WEST ORANGE, NJ — On a cold and windy afternoon, the fourth-seeded Seton Hall Prep football team dropped a 20-15 decision to fifth-seeded St. Augustine Prep in the quarterfinal round of the Non-Public Group 4 State Tournament at Brendan P. Tevlin Memorial Field in West Orange.
The Pirates, who had their seven-game winning streak snapped, ended their stellar season with an 8-2 record.
The Hermits jumped out to a 14-0 lead with a touchdown late in the first quarter and a touchdown with 1:53 left in the third quarter.
On the ensuing kickoff, Seton Hall took over on its 31-yard line. After a two-yard gain, Zander Zebrowski hit Nicholas Gullace on a 67-yard bomb. Austin Kuterka’a extra-point kick pulled the Pirates within 14-7 with 1:02 left.
Ryan Monteleone intercepted a Hermit pass to give the Pirates the ball on their own 25-yard line with 11:01 left in the fourth quarter. They drove 75 yards in 15 plays as Zebrowski scrambled the final six yards for the touchdown with 4:17 left. As Seton Hall Prep lined up for the extra point, St. Augustine was penalized for too many men on the field and the ball was moved up from the 3 to 1 1/2-yard line. SHP head coach Bill Fitzgerald decided to go for the lead and Matt Colantuono ran it in to give the Pirates a 15-14 lead.
After the kickoff into the end zone, the Hermits took over on the 20-yard line and they scored on the first play with an 80-yard bomb to take a 20-15 lead as the two-point conversion pass failed. The Hermits recovered the pooch kick on the Seton Hall Prep 45 and ran out the clock.
SHP stats
Passing: Zebrowski: 16 of 23 attempts, 205 yards, 1 TD.
Rushing: Colantuono: 16 carries for 50 yards. Zebrowski: 9 carries for 30 yds, 1 TD.
Receiving: Gullace: 5 catches for 101 yards, 1 TD.
Defense: John Nicosia: 16 tackles, Tim Macko: 14 tackles, Andrew Mitzak: 13 tackles, Tyler Cook: 10 tackles.
Seton Hall Prep (8-2)
August 31, Won, Archbishop Carroll (Radnor, Pa.), 42-20, at Rutgers
Sept. 6, Loss, at DePaul, 52-21
Sept. 21, Won, Passaic County Tech, 24-10
Sept. 27, Won, at Paramus Catholic, 38-19
Oct. 5, Won, East Orange Campus, 31-12
Oct. 12, Won, at Montclair, 43-42
Oct. 19, Won, Delbarton, 16-14
Oct. 26, Won, St. Joseph (Montvale), 28-27
Nov. 2, Won, at Pope John (Sparta), 28-10
Nov. 16, Loss, (5) St. Augustine Prep, 20-15*
*Non-Public Group 4 playoffs (SHP is No. 4 seed)
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