The quarterfinal round began as high school football teams around New Jersey fought to play for the 2025 NJSIAA State Championship title. Hillsborough fell short in their head-to-head game with a score of 0-33. Nevertheless, the Raiders played hard while fans showed enthusiasm and high energy with chants and applause.
“This was a very hardworking team and it’s disappointing having the season end before getting a few more wins than we did,” said head coach Kevin Carty.
Hillsborough’s defense was phenomenal and explosive in the first quarter. Rancocas hit a wall, unable to get more than 3 yards the first few minutes.
“Our offense was strong, right away we were gaining yardage,” said senior Spencer Marso. “Our linemen did a great job on both sides of the ball,” senior Hameed Kamara added.
Sophomore Cooper Wright threw a 32-yard pass down to senior Shane Khuara, but it was incomplete. Hillsborough earned a punt and pushed to be the first on the scoreboard. Rancocas was unable to move the ball due to Hillsborough’s intense defensive line, causing a turnover on downs. Fans noticed defense holding the line.
Senior Andrew Schwarz broke several tackles for a 15-yard run. Junior Shlok Shah deflected a pass that was caught for an interception by Kyle Simonitis. Schwarz used the momentum to run 14-yards off the edge. Hillsborough was 25-yards away from a touchdown, only to get intercepted a few yards left away from the end zone. The first quarter ended 0-0 and it was still anyone’s game.
“The defense really stepped up, made a lot of good plays,” said Simonitis. “We all stuck together, listened to each other and trusted each other.”
In the second quarter, Rancocas ran a 34-yard touchdown pass with a kick to make the score 0-7.
Passes were strong from the Raiders as Wright threw a 25-yard pass to Kamara. Hillsborough was determined to tie the game back up but the clock ran out, so the Red Devils held the lead going into halftime.
After regrouping, Hillsborough had a great play going into the third quarter. The team was 1 yard away from a touchdown, but was unable to complete it. Players didn’t let this get them down and only used the potential to fuel the game. “We got stopped at the 1-yard line, but that shows our potential and what we could do,” said Marso.
Rancocas punted down the field and Wright was able to complete a 22-yard pass to Kamara. He went for the touchdown, but was stopped short. Hillsborough then attempted for a field goal, but was unsuccessful. Wright misread a route and threw an interception that was taken back for another Rancocas touchdown making it 0-14. Shortly after, Rancocas made another run and made a touchdown but missed the kick.
Smart plays kept hitting the Raiders and Rancocas took a strong lead. “Our team really showed some good fight in the first half,” Marso said, but their fire was waning. One fan added that “the crowd wasn’t helping” with their silence.
Going into the fourth quarter the quarterback snuck a touchdown for Rancocas, but missed the kick. The final score of 0-33 wasn’t what the Raiders hoped for, but the team fought hard.
Hillsborough finished the season with a 4-6 record.
“They’re a large senior class of players I personally like a lot and I respect a lot so I’m going to miss those guys, really,” Carty said.
