Though Chatham High School Football (N.J.) did not totally play its best in the first half, it was not exactly lighting it up, as the Cougars held a 13-7 lead over Parsippany Hills (1-8).
That all changed in the second half, as Chatham (6-2) turned on the turbo jets, scoring 22 unanswered points in the second half en route to 35-7 win against the Vikings while claiming the Liberty Blue Division title in the New Jersey High School Super Football Conference (SFC).
It was only the second time in the school’s football program’s history that the Cougars captured a division championship.
“Obviously, I am so proud of our guys,” Chatham head coach Evan Picariello said. “First half, we were little flat; it wasn’t a great by us, and I think, we got it together, made our adjustments, came out in the second half, and executed in the second half like the team that we are. We were able to put them away.”
Parsippany Hills struck first, scoring on a 41-yard touchdown pass to give them a 7-0 advantage with 6:33 left in the first period.
The Cougars responded with a four-yard TD rush from senior running back Shep Boyd to even the score at 7-7 with 4:11 to go in the first quarter.
Next, junior quarterback Ryan Hogan found Boyd on a four-yard touchdown reception for 13-7 lead midway through the second period.
Playing his best football of his high school career, senior Michael MacAniff intercepted a pass, his fifth of the season, to end a Vikings’ drive.
On the other end of the gridiron, MacAniff grabbed a pass from Hogan from out of the air, leaped over the outstretched hands of a low-to-turf Viking defender, and bolted for a 60-yard touchdown for a 20-7 advantage with 10:14 left in the third quarter.
Boyd’s short touchdown rush, his third score of the tilt, swelled Chatham’s lead to 26-7, with senior Michael Freeman making the game 28-7 with 3:13 remaining in the third period.
“It is awesome, it is great,” Boyd of said of winning the division. “As a team, we all worked really hard in the offseason in the summer, and this means a lot.”
Not wanting to be left out of the action, senior Hunter Bigham pulled down a touchdown pass of his own to put the contest out of reach for Parsippany Hills early in the fourth quarter.
The Cougars await their first-round opponent, as the playoffs begin next weekend. Senior
Note: Senior Matthew Bedoya earned the 2025 SFC Steve DiGregorio Young Man of the Year Award for his service to his school and community.
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