The High School North football team notched its first win of the year against Hightstown on October 29.
The Knights defeated the Rams 18-8 in a game that was played in near-blizzard conditions at times during the surprise Halloween weekend snow storm. Adding to the sweetness of the victory was the fact that it was High School North’s Senior Day.
Knights coach Chris Cassamento said his team was able to take advantage of the conditions. “We’ve been preaching to focus and execute what the coaches tell you to execute. From the opening kickoff, we told them: with the conditions, the ball is going to be everything, and so is field position. They did it.”
Running back Josh Bloom scored first for the Knights early in the second quarter with an 11-yard touchdown run. The team scored again just before the halftime after Hightstown fumbled in its own territory, setting up a 7-yard touchdown by Brian Palma upping the score to 12-0.
In the second half, the Rams began to win the field-position battle and also took advantage of some Knights turnovers, scoring a touchdown in the third quarter. They also scored a safety in the fourth, taking down Knights running back Baffi Owoh in the end zone to bring the score to 12-8.
Ultimately, the Knights defense was able to hold Hightstown, and the offense put the game out of reach with an 11-yard touchdown run by Bloom in the fourth quarter.
“This was a great game to win,” Bloom said. “Senior day, white field, before Halloween. It was great. We walked out here and said, ‘Wow, this looks like a Madden game.’”
“It was so much fun,” defensive lineman Jack Cunningham said. “I’ve been dreaming of playing in snow my entire life. It was so much fun.”
