High school football

Newton 28, High Point 21 With senior Steve Zander turning in an all-around effort, Newton defeated High Point 28-21 at Palmer Field to experience the thrill of victory for the first time since opening day of the 2004 campaign. A quarterback/safety, Zander excelled on both sides of the ball and has been chosen the SCIL Player of the Week. On defense, Zander picked off a Wildcat aerial and on offense he sparked the attack, rushing 11 times for 60 yards including TD runs of 5, 17 and 11 yards. He also connected on 9 of 23 pass attempts for 152 yards. Newton surged to a 14-0 lead before High Point got on the board late in the opening quarter as Zander scored his first two six-pointers and Mike Diffen split the uprights with two of his four straight extra point placements. Lenape 14, Vernon 13 Once again head coach Don Smolyn had his Patriots prepped for a successful showdown as LVR edged Vernon 14-13 to create a four-way tie for first place between Hopatcong, Lenape Valley, Sparta and Vernon with identical 3-1 records while Pope John is at 2-1. Robbie Klinck plunged two yards into the end zone to open the scoring in the second quarter and tossed an eight-yard TD strike to Joe Fritzky in the third quarter followed by a crucial two-point conversion pass to Dan Pregno. T.J. Diggles scored on runs of one and two yards for the Vikings. Hopatcong 21, Sparta 7 Junior Joe Martinek toted the pigskin 21 times, churning out 166 yards rushing as Hopatcong knocked Sparta from the unbeaten ranks by a score of 21-7 in Hopatcong. The Cgiefs burst out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter when Martienek sandwiched TD runs of 76 and one yard around a 51-yard TD aerial from Ian Evans to Jon Stolarz. Ryan Skorupka bolted five yards into the end zone in the second quarter for the Spartans before the defensive stalwarts took over to produce a scoreless second half. Zak Rey recorded 12 tackles, Steve Hynson nine and Carlus Kuskus eight for the Chiefs. Jefferson 20, Kittatinny 13 Jefferson rallied to defeat Kittatinny 20-13 when quarterback B.J. Stokes blasted one yard into the end zone with 1:23 remaining in the game. With 30 ticks left in regulation, Matt Valentini picked off a Cougar aerial to lock up the victory. A four-yard TD strike from Stokes to Velentini opened the scoring in the first quarter and Stokes raced four yards to paydirt in the third quarter. Chris Carr ran nine yards and Chris Guidi busted two yards over the goal line for the Cougars. Pope John 34, Rahway 6 In a non-league encounter in Union County, Pope John rolled to a 34-6 victory over Rahway as Jeremy Tucker powered the Lions’ attack, rushing for 204 yards on 26 carries. Tucker scored three times on runs of 51, 5 and 77 yards. Quarterback Eugene McGuire hooked up with Bobby Russo on a 55-yard TD pass while Alan Iannacone bolted 24 yards to paydirt in the fourth quarter to complete the rout. Orange, 27, Wallkill 0 Wallkill Valley was no match for the Tornadoes of Orange as the Rangers were blanked 27-0 in another non-league confrontation played in Hardyston. J,J. Conrad picked up 130 yards for the Rangers on 31 carries. SCIL Football Standings 1T. Hopatcong 3-1 1T. Lenape Valley 3-1 1T. Sparta 3-1 1T. Vernon 3-1 5. Pope John 2-1 6. Jefferson 1-2 7. Newton 1-3 8T. High Point 0-3 8T. Kittatinny 0-3 This Week’s Schedule Friday (October 7) Wallkill (2-2) at Hackettstown (2-2) 7 p.m. Saturday (October 8) Hopatcong (3-1) at Lenape (3-1) 2 p.m. Jefferson (2-2) at Pope John (3-1) 2:30 p.m. Kittatinny (0-4) at High Point (0-4) 2 p.m. Lakeland (3-1) at Sparta (3-1) 3 p.m. Vernon (3-1) at Newton (1-3) 3 p.m.