Rutherford 31 Hoboken 28
November 2, 2025
Rutherford beat Hoboken, 31-28, when Graham Jordan kicked a 33-yard field goal with two seconds left. Hoboken tied the game with 2:37 left when their two-point conversion succeeded.
First Quarter: The first three possessions ended in punts when Hoboken went for it on fourth-and-1 on their 40, but were stopped for no gain, giving Rutherford the ball. Rutherford faced fourth-and-4 on the 34, when Hoboken jumped offsides for a first down. Myles Balchan found John Gioia for 12 yards to the 6 four plays later, and Balchan scored on the following play to make it 7-0 on the second play of the second quarter.
Second Quarter: Hoboken answered right away when Devin McMillan ran 40 yards to the Rutherford 22. But the Red Wings turned it over on downs, giving Rutherford the ball on their 26. Two Gioia runs gave the Bulldogs a first down on their 40-yard line when Balchan connected with Dmitri Paskas for 47 yards to the 13-yard line. Balchan then connected with JoJo Merullo for 11 yards, followed by his 2-yard touchdown run to make it 14-0. Again, Hoboken immediately answered with an 83-yard run by McMillan to cut the lead to 14-7 with 7:26 left.
Third Quarter: The teams exchanged punts twice to begin the half, and Hoboken needed only one play: a 70-yard touchdown pass from Isaiah Blanks to Jae’on Walker, making it 14-14. Two successive Hoboken sacks on the following possession forced Rutherford to punt, giving Hoboken the ball on the Rutherford 42, following a Rutherford penalty. And on one play, Blanks connected with Jaeden Wright for a touchdown, but the extra point hit the right upright and Hoboken led, 20-14, with two seconds left in the quarter.
Fourth Quarter: Rutherford started on their 29 and went nine plays – all on the ground – to take the lead on a 1-yard run by Balchan to make things 21-20 with 7:33 remaining. Rutherford recovered a Hoboken fumble on the Hoboken 24 and scored on five plays with Gioia running five yards around the left side for a 28-20 lead with 3:36 to go. Hoboken needed two plays when Blanks found Walker again for a 64-yard score, and the 2-point conversion was successful to tie the score, 28-28, with 2:37 left. Merullo returned the ensuing kickoff to the Rutherford 45. A 17-yard pass to AJ Nunziato brought the ball to the 38 before Balchan handed off to Gioia, who threw a strike to Hank Schroeder for 31 yards to the 7 with 41 seconds left. It came down to the field goal with two seconds left, after at least two timeouts. Jordan’s kick went straight through the uprights and over my head*, with Rutherford coming out the victor.
*Check out Brian Carr’s Twitter page, and he has the winning kick. You will see me with the burnt orange Texas sweatshirt.
Comments: This was a game that was hard to see either team lose. They could see one another again next year because they are predominantly underclassmen: Rutherford will have 20 starters returning next year, and Hoboken has approximately 18-19 by my count.
While Rutherford did not have any lengthy drives, they controlled approximately two-thirds of the clock. Gioia rushed for 109 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries, had four receptions, and completed a pass for 31 yards, while Balchan completed 10-of-17 for 126 yards and rushed for three touchdowns.
Hoboken thrived on big plays. They scored four touchdowns: three came on one play and the other on two. They had eleven possessions, and only two were longer than two minutes. They were explosive, and there were some top performances with McMillan rushing for 161 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. Blanks had three touchdown passes, while Walker had three receptions for 135 yards and two touchdowns, and Wright caught three for 49 and a touchdown.