Football: Veteran-led Somerville edges Hillsborough for dramatic opening-day win

SOMERVILLE – The Somerville High School football team has its sites set on a special season, with a senior-heavy club stocked with experienced varsity talent. Thursday, the Pioneers veterans made some huge plays in big spots and it netted them a hugely impressive opening-day win over one of the Big Central Conference’s other elite teams – and in dramatic fashion.

Senior cornerback Brady Scheier knocked away a 2-point conversion pass attempt at the goal line with 1:28 left in regulation that would have given Hillsborough a one-point lead. Instead, fifth-ranked Somerville held on for the inspired win, edging the third-ranked Raiders 21-20 at Brooks Field.

Trailing by seven points, Hillsborough rookie quarterback Ryan Seamon led his squad on an 81-yard drive with time winding down, capped by eight-yard touchdown run by Jackson Jankowicz to make it 21-20. Hillsborough coach Kevin Carty Jr. opted to try for the 2-point conversion and road win, instead of kicking an extra point to tie and taking his chances on the Ville’s home turf.

Seamon rolled out and flung a pass toward the right-front of the end zone where he had a seemingly open receiver headed for the sideline, but Scheier lunged and knocked the attempt away.

“It was a classic pick-off with two slants in the chute,” said Scheier, who wasn’t at all surprised Boro tried for the go-ahead points in that spot. “I was able to avoid (the pick) and get there on time to break it up. It was good timing. We definitely felt bootleg, and we were in straight man and I had to get over to it, and luckily, I was able to.”

“We talked about last year when we lost five games by 19 points, and we won this by one,” Somerville coach Matt Bloom said. “That’s kind of our mentality that with those critical plays, we need to be the ones to make that play and not let them the other team dictate how the game goes.”

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Somerville took the early lead on an 11-yard scoring pass from senior three-year starter Brenden Pacheco to senior Terrell Mitchell, before junior Kieran McKenna forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff to give the Pioneers the ball at the Hillsborough 18-yard line. Three plays later, Mitchell ran it in from 12 yards out.

Zion Grant got the Raiders on the board early in the third quarter with a five-yard scoring run, but the conversion attempt failed and Somerville led 14-6. The Pioneers, whose kicker, Spencer Carran, was a perfect 3-for-3 on PATs, added seven points on a Pacheco-to-Scheier touchdown pass with 7:34 remaining in the first half to make it 21-6.

Hillsborough got closer late in the third quarter when Anthony Guerrero scooped a bad snap near midfield and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown. Seemon then hit Jankowicz for the 2-point conversion to make a 21-14.

While Somerville’s offensive effort got it done, the defense was just as impressive, holding Hillsborough to just 100 yards on the ground, limiting Jankowicz to just 83 yards. The Pioneers also limited Seamon in his first varsity game, although the senior did impress with his mobility and strong arm.

The Ville defensive effort was without All-State defensive end Jaydin Lofton, who got injured in the preseason. The Pioneers also got a fumble recovery, three sacks, and interceptions by Carran and Joshua Rodriguez – both senior returners.

“We’ve got so many veterans, and those are the guys who are going to be leaders to the other guys,” Scheirer said. “We worked all summer for this, and I think is veterans are ready to make those plays, and we were able to do it.”

BOX SCORE

HILLSBOROUGH (0-1) 0-6-8-6 -- 20SOMERVILLE (1-0) 14-7-0-0 -- 21

SCORING

S – Mitchell 11 pass from Pacheco (Carran kick)

S – Mitchell 12 run (Carran kick)

H – Grant 5 run (pass failed)

S – Scheirer 16 pass from Pacheco (Carran kick)

H – Guerrero 50 fumble return (Schwarz pass from Seamon)

H – Jankowicz 8 run (pass failed)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: H —Schwarz 3-4, Jankowicz 19-83, Seamon 3-15, Grant 3-17; S —Pacheco 1-1, Mitchell 20-68, Rodriguez 9-32, Scheirer 1-2.

PASSING: H —Seamon 14-25-0-2-103; S —Pacheco 13-19-2-0-94.

RECEIVING: H— Santiago 4-38, Schwarz 6-40, Jankowicz 1-(-2), Ozokpor 2-10 ; S— Lee Jackson 1-(-1), Mitchell 5-42, Rodriguez 1-8, Scheirer 6-45.

INTERCEPTIONS: S— Carran, Rodriguez.

Simeon Pincus has covered NJ sports since 1997. He can be reached at SPincus@GannettNJ.com . Follow him on Twitter @SimeonPincus

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Football: Veteran-led Somerville edges Hillsborough for dramatic opening-day win