NUTLEY/BELLEVILLE, NJ — The Nutley High School football team defeated rival Belleville High School, 28-8, at BHS Municipal Stadium’s Doc Ellis Field on Friday, Oct. 7.
The NHS Raiders, under first-year head coach and athletic director Joe Piro, improved to 3-3 while the BHS Buccaneers, under first-year head coach Brian Antab, fell to 0-7 on the season.
Senior running back Mitchell Mainiero rushed for 202 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries to power the Raiders. Senior running back Mike Zitola had nine rushes for 62 yards and sophomore quarterback Clark Mohrbutter passed for 97 yards on eight of 16 attempts for Nutley. Mohrbutter also had two carries for 27 yards, Senior Justin Cifelli had four carries for 15 yards, and senior Brandon Lucia had one carry for 4 yards.
Senior Donald Slane had two catches for 36 yards, Joe Volpe had two catches for 21 yards and senior Vincenzo Rizzuto had two catches for 18 yards. Zitola and junior Sean McAloon each had one catch for 6 yards, and Mainiero had one catch for 15 yards.
The Raiders have won the past 11 meetings and lead the all-time series, 56-19-4. The last time Belleville defeated Nutley was in 2008 when Belleville was guided by first-year head coach Chris Strumolo, who was a NHS graduate. Belleville won, 22-12.
From 1984 to 2011, the teams played on or around the Thanksgiving Day holiday.
Photos by Steve Ellmore.
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