The Courier-News from Bridgewater, New Jersey • Page 28

D-4 Monday, December 1, WS, THE COURIER-NEWS It" i I ft 1 xqflMKiit 4 jjit ul dFf ,1 i 1 i1 5 luinim-lyi Mirft am rinln-l-i--iihiiiHnih" BimwimnftMumwHllft Randy Morton picks up yardage for North Hunterdon High as Jack school football ii 2 Phots by right, of Franklin Township infraction. That penalty led to the Warriors' second touchdown, a two-yard run over right tackle by James Sanders which cut North's lead to 20-12 with just 1:20 left In the half. "We did a better job adjusting defen-. sively than we did on offense," Halfacre said. "Most of our scores were set up by short punts." i The Lions had to go just 29 yards to score their first touchdown following a 19-yard Franklin bootNorth needed only two plays to score.

On first down, Morton ripped over right tackle, cut back to the middle and raced to the Warrior seven. Paul Christensen bulldozed up the middle and scored on the following play. Bartnett's PAT put the Lions ahead for good 7-6 with 1 47 left In the first period. Bartnett set up his team's second TD, rolling to his left and passing 30 yards to Ken Andrews at the Franklin 15. Four plays later, Morton circled left end and skipped into the end zone behind a pretty block by Christensen.

"We're a power running team but we tried to open up more in the early going to keep Franklin from concentrating If it 7 la i a r. twn: -lltn iwttwwBi iowft twmm it in 4 nw i have won the Group 4 title. "Our kids played today the way they did all year. We didn't look pretty but we played a quality game and that's how we won. That's the way our players always react in tight games, they just don't allow themselves to get beaten." Certainly the Lions did nothing to beat themselves.

They didn't commit a single turnover and they took advantage of every bounce that went their way. "They outplayed us," said Franklin coach Gene Schiller. "They didn't make one mistake." Schiller, who has coached the Warriors for four seasons, announced his retirement prior to the game. Wingback Randy Morton did most of the damage for North Hunterdon, carrying the ball 12 times for 74 yards and scoring three of the four Lion touchdowns. His 31-yard touchdown scamper around right end broke open the game in the second quarter and he clinched the victory during the final minute when he caught a nine-yard scoring pass from Bob Bartnett.

"Randy is a blue chipper In every sense of the word," Halfacre insisted. 1 1 If 1 Gaido, left, and Tom Umar1, always had good field position." The Warriors looked like they" might-" blow North Hunterdon off the field in the early going. Franklin took the opening kickoff and drove 75 yards in 10 Quarterback Ken Smith twice came up! with a big play on third down, hitting-Willie Davenport with an 11-yard pass and later scooting 36 yards around right end down to the Lions' 16. Four plays later, the Warriors appeared to score as Jeff Brown drove over! left tackle from the four. But Franklin was penalized for illegal procedure.

On the next play, Smith rolled left ana passed nine yards to Tony Thompson in the end zone. 'i' From that point on, North Hunterdon's defense dominated the game. Franklin didn't get another first down until late in the second quarter when the Lions were charged with a roughing-the-kicker for 32 yards down to the Lions' 26. "That time we were in a divide stunt defense," said the coach. "We looped' our end out and they beat us.

I didn't, realize they were that quick. "Franklin was a class team all the way and we were happy to play them, I just hope we would nave responded as well as they did if we had lost. "They're well-disciplined, well-poised and well-coached. It's a shame that one of us had to lose. If we played them 10 times who knows what the results would be? It's tough when everything comes down to one game at the end of the season." Franklin coach Gene Schiller couldn't have agreed more.

"We just died in the early part of the game and we couldn't quite come back," he offered. "Our offense kept sputtering and we allowed North Hunterdon to pick up big yardage on some key third down plays. "The one that hurt us most was the 31-yard touchdown run around right end by Morton. We had a breakdown. Morton got through our front line and the linebackers and halfbacks didn't react quickly enough." Halfacre praised the Franklin defense.

"They contained our running game better than anybody else we've played," he said. "That number 44 (Jeff Hush) played a tremendous game coming up to make the tackles. We couldn't influence him out of he shut off our whole inside game. ja "I was proud of our defense, too. The veer is a great attack but it's predictable, they run the same thing play after play and our guys were doing a good job leading it.

We had our ends on their pitch men because we had to keep our backs free to defend against the pass; I'll admit they scared us." Oraup 1 South Huntardon 21 Kiyport I -South Jariay Oroup 4 Mlllvlllt 71 Irkk Twp 11 Oraup 1 Moorntown it Starling II Oraup Audubon 21 PlaawnrvlTla Oraup I OliMbor 11 Palmyra 14 Parochial DWIilah North Jtrny Parochial A DtPawt 7 Borgon Catholic 7 (DtPaul wlnt on total ytrdag tlmo) Parochial I Pom John 14 St. Mary't (Ruth) South Jaraoy Parochlal A Holy Spirit If Camdon Catholic 14 ovar- i i i Parochial Now trvnawlck St. Pator's. champ avtrlghl wain ByJOHNBELIS ANNANDALE A football team that wins all of its regular season games and reaches the playoff finals shouldn't have to prove anything else. But the North Hunterdon High players felt they had to the skeptics one more time.

If there were any doubters who still questioned North's strength of schedule, the Lions made them believers Saturday afternoon when they struck a blow for the Delaware River Conference and Hunterdon County football. Displaying nearly flawless execution, the lions moved ahead early and led the rest off the way, downing Franklin Township 2748 to win the Group 3 Central Jersey championship. North Hunterdon (KM)) finished as the only unbeaten team in The Courier-News area. Franklin closed at 9-2. "We didn't approach this game as if it were a crusade," said coach Fritz Halfacre.

"But I've been in a lot of leagues and I think the teams in the DRC are good. We felt bad that so many of Hunterdon Central's players were hurt in their game against us or they might ByJOHNBELIS ANNANDALE Fritz Halfacre said he respected Franklin Township High's offense and he wasn't joking. With about a minute remaining in I4- iK ill i X. Owth R. Smltti close in.

their defense inside," Halfacre ex-pluned. "But they still did a good job against us." Franklin cut the deficit to 20-18 on its first offensive play of the second half as Smith crossed up the lion defense, running straight up the. middle for 80 yards. The run for the two-point conversion that would have tied the game failed and that was as close as the Warriors came. They picked up just one more first down the rest of the way and they didn't cross the 50-yard line again until the final seconds.

Franklin's last hopes died at the 1:54 mark when Craig Spinks intercepted Smith's pass at the Warrior 25 and returned it to the four. On third down from the nine, following a procedure penalty, Bartnett rolled right and passed to Morton in the end zone for the touchdown that iced the game. Franklin Tawmhla North HunUrdon hli 717 FT Thomoton I dim frtm Smith (run failed) 7 11 9 i NH-Chrllttrmn7 run (Bartnttt kick); NH Morton run (Kick flld); NH- Morton 11 run (Birtmtt kick); FT Stndtri a run (run filltd)! FT Smith run (run tsiitdlt NH Morton patt from lirtntrt (Btrtnttt kick). 4 J-5l v' wm lock or he gains can't use such as the proper locks; the correct Tf AR PlAtNHElD VI ftp I way. "He returned kicks, he caught passes, he ran the ball.

When the chips are down, there's no better player in the world." Bartnett also had a big day, completing seven of 11 passes for 71 yards and booting two conversion points. Bartnett, who was a second-stringer most of the season, was put under the gun during the playoffs after first-string quarterback Dave Smigelsky broke his collar bone four weeks ago. "Bob doesn't have all the natural skills Dave has," the coach pointed out, "he's not as good running. But he's got the necessary confidence, he thinks he's the best quarterback in the world. "Smigelsky, of course, is a tremendous asset, he responds to pressure and it's a big lift Just having him here.

Today was the first time he's had pads on since he was Injured and he did a great job punting: His kicks kept Franklin in the hole most of the time and we nearly Rather than keeping the ball on the ground and running out the clock, Halfacre Instructed Bob Bartnett to pass on two successive plays. The first pass, from the four-yard line, was complete in the end zone out it was nullified by a procedure penalty. On the next play, from the nine, Bartnett again rolled right and passed to Randy Morton who made a leaping catch for the touchdown that sealed the 27-18 victory. "I guess it was risky putting the ball in the air like that," the coach admitted, "but we felt we couldn't afford to sit on the lead, even with just a minute left. "Franklin is the most explosive team we've played, they can score from any place on the field (Ken) Smith could nave hit (Tony) Thompson with a slant-in pass and he might have broken it for 90 yards.

"Our game plan was to keep Smith, (Jeff) Brown and (James) Sanders from getting loose. They all have so much speed, I didn't know if we'd be able to contain them. But our guys caught them from behind a few times." With a few exceptions, North's tenacious defense did a good job against Franklin's speed merchants. Smith got loose for a 36-yarder around right end in the first quarter and he ran 80 yards up the middle to score a touchdown early in the second half. Smith was the leading rusher with 119 yards but he lost 30 yards when he was sacked four times while trying to pass.

"Smith caught us in a 52 stack defense when he broke away for that 80-yarder," Halfacre noted. "That's a very bad defense against a veer offense. He spotted it and he went right up the seam. He's a super athlete, I'd take him on my team any time." Franklin's only other big gainer came during the Warriors' second touchdown drive when Brown burst over left tackle I I C4t Fhata by Oicat t. ImHk North Hunterdon pass received Kevin Nagie has the ball knocked loose by Jeff Hush (44) and Tony Thompson of Franklin Township.

Saturday's Group 3 Central Jersey championship game, Halfacre's North Hunterdon Regional team was leading the Warriors by two points and the Lions had the ball inside the Franklin 10-yard line. 1 4- ,1 Barmen wun oo seconas the game. i At' Hill nn Ii4 ft With the extra security of a Double-Cylinder Deadbolt Lock Used as art auxiliary lock on all of your doors. The double-cylinder deadbolt frustrates the intruder He may reach the inside knob by breaking the glass, but is defeated by Football playoff results tne bolt which requires a key to unlock the door on either side. If entrance through a window he doors to take out the bulky item your TV.

CALL TROY'S We'll install tocttontl Chimolonihla Th AiMClatad Prais North Jw-My-Stct. 1 ttroua 4 PmmIC Vallty North Itrgtn 1 Oru RWgtflol Park 10 Normtrn Highlands I roa 1 Miwthorna 14 Ruthtrhxd 11 Oraup 1 Httbrtvck Htiohtt J2 Rldgafltlf I Narih JtrMy Std. 1 roup 4 arrlngtr 14 Llvlnpiion tl Oraup I Morrli Hlllt Phliiiptburi Oraup 1 Madiion lor Nw PrtvWtnct Oraup 1 Mandhtm If Mountain Lakat I Cantal Jartay Oraup 4 Maliwan Colonia North Hunterdon JTrankim Twp It Oroup I Had tank 44 Hlghtitown 44 CuoranrtM inttallation 9 Bondtd fnsfafftrs INSTALL DEADLOCKS Jimmy Proof Single or Double Key Operation CALL 756-2272 TROY'S LOCK CO. vn rrfw wj www m. Coach Fritz Halfacre of North Hunterdon talks things uL i I I.

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