WEST ORANGE, NJ — The Seton Hall Prep football team won its first game of the season, defeating Irvington 23-12 at Ralph C. Steele Football Complex at Irvington High School on Friday night, Sept. 22.
The Pirates improved to 1-3. Irvington fell to 2-3.
After the Pirates punted to Irvington after their first drive of the game, senior Jack Tierney forced a Blue Knight fumble and senior Jaylen McClain recovered the ball on the Pirate 43-yard line. They drove to the 20-yard line in nine plays and senior Jack Catchpole connected on a 37-yard field goal with 4:10 left in the first quarter.
Late in the first quarter, the Blue Knights punted to Seton Hall, which took over on the 50-yard line. They drove to the 15-yard line in six plays before Catchpole hit a 32-yard field goal with 10:05 left in the second quarter to take a 6-0 lead. There was no other scoring in the quarter.
In the third quarter, the Pirates took over the ball after a Irvington punt on the Blue Knights 32-yard line. On the first play, senior Michael Dunmore ran off-tackle down the left sideline for a touchdown with 9:19 left and Catchpole added the extra point to give the Pirates a 13-0 lead. On Irvington’s next possession, their punt was blocked by McClain and recovered by junior Nolan Eilender on the Irvington 4-yard line. Dunmore raced up the middle for a touchdown from the 4 as the Pirates increased their lead to 20-0 after Catchpole’s extra point with 6:43 left.
On Irvington’s next possession, quarterback Na’cir Ransom connected on a 46-yard touchdown pass to Zakaa Brown to cut the Seton Hall lead to 20-6, as the extra point was blocked by junior Justin Cook with 6:21 left.
On Irvington’s next possession, Ransom hit Jasin Shiggs on a 37-yard scoring pass to reduce the Pirate lead to 20-12, as the conversion run was stopped by the center of the Pirate defensive line with 3:28 left in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Eilender blocked an Irvington punt as the Pirates took over the ball on the Irvington 49. They drove 39 yards as the drive stalled on the 10-yard line and Catchpole connected on a 27-yard field goal with 6:38 left to increase the Pirate lead to 23-12.
Following the game, SHP head coach Bill Fitzgerald commented about the victory. “This was a total team effort and it was good to get our first win of the season. We played a very physical game and field position and special teams played a big part tonight.”
Stats and notes:
Senior quarterback Jack Gilmore was 8-of-12 passing for 63 yards. Freshman QB Kahden Davis was 2-of-4 passing for 17 yards. Dunmore, a running back, had 17 carries for 100 yards. Senior wide receiver Julius Vicari had five catches for 47 yards.
On defense, linebacker Cook had 10 tackles, one fumble recovery, one interception and one blocked extra point; senior linebacker Christian Black had nine tackles; and defensive back McClain had eight tackles, one fumble recovery and one blocked punt.
The Pirates will host Red Bank Catholic at Brendan P. Tevlin Memorial Field in West Orange at 1 p.m.
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