Rutherford 22 Hillside 21
October 30, 2026
Rutherford rallied from being two touchdowns down in the fourth quarter and intercepted a pass with 38 seconds left to beat Hillside, 22-21. The Bulldogs successfully went for two points after the potential tying touchdown.
First Quarter: On the game’s fourth play, Josiah Hicks intercepted Myles Balchan’s pass and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown to put Hillside ahead, 7-0.
Hillside moved past midfield later in the quarter. But a sack by Chase Martini and Hank Schroeder, plus a penalty, forced a Hillside punt.
Second Quarter: Rutherford had a 10-play, 80-yard drive and reached the 15-yard line when Balchan passed to AJ Nunziato for 27 yards. Two plays later, Balchan found Schroeder for an 11-yard touchdown to tie the score with 7:45 left.
On the next play from scrimmage, Hicks ran for 60 yards to the 21-yard line, but he fumbled on the next play, and Rutherford recovered on the 19.
Rutherford moved the ball on two completions to JoJo Merullo of 18 and 10 yards. But the Bulldogs punted, and the ball was downed on the 1.
After Pop Williams gained 8 yards, Hicks gained 44 yards to the Rutherford 47. Two runs by Hugues Elyse got the ball to the 36, but the Comets punted.
Third Quarter: Hillside started with the ball, and Travis Miles lined up as the punter, kept it, and went 31 yards. Williams completed a 9-yard pass to Eli Wicker, and a 10-yard Hicks run brought the ball to the 27. Williams went 26 yards on the keeper to the 1, and Hicks scored on the following play.
After the teams exchanged punts, Hillside had the ball on their 39. Hicks scored on the next play, running 61 yards for a touchdown. The Comets were in good shape, leading 21-7 with 35 seconds left in the quarter.
Fourth Quarter: Rutherford came back with five plays, going 80 yards. A 30-yard completion to Dmitri Paskas brought the ball to the Hillside 39. Two plays later, a 12-yard pass to Merullo gave the Bulldogs a first down on the 21. On the following play, Balchan found Nunziato alone in the end zone for a touchdown to cut the Hillside lead to 21-14.
Hillside lined up to punt on their 10, and Miles ran for 4 yards, giving Rutherford the ball on the14.
Three plays later, a screen pass to Merullo went for a 13-yard touchdown to make it 21-20. The Bulldogs went for two, and John Gioia ran it in for a 22-21 Rutherford lead.
Rutherford had a chance to put the game away, but turned it over on downs, and Hillside had the ball on their 14 with 86 yards to go; a 13-yard pass to Kaylen Mauril brought the ball to the 27. Two plays later, Williams had what looked like the winning score, but Zahir Grandberry dropped a sure touchdown pass down the right sideline. Williams made up for some of the previous play, when he took off after finding no one open, going 46 yards to the 27-yard line. Three plays later, Leo Kim intercepted for Rutherford on the 7-yard line with 38 seconds remaining.
Comments: Rutherford was resilient. They trailed by 14 in the third quarter and came back to win. The interception by Kim sealed the game – he told me after the game he saw the ball in the air and had to get it. He waited until the official signaled a Rutherford ball. Balchan passed for three touchdowns and was 13-25-185.
Hillside had their chances, but came up short. This is an 8-2 team where both losses were by one point each. They had a two-touchdown lead and lost. The dropped pass on their last drive and failed run on a fake punt killed them. Hicks had 199 yards and 2 touchdowns on 13 carries.