Woodrow Wilson 12 Wall 7
Wall came out with the ball and consumed six minutes, going into Wilson territory, but Muheem McCargo and Damir McCrary shared a sack on fourth down, giving Woodrow Wilson the ball on their 46. After moving the ball, Devin Kargman found Malik Harvey, who made a one-handed grab of the ball in the middle of the end zone for the touchdown and a 6-0 lead. Wilson had the ball again, but Wall’s Dale McNally intercepted late in the first quarter and began a stretch where Wall had the advantage for the rest of the half. The Crimson Knights moved ahead, 7-6, in the second quarter when Logan Peters found a wide open Matt Dolive for a 31-yard touchdown. What saved Woodrow Wilson was their pass rush on defense, creating sacks and pressure on Peters.
Wilson had a chance to go ahead in the third quarter, but a fourth down pass to Fadil Diggs at the goal line was broken up on a play many think should have been pass interference on Wall.
Devon Kargman scored the go-ahead and winning touchdown on a 1-yard quarterback sneak with just under eight minutes to play. The score was set up by a Kargman-to-Harvey pass of 17 yards on the pervious play. Wall had a final chance to score, but Harvey stripped the ball from the Wall receiver to give Wilson the ball and the win.
Harvey saved the day for Wilson with his touchdown reception, another catch that set up the winning score, and his strip of the Wall receiver to allow Woodrow Wilson to run out the clock. With Diggs and McCargo rightfully receiving attention, Harvey can get overlooked, but he is an outstanding player in his own right. The Tigers were pushed, but they persevered.
Wall played very hard and they had opportunities, but the Wilson pass rush, led by Diggs, would stifle what momentum Wall’s offense had. The Crimson Knight did a very good job limiting an explosive, big-play Wilson offense. A very good day was had by McNally, with two interceptions. Wall is a very good team, but Wilson ended up being a little bit better.
Hillside 25 Cedar Creek 3
The first half was low-scoring with Cedar Creek leading at halftime, 3-0, on a 22-yard field goal by Taylor Manning in the first quarter. The teams would move the ball, but could not get touchdowns. Cedar Creek was slowed by the Hillside defense and penalties hurt Hillside.
The second half was all Hillside
At first, the Comets drove as far as the 1-yard line, but were stopped short of the goal line on fourth down, giving the ball to Cedar Creek. Three plays later, Creek was faced with a fourth-and-1 on their 10 and decided to go for it. However, Louie Barrios was stopped short and Hillside took over with unbelievable field position. Shortly after that, Hillside had their first points when Nahree Biggins found Fatir Bell for a 6-yard touchdown. Their next drive was capped off by a 5-yard touchdown run by James Louis, his first of two, the other a 7-yarder in the fourth quarter. Jahon Moore closed out the scoring with a 7-yard run.
Hillside bounced back from losing to Haddonfield in last year’s bowl game. Once they got going, they were unstoppable. Biggins is normally a wide receiver who switched to quarterback when Gavin Melendez was injured and had a big day throwing and running. Louis was his dependable self and James Westry had a good game receiving. The defense was aggressive and very fast. This wraps up a year where they allowed 43 points for the season.
Cedar Creek had their moments in the first half, but not in the second half. An eye-opening play in the first half was a long run by sophomore Jojo Bermudez, who has a bright future. Their defense in the first half was also very aggressive and ran to the ball. The Pirates have good players returning and have the potential for a very good season next year.