WEST ORANGE, NJ — The Seton Hall Prep football team erupted for 48 unanswered points as it rolled to a 48-7 victory over Union City last Friday night at Roosevelt Stadium, Joseph “Pop” Novotny Field in Union City in the Rumble on the Raritan.
Senior running back Myles Thomason led the charge, running for a career-high 240 and three touchdowns on just 14 carries. Thomason, who was selected as the game’s Most Valuable Player, was very happy with the team’s performance, especially the offensive line. “Last week we didn’t run the ball too well, but the offensive line and I worked really hard during the week. I owe this award to the offensive line.” said Thomason.
Union City opened the scoring with 5:33 to go in the first quarter on a 1-yard run. The Pirates cut the lead to 7-6 with 1:23 left on a 46-yard run by Thomason. In the second quarter, the Pirates exploded for 28 points and a 34-7 halftime lead. Thomason had a 72-yard run while senior quarterback Jaden Craig threw three touchdown passes to senior wideout Nick Dunneman of 6, 4, and 33 yards.
In the third quarter, Thomason had a 5-yard run with 8:44 left and in the fourth quarter senior Jalil Bowen provided the explanation point to the victory with an 81-yard run.
Following the game, Craig said, “We started off slow, but we overcame the early adversity together as a team.” Following the game, Tom McGuire, the event organizer, presented Head Coach Bill Fitzgerald with the team trophy and said, “It is great to have Seton Hall Prep back in the Rumble. Your team really dominated tonight like you did two years ago and you should be proud of your effort.”
In 2019, Seton Hall defeated Archbishop Carroll, of Radnor, Pa., 42-19.
Stats and notes:
Passing: Craig- 4-7 for 46 yards, 3 TDs, 1 interception. Rushing: Bowen- 2 carries for 94 yards, 1 TD. Senior RB Byron Maddox-12 carries for 86 yards. Dunneman-3 catches for 43 yards, 3 TDs. Defense: Senior LB James Palaia – 10 tackles, 1 interception. Senior LB Jackson Dowd – 10 tackles, 1 sack. Sophomore DB Jaylen McClain – 9 tackles.
The contest was originally scheduled for Friday afternoon as part of the three-day showcase at SHI Stadium in Piscataway on the campus of Rutgers University but flooding conditions outside the facility forced the cancellation and the game was moved to the designated home team which was Union City. This is the first time since 2015 that the Pirates opened the season with a 2-0 record. This is the second week that the Pirates have set a school record. Last week, the 51 points scored were the most in school history in their opening game of the season and the 99 points scored in their first two games of the season is also a school record.
The Pirates, who are ranked No. 8 in the Star-Ledger state poll and No. 9 in the MaxPreps state poll, will host Don Bosco Prep on Saturday at Brendan P. Tevlin Memorial Field. This is the first meeting against Don Bosco Prep since 2017.
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