where they started, 2 and 10. Christian “oh my what a hit” Greer got into the backfield to make a great stop. Phillip “all over the place” Angelo made another stop for another Cranford loss, 3rd and 17. Shaffer and Dante “D-Rod” Rodriguez put the hurt on the Cranford runner on 3rd down. 4th down and time to punt. Unfortunately, Cranford’s punt ended up in Cranford’s hands after Summit touched it, unfortunate, but nothing to yell about. Cranford’s ball, first and ten.
Summit’s defense had something to prove after the fumble. They sent Cranford’s offense packing with a quick 4 and out. Great hitting by Christian Fusco, Zanelli, Anthony Clark, Rick Lenz, Spenser Frey, Hayden Fraser, Joe Donini, Brendan McGinn and Sean McGrath.
Summit’s offense was getting a small case of the “sloppies”. Summit fumbled the ball on the first play from scrimmage. Cranford ball. Cranford was a sleeping lion, it was just a matter of time. After huge tackles by Michael “career day” Huston, Liam “fast as a cat” Higgins, Zanelli, Angelo, Rasweiler, Owen Fern, and Christian Greer, Cranford’s QB slipped around the end into the endzone. Cranford converted their point after, 12-7 Summit. Halftime.
Cranford got the ball first to start the second half. They marched it down the field into the endzone, oh my. After missing the extra point (see its not just us) the score was 13-12 Cranford. Prepare for an exciting finish.
A determined Summit offense took the field. With a series of Zanelli and Shaffer blasts up the middle, Summit advanced the ball a long way down the field. Outstanding blocking by Huston, Higgins, Dougherty, Zusi, Mahecha, Donini, McGrath, McGinn, Lenz, Matthew Grange, Jake Gieselman and Clay Galiardo made this drive possible. This drive although unsuccessful in the end, was the difference maker. Hard, solid, tough, hitting on this sustained drive made more than one Cranford defender whisper “Oh my these guys can hit”. Summit gave up the ball on 4th down at the 3-yard line. Still 13-12, don’t change the channel yet.
With Cranford tucked deep in their own territory and the 4th quarter just beginning, Cranford started their drive. Unfortunately for them, they went in the wrong direction. On first and second down Summit’s defense surged. On 3rd down from the 2-yard line, the unthinkable happened, never in the history of 6th grade football has a team won a game on a safety. Well it happened, Summit’s defense rocked Cranford and tackled their QB in the endzone. 2 points..14-13 the good guys.
Summit retained possession and drove the ball down the field but was unable to score. Turning the ball over to Cranford on 4th down again put Cranford deep in their own territory. After a huge first down sack by Huston, a crunching tackle by Shaffer on second, and a clobbering tackle by Zusi on 3rd down, it was 4th and 25 for Cranford. Again the defense stepped up. Shaffer and Jamie Zusi combined for a Shaffer hit to sack the QB, causing a fumble that Summit's Jamie Zusi recovered. Touchdown Summit.
Final Score 20-13 Summit wins. Great showing by the entire team and a nice way to start the year. The Summit 6th Grade team will play Sparta this Sunday at Noon.
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Summit 19 Sparta 0
It was another wonderful day for the 6th grade Summit football team. Summit took on Sparta a new entrant to the league and sent them on the long journey home with a 1-1 record. Summit won 19-0.
The day was great, the sun was out, the scouts were all over helping the 6th grade team prepare for this unseen team(thanks Coach Donini and Reed). Once again, this weeks captains listened to their coaches and won the coin toss. Great job Captains Philip Angelo, Michael Mahecha, Jamie Zusi, Sam Zanelli, Kohl Shaffer and Liam Higgins. Summit ball to start.
Summit’s first drive was a success. The offensive line coaches (Zusi, Donini and Huston) wanted to establish the day, hit the defensive line hard, dominate the line of scrimmage and keep the “play caller” from calling too many passes. Summit took to the ground to start (darn). Sam Zanelli went up the middle for a 4-yard gain; Philip Angelo made some hard yards next. Kohl Shaffer took it up the middle for the first down. Shaffer, Zanelli and Michael Flanagan continued this one-two-three punch, until Zanelli scampered around the left end and 45 yards into the end zone for Summit's first score. The O-line dominated on this first drive, great play by Michael Huston, Liam Higgins, Liam Dougherty, Jamie Zusi, Michael Mahecha and Joe Donini. Excellent play calling by the O-line coaches. Summit, once again, didn’t feel they really needed the extra point so they didn’t convert.
Summit’s defense took the field. Sparta’s effective spread passing offense sputtered at first. Sparta’s first pass dropped to the turf on great coverage by Jake Froschauer and Thomas Rasweiler. Shaffer tackled the Sparta runner on 2nd down and on “3rd and run” the Summit Black defense sent the Sparta punter on the field. Great effort by Ricky Lenz, Justin Navas, Brandon Johnston, Sean Quinn, Christopher Giangiulio and Philip Angelo. 3 and out, luv it!
Jake Froschauer led the gold offense on the next Summit drive. The gold offense runs the screen pass better than most, so that was the first play call and they executed brilliantly. Froschauer’s pass to Angelo was complete for a long gain and a Summit first down. Justin Hong, Clay Galiardo, Lenz, Matthew Grange, Anthony Clark, Jake Gieselman, Brendan McGinn and Conner Mayes blocked flawlessly on the first play. No nerves here. The next couple plays, fell incomplete and led to a great punt by Froschauer and tackles by Matthew Murdoch and the rest of the punt team.
The defense took control and never looked back. Sparta’s next unsuccessful drive saw great plays and tackles by Christian Fusco, Joe Donini, Will Freeman, Sean McGrath, and McGinn. This drive was stopped after a Zanelli interception and a great block by Conner Mayes. Sparta started to ache.
On the first play from scrimmage, something wonderful happened. Summit’s O line coaches let the “play caller” call a pass, hey you never know. Summit lined up in a spread formation, created a bit of a diversion and Shaffer dropped back into the pocket. The fleet footed Joe “faster than my Dad” Donini sprinted down the field, without a hand in the air. Shaffer threw….Donini caught, Touchdown Summit. Wow what execution. Once again, Summit didn’t convert. What in the world could be going on? Summit led 12-0.
Summit’s defense rocked for the rest of the half. Michael Vega started the ruckus with Michael Huston helping. Shaffer intercepted on second down and Summit took the ball again. Summits offense must have been tired because they were unable to convert on the next set of downs.
Summit’s defense wasn’t tired, no way, too many gassers in preseason. This is what we are good at, conditioning. (poor sentence structure I know). Liam Dougherty, Christian Fusco, Dante Rodriguez, Matthew Murdock, Christian Greer, and Zanelli all contributed with great hard hits on this series. Again, Sparta’s passing attack wasn’t as good as Summit’s defensive coverage. Sparta’s pass was intercepted by Philip “I like Italian food” Angelo. Great job Philip! The first half ended with Summit up by 12. What a great start.
Sparta took the ball first after Matthew Grange chose to defend the “goal on the left”. Nice call Matthew. Sparta started slowly but Conner Mayes, Brendan McGinn, and Christian Fusco didn’t. They made great tackles on this series of downs. As was mentioned more than thrice in practice, the defensive line needed to have a great day by putting pressure on the QB. Excellent play all day by Dougherty, Clark, Galiardo, Fusco, Flanagan, Huston, Lenz, Navas, Darion Strickler, Mahecha, Hong, Grange, Vega, Brian Treger, Patrick Codey and Matthew Sklar. These were the real “difference-makers” on this sunny Summit day. Sparta sprinted to their sidelines after their set of downs ended unsuccessfully.
Summit took over again and started with a bunch of inside runs. All in the stands and watching at home on TV had confidence in the O lineman. Zanelli gained 8 yards, Shaffer gained 3, Zanelli gained 3, pass complete to Flanagan gain of 10 yards, Shaffer gained 6 on a hard run, Zanelli caught a screen for a long gain after an awesome block by Jamie Zusi. Summit was pounding the defense and wearing them down, who’s tired? On the next run around the end, Zanelli scored. Touchdown Summit. Remarkably, Summit converted on the extra point, one in a row! Or one of five. Summit up 19-0.
Summit’s success became a free for all for the maroon and gold. Everyone had a chance to run inside the “white lines” and contribute; many even wanted to call the plays. The fourth quarter started with Summit’s defense on the field. Great showings on this drive by Sean Quinn, Angelo, Huston, Griffin Breen, Patrick Codey, Hayden Fraser, Owen Fern, Peter Galuppo, Christian Heckelman, David Medina, Matthew Krasowski, and Jack Smith. Sparta punted.
Summit’s last offensive drive started with a great effort by Brian Coburn on a pass from Jake Froschauer. Matthew Murdoch ran the ball and took a big hit but still managed to gain some valuable yards. Summit punted in the end.
The final defensive stand was one that makes memories and made a big fat zero on the “other side” of the scoreboard. Summit’s final “bend don’t break” defense had more moxie than most; Sparta’s offense was determined to score. Griffin Breen started the series with a great tackle. Spencer Frey must have taken a couple “mean pills” because he delivered a hit that almost sent the Sparta runner back to Route 80. Spencer Frey absolutely came to play in this final drive and is what made him the “player of the day”. This defense was unstoppable. Great effort by Patrick Codey clogging up the middle, Hunter Meyer-Hanover stunning the Sparta runners, Matthew Grange and Owen Fern adding to the hurt. Peter Galuppo was a terror while Matt Krasowski, Brian Treger and Darion Strickler owned the line. No score by Sparta. Game over. Awesome final stand by these young Summit defensive players. Just plain excellent.
Summit takes its 2-0 record under the lights against Parsippany on Tuesday night September 27th. Great game and effort!
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| SUMMIT 28 PARSIPPANY 6
Lombardi, Paterno, Hayes, Liberato..all the greats did it. They spent hours on it. Coaching the coin toss is a difficult skill and definitely not luck, just great coaching. The Summit 6th grade football team took their “skill” to Parsippany on a Tuesday night and once again called the coin toss correctly, 3 for 3, Wow, Nice job “coin-toss” coach Zanelli. (yes, we have a coin-toss coach)
Summit took over on first down and that was really all they needed. The offensive line, led by Michael “kinda sick” Huston, Liam “call my play” Higgins, Liam “Doc” Dougherty, Jaime “Z” Zusi, Michael “brick wall” Mahecha and Joe “sure hands” Donini blocked perfectly. The pass was thrown well by Kohl “sorta sick” Shaffer and caught perfectly by Sam “getting closer to 110lbs” Zanelli and Zanelli scampered 65 yards into the end zone on the very first play. Believe it or not, Summit converted on the extra point…the stars were aligned tonight, much like the traffic on route 24. 7-0 Summit.
Summit’s defense took the field and exited quickly after recovering a fumble on the first series. Great play all night by Mike Flanagan, Ricky Lenz, Justin Navas, Phil Angelo, Brandon Johnston, Sean Quinn, Christopher Giangiulo, Jake Froschauer and Thomas Rasweiler.
Summit’s offense sputtered a little, once we got them all on the field in the right spot. Great line play by Clay Galiardo, Matthew Sklar, Lenz, Matthew Grange, Anthony Clark and Jake Gieselman. Brendan McGinn and Thomas Rasweiler added some great blocks at wide out. Unfortunately, Summit was forced to punt.
The night wore on in Summit fashion. It was all maroon and gold the rest of the evening. Summit scored two more times on a great run by Matthew Murdoch and a successful extra point by Conner Mayes. Summit’s final touchdown in the first half came on a fantastic interception and “pick six” by Spencer “don’t need no rec-specs” Frey. Spencer made a great catch and a surgical run all the way into the end zone. Excellent! Phil Angelo topped it off with the extra point. Summit led at half 21-0.
The second half continued to be all Summit. They must have practiced while at Stokes. Awesome defensive performances by Matthew Krasowski and Griffen Breen. Krasowski made a solo tackle that ESPN is still running on “Top Plays” and Breen singularly, contained the Parsippany passing game. Nice work.
Other outstanding work turned in by Brian Treger on the defensive line with several hard hits and assists. Jack Smith made key blocks at wide out to spring Summit runners. Matthew Murdock had the game of his life with a great TD run and key full back blocks to solidify the running game. Sean McGrath and Patrick Moriarty made the blocks to spring Zanelli on his TD run as well as Angelo on his great run. Owen Fern was exhausted with his great defensive play at inside linebacker and defensive end. Not a chance a Parsippany runner was going to get past Fern. Christian Fusco saw good action at defensive end and played his normal outstanding contain defense. Darion Strickler got mixed up in several defensive stops, causing a bit of pain for Parsippany. Christian Greer was just plain reckless in his hitting and defensive effort, scary scary site. Hayden Fraser saw action at both wide receiver and defensive back and played very well. Peter Galuppo ran the ball on offense, tackled violently on defense and had a great night. Ben Lim put his helmet on many a Parsippany runner to stop them cold and Dante Rodriguez lent a hand in usual Rodriguez fashion with “reckless abandon” type hits that stopped traffic on route 46. Hunter Meyer-Hanover was just plain solid as usual, disciplined and tough. David Medina played his heart out at defensive end, turning many a sweep inside. Great work David. As you can tell it was a great night for all of the Summit 6th graders. Maybe we should send them to Stokes every weekend.
Two final performances to mention: Christian Heckleman was the “unselfish” player of the night. Christian made the game, shuttled the balls in (which helped our passing game), watered down the crowd at time-outs and became a “ref-favorite” because of his hard work….all on a bum knee. Nice job Christian and thanks for your effort.
Finally, Thomas “triple T” Tarashuk made the play of his young career. Thomas split himself into a wide-out position, ran the perfect route (we cant disclose the route – confidential information), caught the “laser” throw from Michael “always a spiral” Vega, hesitated a second to take it all in, then sprinted, what seemed like 1,000 yards, into the end zone for Summit’s best and final score. Thomas returned to this game after suffering a broken wrist. Thomas attended all of the practices, while hurt, and helped out where directed. The TD catch was a great reward for solid effort.
Congratulations on a great win for the C team. Next up, Morristown at Metro Homes field, Sunday 10/3 at Noon. Come watch the 6th graders play against the tough Morristown team coached by the former NFL (and Penn State) lineman and “Hard-Knock’s” actor , Dave Szott.
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Summit 27 Morristown 14
Summit’s 6th grade team brought their perfect record back home to Metro Homes field to take on the well-coached Morristown Wildcats. The Wildcats were sent home with fewer points than the Summit Hilltoppers. Summit played extremely well and once again their great play started with a perfect coin toss call. 4-0 on the coin toss has led to a 4-0 record. This weeks captains Ricky Lenz, Chris McKee, Matthew Murdock, Sam Zanelli, Kohl Shaffer and Liam Higgins led the team well all week.
After the perfect coin toss call, Summit took over on offense. On first and ten, Shaffer threw a strike to Sam Zanelli. Shaffer then passed to Joe Donini who streaked down the field to the 6 yard line. 60 yards in 2 plays is not too shabby. Summit’s offensive line wanted a chance, so after just 2 plays and 2 wide open holes, Zanelli pranced into the end zone. Great blocking by Liam Higgins, Liam Dougherty, Michael Huston, Jaime Zusi, Mike Mahecha, Joe Donini, Sean McGrath and Patrick Moriarty. These 6th graders made the blocks to pave the way for the Summit running backs. Summit converted on the extra point. Summit led 7-0, (for a second)
Morristown took over on their own 35 and chose “sweep left” as their first play. Great choice, touchdown Morristown and their extra point were good. It was a 7-7 tie before most parents made it to their seats.
Summit took over on offense with Jake Froschauer under center. Phil Angelo took the ball around the right end on Summit’s first play for a 7 yard gain. Angelo was trapped in the backfield on the second play. Unfortunately, a bobbled snap led to a 3 and out for Summit. Punt. Summit’s well coached defense needed to arrive and arrive they did. Anthony Clark made a mountain of a stop on first down. Jaime Zusi and Conner Mayes stopped Morristown in their own backfield on second down. On third and seven, Christian Fusco and Joe Donini crushed the runner forcing a Wildcat punt.
Summit decided to use the “3 yards and a cloud of dust” offense on the next series and it worked. Shaffer kept the ball around Joe Donini and Mahecha on first down. 12 yard gain. Zanelli ran the ball around Huston and Higgins for 6 yards. On second and 4 Zanelli took the ball for a few tough yards, got hit by 3 Morristown tacklers and ran another 37 yards into the end zone. The point after was great. Summit up 14-7.
To start the second quarter, Morristown fumbled the ball and Michael Flanagan recovered. Great start to the second quarter. Summit took over on the Morristown 22 yard line. Froschauer threw a perfect screen to Angelo on first down. Angelo took the pitch on second down for a good 7 yard gain. On 3 and 1 a fumbled snap created a real decision, punt or go for it. Summit decided to go for it….and Zanelli took it all the way into the end zone for a touchdown. Great call on 4th down. Summit missed the extra point, but still led 20-7.
A humbled Morristown team took the ball and was ultimately forced to punt. This defensive stand saw great tackles and defensive effort by Conner Mayes who made a TD saving tackle. Angelo and Zusi made 2 great tackles. Brendan McGinn slammed into the Wildcat runner on 3rd down. Sean McGrath, Joe Donini, Mayes and Zanelli played great on this series of downs. Morristown chose to punt.
Summit was forced to punt on their next series of downs and Morristown threw a half ending pass that was batted down by Sean Quinn and Phil Angelo. Summit took a 20-7 lead into the halftime water break.
Morristown took the ball to start the second half, but Sean Quinn would have nothing of it. Quinn crushed the QB on first down. Hunter Meyer Hanover forced the Morristown runner out of bounds on second down. A whole host of tacklers including Spencer Frey, Christopher Giangiulio, Thomas Rasweiler, Christina Greer and Clay Galiardo stopped Morristown on third down. The Morristown coaches chose to punt on 4th down and that proved to be a bad call. Sam Zanelli was back and ready to receive the punt. Great blocks by Mike Huston, Jamie Zusi, Conner Mayes, Matthew Murdoch and Pat Moriarty sprang Zanelli on the 60 yard punt return for a TD. Great special teams play all day. Summit’s extra point was credited when Jake Gieselman caught the ball in the end zone to add the extra point. Summit led 27-7.
Summit’s defense took the field with Owen Fern and Hayden Fraser leading the way, making a key tackle on first down. Solid stops were made by Peter Galuppo and David Medina on second down. Michael Vega and Brandon Johnston hit the Morristown runner so hard on the next run that he fumbled the ball and Conner Mayes and Joe Donini recovered it.
Michael Vega took the snaps for the next Summit series. On this drive the offensive line had great blocks by Darion Strickler, Brian Treger, Matthew Sklar, Matthew Grange and Justin Hong. Summit’s wide out’s blocked extremely well with Matthew Krasowski and Thomas Tarashuk leading the charge.
There was much back and forth the rest of the day with some other key highlights. Phil Angelo made an awesome interception as well as a ton of yards gained on the ground. Michael Vega looked confident under the center. Solid downfield blocking by Thomas Rasweiler, Brendan McGinn, Griffen Breen, Krasowski and Jack Smith. Summit’s defensive backfield played well all day with highlights from Dante Rodriguez, Hayden Fraser, Ben Lim, Thomas Tarashuk, Hunter Meyer Hanover, Breen, and Jake Froschauer. Today was a day of great defensive stops including key tackles by Treger, Chris McKee, Sean McGrath, Murdock, Johnston, Greer, Galiardo, Frey, William Freeman, Patrick Codey and Anthony Clark.
Summit allowed one more Morristown TD making the final score 27-14. A solid effort from an always improving Summit 6th grade team. Summit takes on New Providence at New Providence on Sunday at Noon. Nice job Summit
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Summit 21 New Providence 6.
The Summit 6th grade team took the long ride west to face a tough New Providence team, ok, it was really only 6 minutes. Summit again came out ahead with a final score of 21-6. The day saw a lot of exceptional play from some new faces and a ton of effort by all. Summit continues their coin toss (and winning) streak with another successful call. Summit took over on offense to start the day. Nice job by this week’s captains Justin Hong, Christian Fusco, Liam Dougherty, Sam Zanelli, Kohl Shaffer and Liam Higgins.
Summit’s first series was successful. Zanelli set up the eventual TD by running left on the first play for a gain of 8 yards. Summit’s second down pass fell incomplete. On third down, Shaffer faked to Zanelli and kept the ball around the right end and scampered 60 yards into the end zone. Zanelli made the conversion and Summit was quickly ahead 7-0. Summit’s maroon offense was in for just 13 plays all day and ultimately scored 3 times. Great solid blocking all day by Michael Huston, Liam Higgins, Liam Dougherty, Jaime Zusi, Michael Mahecha, Joe Donini, Sean McGrath, Patrick Moriarty and Michael Flanagan.
Summit’s defense sprinted onto the field and sprinted off just three plays later forcing a New Providence punt on 4th down. Great effort on this series by Liam Higgins, Michael Huston Ricky Lenz, Philip Angelo, Spencer Frey, Sean Quinn and Christopher Giangiulo.
Summit took over on offense and had a long sustained 12 play drive that came up 3 yards short of the goal line. Philip Angelo lit up this drive with some great running. Jake Froschauer had a solid run on the first play but stayed out a couple of plays to regain his breath. Good upfront blocking by Justin Hong, Clay Galiardo, Ricky Lenz, Matthew Grange, Jake Gieselman and Matthew Sklar. Matthew Murdock led the way on most of Angelo’s runs with some key hard-nosed blocks. Ultimately, this offense was stopped on 4th down at the 3-yard line after a tough run by Froschauer.
Summit’s defense would have no part of New Providence getting near the scoreboard. After an initial costly facemask penalty, Summit’s defense held tough. Christian Fusco anchored his side of the line extremely well. Joe Donini made some good pursuit tackles. Anthony Clark clogged up the middle and made it impossible to run. Brandon Johnson delivered some great hits at linebacker on this series. Will Freeman and Sean McGrath each kept New Providence from even coming close to calling a play to their side. New Providence failed on their 4th down attempt. Summit ball.
Summit’s offense took just 3 plays before they made it to the end zone again. The successful screen play, credit to Coach Zanelli for the play call, was a 58 yard sprint to the goal line. Much practice time has been spent on the down field blocks that are essential to make this play work and Huston, Higgins, Dougherty, Zusi, Mahecha, and Donini executed perfectly. Summit made the extra point making the score at halftime Summit 14-0.
The second half saw all kinds of new names making the highlight reel. Jack Smith and Jake Froschauer nearly hooked up for a TD when Smith ran a perfect route but was just unable to hold on to the ball. Christopher Heckleman may have had the play of the day when he made a spectacular interception to seal the game. Griffin Breen had a chance to run the ball and he ran hard. Hayden Fraser made a great attempt on a reverse call. Peter Galuppo made some hard hits at the outside linebacker position. David Medina looked like Jack Lambert at linebacker with some solo tackles. Brendan McGinn played his usual solid play at both defensive back and wideout.
Summit’s final score came on their first offensive series of the second half. Zanelli took the ball around the left end and ran 60 yards into the end zone. Again, solid blocking by the O-line.
The New Providence offense was able to erase their “zero” on the scoreboard after a solid run by their tail back.
Other standout play was recorded by Owen Fern at linebacker and Brian Treger at offensive line. Thomas Tarashuk and Dante Rodriguez anchored the outside at defensive back and prevented any hope of a New Providence pass. Ben Lim and Hunter Meyer Hanover added to the defensive effort with great pursuit and tackles. Matthew Krasowski played well at wideout just missing a pass to him. Christian Greer played like his normal animal self at defensive end. Brian Coburn saw good action at middle linebacker making some solid stops.
Summit will bring their 5-0 record back to Metro Homes field to take on Bloomfield at Noon on Sunday. Nice win 6th graders.
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Summit 14 Bloomfield 6
It is really quite odd what is going on in Summit. For some reason, the 6th grade football team may actually be better at calling the coin toss than playing the game. They’ve been well coached, but beating the odds 6 times in a row may mean we head to Atlantic City on Sundays. The 6th graders had another great game this beautiful Sunday afternoon against Bloomfield (or was it Belleville). Summit walked away with no injuries and a 14-6 final score.
Summit took over on offense after a superb coin toss call by this weeks captains Jake Froschauer, Sean McGrath, Brendan McGinn, Liam Higgins, Kohl Shaffer and Sam Zanelli. The football God’s sent the yellow hankies Summit’s way many times today and it started on the first play from scrimmage. A mysterious holding call started Summit’s offense with first down and 25 yards to go. Several miscues led to a quick, but good, punt by Summit’s Jake Froschauer.
Summit took over on defense and Michael Flanagan went to work with a stunning hit on the Bloomfield runner. On 2nd and 12, Froschauer made a solo tackle. On 3rd and 9 Froschauer “smeared” the runner again and Bloomfield was forced to punt.
Summit took over on their own 37-yard line. Summit, anticipating gusting winds, kept the ball on the ground for the next several plays. This was not very exciting and many a season ticket holder looked for a rebate but the offensive line coaches were smiling from ear to ear. It was basically Zanelli up the middle for a gain of 7, Shaffer for a gain of 6, Zanelli gaining 8, Shaffer gaining 4, etc. The offensive line absolutely played a Division 1 game, outstanding blocks by Michael “grew another inch today” Huston, Liam “im not sure you will ever run my play” Higgins, Liam “I will arrest you” Dougherty, Jaime “can I pull yet?” Zusi, Michael “don’t mess with me” Mahecha, Justin “I got you babe” Hong, Chris “bigger than all get-out” McKee, and Michael “just tell me where to play” Flanagan. Finally, the play caller got his act together when he called a reverse to Phil “just in from a concert in Flemington” Angelo who carried the ball many many yards down the field. This ended a scoreless first quarter.
Starting the second quarter, Summit went offsides, darn penalties. But in the end, who cares, they are only in 6th grade and we scored 2 plays later. Awesome blocking and pitch to Michael Flanagan who ran the ball, untouched, into the end zone for Summit's first score. Two seconds on Michael Flanagan….. he will play any position you ask, he will work hard 100% of the time and he knows his plays. Great game and all around effort Michael! Touchdown Summit and the extra point was great by Zanelli. Summit 7-0.
Summit’s bullhorn inspired defense took to the field. Shaffer made a 5-yard losing tackle. Ricky Lenz clogged up the middle with help from Conner Mayes on second down. Liam Dougherty and Michael Huston teamed up on a tackle on 3rd down. Bloomfield punted. Taking a page out of Bloomfield’s book, Summit punted after 4 plays. Yes, still 7-0 as the first half ended.
The second half started with some not so inspiring speeches by the coaching staff, ok, maybe Coach Gob yelled a little. Bloomfield’s ball to start the second half (remember we don’t miss the coin toss call, ever!) Bloomfield “kinda barfed” on their first play from scrimmage, fumbling the snap with great hits by Zusi, Angelo and Froschauer. Michael Huston owned the next play with a crushing stop for a 12-yard loss. Many on the field heard Michael say “Dude, my grandfather is in the stands, watch this” as he crushed the Bloomfield back. Bloomfield’s next run was a gain of 9 yards as a tough Bloomfield runner broke 500 Summit “arm tackles”. This is something Summit practiced against all week. We even paid a Summit coach (a lot of money) to pretend to be a fleet of foot, crafty, Barry Sanders type QB so our defense would be prepared to not have this happen. Rumor has it the coach was quite sore for several days as he pretended to be this kind of “broken play” QB/runner. Possibly a colossal waste of money. Back to the game, Bloomfield punt.
Summit ball on the Bloomfield 32-yard line. Shaffer ran right with great blocks by Joe “jaw like Frazier” Donini and Sam “Kit is the best athlete in the family” Zanelli. Shaffer threw to Sean “go Rutgers” McGrath for an 8 yard gain. Kit’s brother Sam Zanelli ran for a first down. First and goal from the 9-yard line. Michael Flanagan made a great catch (ok, a little bobble) as he scored on a strike to improve the score to 13-0. Summit needed the extra point badly. Jake “I have a ton of family in the stands” Gieselman made a sure handed catch on the extra point. This extra point may have been the play of the day. Great release, pattern and catch Jake! Summit leads 14-0.
Summit took over on defense and sent the Bloomfield players back to their sideline after four quick plays. Solid stops on these 3 downs by Spencer Frey, Sean Quinn, Christopher Giangiulo and Thomas Rasweiler.
Summit’s Jake Froschauer took over on the next set of downs. He took the ball on his own on first down and gained 13 valuable yards. Phil Angelo gained 12 yards on the next play. Unfortunately, the sky opened up on the next couple of plays and it started raining yellow hankies. Still not sure why, maybe because we were ahead, but the field looked like a Live Strong commercial with yellow everywhere. Summit punted. Great effort and blocks by the interior line led by Justin Hong, Clay Galiardo, Matthew Grange, Chris McKee, Jake Gieselman, Brendan McGinn, Thomas Rasweiler, Matthew Sklar and Anthony Clark.
Bloomfield took over and fumbled the ball quickly. Summit’s offense had Griffin Breen taking the pitch and gaining 9 valuable yards on a springing block by Hayden Fraser. Again the penalties crushed anything Summit had to give.
Ultimately, Bloomfield’s “broken play” offense was able to succeed by scoring in the 4th quarter but not the extra point. In the end, Summit saw great play by Brian Treger at O-line, Justin Navas on defense, Matt Krasowski at wideout, Owen Fern at linebacker, Peter Galuppo at DB, Will Freeman at outside LB, Christian Fusco as the always disciplined DE, Brandon Johnston at LB, David Medina at defense, Hunter Meyer-Hanover at LB, Darion Strickler at O-line and Michael Vega doing outstanding work at ballboy.
The game ended with Summit leading 14-6. Summit will face the undefeated Berkeley Heights team away on Sunday at noon. Great win Summit.
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| SUMMIT 42 BERKELEY HEIGHTS 13
Well, the coin toss streak had to end. “6 in a row” ended with this week’s call, but WOW what a game these Summit 6th graders played. (Who cares about the coin toss) It was a tough week and a tough opponent. This week, Summit faced the previously unbeaten team from Berkeley Heights and “put a hurtin” to a team that only had 12 points scored against them. Summit marched up and down the field on this beautiful Sunday, scoring 6 times and making all of the extra points. Final score: Summit 42 Berkeley Heights 13. Great win and Summit clinches the top spot in the National division.
Summit’s defense was first up in an uncharacteristic move. Summit’s defense ruled the day allowing very little offensive production. On 1st and 10 Summit held firm giving up 2 yards. Heights stumbled on second down gaining little. Michael Huston crunched a runner to make it 3rd and 5 and everyone on defense stopped Height’s progress to force a punt on 4th down. Berkeley Height’s decision to punt was a poor one. Holy Cow, what a mistake. The punt sailed right into Phil Angelo’s hands and Angelo started his journey. He darted and dodged and skipped and slid making at least 15 Berkeley Heights tacklers miss. He was even rumored to have stopped for some pasta on this “Walter Payton” like run. Angelo ran all the way into the end zone. Great blocks by the entire “Zanelli-coached” return team and an awesome run. Summit’s extra point was good. Summit up 7-0
Summit took over on defense and forced a fumbled first snap. After 2 more runs up the middle, Berkeley Heights punted, this time away from Phil Angelo.
Summit threw on first down for a gain of 10 yards. Summit’s Kohl Shaffer connected with Joe Donini on second down for a 30 yard gain. Shaffer then handed the ball to Sam Zanelli who scampered around the end for Summit’s 2nd score. WOW! Summit converted on the PAT bringing the score quickly to 14-0. Awesome blocks all day by the offensive line. As we anticipated, today’s battle would be won in the trenches and boy, did Summit own the trenches. Excellent work by Michael Huston, Michael Mahecha, Liam Higgins, Ricky Lenz, Jamie Zusi, Justin Hong, Michael Flanagan, Matthew Murdoch, Pat Moriarty, Philip Angelo and Conner Mayes.
Berkeley Heights again took over with zero success on offense. On a desperate 4th down rushing attempt, Zanelli made the “hit of the day” on the Berkeley Heights runner, stopping any forward progress. Berkeley Heights turned the ball over on downs.
Summit again sprinted onto the field for their 3rd chance to score. This was an unusual drive. On this drive alone, Summit rushed for 195 yards and scored 3 times. How can that be? Well, here we go. On 1st and 10, Zanelli sprinted around the end and with great blocking by the line ran 65 yards into the end zone for a score. Unfortunately, that score was called back on a holding call. On first down again, Summit gained 15 yards on a reverse. On first down again, Zanelli took the ball around the right end for a 50 yard TD that was called back for another holding call. So finally, on first down again, Zanelli ran around that same end for another 65 yard TD. This time it counted. 3 scores, 1 counted. Shaffer added the extra point. Summit now ahead 21-0.
Berkeley Heights got desperate but Christian Fusco, Anthony Clark and Jamie Zusi didn’t. Fusco and Zusi sacked the QB on 1st down. Great play! Berkeley Heights tried to surprise Summit by having their QB drop back to pass. Would Summit be ready? Joe Donini was and he intercepted a pretty well thrown ball. Great catch Joe. Summit ball.
Summit took over for the 4th time. Sweep right by Angelo gained 5 yards. Sweep left by Angelo gained 55 yards. 1st and goal on the Heights’s 3 yard line. After a couple of penalties and tough Berkeley Heights defense, Summit scored and made the extra point. Great blocking and effort on the drive by Anthony Clark, Jake Froschauer, Clay Galiardo, Jake Gieselman, Sean Quinn, Spencer Frey, Matthew Grange, Brendan McGinn, Sean McGrath, Patrick Moriarty, Thomas Rasweiler and Matthew Sklar. Summit ahead 28-0 as the first half ended. Who woulda thunk it?
Summit’s offense took over to start the 2nd half but exited after a fumble on 2nd down. Oh well. Summit’s defense took to the field and was a bit stunned as the Berkeley Heights runner took a reverse into the end zone making it 28-6 after an important failed conversion.
Summit’s offense got a bit feisty after the Height’s score and took the ball into the end zone after just 3 plays for their 5th TD and extra point of the day. Summit 35-6
Summit’s defense stopped Berkeley Heights again on the next drive with super tackling by Spencer Frey, Christian Fusco, Michael Vega, Dante Rodriguez, Brandon Johnston, Christian Greer, Christopher Giangiulo, Owen Fern and Griffin Breen. This group sent the Berkeley Heights offense back to the sidelines. Summit’s final, somewhat controversial, score was well worth the smile on the faces of Spencer Frey and Jake Froschauer. A perfect spiral by Froschauer and excellent “catch and run” by Frey ended with Frey sprinting across the goal line for Summits 6th and final score. Awesome effort. Summit 42-6.
Other standouts on this fine Summit day included Griffin Breen’s great effort at 3 back, Brian Coburn’s solid play at receiver and on defense, Patrick Codey’s blocking on the O-line, Owen Fern’s pursuing tackles on the final Height’s drive, Peter Galuppo’s catch from behind, Matthew Krasowski’s solid play at X receiver, Ben Lim’s coverage at defensive back, Matthew Medina’s “Jack Lambert” tackles, Justin Navas’s “Lawrence Taylor” rushes at defensive end, Jack Smith’s last man standing defensive play at free safety, Darion Strickler’s toughness up front, Thomas Tarashuk’s great outside containment, Brian Treger’s “plow back” blocking and Hayden Fraser’s speed at receiver and defensive back.
Great job 6th graders and Congratulations on being National Division champs. Final score Summit 42 Heights 13. Summit’s final regular season game will be against Chatham at Home on Sunday at Noon.
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SUMMIT 27 CHATHAM 13
The Summit 6th graders ended their pursuit to an undefeated season on a high note against a tough team from Chatham. Summit scored 3 times in the first half and ended the game with a solid 27-13 win. Summit’s captains Clay Galiardo, Christopher Giangulio, Sean Quinn, Sam Zanelli, Liam Higgins and Kohl Shaffer called the coin toss correctly once again making their coin toss record 7-1, not bad.
Summit’s offense was potent today. Solid rushing from Zanelli and Shaffer got Summit their first 15 yards and a first down. A little more Shaffer, Zanelli back and forth with a bit of Michael Flanagan ended with Zanelli scoring on a 14 yard run. Summit converted on the extra point making the score 7-0. Again the real difference-makers were the “Big-Uns” up front; Michael Huston, Liam Higgins, Liam Dougherty, Jaime Zusi, Ricky Lenz, Michael Mahecha and Joe Donini blocked well all day. Great down field blocking by Patrick Moriarty, Sean McGrath and Brendan McGinn.
Summit’s defense was next up with everyone present except for Coach Gob who was rumored to be scouting the Black Crows for possible blitz schemes. Chatham’s sweep was stopped by a holding call, now 1st and 20. A dive up the middle was stopped by Donini, Zanelli, Conner Mayes and Matthew Murdoch. Two more unsuccessful passes led to a Chatham punt. Summit took over on their own 49-yard line.
On first down Shaffer connected on a long pass to Donini for a 20-yard gain. On a bad reverse call, Summit was stopped deep in their own backfield losing 7 yards. In the end, a loss of yardage is no big deal, when you have this Summit offense. On the next play Zanelli scampered around the end and into the end zone. The only real problem was the yellow hankie on the field that some guy in a referee costume pulled out of his pocket. Holding on Summit brought this TD back. Again, who cares when on the next play Shaffer connected to Zanelli on a screen that allowed Zanelli to make “Z’s” all over the Summit turf as he zigged and zagged into the end zone. No yellow hankies this time. Summit missed their extra point bringing the score to 13-0.
Chatham ran up the middle into Michael Huston on first down, bad decision. They ran into Michael Flanagan on second down. After watching our reverse, Chatham tried to run that on 3rd down but was stopped in the backfield by Flanagan and Ricky Lenz. Chatham punted to Conner Mayes who darted and dodged for a long gain but Summit again found a yellow hankie take the majority of the yardage back. Simply though, who cares, on first and ten a very underrated and understated Matthew Murdock took the ball from Jake Froschauer and ran it 55 yards into the end zone for Summit’s 3rd TD. What a run! (Many more from Murdock today). Froschauer added the extra point himself with a solid run up the middle. Summit 20-0.
Summit’s defense was up next. Michael Mahecha stopped a reverse on first down. Chatham completed a pass but was tackled quickly by Zanelli and Sean McGrath. On 3rd and 12 Chatham attempted a pass but the ball fell right into the hands of defensive back Sean McGrath but McGrath felt it wasn’t the right time to hold on to the ball, “not yet coach”, many a fan heard him say. Chatham punted and a Summit coach (last name is also a city in Texas, not Dallas or Austin or Ft Worth) overloaded the punt return team with 12 players just trying to get more kids some playing time. After excessive apologies, Summit was flagged again and Chatham got a coupon for a free 15 yards. Chatham redeemed their coupon, first down Chatham. Chatham didn’t do much on their next 2 plays because David Medina, Conner Mayer said “no more”. Nice stops by these 2 Summit tacklers. Chatham took to the air on third down and long and again the pigskin spiraled right into the arms of Sean McGrath. This time McGrath believed it was “his time” so he caught it and made a valiant effort at a “pick six” but was stopped short. The half ended with a lot of Summit cheers and a 20-0 lead.
Chatham’s ball to start the second half. Christopher Giangulio broke up Chatham’s attempted pass. Sean Quinn, Spencer Frey, Thomas Rasweiler and Lenz made stops on 2nd down. On 3rd down, Chatham ran around the end and into the end zone for a long long run. They converted on their extra point bringing the score to 20-7.
The next set of downs was all Matthew Murdock, what a great day he had. He gained 7 on his first carry, 15 on his second, 6.5yards on his third and 4 on his next run. All of Matthew’s runs were hard fought “John Riggins” yards. A tough kid and a tough runner. Great blocking by this 0-line enabled Murdock success. Solid blocks by Justin Hong, Clay Galiardo, Ricky Lenz, Matthew Grange, Anthony Clark, Spencer Frey, Brian Treger and Matthew Sklar. Summit ultimately ran out of downs and turned the ball over to Chatham.
Chatham took over with no success. Dougherty and Shaffer sacked the runner on first down. Dougherty stopped the QB again on 2nd down. Chatham punted soon after and Conner Mayes made a great 30 yard return. It didn’t take long for Summit to put their final TD on the board when Michael Flanagan ran the ball 40 yards into the end zone. Great blocks and runs all day from Flanagan, what else is new?. Michael Vega made the 2 tough extra point yards look easy when he sprinted over the goal line to make the score 27-7.
Chatham’s offense reluctantly headed onto the field. Dante Rodriguez and Christian Fusco made ferocious hits on 1st down. Jack Smith added to the pain tackling a Chatham rusher on 2nd down. Darion Strickler, Ben Lim and Peter Galuppo ganged tackled the rusher on 3rd down. Chatham converted these tough downs into a first down as they began to move the ball down the field. Patrick Codey and Owen Fern man-handled the next rusher. Thomas Tarashuk provided solid pass defense on this series. Will Freeman made a solid stop on 2nd down. Christian Greer and Brandon Johnston combined to tackle the next Chatham rusher. Unfortunately, Chatham broke the next run for a long TD gain. Oh well. Final Score Summit 27 Chatham 13.
Summit ended their regular season undefeated at 8-0. No one would have believed how much progress these 6th graders made. The time served and effort put in by this team was remarkable and made many a fan in the stands and coaches on the field proud. Great win, Great regular season, now the playoffs and road to the Super Bowl begins. Great job by the 6th grade coaching staff with many hours put in by Coach Donini, McGinn, Zanelli, Zusi, Huston, Gob and Shyposh.
Stay tuned for the location and opponent of Playoff game #1.
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SUMMIT 14 CRANFORD 0
The first stop on the football playoff tour took the 6th grade Summit football team to Perth Amboy to face a tough Cranford Cougar team. No one was quite sure why we had to travel so far from Summit but we will play anyone, anywhere. The game was another successful outing for the still unbeaten C team. The final score of 14-0 didn’t quite capture all of the effort from Summit.
Summit, once again, took possession first, after Liam “beat the odds” Higgins called the coin toss correctly for the 8th time this season. Summit’s captain's Griffin Breen, Matthew Grange and Brian Treger did a nice job all week leading the team in preparation for playoff game #1.
On the first run from scrimmage Summit’s Sam Zanelli took the ball around the left end and 40 yards down the field behind great blocks by Sean McGrath, Michael Flanagan and Matthew Murdock. Cranford was called for a facemask adding to the yardage gained. Summit sputtered a bit on the next couple plays with a fumbled snap and an offside’s penalty. No worries, Zanelli took the ball on a reverse play into the end zone for the first of Summit’s two scores. Summit added the important extra point bringing the score to an early 7-0.
Summit’s defense was tough all day not allowing a point, or a substantial drive. The only effective Cranford play was the penalty flag, which came out quite often on this first drive. Michael Huston stopped the first down play for no gain. Cranford gained a first down on a sweep around the end. After 2 stunning stops by Summit, Cranford threw the ball and Summit was called for pass interference. Summit was called for a facemask on the next play. Cranford was called for offside’s next. On first and 15, Summit was called for another penalty, personal foul this time, no clue why or for what. Long story short, 3 penalties later and very little earned yardage, Cranford punted. Wow, a lot of yellow hankies and it was still the first quarter. The Summit defense was the “star of the game”, great effort by Michael Huston, Michael Flanagan, Jamie Zusi, Liam Dougherty, Liam Higgins, Phil Angelo, Sam Zanelli, Conner Mayes, Jake Froschauer, Pat Moriarty, Kohl Shaffer, Ricky Lenz, Michael Mahecha, Christian Fusco, Sean Quinn and Matthew Murdoch.
Summit’s offense was one and out with a quick fumble that was recovered by Cranford. Cranford’s offense was stopped cold by Summit’s stingy defense. Cranford’s first down pass fell incomplete, their inside counter gained only 2 yards. Cranford punted after an unsuccessful third down pass. Summit took over on their own 12-yard line. Summit was able to move the ball a little but ultimately punted on 4th down.
Cranford took over on Summit’s 37-yard line but turned the ball over on downs after a boring 4 plays. Summit did the same with poor field position but only after a Michael Huston pancake on 3rd down. Summit punted to Cranford who took over on Summit’s 41yard line. Summit had tough field position for most of the second quarter but that didn’t bother the Summit defense. Cranford’s ball on first down and they chose to pass and Phil Angelo chose to intercept their pass and had a great darting run to add some spark to the Summit team. Summit took over with 2 minutes in the half on Cranford’s 41-yard line. After some passes, some drops and a great block by Michael Mahecha the half ended with Summit ahead 7-0.
Cranford took over to start the second half. They did nothing. Solid stops by Zanelli, Shaffer, Huston, Flanagan and Dougherty. Summit took over on their own 30-yard line but not much happened. Flanagan, Zanelli, Murdock and Shaffer all added hard yardage. Summit was called for holding and that ended that drive, so Summit was again forced to punt. Jake Froschauer had some spectacular punts and kept Summit alive most of the day.
Cranford was forced to punt again after 3 plays including a pass block by Shaffer and great stops by Sean Quinn, Ricky Lenz, Spencer Frey, Pat Moriarty and Huston. Summit’s offense again struggled again to put a drive together. Zanelli gained 10 yards on first down and 4 more yards on the next 1st down. After a tough Cranford stop and a broken play and an incomplete pass, Summit punted.
Well, I told you it was a defensive struggle, a hard fought playoff game. Both teams played well on defense. Cranford took over and punted 4 plays later. Great stops by the middle of the Summit defense and a great gang tackle quarterback sack. Ok, finally a little excitement and some better play calling. QB draw on Summit’s first play gained 20 yards. On 1st and 10 on the Cranford 39 yard line Zanelli followed a host of Summit blockers up the middle and 39 yards into the end zone. Finally! Summit made their extra point and generated the final score of 14-0. Many a parent, player and coach breathed a huge sigh of relief after that drive.
The game ended with many happy players and fans and Summit winning. It was a great, tough defensive struggle by the entire Summit team. Summit’s next game will be against Sparta at Summit. Great job and nice win.
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SUMMIT 26 SPARTA 13
Why break the streak now. The Summit 6th grade C team continued both streaks this week; their "coin toss call" streak and their undefeated win streak. Summit took on Sparta in the final playoff game before the Super Bowl. Summit won 26-13, look out, “we’re going to the Super Bowl”.
The day was spectacular with no wind and a ton of sun and many parents and relatives in the stands. Summit took little time to get things going on the first play from scrimmage. Sam “freight train” Zanelli took a direct snap into the middle of the line and came out the other end, 65 yards later with a TD. This inside dive call was successful simply because the O line rocked the D line from Sparta. Great blocks by Michael Huston, Liam Higgins, Liam Dougherty, Jamie Zusi, Michael “hit man” Mahecha, Joe Donini, Sean McGrath, Patrick Moriarty, Michael Flanagan and Kohl Shaffer. Great team effort and a super early lead, 7-0 Summit.
Sparta took the ball on their 35-yard line and ran into the ferocious Summit defense. On first down, Conner Mayes crushed the Sparta runner. On 2nd and 6, Jamie Zusi forced a fumbled snap and on 3rd and 6, Zanelli delivered a blow but only after Sparta made a first down. Zusi made another sack on a poorly executed reverse play and on the next play from scrimmage Summit forced a fumble and recovered the football. Great defensive play, Summit ball first and 10.
Zanelli took the ball on a fake reverse play for a long gain on the first play of this drive. Shaffer hit the middle of the line on the next play. Zanelli took a sweep around the end on the next play. This run resulted in the Summit runner stopping in the end zone but a yellow penalty flag called this TD back. Ultimately, the penalty proved too costly, as Summit was unable to convert on 4th down. Oh well.
The first quarter ended after a stalled Sparta drive and a punt back to Summit. First and 10 on the Sparta 37 yard line. Summit sputtered on first down but not on second down as Zanelli again took the ball into the middle of the line and came out in the end zone, must be a secret tunnel or something. Shaffer added the extra point, Summit up 14-0.
Sparta was a little upset so they fought back. On first down they completed a long pass that ultimately saw Thomas Rasweiler and Ricky Lenz bring down the receiver. Sparta’s second down pass fell incomplete. Their 3rd down pass was again complete for a long gain and a first down. A significant amount of back and forth led to more yards gained by Sparta and more passes completed. On 3rd and 5 from the Summit 20 yard line, Sparta would throw one last time and Phil Angelo would come up with the spectacular interception. Great drive stopping thud Philip, take that!
Summit’s ball again and Zanelli gained 7 yards on first down, Shaffer gained 5 on second. With a fresh set of downs Summit sprinted around the end and gained 10 yards that were quickly given back after a holding call. The next fake sweep call didn’t work as well as the first one, resulting in a small loss. The next screen play saw great blocking by Anthony Clark, Clay Galiardo, Justin Hong, Matthew Grange and Ricky Lenz and resulted in a solid gain. On 4th and 2 Summit punted and that ended the half. Not bad for a playoff game. Summit still ahead 14-0 going into the coach’s speeches.
Sparta was on offense to start the second half but they ran smack-dab into Anthony Clark, not a good idea for any human. After, several runs and some flare passes the Summit defense led by Fusco, Mahecha, Quinn, McGinn, McGrath, Frey and Vega sent the Sparta punt team on to the field.
Summit was unable to field the punt but maintained great field position. Not much happened until 4th down. On 4th and 2 yards, Zanelli again followed the blocks to convert a 4 and 2 dive into a TD. Summit failed on the extra point after a great route by Jake Gieselman. Summit up 20-0
Sparta was getting mad and a bit frustrated. Their next drive was a good one if you were a Sparta fan. A nice completion on first down with a solid tackle by Conner Mayes and Will Freeman started their success. A solid run for a gain of 4 yards and a gang tackle by Spencer Frey, Christian Greer, Jake Froschauer, Joe Donini, Christopher Fusco and Sean Quinn was next. Christopher Giangiulio broke up a nice pass on the next play from scrimmage. A flare pass was complete for another decent gain and Brandon Johnston and Giangiulio brought down the receiver. Several more plays and great effort by Owen Fern, Hayden Fraser, Clay Galiardo, Brendan McGinn, Brian Treger, Frey, Brian Coburn and Michael Vega at nose guard took us to the end of the 3rd quarter. To start the 4th quarter, Sparta’s QB dropped back to pass and delivered a perfect spiral to an open receiver that ended with Sparta scoring their first TD. They failed on their extra point try. Summit still ahead 20-6.
Summit’s Michael Vega took the snap from center and pitched it to the fast and shifty Phil Angelo who gained a good 5 yards. Jake Froschauer then took the snap on second down and handed it to Matthew Murdock who made a great run resulting in 3rd down and short. Froschauer couldn’t convert on the QB sneak so it was 4th and inches and Summit decided to go for it. Why not try the “run into the middle, find the secret tunnel and come out in the end zone” play. Nice thought, that’s what we called and the 4th and inches resulted in another Summit TD. Again the Zanelli score was made possible by great blocking all day by the big boys up front. Summit was unable to convert by still led 26-6.
The next series saw a whole host of Summit effort. Griffin Breen stopped the fullback on first down. On second down every Summit tackler had a shot at the Sparta runner but he was just too quick and he scampered into the end zone for another Sparta score. Sparta easily converted on their PAT attempt but Summit still lead 26-13.
Jake Froschauer dropped back to throw on Summit’s next possession and had a whole host of receivers to choose from. Hayden Fraser, Jack Smith, Matthew Murdock, Sean Quinn and Phil Angelo all sprinted down the field, Froschauer chose one receiver but it didn’t matter because that receiver (Sean Quinn, I think) simply tipped the ball to an open Murdock who never hesitated and caught the ball for a significant Summit gain. Great play. Murdock and Mayes took the next two runs for good gains. Solid blocking all day by our wideouts; Hayden Fraser, Thomas Tarashuk, Brian Coburn, Christopher Heckleman, Brendan McGinn and Jack Smith. Summit was forced to punt on 4th down.
The final Sparta drive had many good runs by them but more by us. Darion Strickler made an awesome solo tackle right in front of the Summit bench. Matthew Sklar, this week’s tri captain, added a solid tackle. Dante Rodriguez saw great time on the field and never let a Sparta receiver near the ball. Justin Navas was his typical consistent solid defensive end all day. David Medina had another great week and anchored the defense with several tackles and assists. Matthew Krasowski was alert and ready at defensive back and inside linebacker. Peter Galuppo was another solid defensive back. Galuppo made a solo tackle that Sparta is still talking about. Great effort by this solid stingy Summit defense. Finally, Jake Froschauer made a Division 1, “one handed” interception in the end zone to end the game. Awesome catch.
So they’ve done it, the Summit 6th grade team has made it to the Super Bowl. It was written on everyone’s playbook at the beginning of the season, “the Super Bowl is the goal”. It was there all the time and they did it. The undefeated 6th grade team will take on Richmond Boro at Belleville on Sunday 11/21 at 11am in the SUPER BOWL. They certainly have earned it. Great effort boys, one more week! |