By Nick Condit/For The Star-Ledger, December 01, 2012 6:44 p.m.
Summit’s defense knew it would be tested by the prolific passing attack of Parsippany Hills in the semifinals of the North 2, Group 3 state playoffs.
Saturday, Summit entered the game prepared.
Parsippany Hills threw 45 passes but only cracked the end zone twice as Will Shamim intercepted two passes and defensive lineman Conor O’Malley recorded two sacks and three tackles for loss to lead Summit to a 30-13 victory in Summit.
“Our kids understood the scheme and our defense did a great job,” Summit coach John Liberato said. “They have a great offense and it’s hard to simulate that in practice, especially with a quarterback like Tyler Simms. But we mixed up coverages well and I’m very proud of our players and our coaches for putting us in that position to defend a great offense.”
Top-seeded Summit (11-0) will take on third-seeded Palisades Park (9-2) in the final at MetLife Stadium on Saturday at 4 p.m. Summit has won six state playoff titles.
“We got killed last year and we have to keep that in the back of our minds and make sure we don’t let it happen again,” O’Malley said about Summit’s 47-7 loss to Madison in last year’s playoff final. “No one wants that to happen again. We came into this game the most prepared we’ve ever been, we knew almost every time they were going to pass. We have to keep it up next week.”
Offensively, Shamim caught a long touchdown reception, running back A.J. Iarussi had 156 total yards and a score and quarterback Mike Badgley did what he does – everything.
After a Simms’ TD pass — a 7-yarder to Tyler Bartro — put Parsippany Hills up 6-0 early, Badgley used a great play-fake to free up Shamim deep down the middle of the field and found him for a 61-yard touchdown strike late in the first quarter. Badgley’s first of three conversion kicks gave Summit a 7-6 lead.
Then, after a Parsippany Hills fumble midway through the second, Badgley scrambled right and cut up field to the left en route to a 25-yard touchdown dash that put Summit up by two scores at halftime.
Shamim then recorded his first interception early in the third quarter and Badgley later kept it and went 2 yards into the end zone. His PAT kick gave Summit a 21-6 lead.
Badgley then completed a long touchdown pass just four minutes later after Shamim’s second interception. The shifty quarterback scrambled to his right again and bought some time before dumping it off to Iarussi, who broke a pair of tackles and raced 75 yards to the end zone as Summit moved ahead, 27-6, with 6:45 left in the third.
He finally capped off Summit’s 30 unanswered points with a 27-yard field goal in the fourth period. Badgley finished 4-of-9 passing for 169 yards and two touchdowns while he carried 16 times for 105 yards and two scores.
Simms hooked up with receiver Kire Milevski 10 times on the day but only once in the end zone. With six minutes to play, he found Milevski for a 2-yard TD pass, but the game had already been decided.
Simms completed 23-of-45 passes for 301 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Milevski racked up 162 receiving yards and a score.
“The defense made the plays when they needed to,” Badgley said after scoring 21 points off turnovers. “For me, I try to make plays so other guys can make plays. They did that in this game and we’ll try to do it in the state championship.”
“We can’t wait to play.”
RUSHING
Mike Badgley, Summit, 16-125-2
PASSING
Mike Badgley, Summit, 4-9-169-2
RECIEVING
A.J. Iarussi, Summit, 1-75-1
ALL-PURPOSE
Mike Badgley, Summit: The QB/DB/K threw for 169 yards and two TDs, ran for 125 yards and two TDs, made three tackles, broke up a pass, kicked a FG and made three PAT.
A.J. Iarussi, Summit: The FB/LB ran for 76 yards, caught a 75-yard TD pass, made four tackles and broke up two passes.
Will Shamim, Summit: The WR/DB caught a TD pass and had two interceptions.
DEFENSE
Connor O’Malley, Summit: The DT made 11 tackles and had three sacks.
Andrew Oristanio, Summit: The DT had nine tackles and a sack.
Mac Wiesner, Summit: The DE had six tackles and two sacks.
Shamin-Led Summit Impresses With N2G3 Semifinal Victory
By JR Parachini For sidelinechatter.com
SUMMIT – While it was No. 8 for Parsippany Hills – senior quarterback Tyler Simms – who was going to have to make things happen if his team was to advance in the state playoffs, it was the other No. 8 – senior receiver-cornerback Will Shamim – who did make things happen for Summit.
Shamim scored Summit’s first points on a big touchdown reception and then his two interceptions both led to other Hilltopper touchdowns as top-seeded Summit went on to post a convincing 30-13 victory over fourth-seeded Parsippany Hills in Saturday’s North 2, Group 3 semifinal at Tatlock Field.
Summit, off to an 11-0 start for the second straight season and for the third time in the last four years, will face third-seeded Palisades Park (9-2) in next Saturday’s 4 p.m. game at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford.
When Summit last played in Bergen County in December of 2009 in the old Giants Stadium, the Hilltoppers came back to beat Orange 28-19 to capture that season’s North 2, Group 2 crown.
The Hilltoppers – now 43-2 in their last 45 games – are in the North 2, Group 3 final for the first time since 1986 and will be seeking to win it for the third time and first time since 1980.
After Simms threw a short touchdown pass to Tyler Bartro to give Parsippany Hills (8-3) a quick 7-0 lead, Summit answered on its third possession.
On first-and-10 from its own 38, senior quarterback Mike Badgley rolled a bit right and found Shamim completely wide open down field. Shamim, who was at least 15 yards behind any Parsippany Hills defensive player, actually had to come back a bit to catch Badgley’s pass before he raced into the end zone with it to tie the game at 6-6.
Badgley’s ensuing extra point gave Summit the lead for good at 7-6.
“They were reading (running back) Kyre (Negron) so we ran the pass off that way,” said Shamim. “Mike made a perfect throw. We knew we could beat them with that play.”
“They tried to double cover Kyree, so we went with our play action pass,” Summit head coach John Liberato said. “Mike has improved each week at quarterback.”
“We were upset that they scored on us, we try to shut out our opponents,” said Badgley, who rushed for two TDs, threw two touchdown passes and also kicked three extra points and one field goal. “That got us going.”
Summit’s second touchdown and the only score of the second quarter was a 25-yard touchdown run by Badgley that was set up by a fumble recovery by Summit linebacker Nick Liberato after the ball slipped out of Simms’ hands.
Shamim’s first of two second-half interceptions – coming on the second play of the third quarter – was huge as he dove to catch the ball against Parsippany Hills receiver Brandon Katzenberger. It gave Summit a first down at the Parsippany Hills 15.
Badgley scored from two yards out three plays later.
“There, I just tried to stay on his (the receiver’s) hip pocket,” Shamim said. “We talked about winning the turnover battle.”
“With our secondary, they did their homework,” Liberato said. “They take what you give them. The kids understand the scheme.”
Shamim’s second interception set up what might be remembered as one of the legendary Summit playoff touchdowns. On second-and-23 from his own 25, Badgley rolled right and managed to flip the ball to senior running back AJ Iarussi near the right sideline, who caught a short pass just beyond the 30-yard line.
Iarussi then zig-zagged his way through a host of bodies in the middle of the field only to come out of the pack and find the right sideline wide open for what turned out to be a 75-yard touchdown pass.
“That was all regional,” Badgley said. “I was able to dump it to AJ and he made a great run.”
Also standing out defensively for Summit was senior Connor O’Malley. Parsippany Hills had no answer for the 6-4, 250-pound lineman, who had two tackles for losses in the first half and was involved in one quarterback sack in the second.
“I was so fired up to get off the line for this game,” O’Malley said. “We prepared for everything, with the coaches calling blue for pass and green for run.”
“Connor played championship style football today,” Liberato said. “They couldn’t handle him. Our defensive front did a nice job of trapping and clogging up the middle.”
Exactly a year ago Saturday – Dec. 1, 2011 – Summit lost to Madison 47-7 in the North 2, Group 2 final at Kean.
“This was redemption,” Shamim said. “We worked hard to get another shot.”
That will come against an unfamiliar opponent in Bergen County’s Palisades Park.
“We’ll need to go to the film and continue to practice hard,” Badgley said. “Last year is still in the back of our mind and motivates us.”
NOTES: Simms completed 23-of-43 passes for 266 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He was 7-of-13 for 83 yards and one touchdown in the first half and 16-of-30 for 183 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in the second.
His favorite receiver – senior Kire Milevski – caught 10 passes, including four for 73 yards in the first half and one of his six in the second for a one-yard touchdown.
Iarussi, who will continue playing at Colgate, carried 20 times for 82 yards.
O’Malley combined with junior lineman Mac Wiesner on a sack in the second half, while senior lineman Andrew Oristanio had 1.5 sacks, including one shared with junior linebacker Colm Dougherty in the first half and a solo one in the second.
Parsippany Hills senior running back Carmine Verduccci carried the ball 21 times for 77 yards.
The Vikings, who lost to Cranford 27-0 in last year’s final, won eight games for the second straight season. Parsippany Hills finished 8-4 a year ago.
Summit has Union County’s longest winning streak at 11 games and will attempt to become the first school from Union County to finish 12-0 a second time. The only ones to do so are Brearley in 2006 and Summit in 2009.
Elizabeth (10-0) was deprived of that opportunity this season when Hurricane Sandy wiped out its non-division game at Plainfield.
Summit has now won sectional semifinal games at home three of the last four seasons. Here’s a look at the scores:
SUMMIT AT HOME IN SECTIONAL SEMIFINALS
2012: Summit 30, Parsippany Hills 13 – North 2, Group 3
2011: Summit 34, Caldwell 20 – North 2, Group 2
2009: Summit 23, Madison 14 – North 2, Group 2
NORTH JERSEY, SECTION 2, GROUP 3 SEMIFINAL
AT TATLOCK FIELD
4-PARSIPPANY HILLS (8-3) 6 0 0 7 – 13
1-SUMMIT (11-0) 7 7 13 3 – 30
FIRST QUARTER:
PARSIPPANY HILLS – Tyler Bartro 7 pass from Tyler Simms, kick failed (PH 6-0)
8 plays, 69 yards. 3:32 used
SUMMIT – Will Shamim 62 pass from Mike Badgley, Mike Badgley kick (S 7-6)
4 plays, 93 yards, :55 used
SECOND QUARTER:
SUMMIT – Mike Badgley 25 run, Mike Badgley kick (S 14-6)
9 plays, 63 yards, 2:27 used
Summit capitalized on a turnover – a Nick Liberato fumble recovery.
THIRD QUARTER:
SUMMIT – Mike Badgley 2 run, Mike Badgley kick (S 21-6)
4 plays, 15 yards, :59 used
Summit capitalized on a turnover – a Will Shamim interception.
SUMMIT – AJ Iarussi 75 pass from Mike Badgley, kick failed (S 27-6)
3 plays, 62 yards, :56 used
Summit capitalized on a turnover – a Will Shamim interception.
FOURTH QUARTER:
SUMMIT – FG Mike Badgley 27 (S 30-6)
13 plays, from own 27 to Parsippany Hills 20, 1:58 used
PARSIPPANY HILLS – Kire Milevski 1 pass from Tyler Simms,
Brandon Katzenberger kick (S 30-13)
17 plays, 77 yards, 5:07 used
Jose Ortiz for TheAlternativePress.com Saturday, December 1, 2012 • 8:23pm
The Summit football team will be headed back to the state sectional finals next weekend, looking to take care of some unfinished business. Mike Badgley threw a pair of touchdowns and ran in another two to help punch the Hilltoppers’s ticket to the North II Group 3 state finals, comfortably beating Parsippany Hills on Saturday afternoon, at Tatlock Field, 30-13.
“It’s the greatest feeling in the world,” Badgley said of going to the state finals. “You get there and you’re joyful now, but we have to start preparing as soon as we get up to that locker room. It’s a whole new game in the state championship.”
Summit began the game with two failed drives on offense, and fell behind 6-0, following an early first quarter seven-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Simms to Tyler Bartro. On third and two at the Par Hills 40, Badgley broke up a pass, forcing a fourth down punt. On the ensuing kick, a Par Hills player laid a hit on a Hilltopper away from the play, seemingly igniting the home team.
“I don’t know exactly what happened, but I do know that it kicked our guys in the butt and we just decided to start playing football,” Badgley said of the play. “We had thirty unanswered points and we just started pounding right through them.”
The Hilltoppers scored four plays later, when Bagdley hit a wide open Will Shamim on a rollout pass to the right, starting a string of 30 unanswered points for Summit. The Vikings did not score again until there was less than six minutes left in the contest.
Early in the second quarter, with Summit up, 7-6, Nick Liberato recovered a fumble in the Viking backfield to set up the Hilltoppers with great field position, at their own 48. A.J. Iarussi and Badgley combined for 48 yards on seven carries in the ensuing possession. The drive was capped by an impressive Badgley run, where he began with a run toward the right sideline, and then cutback across the field toward the left, taking advantage of the defense’s over-pursuit, to score from 25-yards out.
On the second play of the third quarter, Shamim made the first of his two interceptions in the game, deep in Viking territory, setting up the locals with the ball at the Par Hills 15. Badgley punched in a two-yard touchdown to cap the ensuing possession and put Summit up, 21-6, with 10:43 left in the second half.
But perhaps the knockout blow came on Summit’s next possession, also set up by a Shamim interception. On second and 24, Badgley was flushed from the pocket to his right, he ran around the backfield to extend the play, just before hitting the line of scrimmage, he dumped off a short throw to Iarussi, who took the two yard pass and turned it into a 75-yard touchdown, cutting across the field from right to left, and then back to the right on the run. A missed extra point, staked Summit to a 27-6 lead, and a 27-yard field goal by Badgley early in the fourth quarter, put Summit up 30-6.
“I thought we played fantastic, the defense especially. The way we rushed the quarterback and our corners were just all over everyone,” Shamim said. “Even on completions, there was someone right there to make the tackle. I thought the defense just played phenomenal, particularly the D-line.”
Par Hills got a little momentum going in the fourth quarter, cutting into the lead with Simms’s second td pass of the game, this one to Kire Milveski, from a yard out on second and goal. Despite recovering the ensuing onsides kick with well over five minutes to play, Summit held its ground and did not surrender another point.
The Hilltopper defense played exceptionally well, getting three turnovers, four sacks and five other tackles for a loss. Simms attempted a ludicrous 48 passes in the game, and completed 21 of them for 228, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Milveski led all players with 106 receiving yards, while Par Hills running back, Carmine Verducci, rushed for 86 yards to lead the team.
Defensively for Summit, outside of Shamim and Nicholas Watts playing extremely well at the corners, Par Hills had no answer for Mac Wiesner, Connor O’Malley and Andrew Oristanio on the defensive line.
“The coaches told us all week that the defensive backs were going to have to step up,” Badgley said. “We had two weeks to prepare and Nick Watts and Will Shamim had a huge day for us at the corner position, they made some awesome plays for us.”
“We had two weeks to prepare and our coaches prepared us better than we’ve been prepared for any game,” O’Malley said. “We saw they scored one touchdown and we were just not going to let that happen. We were not going to let this game slip away.”
Summit, which improved to 11-0 with the win, has not lost a game since losing in last year’s North II Group 2 state finals to Madison. They’ll face Palisades Park in next week’s sectional final.
“Parsippany Hills has a great quarterback in Tyler Simms, a great running back in Carmine Verducci and four excellent receivers,” Summit sixth-year head coach John Liberato said. “They run a very efficient offense and they do a great job of converting on third down. No one talks about their defense, but they have a very good one.”
Liberato and Parsippany Hills head coach Dave Albano coached against each other in 2007 and 2008, Liberato’s first two seasons at the helm of the Hilltoppers.
“Dave and I our good friends,” Liberato said. “Dave and his staff do a great job. Dave is one of the top coaches in Morris County.”
Summit had close calls in a home win over Johnson 17-13 and a road victory at Cranford 30-27. Since those consecutive triumphs the Hilltoppers have won their last seven games by double digits.
By James Kratch/For The Star-Ledger
Summit’s Mike Badgley remains the top scorer in Union County as the 2012 season winds to a close.
Badgley, who has done it all for the 10-0 Hilltoppers this season – run, pass, receive, kick, return, you name it – has scored a county-leading 149 points to date.
Johnson’s Anthony Travisano is second with 134 points scored. And after another big day against Roselle on Thanksgiving, Roselle Park’s Brian Matthews has jumped up to third in the county with 114 points scored.
Here are the top 10 scorers in Union County, as well as some of the county’s other standout scorers.
As always: Point totals are based on games staffed by/reported to The Star-Ledger. Please have a coach or athletic director email me at jkratch@njschoolsports.com with any discrepancies.
UNION COUNTY SCORING TOP 10 (Through Nov. 22)
1. Mike Badgley, Summit, 149
2. Anthony Travisano, Johnson, 134
3. Brian Matthews, Roselle Park, 114
4. Derek Singer, New Providence, 108
5. Reggie Green, Cranford, 98
6. Jahad Thomas, Elizabeth, 96
7. Kason Campbell, Elizabeth, 90
8. A.J. Iarussi, Summit, 84
9. Anthony Cioffi, Dayton, 72
10. Jamauri Bogan, Union, 68
OTHER TOP UNION COUNTY SCORERS (40+ POINTS)
Juwan Dolbrice, Linden, 66
P.J. Walker, Elizabeth, 66
Jimmy Dwyer, Cranford, 60
Dylan Elliott, Westfield, 60
Vinny Sidoli, New Providence, 60
Andrew Bruner, Gov. Livingston, 54
Kyre Negron, Summit, 54
Gus Briones, Elizabeth, 53
Jeffery Bost, Rahway, 48
Juan Carmona, Roselle Park, 48
Khayri Hudeen, Brearley, 48
Gabril Gross, Rahway, 48
David Gelormini, New Providence, 47
Steven Jones, Plainfield, 47
Shakiyl Glasco, Westfield, 42
Sebastian Montedosca, Brearley, 42
Lance Pecina, Johnson, 42
Frank Schneeberger, Roselle Park, 41
Kyle Ward, Elizabeth, 42
