Photos by Rich Morris/courtesy of SHP – Seton Hall Prep (white uniforms) vs. Delbarton, Oct. 7, at Delbarton.
MORRISTOWN, NJ – On a bright, warm sunny afternoon, the Seton Hall Prep varsity football team traveled to William O. Regan Field on the campus of Delbarton School in Morris Township. The Pirates defeated Delbarton to earn their first victory of the season in a come-from-behind fashion, 37-31. SHP improved to 1-4.
The Pirates opened the scoring on the first drive of the game when they went 80 yards in nine plays, capped when senior quarterback Cameron Carti hit senior wide receiver Andrew Perez on a 35-yard scoring pass. Junior placekicker Zach Hoban added the first of five extra points to make the score 7-0 with 8:16 left in the first quarter.
Delbarton tied the score on its first possession of the game.
SHP retook the lead at 14-7 when Perez caught a 7-yard TD pass from Carti. In the second quarter, sophomore running back Kyle Monangai scored on a 1-yard rush to extend the SHP lead to 21-7.
Delbarton scored on a field goal on the last play of the quarter to make the score 21-10 at halftime. Delbarton scored a TD on its first possession of the third quarter to make the score 21-17 before Carti threw a 56-yard TD pass to Perez to make the score 28-17 with 7:43 left in the third quarter. Delbarton scored two more TDs later in the quarter to take a 31-28 lead going into the fourth quarter.
SHP then went on a 11-play, 83-yard drive with Carti hitting sophomore tight end Dominic Busby on a 10-yard scoring pass in the right hand corner of the end zone to give SHP a 35-31 lead with 11:08 left in the game. The final two points in the game occured with 2:07 left as the Delbarton quarterback’s knee went down in the end zone for a safety.
Following the game, SHP head Coach Vito Campanile said, “This was an incredible environment today. This was a great day for the SHP football program. The support of our students, administration, and alumni was simply outstanding. It was a hard-fought game and it was a great game to be a part of.”
Perez, who tied a SHP record for receptions in a game with 11, said, “We had some hard losses earlier in the season and that pushed us to get that first win of the season today. We really worked hard for this victory today. Our student support really kept us going when we fell behind and we never gave up.”
Carti said, “This shows a lot about our team. The team motto this season is ‘strength through adversity.’ We had a couple of really tough losses earlier this season but we stayed together as a team even when we lost the lead in the third quarter. It was also great to give Coach Campanile his first victory over a non-public school. This victory was also great for our school and our great fans.”
SHP game stats
Passing: Carti: 22 of 28 attempts, 261 yards, 4 TDs, 1 interception.
Rushing: Monangai: 30 carries, 111 yards, 1 TD.
Receiving: Perez: 11 catches for 193 yards and 3 TDs.
NOTES: Dwayne Warren, a 2017 graduate, also caught 11 passes in 2015 against West Essex.
Next game: The Pirates will host Columbia (0-5) at Brendan P. Tevlin Memorial Field on Saturday, Oct. 14, at 2 p.m.
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