WEST ORANGE, NJ – The Seton Hall Prep varsity football team defeated Paramus Catholic, 37-29, last Saturday, Sept. 22, at Brendan P. Tevlin Memorial Field. It was the first victory for SHP over a Super Football Conference-Red Division team in the three-year existence of the conference.
The Pirates won their second straight game and evened their record to 2-2 overall.
Paramus Catholic took a 6-0 lead midway through the first quarter. Later, Seton Hall took the ball over on downs at its 19-yard line and drove 81 yards in seven plays with senior Luca D’Emilio rushing the final 17 yards. Senior Zach Hoban added the extra point for a 7-6 lead with 2:15 remaining in the first quarter.
During the next Paramus Catholic drive, junior Dominic Busby intercepted a pass and returned it to the Paramus Catholic 14-yard line. On the third play of the drive, senior Aidan Gilman rushed in from the 5. Sophomore Austin Kuterka added the extra point for a 14-6 lead.
After the next Paramus Catholic drive stalled at the 50, Seton Hall took over. They went six plays when Gilman found junior Matt Colantuono on a 9-yard scoring pass for a 20-6 lead. The extra point hit the right upright.
Paramus Catholic added a field goal as the half ended to make the score 20-9.
Paramus Catholic received the second-half kickoff, but Colantuono caused a fumble and senior Vincent Henrich recovered it on the Paramus Catholic 19-yard line. On the fourth play of the drive, Gilman scored from the 1-yard line. Kuterka’s extra point made the score 27-9. Paramus Catholic added a touchdown later in the quarter before Kuterka hit on a 34-yard field goal to make the score 30-15 after three quarters.
In the fourth quarter, Paramus Catholic rallied with two touchdowns. After the second touchdown, Colantuono blocked the extra point to preserve the Pirates’ lead at 30-29.
The Pirates added an insurance touchdown when Colantuono rushed up the middle from the 41 with 1:45 left for the final score of the afternoon.
STATS:
Passing: Gilman, 13 of 20 attempts for 130 yards, 1 TD, 1 interception.
Rushing: D’Emilio, 15 carries for 70 yards, 1 TD. Colantuono: 9 carries for 60 yards, 1 TD. Gilman: 9 carries for 52 yards, 2 TDs.
Receiving: Colantuono: 6 receptions for 77 yards, 1 TD.
Defense: Henrich: 16 tackles, 1 fumble recovery. Junior Lucas Giordano: 5 tackles, 1.5 sacks. Senior Caseem Akinruli Dewitt: 4 tackles, 1.5 sacks. Senior Eli Maurice: 8 tackles, 1 sack.
Next game: The Pirates will travel to Paul Robeson Stadium to take on East Orange Campus HS on Saturday, Sept. 29, for 1 p.m. kickoff.
Photos by Rich Morris/courtesy of SHP
Pirates vs. Paramus Catholic, Sept. 22
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