Summit Dominates Voorhees in Season Opener

The Hilltoppers looked like they hadn't missed a beat from last season. The no-huddle offense seemed to muddle the Vikings from the beginning and Voorhees never had the opportunity to get their heads in the game.  As for the Hilltoppers, where superstars left for graduation, new stars emerged.

"I liked our effort," said head coach John Liberato. "I saw 110 percent effort from everyone that stepped onto that field.  And when that happens, there's nowhere to go but up.  We made some mistakes out there, and those are correctable mistakes, but as long as our kids are playing to the best of their abilities, we're going to improve each time they step on the field."

Pete Badgley, who has been named team captain for the year, had an excellent game, and was proud of his team.

"It feels great," said Badgley. "Ever since I was in first grade I've been coming to these games, and I'd see people in the stands and the whole atmosphere was great. So now, to be a senior and to be a part of this is awesome."

Ryan Bringewatt played a steady game, with flashes of brilliance.  Of course, it doesn't hurt to have Ryan O'Malley running down the sideline.  The 6'4" senior stood nearly a full head taller than anyone on the field, and the advantage was clear as O'Malley grabbed the first touchdown pass out of the air.

The running game enjoyed success as well, as Sal Liberato stepped up to his role this season.  Liberato ran into the endzone for the second touchdown of the game.

"The line just told me, 'stay right behind me and we'll get you in the endzone,'" said Liberato, "and I just followed them right in.  (Having two touchdowns) feels great, but it's really a team effort and something that we all did together."

Liberato will also spend time with the special teams unit, which was nearly perfect on the day.  Liberato is one of the top long snappers in the country, and Michael Badgley is shaping up to enjoy a great kicking career.  He converted all of the extra points attempted, hit a 42-yard field goal, and only just missed from 47 yards.

"We pay a lot of attention to special teams," Liberato said. "We spend a lot of time on it and our kids take a lot of pride in it.  The special teams, they can change the momentum of the game in a heartbeat and our kids are really buying into that, so that's why we're very excited to play special teams.  The kids actually have to sign up to be on the teams, and then after preseason we try to put the best 11 out there."

Before the end of the first half O'Malley converted a huge third down and took it inside the five.  Then Liberato took it the last four yards and Michael Badgley converted the extra point to put the Hilltoppers up 24-0 at the half.

Some of the familiar names from last season stepped up. Austin Jennings and Nick Oristanio, the two game captains, were credited with nearly half the stops, and Voorhees was hard pressed to find a hole in the line.  Logan Jeffries, Pete Badgley and Andrew Miller combined for more tackles and forced several fumbles on the Vikings.

"I think our line really helped us out a lot," said Sal Liberato, "because Voorhees was trying a lot of different stuff to stop our offense and they were picking everything up and they really helped us get through this game."

In the second half A.J. Iarussi looked to make a name for himself by consistently finding holes in the Viking line. On second and 25, Iarussi ran for 19 yards, then followed it with a 30-yard burst that put the Hilltoppers in scoring position, however the Hilltoppers were unable to convert on the play.  It was not the first time in the game that the Hilltoppers did not score while in the red zone.

"I don't think strategy had anything to do with it; I think we're a young team," John Liberato. "Last year's team had the maturity to coin the phrase "When you've got people on the ropes you want to knock 'em out." We're not there yet mentally. Or maturity-wise.  Our guys don't know how to put people away yet.  Three times we had it inside the 5 and we couldn't punch it in.  If we had done it earlier in the quarter, it would have been on the canvas, but that's something that will come with more reps, more experience, and the maturity of playing Summit Football."

Iarussi put points on the board on a later play, where he ran in an 8-yard touchdown to put the Hilltoppers up 31-0.  In the fourth quarter, Tyler Carbone came in to get some reps as the back-up quarterback and looked good.  He connected with Austin Carbone for the fifth touchdown of the game, and Chris Chaves kicked the extra point.  The game ended 38-0, and the Hilltoppers move to 1-0 on the season.

"The whole week we've been practicing, actually the whole pre-season we've been working on Voorhees," said Pete Badgley. "So we were totally prepared, we came out hard, we executed and we're going out with a win."

The boys will next host the Warren Hills Blue Streaks at 3:30 p.m on Friday.