Peddie one win from perfect season after beating rival Hun
PRINCETON >> The Peddie School football team is now one win away from its first undefeated season since 1988 and it took everything it had in its arsenal to get in this position with an epic 35-32 victory Saturday over arch-rival Hun.
With future college players all over the field and two loaded-up teams that came in with a combined record of 12-1, it was just the sort of battle you would expect between the pair of MAPL kingpins.
In the end it was Peddie (7-0) barely prevailing in large part to its ability to stop Hun (6-2) on four out of five two-point conversions. That and back-up quarterback Aiden McHugh coming off the bench to throw a beautiful game-winning TD pass after standout starter Matt Sluka was forced to the sideline with leg issues.
“We knew (them going for two) is part of their identity,” said Peddie coach Chris Malleo. “We worked hard all week on stopping that and it paid off.”
To set the stage, the fireworks started right away when Hun scored on a 45-yard pass from Logan Clause to Nicholas DeGennero on its first possession.
Peddie roared right back on a pair of short TD runs by quarterback Matt Slewka, who produced some incredible scrambles to avoid the Hun pass rush and finished with 130 yards on 23 carries.
Back came Hun on an 82yard TD run burst by Robbinsville’s Ian Franzoni, only to have Peddie reestablish a 21-12 lead on a 49yard scoring strike by Sluka to Mason Shipp.
When Hun then completed a wild second-quarter scoring blitz on a 65yard pass from Clause to
Franzoni, the Peddie lead stood at 21-20 and the fun had just begun.
Hun came out determined to run the ball in the second half and it paid off on a 12-yard TD run by Ahmad Dixon and another long-distance TD run by Franzoni, this time an 80yard sprint that put the Raiders ahead, 32-28, with a quarter to go. Franzoni finished wth 185 yards on 13 carries.
With a second straight Hun win over Peddie after a blow-out loss to the Falcons two years ago looking like a real possibility, it was early in the fourth quarter where the game slipped away for the Raiders.
As its nature under coach Todd Smith, Hun stayed aggressive and elected to go for it on a fourth-and-two play from its own 18 yard line early in the fourth quarter. A run by Franzoni, however, was stuffed for a loss and Peddie took over at the 17 yard line.
It looked like Hun might get out of this predicament when Sluka was forced out of the game and Peddie was left with a fourth-and-13 play on the 20 yard line.
Incredibly, McHugh entered the game and threw a perfect 20-yard game-winning touchdown pass to Justin Shorter in the corner of the end zone. Shorter, in turn, sprinted down nearly the entire length of the field behind the Peddie bench in celebration.
“I just threw it up to him; I knew he would make the play,” said McHugh. “It’s all about the team. I just wanted to be ready because I figured at some point I would get an opportunity.”
“That was huge,” said Sluka. “We have three quarterbacks on our team and we all support each other. When I came here (from Long Island) I didn’t know what this (rivalry with Hun) is all about. After today I understand.”
Hun still had plenty of time to pull it out, but Peddie was first able to get the ball back on downs twice and then clinched it on an interception by Shorter with a little over a minute remaining.
“We left eight points on the field,” said Smith of his team’s two-point conversion woes. “I blame myself for this loss. I didn’t do a good enough job getting the team properly prepared and in the right positions.”
Perhaps, but you could argue Hun did a good job nearly beating a team that almost certainly has more talent.
Peddie, of course, doesn’t care about that. All the Falcons
care about is they were able to bounce back from last year’s frustrating near miss against Hun and overcome a whopping 20 penalties.
Peddie will attempt to finish a perfect season next week when it will be a solid favorite against Blair.