Hoglen gets 100th win as Hamilton rolls
PRINCETON JCT. » It was not only a night to get back on the right track for the Hamilton West football team, it was also an evening for milestones.
The Hornets bounced back from a lopsided loss to Notre Dame last week to take a 30-7 victory at West Windsor-Plainsboro South Friday night.
The win gave Tom Hoglen his 100th victory as West head coach, while Chris Charles came up with his 11th career interception to tie Chris Laezza’s school record.
Hamilton used its rushing game to take control. The Hornets ran for 293 yards and out-gained the Pirates, 344-169. Cire Peters led the attack with 114 yards and a touchdown, while freshman Kevin Boswell rushed for 68 yards on six carries.
The Hornets established their ground game on the first possession, driving from their own 30 to the WW-P South 8 before Hezekiah Patterson rolled out and found Barry Ndeh with a pass in the back of the end zone to make it, 7-0.
Late in the quarter, West displayed a quick-hit offense after a 13-yard punt return by Charles put the ball at the 50. Cire Peters promptly went half the football field on the first play from scrimmage to make it, 13-0.
West Windsor held on a third-and-goal at the 5 on Hamilton’s next possession as the Hornets settled for a 16-yard field goal by Domonic Cooper.
Midway through the second quarter, Tolu Adeaga scored on a 10-yard run to give Hamilton a 23-0 halftime lead. Late in the half, West Windsor tried to go deep and Charles got the pick at the 27 to put himself as the school’s co-holder with at least six more games left to get the mark for himself.
Hamilton completed its scoring in the third quarter when Charles grabbed an 8-yard scoring pass from Patterson, who finished 5-for-9 for 51 yards and two TDs.
A scrappy West Windsor team hung tough from that point, and did not allow Hamilton to reach the 35 points to start the running clock. The Pirates (0-3) not only clamped down, but in the final seconds a 52yard run by Jeff Opong set up a 5-yard touchdown run by Major Wilbur.
Opong was South’s leading rusher with 63 yards thanks to the big run, while Xavier Smith ran for 42 yards.
Hamilton’s defense made it a long night for quarterback Max Bruno with seven sacks, including two each by Ndeh and Rahmel Turner. Ndeh also had an interception.
The Hornets were playing without one of their top two-way players, as running back/ linebacker Ryan Hogan is expected to be out close to a month with an illness. Follow Rich Fisher on twitter@fish4scores