Saturday Big Central Roundup: Rahway nabs big win over Watchung Hills, Governor Livingston wins a shootout, Spotswood keeps playoff hopes alive; South River picks up second win

Football Notebook
by Mike Pavlichko

The three-day weekend of high school football due to Yom Kippur is in the books, with Rahway, Watchung Hills, Spotswood and South River all picking up wins.

Here’s a look at Saturday Week Six action, plus scores from Friday and Thursday nights.

Rahway 14, Watchung Hills 10: Last year, Watchung Hills was playing in the Group 5 playoffs, this year they’re down to four. But the Indians essentially knocked off a Group 5 team in the Warriors Saturday night up in the Somerset Hills.

This game was a tight one, scoreless at the half. Dillon Nunes opened the scoring with a 30-yard field goal in the third quarter before the game opened up in the final 12 minutes.

Ziare Fields gave Rahway its first lead on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Synceir Touissant. But Watchung Hills answered right back as Mason Kelly countered with a one-yard touchdown run.

But Andrew Avent followed it up with a seven-yard touchdown run that proved to be the difference.

Both teams are now 5-2 on the season, as the Indians host New Brunswick (0-7) next Friday night, while Watchung Hills visits Elizabeth (3-4).

Spotswood 34, Dayton 7: The Chargers got two field goals from Gavin Pereira while four other players scored touchdowns en route to a win on their brand-new turf field. Click here to read a recap and see postgame reaction from Marcus Borden with the Chargers, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen.

Governor Livingston 50, Voorhees 46: For the second straight year, the Highlanders dropped a 50-spot on an opponent, edging out the Vikings on a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Kamar McLean with five seconds to go.

This was a wild one with lost of momentum swings. Governor Livingston got the first two scores of the game and led 14-0 after one, but Voorhees scored three straight touchdowns in the second quarter – missing a PAT and a two-point conversion on two of them – to take a 19-14 halftime lead.

They opened the second half scoring to go up 27-14, the biggest deficit GL would face all night, but Jack Dally countered with a nine-yard touchdown run to cut it to six, before Toby Dorr ran in a score from four yards out to make it 33-21.

In the fourth, Lucciano Santamaria ran in a touchdown from ten yards out to get to within five, but Matteo Tramutola answered with his second touchdown of the game to make it 39-28.

The Highlanders would get the next two scores – another nine-yard run from Dally, and an 80-yard sprint by Santamaria – to take their first lead of the second half. It was short-lived as Tramutola scored his third touchdown on a two-yard run to make it 46-43 Voorhees, after which McLean became the hero with his long kick return for six.

Both teams are now 3-4. Governor Livingston hosts No. 4 Bernards (7-0, 21 straight wins vs. the Big Central) Saturday afternoon, while Voorhees travels to Hillside (4-3) Saturday.

South River 20, Brearley 18 (OT): Tied at 12 going into overtime, both teams scored, but it was the Rams who won it, thanks to an Aiden Velez 20-yard touchdown run and another run for the win on a two-point try.

Michael Marchesi – the son of longtime coach Rich Marchesi – and Filipe Granadeiro also scored TDs in regulation for South River, which improved to 2-5 on the season. The Rams host South Plainfield (2-5) next week, while Brearley (0-6) will visit Metuchen (5-2), with both games on Saturday.

Friday Scores

Thursday Scores

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