No. 1 Elizabeth finishes unbeaten regular season, battles to defeat Somerville

It was a night of history for No. 1 Elizabeth.

Senior Night, Homecoming, the final regular season game for a Minutemen (9-0) squad enjoying a magical season.

But through 24 minutes, the night didn’t get off to an ideal start.

They trailed 14-7 to Somerville at halftime, and the Pioneers (5-4) had built some momentum in the run game with a Wildcat-heavy approach.

But the second half belonged to the unbeatens. Elizabeth rattled off 22 unanswered points to steal the momentum back to win, 29-14, and clinch the Minutemen’s first unbeaten regular season since 2012, when future NFL signal-caller PJ Walker led them to a North 2, Group 5 title over Piscataway.

Senior quarterback A’rique Fleming shined, as per usual, and enjoyed a record-setting night of his own. With a first-quarter touchdown to junior Alvin Hunter, he set the single-season passing yards record. And with a 31-yard score to fellow senior Nahjae Smith to build a two-score cushion, Fleming then broke the single-season touchdowns record.

It wasn’t all strong to start, though. Elizabeth started with the ball, and went three-and-out with a punt. On Somerville’s first offensive possession, the Pioneers worked a 14-play drive, largely from the Wildcat formation with wideout James Hampton taking the snaps, and running back Peyton Akins alongside him.

But the drive resulted in no points, as the Minutemen defense stood tall, forced a long third down — where quarterback Dylan Boehm entered and threw an incompletion — and a 36-yard field goal fell off the mark.

Then, on the final play of the first quarter, Fleming worked his magic as always. He evaded rusher after rusher, breaking two sacks, and fired on the run to an open Hunter. The junior receiver broke a tackle and sprinted down the sideline to open the scoring with a 65-yard catch and run.

Somerville then found paydirt on its next possession to start the second quarter. With Akins and Hampton probing the defense up the middle, the Pioneers worked their way deep into Elizabeth territory. Then Hampton found the edge and broke free for a 27-yard touchdown run to even things up at 7-7.

And on the ensuing kickoff, Somerville went with a line-drive squib kick. An up-man fielded it, but a big hit forced the ball out, and the Pioneers pounced on it at the 26-yard line, giving them another prime opportunity to score. Four plays later, Hampton plunged into the end zone from a yard out to give Somerville the lead midway through the second quarter.

Down at the half, Elizabeth’s defense came up with a big stop to open the third quarter to keep the game at one score. But after a strong start to the drive, a screen pass bounced off a Minuteman’s hand and into the arms of Pioneer Dante Manochio for an interception.

But the defense stood tall again, forcing a three-and-out, and Elizabeth got back to work. A good return by Erick Cespedes set the Minutemen up at the Somerville 30-yard line, and two plays later, sophomore running back Jha’ki Williams punched in a three-yard touchdown. A false start on the ensuing extra point proved to be a blessing, as head coach Eugene Kline opted to go for a two-point try. Fleming and Williams connected to give Elizabeth a lead it would not relinquish.

The defense continued to wall up against the run-heavy Somerville offense, and Boehm — playing only obvious passing situations — was not able to get into his usual rhythm. He finished the night 2-for-10 passing with 40 yards and an interception.

Another three-and-out set up the Minutemen to take over, and they extended the lead with Hunter’s second score of the night, coming from 23 yards out on a pop pass. Hunter finished the night with two catches for 88 yards and two scores.

Fleming would add the finishing touches to start the fourth quarter, putting Elizabeth ahead by two scores with the aforementioned record-setting throw to Smith.

From there, the Pioneers ran the clock out, and the Minutemen’s unbeaten regular season was secured.

CJSR will have full playoff projections after tonight’s slate of games, but Elizabeth put themselves in a good position to potentially finish atop the North 5 supersection.

So the job isn’t finished yet.

Click below to hear postgame audio with Elizabeth senior quarterback A’rique Fleming, junior wideout Alvin Hunter, and head coach Eugene Kline, presented by the Sportsplex at Metuchen!