The Westfield Leader and The Scotch Plains – Fanwood TIMES A WATCHUNG COMMUNICATIONS, INC. PUBLICATION See it all in color at! www.goleader.com THE WEEK IN SPORTS BOUCHOUEVA GOAL OVERTURNED, ALJ’s VILL SCORES By DAVID B. CORBIN Strict adherence to the complicated rules of the game preserved a 1-0 victory by the seventh seeded A. L. Johnson Crusaders over the sixth seeded Westfield High School field hockey team in the first round of the Union County Tournament at Gary Kehler Stadium in Westfield on September 30. With her team trailing 1-0 ten minutes into the second half, Blue Devil senior co-captain/midfielder Valeria Bouchoueva, after a penalty corner, lifted a shot that buried into the upper right side of the Crusaders’ net. However, it was ruled as a no goal. “For penalty corners, the initial shot, if it’s a drive on goal, needs to hit the backboard of the net, which is 18 inches. And it didn’t. It went above that. We could have argued that it was not a drive, that it was a lift, but the second official said that the ball never originally came out of the circle. So the ruling on a corner is the inserter inserts the ball and the ball needs to leave the circle and then be brought back into the circle in order to score a goal. There’s a lot of technicalities there,” Blue Devil Head Coach Caitlin MacDonald explained. The 4-6 Crusaders managed only two shots on goal in the first half, while the Blue Devils took three, but one of them hit the mark when senior co-captain Janet Vill connected on a left-to-right shot with 20 minutes on the clock. The 3-5-1 Blue Devils also took three penalty corners to the Crusaders’ none. “Janet has been around their team a couple of years. She is a very talented player. She is apparently talented skill wise, but she also takes control of the field. Her teammates feed off of her. They know where they are supposed to be, because she knows where she’s supposed to be,” Coach MacDonald said. The Crusaders did outshoot the Blue Devils, 6-3, in the second half and Westfield sophomore goalkeeper Christina Seery made five stops during that time period. The Crusaders also took four penalty corners to the Blue Devils’ one. “We were the sixth seed. They were the seventh seed, so we knew it was going to be a tight game. We played them earlier in the season and we lost CONTINUED ON PAGE 12 Page 11 Sports Section Pages 11-17 More photos at goleader.com Ballyhoo Sports Crusaders Nudge Blue Devils In UCT Field Hockey, 1-0 Specially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Times Thursday, October 9, 2014 Courtesy of Charles Mulrooney for The Westfield Leader and The Times TRYING TO HEM IN A TIGER...Blue Devils Sid Douglas, No. 4, and Jackson Simcox, No. 44, close in on Linden Tiger running back Tymir Hinton, No. 1, in the defense dominated game at Linden on October 2. The Tigers won in OT, 15-14. CURRY 109 YDS, SIMCOX TD, ELLIOTT 8-YD TD CATCH Tigers’ 2-Pt. OT Conversion Scorches Blue Devils, 15-14 By DAVID B. CORBIN Specially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Times Down to the final play and faced with the decision of kicking the point after for a tie or going for the twopoint conversion for the win, Tiger quarterback Juwan Dolbrice went for the later and hit wide receiver Corey Ampey in the end zone to give the Linden High School football team a 15-14, overtime victory over the Westfield Blue Devils in Linden on October 2. The Tigers came into the game with convincing wins over Immaculata, Plainfield and Montgomery, while the Blue Devils, who lost their opener to Montgomery then defeated Scotch Plains-Fanwood, were coming off a bye week, but this showdown was ruled by downright stubborn behavior, effective rugbystyle punting and key plays on the part of both defenses. When it came to a running game, the Tigers were a triple threat with Dolbrice, Guirvenson Guillaume and, especially, Kyle Phipps. The Tigers totaled 190 yards rushing on 42 carries, and Phipps managed 101 yards on 14 carries. Dolbrice carried 13 times for 37 yards but had the team’s only touchdown in regulation with a two-yard plunge in the third quarter. Guillaume carried eight times for 29 yards, including a three-yard touchdown in overtime. Dolbrice also completed nine of 14 pass attempts for 120 yards. CONTINUED ON PAGE 13 More photos at goleader.com Ballyhoo Sports David B. Corbin for The Westfield Leader and The Times TENSION NEAR THE NET...Crusader senior attacker Gina DiNucci, No. 36, attempts to get around Blue Devil defender Alison Krakauer, No. 4, as Blue Devil goalkeeper Christina Seery prepares herself at Kehler Stadium on September 30. THOMAS SIX-YARD TD RUN, WHITE 10-YARD TD RUN No. Hunterdon’s McDonald Torches SPF Raiders, 45-14 By ALEX LOWE Specially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Times North Hunterdon senior quarterback Ryan McDonald proved to be an unstoppable force as the host Lions shredded the Scotch PlainsFanwood defense on their way to a 45-14 victory in Annandale on October 2. McDonald threw for 222 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 64 yards and added two more scores on the ground It was the second straight week in which the Raider defense allowed 45 or more points to the opposition. “That kid, McDonald, is really good,” said Raider Head Coach Jon Stack. “He was the difference, really! It is always tough to come back on a short week and prepare for a superior player. I know it seems odd to say this, but our guys were always around him. He broke contain several times and hurt us on plays where we had him dead to rights.” That is certainly true. McDonald showed what kind of a night the Raiders’ defense would be in for late in the first quarter. With the score tied at 77 and facing a third-and-six from their own 45 yard line, McDonald spun out of a sack attempt by Raider defensive lineman Alex Mirabella, then rolled to his right and heaved a perfect strike down the middle of the field to Luke Fogel, who hauled it in at the Raider 10 and ran in for the score and a 14-7 lead. “Their quarterback is a heck of a player,” said Raider senior linebacker Kevin Maxwell. “He is probably the best one I’ve played against, certainly this year anyway. He made a lot of things happen with his feet and we did not get it done in containment. He is an accurate thrower too.” McDonald marched his team down the field 70 yards in eight plays before sneaking the ball in from one yard out on a fourth-and-goal to give North a 7-0 lead. Scotch Plains pulled even with 2:07 remaining in the opening quarter on a six-yard run off tackle by Emendo Thomas. The score was set up when Lion punter Fogel shanked an eight yard punt off the side of his foot giving the Raiders possession at the Lion 31 yard line. After McDonald hooked up with CONTINUED ON PAGE 14 Alex Lowe for The Westfield Leader and The Times DISCUSSING THE PLAN OF ATTACK...Raider Head Coach Jon Stack, left, discusses a plan of attack with members of his defensive squad in the game against North Hunterdon in Annandale on October 2. HIRING THE TOP AGENT ISN’T EXPENSIVE…IT’S PRICELESS! NEED A HOME? Frank’s got THE App for that! Download my free Mobile App for on the go access to prices, maps, photos and more! Text “ISOLDI” to “87778” Frank D. Isoldi, Broker / Sales Associate #1 Agent Westfield Office: 2006-2013 email: isre@aol.com • Office: 908-233-5555 x 202 • Direct: 908-301-2038 • www.frankdisoldi.com © 2014 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Coldwell Banker® is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company. 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