Elizabeth’s perfect season continues for another week, as the Minutemen were one of four Big Central teams to win Saturday afternoon on a slate that doubled in size due to two reschedules from Friday, as the forecast of potentially strong thunderstorms – that mostly failed to pan out – threw a wrench into the schedule.
Senior quarterback Arique Fleming did what he always does in what was a 34-3 win at Westfield: throw for a ton of yards, while getting everyone involved in the offense. Fleming was an effiicient 15-of-19 for 352 yards and four touchdowns, with no turnovers. He also ran six times for just ten yards, but one was a touchdown run.
Jamir Gregory caught a first-quarter touchdown pass to put Elizabeth up 7-0, and the Blue Devils answered with a Carter Surowitz 23-yard field goal. But that was all they would get the rest of the day, as the Minutemen defense kept Westfield out of the end zone all afternoon, and Elizabeth scored four more touchdowns to win going away.
Eric Cespedes caught a 68-yard touchdown pass to make it 13-3 Minutemen at the break. Then, in the third quarter, Fleming ran for a five-yard score, Jeremiah Jiminez caught a ten-yard touchdown pass, and Jamiir Gregory caught a 34-yard toss.
Elizabeth is 8-0 on the season, and the American Gold Division champs will close the regular season at home against Somerville, seeking their first undefeated season since 2012, when they went 11-0 and won the North 2, Group 5 championship over Piscataway.
Westfield drops to 1-7, and not counting the COVID-shortened 2020 season, when they played an extra-abbreviated slate and finished 0-2, will finish with fewer than three wins for the first time since 2012, when they went 2-8.
Governor Livingston scores erases 7-0 deficit to beat South Plainfield…
David Dellipoali scored on a 49-yard touchdown run in the first quarter to give South Plainfield a 7-0 lead, but that was all they could muster as Governor Livingston scored the game’s next two touchdowns to come up with a 14-7 win on Senior Day.
Junior runningback Elijah Garcia scored on a 40-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to tie the score at 7-7, then Sean Drayton caught a 14-yard pass from quarterback Colin Hughes, with an extra point making it 14-7.
The teams then played a scoreless second half.
The Highlanders improve to 4-4 with the win, and will look to get into the playoffs with a win at New Providence next Saturday. South Plainfield falls to 4-4. A bubble team heading into the weekend, they may need to beat Perth Amboy next week at home to qualify.
Watchung Hills wins back and forth battle at Plainfield…
The Warriors kept their playoff hopes alive with a 23-22 win at Hub Stine Field Saturday afternoon. An 8-3 game at the half, the teams traded blows in the second half, with the Warriors edging out the Cardinals, stopping them on defense late in the game. Plainfield had scored to get them to within one, and after a pass interference against Hills on the first try, they stopped them cleanly on the second to preserve the lead.
The win the Warriors at 4-4, and allows them to stay at No. 17 in the North Group 4 supersection, but draw closer in points to No. 16 Carteret. Plainfield falls to 2-6, leaving them in a precarious playoff position, having entered the day at No. 15 in the North Group 5 playoff chase.
Click below to hear Watchung Hills head coach Joe Ascolese talk about the game with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:
SATURDAY SCHEDULE
- #1 Elizabeth 34, Westfield 3
- Watchung Hills 23, Plainfield 22
- South Hunterdon 26, Dunellen 0
- Governor Livingston 14, South Plainfield 7
FRIDAY SCORES
- #2 Old Bridge 43, East Brunswick 0
- #3 Ridge 42, Hillsborough 19
- #4 Phillipsburg 35, #6 Bridgewater-Raritan 14
- #5 Piscataway 35, Monroe 7
- #7 Cranford 24, Carteret 12
- #8 Sayreville 44, North Brunswick 8
- #9 Rahway 41, Colonia 14
- St. Joseph-Metuchen 34, #10 Union 19
- Dayton 28, Highland Park 0 (Recap with Audio)
- Johnson 41, Perth Amboy 28 (Coverage via Marcus Borden)
- Hillside 54, Manville 7
- Bernards 42, JFK 20
- Somerville 20, Hunterdon Central 0
- South River 12, JP Stevens 7
- New Providence 34, Spotswood 7
- Bound Brook 21, Middlesex 20
- Franklin 27, South Brunswick 25
- Belvidere 21, North Warren 8
- Delaware Valley 24, North Plainfield 0
- Montgomery 31, North Hunterdon 6
- Voorhees 40, New Brunswick 6
- St. Thomas Aquinas 47, Edison 0
- Summit 42, Scotch Plains-Fanwood 14
- Woodbridge 41, Linden 14
- Metuchen 20, Roselle 16
THURSDAY SCORE
- Roselle Park 38, Brearley 35
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