A WATCHUNG COMMUNICATIONS, INC. PUBLICATION The Westfield Leader and The Scotch Plains – Fanwood TIMES Thursday, December 5, 2013 Page 15

GEE LED WITH 16 GOALS, CHRISTIANO NETS10 GOALS

Cougars Took Their LumpsIn Boys Soccer, Finished 5-13

By DAVID B. CORBINSpecially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Times

Experience was something that thisyear’s Cranford High School boyssoccer team needed to gain quicklyafter graduating 14 from last year’ssquad. The Cougars were put in asituation where they had to pull upsome kids from the JV squad who didnot have a lot of varsity experience.Unfortunately for the Cougars, thatexperience took time to develop, didnot come quickly enough and theytook their lumps to finish with a 5-13record.

But their schedule, especially witha very strong group of Union Countyteams this season, had a lot to do withthe lumps. A number of those lossescame off the feet of the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Raiders, the Union CountyTournament (UCT) champions, Eliza-beth (UCT runners-up) and UCTthird-seeded Westfield.

“We had a disappointing season,ending with a record of 5-13. Aftergraduating 14 seniors last year, theteam lacked varsity experience andsize. This was apparent in particular

when facing fast, physical and expe-rienced opponents on our schedulesuch as Scotch Plains, Elizabeth andWestfield,” Cougar Head Coach GregCampbell said.

The Cougars did have some bright

spots, which included a 7-1 first roundvictory over Roselle Catholic in theUnion County Tournament, as wellas a 6-4 win over Linden on the Se-nior Night game.

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CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

Blue Devils Stuff Cardinals in Grid Classic, 34-0CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

because that number 22 [Jones] is agood player. He could have brokenout on any play. We started shootingon defense, tackling well and strip-ping the ball. We actually scored ondefense, which is awesome,”Scaglione said.

“Like Joe said, we came out a littleflat then towards the end we kicked itup and played great. I’m really proudto come out with such a great victoryour senior year. I was pretty emo-tional but I am happy we got it donetoday,” Kane said.

“We knew number 22 was bounc-ing around a lot, and knew we had tostay in our lanes, because he wasgoing to cut back a lot, and I was rightthere. I’m glad we went out with awin. I’m glad we went out with ashutout to cap off what we reallyworked for all year,” Anderson said.

“Defense played well all the time.We kept the tempo going. We knew itwas just a matter of time for theoffense to step it up. We made theplays we needed to. That number 22was explosive. We knew on any givenplay, things could change, so we hadto keep our heads in the game,”Sweeney said.

The second half began well for theBlue Devils when Kane fielded a short

kickoff and returned it to the Plainfield37. Rawles finished it off with his 37-yard TD run with 27 seconds off theclock. Less than 30 seconds later,cornerback Brett Robertshaw andlinebacker Jackson Simcox bashedthe running back and forced a fumble(Robershaw stripped) and Simcoxsmothered the ball in the end zone.Hogge’s successful point after madethe score, 20-0.

Midway through the third quarter,Sweeney and linebacker MikeO’Connor forced a fumble at theCardinal 10. Three plays later, with3:09 on the clock, Hogge hit Elliottfor the eight-yard TD.

Early in the fourth quarter, Simcoxrecovered another fumble, but theBlue Devils returned the favor whenHogge’s pass was intercepted in theend zone and returned four yards.

After a Cardinal drive stalled at theWestfield 18, on the third play, Elliottturned a reception into a 46-yard gain.Rawles broke loose for 30 yards to thePlainfield nine then took care of busi-ness with his nine-yard TD sprint aroundthe left side with 53 seconds remaining.

The Cardinals attempted to avoidthe shutout and failed, while the BlueDevils attempted and failed to putHead Coach Jim DeSarno “on ice”

with a bucket of Gatorade.“I’m happy! I have been happy

when we won all year. These kidsplayed hard. We got a great effortfrom our defense. Our defense car-ried us all year, and it’s nice to seeEugene go out the right way withthree touchdowns. He had such agreat year,” Coach DeSarno said.

Although they had a good feelingabout their abilities throughout the sea-son, the playoff game against top-seededRidge when the Blue Devils gave theRed Devils all they could handle, provedthey could play with the best.

“We knew we had a lot of talenthere. We got guys who believe ineach other. It’s fun to play together.Ridge was a very good team. As longas we gave 100 percent, that’s all wecould ask for. I’m proud to be on thisteam,” Sweeney said.

“When you play a team like Ridge,you got to be perfect. We turned theball over three times. We knew we hada pretty good team. We knew that allyear. I have not been able to say that totoo many teams, but this was a goodfootball team,” Coach DeSarno said.

Westfield now leads the series withPlainfield, 57-45-7.Plainfield 0 0 0 0 0Westfield 7 0 20 7 34

David B. Corbin for The Westfield Leader and The Times

GOING FOR THE RECOVERY...Blue Devil Brett Robertshaw dives to recover the fumble after jarring it loose from aPlainfield running back, but the ball bounces towards the Cardinal goal and Blue Devil Jackson Simcox, left, actuallyrecovers it for the touchdown.

David B. Corbin for The Westfield Leader and The Times

COUGAR LEADING SCORER...Cougar senior co-captain Andrew Gee, No. 20, led his team with 16 goals. See more photosat www.goleader.com Ballyhoo Sports.

David B. Corbin for The Westfield Leader and The Times

THE “TERROR”......Cougar forward Tommy Trotter, No. 4, terrorized oppos-ing defenders throughout the season.