Hilltoppers Advance to 4-0

It was a rainy day at Metro Homes Field when the Summit Hilltoppers (4-0) took on the Somerville Pioneers (2-3). Fans packed the stands and put their umbrellas up.

The Pioneers led with an onside kick, which they recovered at the Summit 30-yard line. The Hilltoppers looked like they would hold them, but the Pioneers converted a 4th down to the three yard line. A three-yard rush by Marques Jackson gave Somerville an early six point lead. Tyler Sanchez’s kick was good, and the Hilltoppers found themselves down by seven.

The Pioneers did not get to enjoy the lead for long. Summit immediately answered with a nice kickoff return that put the Hilltoppers on Somerville’s 45-yard line.  Quarterback Joe Jaskolski handed off to Matt Rea who took off down the sideline and straight into the endzone. Alex Melendez’s kick was good and within one minute after the Somerville touchdown, Summit had tied the game up.

Somerville took control of the ball on their own 30-yard line, but before the Pioneers could get any real momentum going, Summit intercepted the football. Dwayne Dabney looked nearly unstoppable as he tore down the field all the way to the Somerville 25-yard line, only to have the play called back for an illegal formation. The crowd gasped when the Pioneers intercepted the football on third and nine, but the interception was called back on a costly pass interference call. On the next play, Dabney’s speed proved to be too much for the Somerville defense as he ran 45 yards to give the Hilltoppers a 14-7 lead.

A Melendez field goal put the score at 17-7. A costly series of penalties forced another Pioneers punt. They had a spark of life and held the Hilltoppers, who were forced to punt back, but the return was fumbled and the Hilltoppers scooped it up for an easy run into the endzone, making the score 24-7.

Brian Feeney intercepted a wayward throw and ran it all the way to the one-yard line with less than a minute to go in the half. Jaskowski stepped into the endzone on the next play, giving the Hilltoppers a comfortable 31-7 lead going into the locker room at halftime.

As exciting as the game was, halftime was thoroughly enjoyable as the sun came out while the Summit Marching Band performed a selection of Billy Joel music. The crowd was treated to an excellent rendition of “Piano Man” in particular. They deserve their title as “The Pride of Summit.”

The second half found a much-improved Pioneer defense, which looked like it had re-dedicated itself to the game. The Hiltoppers were challenged on every carry and pass.  But the spirit of the Somerville team simply could not match the confidence, experience and talent they faced.

There were some messy moments in the third quarter. After the Pioneer defense failed to move the ball in the first set of downs in the third quarter, Summit got called for roughing the passer and ended up giving them an automatic first down. Summit forced a fumble and recovered on the next play at their own 40-yard line. A couple plays later, a hand-off to Dabney turned into a 20-yard touchdown run and Melendez PAT, making the score 38-7.

Summit would score one more time, but not until the fourth quarter. After driving down the field, they found themselves in a fourth-and-goal situation with two yards to go.  Jaskolski took the snap and pushed into the endzone, and Melendez converted the extra point, which put the 45th point for Summit on the scoreboard. The final score of the game was 45-7.

Head coach John Liberato said that coming into the game he only asked one thing of his team which was to “play to the best of our abilities. Whether we win or lose, that will take care of itself.” His voice was full of pride as he looked at his players, “They just have to play together.  Because when they do, they’re unbeatable.”

They certainly looked like it.

The Summit football cheerleaders deserve their own round of applause. Over the course of the game the girls did 172 push-ups. Every time the boys scored, the girls had to do as many push-ups as there were points on the board. Considering the season Summit is having, the girls are going to have well-toned arms for the rest of the season.

This Friday, Summit takes on conference rival Governor Livingston under the lights at home.