North Hunterdon football coach Kevin Kley knew his normally pass-heavy offensive game plan needed drastic changes for the Lions’ game against Scotch Plains-Fanwood last week. But he also knew that his veteran offensive line was prepared for the challenge.
Starting senior quarterback Luke Martini was unable to play against Scotch Plains due to injury -- Kley said he was not permitted to release specific information about his injury or status -- and his absence would greatly affect the North attack. In his first two games in this, his first season as a starter, Martini passed for 552 yards and five touchdowns.
So the focus was transferred to the ground game and the Lions responded seamlessly with their first win of the season, a 28-3 decision in which they rushed for season high 276 yards.
North rushed for 167 yards in its first two games combined.
“Actually I was not surprised (how well the Lions switched gears to a run-first game plan),” Kley said, “because when you have guys on the offensive line who have been starting a long time, you expect it and they expect it, and when you have a good, athletic running backfield like we do, they expect it, too.”
Seniors Jack Del Ciello, Winston Hess and Tom Markovich have been starters on the offensive line for three years. Also, senior Jeff Hedden has served as a utility man on the line for three years. Also stepping up to play well against Scotch Plains were juniors Greg Rayl, Tyler Guidetti and Hunter Vos.
Junior Kente Edwards, who is quickly making a name for himself as a feature back, led North in rushing with 85 yards on 11 carries, and he also picked off a Scotch Plains pass. Seniors Ryan Drwal (70 yards), Alex Uryniak (55) and Nick Glucksman (55) contributed to the Lions’ successful ground game. Drwal and senior Alex Zeszotarski filled in for Martini at quarterback and combined to complete 6 of 11 passes for 66 yards.
North Hunterdon (1-2) travels to unbeaten Woodbridge (4-0) on Friday in a Big Central Football Conference Division 4 showdown.
DELAWARE VALLEY
Senior Logan Blake had the second-best receiving game of his career and seniors Matthew Schneider and Sam Thomas both had a team-high 11 tackles as the Terriers remained undefeated after a 38-20 verdict over county rival Voorhees.
It was the second double-figure tackles game for Thomas, who had 11 in the season-opening win against Middlesex. Thomas and Schneider are the Terriers’ top tacklers this season with 28 and 25, respectively.
Also against Voorhees, Blake caught five passes for 96 yards and a TD. His career high came last season against Bernards when he finished with 108 receiving yards and a TD on just three catches.
Del Val (3-0) hosts Union County foe Gov. Livingston (0-2) in a Big Central Football Conference Division 2 battle on Friday.
HUNTERDON CENTRAL
The Red Devils are still looking for their first win of the season after bowing to Phillipsburg at home, 27-0. Central was shut out for the first time since a 2015 loss to Hillsborough (42-0).
Central has 10 straight going back to their first round playoff loss to Williamstown in 2019. It is the program’s longest such streak since the 1960s.
On Friday, the Red Devils (0-3) travel to Ridge (3-0) for a Big Central Football Conference Division 5 contest. Ridge has won the last three meetings.
SOUTH HUNTERDON
Junior Bode Dunn has come a long way from last season and may very well be South Hunterdon’s answer this season to replacing versatile running back Logan Conner.
Dunn, the Eagles’ feature back this season after paying his dues behind the since-graduated Conner, recorded the first 100-yard rushing game of his career last week in lifting the Eagles to a 13-7 victory over Dayton.
Dunn finished with 117 yards on 26 carries, one of the best single game efforts in the county this season. That effort topped his season-opening, 95-yard performance in a loss to Bound Brook.
He is South’s first 100-yard rusher in seven games, since Logan Conner had 105 against Voorhees last season. Through three games Dunn has 51 carries for 300 yards and a TD, and is averaging nearly six yards per carry.
South coach Toby Jeffires is clearly leaning on Dunn after the graduation of Conner, who rushed for 1,402 yards the last two seasons. Last year as a sophomore, Dunn rushed for 174 yards on 42 carries.
South Hunterdon (2-1) puts its two-game win streak on the line on Friday when it travels to Manville (2-0) for a Big Central Football Conference Division 1B showdown.
VOORHEES
The Vikings showed some grit in bouncing back from a 32-point deficit against Del Val last week, as quarterback Will Letters directed drives which resulted in the game’s final 14 points before the Vikes bowed 38-20.
And speaking of grit, Letters himself had plenty of it that night after getting knocked out of the Gov. Livingston game with an injury a week earlier. Against Del Val, the Vikings senior completed 12 of 20 passes for a career-high 154 yards and a TD. Letters also rushed 15 times for 61 yards and a TD.
For the season, Letters is 16 of 28 for 214 yards passing with one TD and one interception. He has also rushed 31 times for 124 yards and two scores.
For the record, it was sophomore Isaac Levitan who filled in for the injured Letters two weeks ago, and he responded to the challenge by rushing for a county-best 218 yards and two TDs on 25 carries.
On Friday, Voorhees (1-2) hits the road to play Hillside (1-1) in a Big Central Football Conference Division 2A game.
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