LONG VALLEY, NJ — Summit came out ready to go against West Morris, scoring a touchdown on the third play of the game on Friday, Nov. 5, at West Morris High School.
Senior quarterback Charlie Schaffer hit senior wide receiver Conor St.Amant, who was wide open at the West Morris 30, with St.Amant sprinting to the end zone to give the Hilltoppers an immediate lead.
That was the good news for Summit.
However, the bad news was that the Hilltoppers simply didn’t have an answer for a player named Stefano Montella.
The standout running back for the host Wolfpack, Montella wasted no time in putting his stamp on this first-round playoff encounter.
The first time West Morris had the ball, Montella carried for 4 yards on first down and then, on second down, sprinted through a hole at the line and raced miles ahead of everyone else into the end zone for a 65-yard touchdown run.
Just like that, still inside the game’s first two minutes, West Morris tied things up, with the teams at a touchdown apiece.
West Morris went ahead for good the next time it gained possession. Montella would score again, on a 7-yard run. Then he scored for a third time on a 57-yard run, eerily similar to his first score. Later in the third quarter, Montella would catch a screen pass left and run 51 yards for his fourth touchdown.
Montella rushed for a career-high 262 yards on 25 carries and three touchdowns and caught two passes for 63 yards and one score to lead top-seeded West Morris past eighth-seeded Summit 56-31 in the North 1, Group 3, playoff contest.
West Morris scored eight touchdowns, two in each quarter, and placekicker Zach Byank made all eight extra-point kicks. Summit scored four touchdowns, one in each quarter, and placekicker Will Johnson kicked a 25-yard field goal in the first.
Summit faced some tough running backs this year and limited many of them, but Montella played on another level.
“He’s a great player and we couldn’t stop him,” Summit head coach Kevin Kostibos said.
Summit saw a promising season unfortunately end with a four-game losing streak. The Hilltoppers finished 5-5 for the first time since 2004.
West Morris moved on and will host fourth-seeded Old Tappan on Friday, Nov. 12, with the winner advancing to the sectional final.
“This was a really tough year,” Kostibos said. “We will look at it in the off-season and see how we can get better for next year.”
Excelling for Summit was senior quarterback Charlie Schaffer, who threw the game’s first touchdown pass and then scored on runs of one yard in the second quarter and eight in the third.
Junior running back Jake Lowry gained 67 yards rushing on 10 carries in the first half and had a 10-yard run in the second.
Senior running back Matt Loeloff scored the game’s final touchdown on a four-yard run and caught a two-point pass from Schaffer following Summit’s previous touchdown.
Junior linebacker Joe Fagan had a sack for a seven-yard loss in the first half and senior lineman Andrew Sirabian had one for a nine-yard loss in the second.
In the first half, Schaffer completed five-of-14 passes for 104 yards.
“I thought Charlie played very well, as did Lowry and Loeloff,” Kostobis said.
For a game that totaled 87 points, including 12 touchdowns, there were no turnovers, which is rare.
NOTES: This was the second time that Summit and West Morris clashed in the playoffs. In 1982, West Morris beat Summit 14-9 in a North 2, Group 3 first round game.
West Morris then won at undefeated Randolph in the final. Randolph beat West Morris in the regular season that year. Randolph went on to win the section for the first time in 1983.
Photos by JR Parachini