High school football

Hopatcong 26 Lenape 7 With the inclement weather forcing games to be rescheduled, Joe Martinek demonstrated that sloppy conditions do not halt outstanding running attacks as he led Hopatcong to a 26-7 victory over Lenape Valley on Sunday in Stanhope. Martinek carried the ball 31 times, churning out 194 yards while scoring three times on runs of 13, 8 and 48 yards as the Chiefs defeated the Patriots for only the third time ever. Hopatcong took a giant step in its quest to claim its first-ever SCIL title as Martinek was named the sussexcountyinterscholasticleague.com Player of the Week. He bolted 13 yards into the end zone in the first quarter but LVR rallied to move in front 7-6 in the second quarter, Martinek’s second six-pointer came later in the quarter, as the Chiefs regained a 12-7 advantage by the halftime break. In the third quarter, quarterback Ian Evans, who connected on 2-of-3 pass attempts, tossed a 17-yard TD strike to Scott Brown and Martinek ran for a two-point conversion to give the Chiefs a 20-6 lead. Martinek found a seam in the Patriots’ defense and sprinted 48 yards to paydirt in the fourth quarter to lock up Lenape Valley’s fourth victory in five decisions. Vernon 28, Newton 6 Justin Gannon kept Vernon in a tie for first place when the senior tailback rushed 37 times for 230 yards, scoring on runs 2, 80 and 4 yards while T.J. Diggles blasted 13 yards into the end zone in the third quarter to open up a 28 point lead. Newton got on the board in the final quarter when Steve Zander found Sam Paul with a seven-yard TD pass to make the final score 28-6. Pope John 35 Jefferson 0 Pope John blanked Jefferson 35-0 to remain a half a game out of first. Junior tailback Jeremy Tucker scored four times on runs of 12, 55, 63 and 34 yards with sophomore fullback Connor McGrath adding a 31-yard TD run early in the second quarter. Linebackers Matt Dowling and Tim Lombreglia fueled the defensive effort with Dowling recording nine and two quarterback sacks. Lombreglia came up with six tackles, blocked a punt and intercepted a pass. High Point 13 Kittatinny 7 Brian Konopka scored from 10 yards out with 10 ticks remaining on the game clock to lift High Point to a 13-7 win over Kittatinny as the Wildcats claimed their first “W” of the campaign while the Cougars remained winless. Mike Collason put the Wildcats on the board in the second quarter when he plunged two yards into the end zone in the second quarter. Kittatinny knotted the score at 7-7 in the third quarter on a four-yard TD run by Chris Guidi. Sparta 17, Lakeland 14 Sparta held on for a 17-14 win over Lakeland in a non-league clash played in Sparta. Trailing 7-0, the Spartans got on the board in the opening quarter when halfback Danny D’Angelo flipped an option pass 35 yards to split end Derrick Freligh. Ryan Skorupka broke loose and raced 65 yards into the end zone in the second quarter before Alex Bortnichak split the upright with a 49-yard field goal that proved to be the winning points. Last year, Lakeland defeated the Spartans, once in the regular and later in the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, Group III playoffs. Wallkill 7, Hackettstorn 0 In the only local game played on Friday evening, Wallkill Valley blanked Hackettstown 7-0 after scoring on a 26-yard option pass from J.J. Conrad to Tyler Wenz in the first quarter. The entire game was played in a heavy downpour with strong winds that turned the playing field into a quagmire. SCIL Standings 1T Hopatcong 4-1 1T Vernon 4-1 3T Pope John 3-1 3T Sparta 3-1 5 Lenape Valley 3-2 6T High Point 1-3 6T Jefferson 1-3 8 Newton 1-4 9 Kittatinny 0-4 This week’s schedule Friday Kittatinny at Hopatcong 7 p.m. Newton at Jefferson 7 p.m. Saturday High Point at Pope John 1 p.m. Lenape at Wallkill Valley 1 p.m. Vernon at Sparta 1 p.m.