When a football team turns the ball over multiple times, commits several penalties and drops it fair share of passes, it is tough for it to surmount the mistakes and win the game.
That is exactly what happened to Whippany Park High School (N.J.) in its matchup against Jefferson, as it fumbled three times and threw four interceptions, resulting in a 27-12 defeat to Jefferson at home Friday night.
“Seven turnovers, I don’t know what to stay,” Wildcats head coach Luke Maginnis said with a disappointing look on his face. “I don’t know what else is going to do it (beat us).”
Although Whippany Park continued to get in its own way throughout the tilt, Maginnis said his boys did not relent, and that they can fix its costly mistakes.
“We don’t give up on our kids,” he said. “We just have to refine what we are doing right now. We just got to get better. We just got to tackle better, and make sure we’re not shooting ourselves in the foot.”
The Falcons (1-4) opened the scoring on quarterback Connor Consiglio’s 90-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Christopher Connolly that made it 6-0 with 8:58 to go in the first quarter.
A 23-yard TD pass from Consiglio to junior Steven Cruz extended Jefferson’s advantage to 12-0 with 11:26 left in the second period.
Consiglio connected with junior Jason Post on a 52-yard pass play, followed by a successful two-point pass for a 20-0 lead with 6:22 remaining in the first half.
The Wildcats (1-3), however, had their opportunity to score in the first half. But dropped a surefire touchdown toss in the end zone near the end of the half.
Nevertheless, senior running back Jaden Marques hit paydirt on a two-yard rush to put Whippany Park on the scoreboard at 20-6 with 8:21 to go in the third quarter.
Whippany Park Running back Jaden Marques scored TD.
But Consiglio found Post again, this time on a 46-yard scoring strike to make it 27-6 with 5:42 left in the third period.
Trailing by 21 points, Wildcat junior signal caller Brandon Giangeruso took it upon himself to punch one in on a six-yard keeper to close the gap to 15 with 23.4 remaining in the contest. But it was a little too late for Whippany Park.
Falcon sophomore Consiglio enjoyed himself one heck of a tilt, torching the Wildcats by completing 15 of 20 passes for 373 yards and four touchdowns.
Post, a receiver, had five receptions for 166 yards and two TDs, while Connolly, a sophomore, caught four passes for 111 yards and two scores. Cruz contributed two receptions for 31 yards and a touchdown.
Whippany Park travels to North Warren High School Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Before the game, Whippany Park High School honored Chris Cosgrove, a brave solider who lost his life in 2006, helping to defend our country. God Speed!
— Jerry Del Priore
NY NJ Sports World/Brooklyn Sports World 