WEST ORANGE, NJ — The Seton Hall Prep football team opened the 2020 season, dropping a 24-7 decision to Delbarton at Brendan P. Tevlin Memorial Field in West Orange.
Seton Hall took the opening kickoff and drove down to the Delbarton 42-yard line where the drive stalled. Junior Nick Conforti’s punt was muffed by the Delbarton returner, and junior Matthew Monteleone recovered it on the Green Wave 6-yard line.
On the first play, senior PJ Penders took the direct snap and raced around the right end for the touchdown and Conforti added the extra point to give the Pirates a 7-0 lead with 8:06 left in the first quarter.
Delbarton scored 21 points in the second quarter and added a field goal in the fourth quarter for the final score of the game.
Junior quarterbacks Brady O’Sullivan was 10-15 for 102 yards while Jaden Craig was 8-24 for 65 yards. The top rusher was junior Myles Thomason, who had 16 carries for 57 yards, and the top receiver was junior Nick Dunneman, who had four catches for 44 yards. On defense, junior Jackson Collins had 12 tackles and junior Jackson Dowd had 10 tackles, while seniors Jack Larsen and Declan Kazan each had a sack and Penders had one interception.
The Seton Hall Prep soccer team opened the season with a 1-0-1 record. On Thursday, Oct. 1, they hosted Verona at Brendan P. Tevlin Memorial Field. The Pirates won 1-0 when senior Lucas Ross scored with 12:01 left in the second half on assists by juniors Drew Ligotti and Edward Dolgov. Dolgov played the ball on the right flank and passed it to Ligotti who cut the ball across the box and Ross slid it home. Tomas Hut had two saves to record the shutout.
Following the match, Dolgov said, “I was super excited about playing in my first varsity game and getting an assist makes it more special.”
Ligotti added, “This was my first varsity start and I worked really hard in the preseason and I wanted to play well for the team.”
On Saturday, Oct. 3, the team traveled to Williams Field in Elizabeth to take on one of the top teams in New Jersey: Elizabeth. On a beautiful afternoon, the Pirates and the Minutemen battled to a 1-1 tie after regulation and two overtimes.
Elizabeth opened the scoring when Dylan Valencia connected on a penalty kick in the 53rd minute. Seton Hall tied the score at 1-1 when Ligotti scored off an assist by senior Nick Palangio in the 71st minute. Sophomore Joaquin Niehenke served the ball into the box, which was headed by junior Charles Giordano and then by Palangio toward the goal when Ligotti shoveled it home.
Following the match, head coach Marty Berman said, “I am very happy the way we came back after falling behind in the second half, especially on the road against a really good team. I’ve learned to give our guys great challenges and games they won’t forget as they get older and go on to become alumni.”
The 2020 Seton Hall Prep cross country team opened the season with two meets. On Friday, Oct. 2, they traveled to Lincoln Park in Jersey City to participate in the St. Dominic Academy Invitational. The JV and freshman squads each finished in second place.
The next day they traveled to Garret Mountain in Passaic County to participate in the Season Opener Invitational. The varsity team finished in third place with 62 points. They were led by senior Co-capt. Kevin Harvey, who finished in second place in a time of 16:35.
Other varsity scorers were senior Co-capt. Luke Incardona at 18:06, sophomore TJ Sparno at 18:08, junior Anthony Bottino at 18:29 and senior Gabe Ferriero at 18:30. The JV and freshman teams finished in first place.
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