By Andy Loigu

He looked like Tom Brady in his prime.

Working mostly from the shotgun formation, senior Warren Hills quarterback Kevin Farrell had perhaps the best passing efficiency in the 95-game history of the traditional Streaks versus Tigers series on Thursday evening, as Warren Hills pulled away from visiting Hackettstown for a 40-7 win.

Farrell was 16-of-17 for 211 yards and threw a pair of touchdown passes. He had the ability to buy time, shuffling out of the pocket in the face of the Tigers’ pass rush, and kept broken plays going by thinking on his feet. 

Lucas Fritton made seven of those catches, for 86 yards and two touchdowns. His biggest catch, a nine-yard score in the second period, gave Warren Hills a 14-7 lead. It came just a minute after seniors Tucker Gabrich and Edde Conklin made a big stop on fourth and three to make Hackettstown surrender the ball on downs.

Warren Hills received the kickoff to start the second half. The Streaks drove 62 yards in six plays to take a 20-7 lead with 8:39 left in period three and then never looked back. Junior tailback Jon Lainez broke a tackle at the scrimmage line and had just one man to beat when he got into open space. He dashed to a 35-yard touchdown, his second of the game. 

The Streaks executed a fake punt, for a key first down, extending their next drive which went 76 yards and featured both the run and pass. Gabrich caught a 38-yard pass for a big first down and finished the drive by running around the left end for a score from one yard out.

An “all-purpose” player, Gabrich caught six passes for 89 yards and ran seven times for 55 yards. On several occasions he took a direct snap out of a single wing formation, as Warren Hills coach Marcus Gurdineer featured something old and something new in his arsenal of sets, which also included bubble screens, jet sweeps, run and shoot, and double wing looks.

After Hackettstown scored first, on an 18-yard run by Dylan Steurer from the Tigers’ triple option, Warren Hills scored 40 unanswered points.

The traditional Beater Board presentation by the local Rotary clubs will be done via ZOOM this year. The Blue Streaks lead the all-time series 46-43-6. The Beater Board has been awarded to the winning team each year since 1986. It is a farming tool which is used to flatten hay into square bales for transport. It celebrates the agricultural history of Warren County. 

The Streaks’ players showed an appreciation for the enduring history and spirit of the occasion. Despite concerns about the COVID pandemic, the players were like good postal carriers and delivered the goods anyway, following established safety protocols. Senior Ashton Sozanski, who shined on defense, said he spoke for himself and his teammates, that the team had pointed toward regaining the Beater Board as their goal when they started summer practice. The players have attended Warren Hills versus Hackettstown games and listened to the WRNJ broadcasts since childhood and wanted to get the win when it came their turn to play in the big spotlight.

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Sincere congratulations to the Warren Hills field hockey team, who won the program’s 18th sectional title on Saturday with a 6-0 shutout of West Morris.
Due to the COVID epidemic, there won’t be any state semifinal and final this year, which is a disappointment to coach Josie Potter and her crew which has finished 13-0 for the first undefeated season in program history.

13-0 is a record of which the girls may be most proud. The Blue Streaks are ranked number seven in the state, all groups, by nj.com and their panel of pundits. Potter led a group of seniors this year who all were freshmen in her first season as the head coach.

Maddie Summitt recorded a three-goal hat trick in the final game.
In the semifinal win over number 15 Chatham, an overtime thriller which Warren Hills won 2-1, Emily Dvorsky scored the golden goal on a breakaway. Sarah Korczukowski scored in regulation time. The Streaks’ midfield and backline stifled the visiting Cougars and goalkeeper Emily Schlessinger only needed to make two saves, but they were big ones.

In boys soccer, the Hackettstown Tigers went into the state tournament with a stellar 10-0 mark, but lost 1-0 to fifth seed Pequannock in the sectional semifinal. The Tigers got nine shots on goal, but none found the net.

In the quarterfinal, they quieted the eighth seeded Mountain Lakes Thundering Herd 2-0, as Ryan Luke and Alex Sanchez scored goals and Chase and Cam Reardon assisted. Goalie Nate Harrison made three saves in handling the shutout.

Better luck next year, and a safe and happy Thanksgiving to all.

Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building.