Bedeviled: Hoboken HS Football Blanks Brooklyn’s Poly Prep; Off to Best Start in 10 Years

The late, great Frank Sinatra, a Hoboken, N.J., native, would have been proud of the way Hoboken High School’s football team performed on Friday night, shutting out host Poly Prep (Ivy Prep League), 25-0, on Blue Devil Night in Brooklyn.

The victory improved the Redwings’ record to 4-0, one of their best starts to a season in recent memory, second-year head coach Joe Borkowski noted.

But Borkowski said the play of Hoboken, who has already surpassed the number of wins over last year, has not surprised him that much so far this campaign. The coaching staff has worked diligently to prepare the squad to ball out like it has, especially on special teams.

“It’s the first time we’re 4-0 since 2015,” Borkowski said with a huge smile across his face. “We’re doing exactly what I expected. I’m super proud. We’ll keep moving forward, we keep getting better every day. We dominated all three pashes of the game. We finally stepped it up on special teams, which is something we have been preaching.”

Senior quarterback Isaiah Blanks led the Redwing offensive charge by completing nine of 11 attempts for 176 yards and a touchdown, as well as two rushing scores.

Borkowski sang the praises of his signal caller, saying he is playing lights out football these days, and would share a fox hole with all of the team’s captains–Blanks, senior Luke Schreiber, and junior Devin McMillian.

“He’s doing what four-year starters and captains are supposed to do,” he said. “A four-year starter at quarterback, and everyone is happy to have him as a captain. I would go to war with all three of those guys up front.”

To set a tone, Blanks connected with junior wide receiver Jae’on Walker (six receptions, 67 yards) on a 33-yard touchdown strike to give Hoboken a 6-0 lead with 7:40 left in the first quarter.

After sophomore Joshua Henriquez blocked a Blue Devil punt, a few plays later, Blanks hit paydirt on a 10-yard rush to run the score to 13-0 with 8:36 remaining in the first period.

Blanks added to his outstanding offensive night with a three-yard TD run to swell the Redwings’ advantage to 19-0 near the end of the first half.

McMillan, a running back, capped Hoboken’s scoring on a three-yard touchdown plunge with 11:18 to go in the tilt.

Furthermore, the Redwings played a stifling defense, not allowing Poly Prep to mount any type of offense.

McMillan paced Hoboken’s defense with 16 tackles. Junior Izayah Johnson added nine tackles, while Henriquez added eight stops.

Hoboken hosts Glen Ridge Friday at 6:30 p.m.

Note: If you click on the above Amazon.com hyperlink and make a purchase, I may earn a commission to help support my sports and health/food/entertainment blog.

Thank you for reading my stories and articles. Please stop by again real soon.

— Jerry Del Priore