ROCKAWAY TWP. - The Rockaway Township Rockets youth football program held its annual 8th-grade graduation and awards dinner at Zeris Inn in Mountain Lakes on Friday, Nov. 20, and the following graduating cheerleaders and players were honored:
    Annie Rome - Debbie Merse Spirit Award: This award is presented to the 8th- grader who has consistently demonstrated the true meaning of a cheerleader. This girl is a leader who maintains a positive attitude both on and off the field. She shows team spirit at every game. She is committed to attending practices and games, is willing to help her teammates, and is respectful to her coaches, teammates and players. This person is strong, non-judgmental, friendly, doesn't give up, and always has a smile on her face. Her boundless enthusiasm and positive energy make her an asset for her team.
    Jess McDonald - Rockets Precision Award: Cheerleading is a multidimensional activity that requires strength of voice, motions, jumps, dance, stunts and gymnastics. This award is presented to a dedicated 8th grader whose moves are precise and deliberate. Through her hard work, practice, and determination, this cheerleader ensures that her cheer form is an example for the rest of the squad. This person always listens to her coaches, can accept constructive criticism where appropriate, and constantly strives to improve herself. Cheerleading can require an extreme amount of physical work, and this girl always strives for excellence with enthusiasm and a positive attitude. Her precise movements and flawless execution have enabled her to master the cheers and routines.
    Joe Leonardis - Jimmy Ippolito Award: This award is presented to an 8th-grader who has consistently demonstrated sportsmanship, good citizenship, perseverance, loyalty, humility, dignity, and courage throughout his Rocket career. Jimmy Ippolito, a member of the Rockets Class of 1994 who was loved and respected by all who knew him, was suddenly taken from us by cancer in 1996. This award is a memorial to Jimmy and the example he set for us all.
    Joe Rosenski and Nick Crocetti - George George Iron Will Award: This award goes to the 8th-grader who has exhibited relentless commitment and dedication to his team. He has acted unselfishly while overcoming adversity to aid his team to victory. He has worked harder than anyone to improve and make a difference. He cannot be defeated, he will not give up. This award is presented inn honor of George George, founder of the Rockets in 1957.
    Mike Marra - Hatchetman Award: Football is a physical game that combines speed, strength and skill. A player who possesses all of these qualities is capable of physically dominating his opponent. The Hatchetman Award is given to the 8th-grader who consistently hits harder than anyone else on the field while exercising sportsmanship. His relentless aggression rallies his teammates and softens his opponents.
    Justin Connolly - The Rock Award: This award goes to the 8th-grader who exemplifies the spirit of the Rockets through athletic participation by demonstrating unfailing loyalty to the game, his team, and his coaches; who places personal glory secondary to the welfare of his team; who, by his own desire to excel and self-sacrifice, inspires his teammates to greater efforts; who, by his untiring example as a team leader, helps establish team morale; who is unwavering in sportsmanship and citizenship; who is uncomplaining in defeat and gracious in victory; and who demonstrates a complete understanding of the game of football, on and off the field.

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ROCKAWAY TOWNSHIP BOWL
Rocket varsity, junior varsity,
peewees, clinic teams win

    ROCKAWAY TWP. - The Rockaway Township Rockets football program had a banner day at the annual Rockaway Township Bowl held Friday and Saturday, Nov. 13-14 at muddy Peterson Field here as four out of five of the Rockets teams competing against other towns won their games.
    That would be five victories in all, however, if you count the Pre-Clinic game between the Rocket Gold Team and the Rocket Green Team that Gold won, 6-0, that kicked off the two-day tournament on Friday.
    In other Friday games, The Rockets won the clinic game, beating Dover, 24-13, and Roxbury beat the Rockets, 20-13, in the supper peewee game.
    On Saturday, the Rockets beat Hopatcong, 30-15, in one of the wild-card varsity games; the Rockets beat Dover, 16-7, in the junior varsity wild-card game; and the Rockets topped Jefferson, 18-7, in the peewee wild-card contest.
    In games not involving Rocket teams, Randolph beat Jefferson, 39-8, in the varsity championship game; Dover stopped Somerset Hills, 31-6, in a varsity wild-card game; Randolph beat Denville, 24-6, in the junior varsity championship game; and Randolph beat Boonton/Mountain Lakes, 12-0, in the peewee title game.
    How the Rockets fared:

Varsity: Marra's two TDs lift Rockets
    Mike Marra scored two touchdowns, Joe Leonardis and Mike Sweeney each added one TD - Sweeney's coming on the last play of the game - and Zach Berkowitz was 3-for-3 on two-point conversion kicks as the Rockets beat Hopatcong, 30-15, in a varsity wild-card game.
    The Rockets clinching TD came early in the fourth quarter when quarterback Joe Rosenski connected with Marra on a fourth-and-17 middle screen pass that went for 38 yards.
    Leonardis opened the Rockets' scoring with an 18-yard TD run in the first period and Marra scored his first TD on a 6-yard second-period run to give the Rockets a 16-7 lead at the half.
    Sweeney was the Rockets' leading ball carrier with 75 yards on seven carries while Marra finished with 39 yards on eight rushes. Rosenski was 3-for-6 passing for 58 yards and one TD.
    Offensive linemen Jon Ostenson, Nick Crocetti, Ethan Zangara, Mark Leaver, Nick Warner and Elijah Whelchel drew the praise of the coaching staff for their solid blocking throughout the game.
    Other game highlights include a gang-tackling defense led by Jugo Jimenez and Eric Butler that gave up only three first downs in the game and a pass interception by Berkowitz.
    The varsity Rockets finished their 2009 season in the Morris County Youth Football League (MCYFL) with a 7-2 record to win the National Conference's Hills Division championship for the fifth year in a row.

Junior Varsity: Daniel, Gaeb TDs lift Rockets
    Drew Daniel and Kyle Gaeb scored the touchdowns and A.J. Santiago kicked both two-point conversions as the Rockets defeated Dover, 16-7, in the junior varsity wild-card game.
    After a scoreless first half with Dover holding the Rockets to negative yardage, Daniel scored on a 5-yard run in the third period and Santiago added his PAT kick. In the fourth quarter, Gaeb caught a 35-yard TD pass from Willy Hansen for the insurance TD and Santiago's kick was again good.
    Hansen was 3-for-7 passing for 80 yards and one TD while Daniel picked up 46 yards rushing on nine carries and Nick Esposito added 35 hard-earned yards on 12 rushing attempts.
    On defense, Hansen stopped one Dover drive with an interception.
    The Rockets finished their MCYFL season with an 8-1 record and won the National Conference's Hills Division title for the second straight year.

PeeWees: Evans, Parisi, Davis TDs win
    Madison Evans, Jayson Parisi and Shawn Davis scored the touchdowns and Parisi finished with 128 yards rushing as the Rockets defeated Jefferson, 18-7, in the peewee wild-card game played Saturday.
    Evans finished off an 11-play, 65-yard scoring drive with a 2-yard run for the only points in the first half. Parisi scored on a 39-yard run on the the Rockets' first second-half possession to give Rockaway Township a 12-0 lead.
    Dover countered with its only TD and PAT to close the gap to five points at 12-7, but Davis broke a 60-yard touchdown run late in the third period to put the Rockets back into a two-score advantage heading into what proved to be a scoreless fourth quarter.
    Parisi picked up his 128 yards on nine carries; Davis added 68 yards on six carries; and Evans ran nine times for 47 yards.
    Defensive highlights included a team-high six tackles by Luke Drugac and five tackles and a sack each by Shane Dougherty, Jake Purzak and Parisi. The Rocket defense also came up huge in the fourth period when Jefferson picked up a first-and-goal situation from the Rockets? 7-hard line and the Rockets held.

Super PeeWees: Carpenter, Luo score for Rockets
    The Rockets couldn't overcome a 20-7 deficit after Roxbury scored a quick second-half TD as Rockaway Township dropped a 20-13 decision to the Colts in a peewee wild-card game Saturday.
    Bryce Carpenter ran 53 yards for one touchdown and quarterback Michael Luo sprinted 42 yards for the Rockets' second TD. A Luo-to-Carpenter completion after Carpenter's TD accounted for the final Rocket points.
    Center Jake Philhower had a solid day blocking, according to the Rockets coaches and Jake Sarrel had the defensive highlights of the game with two fumble recoveries.

Clinic: Flammia, Ferguson each score 2 TDs in win
    Anthony Flammia and Derek Ferguson each scored two TDs as the Rockets defeated Dover, 24-13, in Friday's clinic game that opened the Rockaway Township Bowl's schedule.
    Flammia scored on runs of 2 and 1 yards in the first and second quarters and Ferguson scored on runs of 17 and 71 yards in the third and fourth quarters.
    Ferguson finished with 158 yards and Flammia gained 88 yards for the game as the Rockets rushed for a team total of 289 yards.
    On defense, Tom Cicchetti led the way with five solo tackles and two assists; John VanLenten had four solos and two assists; Scott Bornemann had two tackles and a fumble recovery; and Matt Kovacs, Parker Campbell and Flammia each finished with one tackle.

Pre-Clinic: Perez TD decides as Gold beats Green
    In a game between two Rockaway Township pre-clinic teams, the Gold beat the Green, 6-0, on Friday when Josh Perez scored on a third-period 25-yard TD run behind Nick Ward and Matthew Luttenberger for the only points of the game.
    For the Gold, Mario Maddaloni recovered two fumbles while Anthony Figueroa and Tristan Busel each recovered one to stop Green drives. Patrick Gallagher had a second-quarter TD run called back by penalty.
    For the Green, Brendan Kovar carried 11 times for 69 yards; Chris Marra had 10 carries for 46 yards and Lucas Novak gained 24 yards on six carries behind the blocking of Nate Bacheldor, Adam Haigh, Alex Cardoza, Gabriel Barrio, Jake Melhorn, Jose Santiago and Donovan Quinones.
    Green defensive highlights included eight tackles by Noah Flynn and five each by Jake Lissy and Joe Rabeno.

WEEK NINE
Rocket varsity clinches title;
junior varsity, peewees win

    ROCKAWAY TWP. - The Rockaway Township Rockets football program had a banner day at the annual Rockaway Township Bowl held Friday and Saturday, Nov. 13-14 at muddy Peterson Field here as four out of five of the Rockets teams competing against other towns won their games.
    That would be five victories in all, however, if you count the Pre-Clinic game between the Rocket Gold Team and the Rocket Green Team that Gold won, 6-0, that kicked off the two-day tournament on Friday.
    In other Friday games, The Rockets won the clinic game, beating Dover, 24-13, and Roxbury beat the Rockets, 20-13, in the supper peewee game.
    On Saturday, the Rockets beat Hopatcong, 30-15, in one of the wild-card varsity games; the Rockets beat Dover, 16-7, in the junior varsity wild-card game; and the Rockets topped Jefferson, 18-7, in the peewee wild-card contest.
    In games not involving Rocket teams, Randolph beat Jefferson, 39-8, in the varsity championship game; Dover stopped Somerset Hills, 31-6, in a varsity wild-card game; Randolph beat Denville, 24-6, in the junior varsity championship game; and Randolph beat Boonton/Mountain Lakes, 12-0, in the peewee title game.
    How the Rockets fared:

Varsity: Marra?s two TDs lift Rockets
    Mike Marra scored two touchdowns, Joe Leonardis and Mike Sweeney each added one TD - Sweeney?s coming on the last play of the game - and Zach Berkowitz was 3-for-3 on two-point conversion kicks as the Rockets beat Hopatcong, 30-15, in a varsity wild-card game.
    The Rockets clinching TD came early in the fourth quarter when quarterback Joe Rosenski connected with Marra on a fourth-and-17 middle screen pass that went for 38 yards.
    Leonardis opened the Rockets? scoring with an 18-yard TD run in the first period and Marra scored his first TD on a 6-yard second-period run to give the Rockets a 16-7 lead at the half.
    Sweeney was the Rockets? leading ball carrier with 75 yards on seven carries while Marra finished with 39 yards on eight rushes. Rosenski was 3-for-6 passing for 58 yards and one TD.
    Offensive linemen Jon Ostenson, Nick Crocetti, Ethan Zangara, Mark Leaver, Nick Warner and Elijah Whelchel drew the praise of the coaching staff for their solid blocking throughout the game.
    Other game highlights include a gang-tackling defense led by Jugo Jimenez and Eric Butler that gave up only three first downs in the game and a pass interception by Berkowitz.
    The varsity Rockets finished their 2009 season in the Morris County Youth Football League (MCYFL) with a 7-2 record to win the National Conference?s Hills Division championship for the fifth year in a row.

Junior Varsity: Daniel, Gaeb TDs lift Rockets
    Drew Daniel and Kyle Gaeb scored the touchdowns and A.J. Santiago kicked both two-point conversions as the Rockets defeated Dover, 16-7, in the junior varsity wild-card game.
    After a scoreless first half with Dover holding the Rockets to negative yardage, Daniel scored on a 5-yard run in the third period and Santiago added his PAT kick. In the fourth quarter, Gaeb caught a 35-yard TD pass from Willy Hansen for the insurance TD and Santiago?s kick was again good.
    Hansen was 3-for-7 passing for 80 yards and one TD while Daniel picked up 46 yards rushing on nine carries and Nick Esposito added 35 hard-earned yards on 12 rushing attempts.
    On defense, Hansen stopped one Dover drive with an interception.
    The Rockets finished their MCYFL season with an 8-1 record and won the National Conference?s Hills Division title for the second straight year.

PeeWees: Evans, Parisi, Davis TDs win
    Madison Evans, Jayson Parisi and Shawn Davis scored the touchdowns and Parisi finished with 128 yards rushing as the Rockets defeated Jefferson, 18-7, in the peewee wild-card game played Saturday.
    Evans finished off an 11-play, 65-yard scoring drive with a 2-yard run for the only points in the first half. Parisi scored on a 39-yard run on the the Rockets? first second-half possession to give Rockaway Township a 12-0 lead.
    Dover countered with its only TD and PAT to close the gap to five points at 12-7, but Davis broke a 60-yard touchdown run late in the third period to put the Rockets back into a two-score advantage heading into what proved to be a scoreless fourth quarter.
    Parisi picked up his 128 yards on nine carries; Davis added 68 yards on six carries; and Evans ran nine times for 47 yards.
    Defensive highlights included a team-high six tackles by Luke Drugac and five tackles and a sack each by Shane Dougherty, Jake Purzak and Parisi. The Rocket defense also came up huge in the fourth period when Jefferson picked up a first-and-goal situation from the Rockets? 7-hard line and the Rockets held.

Super PeeWees: Carpenter, Luo score for Rockets
    The Rockets couldn?t overcome a 20-7 deficit after Roxbury scored a quick second-half TD as Rockaway Township dropped a 20-13 decision to the Colts in a peewee wild-card game Saturday.
    Bryce Carpenter ran 53 yards for one touchdown and quarterback Michael Luo sprinted 42 yards for the Rockets? second TD. A Luo-to-Carpenter completion after Carpenter?s TD accounted for the final Rocket points.
    Center Jake Philhower had a solid day blocking, according to the Rockets coaches and Jake Sarrel had the defensive highlights of the game with two fumble recoveries.

Clinic: Flammia, Ferguson each score twice as Rockets win
    Anthony Flammia and Derek Ferguson each scored two TDs as the Rockets defeated Dover, 24-13, in Friday?s clinic game that opened the Rockaway Township Bowl?s schedule.
    Flammia scored on runs of 2 and 1 yards in the first and second quarters and Ferguson scored on runs of 17 and 71 yards in the third and fourth quarters.
    Ferguson finished with 158 yards and Flammia gained 88 yards for the game as the Rockets rushed for a team total of 289 yards.
    On defense, Tom Cicchetti led the way with five solo tackles and two assists; John VanLenten had four solos and two assists; Scott Bornemann had two tackles and a fumble recovery; and Matt Kovacs, Parker Campbell and Flammia each finished with one tackle.

Pre-Clinic: Perez TD decides as Gold beats Green
    In a game between two Rockaway Township pre-clinic teams, the Gold beat the Green, 6-0, on Friday when Josh Perez scored on a third-period 25-yard TD run behind Nick Ward and Matthew Luttenberger for the only points of the game.
    For the Gold, Mario Maddaloni recovered two fumbles while Anthony Figueroa and Tristan Busel each recovered one to stop Green drives. Patrick Gallagher had a second-quarter TD run called back by penalty.
    For the Green, Brendan Kovar carried 11 times for 69 yards; Chris Marra had 10 carries for 46 yards and Lucas Novak gained 24 yards on six carries behind the blocking of Nate Bacheldor, Adam Haigh, Alex Cardoza, Gabriel Barrio, Jake Melhorn, Jose Santiago and Donovan Quinones.
    Green defensive highlights included eight tackles by Noah Flynn and five each by Jake Lissy and Joe Rabeno.

(Editor?s Note: While we at www.deckbob.com appreciate the visits to this sites for coverage of the Rockets? games, it must be noted that league president Joe Sternlicht has had a lot to do with getting these game reports into us in a concise, complete and timely manner. He has our thanks and he should be thanked by all the Rocket players, parents and fans.)

ROCKAWAY TOWNSHIP BOWL
Rocket varsity, junior varsity, peewees, clinic teams win

    ROCKAWAY TWP. - The Rockaway Township Rockets football program completed its 2009 Morris County Youth Football League (MCYFL) schedule on a successful note this past weekend as the varsity clinched a division title for the program's second championship of the season.
    The varsity Rockets (7-2) beat Long Valley, 16-0, to clinch the National Conference?s Hills Division title outright over Long Valley (5-4). A Long Valley victory would have left the two teams tied for the championship.
    The Hills Division champion junior varsity Rockets (8-1) completed its season with a 22-8 win over Long Valley after clinching its title last week.
    The Rocket peewees (6-3) beat Long Valley, 14-13, in their finale and finished tied for second with Long Valley. Twin Boro (7-2) won the title outright by beating Montville, 21-0, this past weekend.
    The MCYFL keeps standings and team records for only its varsity, junior varsity and peewee levels.
    The weekend games:

Varsity holds off Long Valley for title
    Joe Rosenski and Joe Leonardis scored second-half touchdowns and Zach Berkowitz was good on both of this two-point conversion kicks as the Rockets clinched the Hills Division title with a 16-0 victory over the Long Valley Raiders in a game played at Long Valley on Sunday, Nov. 8.
    After a scoreless first half, the Rockets took the second-half kickoff and drove 53 yards for their first TD, a 43-yard run by Rosenski.
    The Rocket defense came up big on Long Valley's next two drives as Leonardis recovered a fumble on the Rocket 20-yard line to stop a Raider drive and, after an exchange of punts, the Rockets stopped another Raider drive by stuffing a fourth-and-short play on the Rocket 6-yard line.
    The Rockets then drove 94 yards for the insurance TD with Leonardis scoring on a 25-yard run.
    Ethan Zangara, Mike Marra, Nick Warner and Leonardis keyed the final scoring drive that featured the Rockets' outside running game and the solid line blocking of Elijah Whelchel, Nick Crocetti and Mark Leaver.
    As for game stats, Rosenski finished with 100 yards rushing; Marra added 66 yards on the ground; and Tremayne Blair had two catches for 43 yards.

Junior Varsity sparked by Esposito TDs
    Nick Esposito scored two touchdowns and quarterback Willy Hansen had one as the Hills Division champion Rockets defeated Long Valley, 22-8, at Long Valley on Sunday.
    After a scoreless first quarter, Esposito put the Rockets on the board with a 1-yard TD run and Hansen added a 5-yard TD run and A.J. Santiago kicked two two-point conversions to give the Rockets a 16-0 halftime lead.
    Esposito scored the Rockets' only second-half TD when he broke loose for a 59-yard touchdown run in the third period.
    Esposito finished the game with 96 yards rushing on 11 carries; Hansen added 32 yards on six rushes; and Drew Daniel ran seven times for an additional 23 yards.
    The defensive highlights for the day included James Costenzo's 25-yard return of an interception and a fumble recovery by Nick Antonelli. Payton Campbell, Ryan Jackson and Clifton Laughlin also drew praise from their coaches for their solid defensive play in helping hold Long Valley to one fourth-period TD.

PeeWees win on Lesch?s QB sneak PAT
    Dylan Lesch's third-quarter quarterback sneak PAT proved to be the winning point as the Rocket peewees defeated Long Valley, 14-13, at Long Valley Sunday in a game that left both teams tied for second place in the Hills Division, one game behind division champ Twin Boro.
    Long Valley took a 7-0 first-period lead which the Rockets matched in the second quarter when a nine-play, 60-yard drive ended with a 3-yard TD sneak by Lesch and an extra-point run by Madison Evans.
    Long Valley scored on its next possession but the run for the PAT failed and the Raiders took a 13-7 lead into the halftime break as time ran out on a Rocket drive that had reached the Raider 10-yard line.
    The Rockets scored the final TD of the game on their first possession of the second half, driving 57 yards in nine plays with Jayson Parisi and Evans leading the way and Anthony Palma scoring the touchdown on a 2-yard run, his only carry of the game.
    With the score tied at 13-13, Lesch followed his line on a quarterback sneak and stepped untouched into the endzone for the winning point.
    As for game stats, Parisi rushed 22 times for 85 yards; Evans gained 70 yards on 14 carries; Lesch carried four times for 12 yards; and Shawn Davies rushed three times for 31 yards.
    On defense, Joe Stango stopped one Raider drive on the Rockets' 25-yard line when he recovered a fumble; Luke Dragac finished with five tackles; Parisi and Davis each had three and Parisi added one sack.

Super PeeWees fall to Long Valley
    The Super peewees lost a 13-0 decision to the Long Valley Green at Long Valley in a game played at Long Valley on Saturday, Nov. 7.
    Jerry Katz and Michael Luo each had interceptions for the Rockets.

Clinic team holds off Raiders
    Tom Cicchetti, Parker Campbell and Andrew Behrendt each scored touchdowns on short runs and Derek Ferguson added a PAT run as the Rockets beat Long Valley in the clinic game at Long Valley on Saturday
    Cicchetti scored on a 1-yard run in the first quarter and Campbell scored on a 2-yard run in the second quarter to give the Rockets a 12-0 lead at the half.
    After a scoreless third period, Long Valley scored its TD and added an extra point to cut the Rocket lead to six points at 13-7.
    The Raiders were on the move again late in the game but a fumble recovery by Scott Bornemann halted the scoring threat and the Rockets were able score an insurance TD when Behrendt scored on a 2-yard run with very little time left on the clock.
    Derek Simmons rushed for 81 yards; Derek Ferguson added 69 and Cicchetti finished with 35 yards as the Rockets finished with 244 total yards rushing.
    On defense, Ryan Lampmann had four tackles and a fumble recovery; Bornemann had two tackles to go with his fourth-quarter fumble recovery; Mark-Anthony Prophete had two tackles; and Rich Freideman and Wade Drugac each finished with one.

Pre-Clinic Gold team falls to Montville
    Montville took a 13-0 lead at the half and the Rockets pre-clinic Gold team couldn?t catch up in a 13-6 loss to the Broncos in a game played Sunday at the Camp Dawson Field in Montville.
    Patrick Gallagher's 1-yard touchdown run behind the blocking of Justin Kahn and Matthew Luttenberger in the third period gave the Rockets their only points of the game. Gallaher's TD was set up by a 30-yard run by Josh Perez.
    A 15-yard pass play from quarterback Jason Ponteliona to Luttenberger helped keep the Rockets? drive alive.
    On defense, Jack Antonelli and Trevone Green each recovered a fumble.

Pre-Clinic Green bows to Long Valley
    The Rockets pre-clinic Green team closed out its regular season with a 27-12 loss to Long Valley in a game played Saturday at Long Valley.
    Brendan Kovar scored on a 55-yard run in the third period and Chris Marra scored on a 2-yard run in the fourth period to account for the Rockets' points.
    Kovar finished the game with 78 yards rushing on eight carries and Scott Pirrello added another 23 yards on three carries. On defense, Joe Rabeno and Chase Bruno each had five tackles for the Rockets.

WEEK EIGHT
Rocket varsity, JV, peewees
 lose close calls to Randolph

    ROCKAWAY TWP. - Mike Marra scored on a 5-yard run and Zach Berkowitz kicked the two-point conversion for the Rockets' only points of the game in a 12-8 loss to unbeaten (8-0) Randolph in a Morris County Youth Football League (MCYFL) National Conference varsity game between division leaders played at Randolph on Saturday, Oct. 31.
    The Rockets are 6-2 and lead the Hills Division by one game over Long Valley (5-3) with one game to go in the regular season. The Rockets and Long Valley meet this weekend at Long Valley in a game that will determine the division championship.
    Randolph is a game ahead of Somerset Hills and finishes its regular season this weekend with a game against Mount Olive (3-5) at Randolph.


Rocket JVs lose first game
    In a battle of unbeaten junior varsity teams, Randolph spotted Rockaway Township a first-quarter lead but came back with 14 second-quarter points to escape with a 14-6 victory over the Rockets in an MCYFL game played in the rain at Randolph on Saturday afternoon.
    Nick Esposito scored on a 12-yard touchdown run to give the Rockets an early lead only to have Randolph quarterback Connor Logoyda score on 1- and 3-yard plunges in the second quarter eke out the victory. Randolph, the champion of the Iron Division, improved to 8-0.
    Rockaway Township (7-1), which has already clinched the Hills Division title, was led by Esposito, who gained 49 yards on 14 carries; Willy Hanson, who picked up an additional 40 yards on six carries; and Drew Daniel, who ground out 29 yards on 16 carries.
    Defensive highlights for the Rockets include a fumble recovery by Kyle Gaeb and solid play by Payton Campbell, Ryan Jackson, James Costenzo, Daniel, Esposito and Hanson.

Rocket PeeWees fall, 6-0
    Unbeaten Randolph broke a long touchdown run on the third play of the game and that score held up for a 6-0 victory over the Rockaway Township Rockets in an MCYFL peewee defensive struggle played at Randolph on Saturday.
    The win was Randolph's eighth without a loss and enabled the Bulldogs to maintain their one-game lead over Mount Olive in the Iron Division. Randolph and Mount Olive will meet at Randolph this weekend, the final weekend of regular-season play.
    Rockaway Township (5-3) fell out of a three-way tie for the Hills Division lead with Twin Boro (6-2) and Long Valley (6-2) and concludes its regular-season schedule this weekend with a game against Long Valley at Long Valley. Twin Boro plays host to Montville (1-7).
    Luke and Dean Drugac each had four solo tackles to lead the Rockets impressive defensive showing with Luke adding two assisted tackles and Dean one.
    Also, Joe Fullum added three solo tackles, two assists and a sack; Peter Palumbo finished with two solo tackles, two assisted tackles and one sack; and Shane Dougherty had three solo and two assisted tackles for the Rockets.
    Working against an equally tough Randolph defense, Madison Evans gained 27 yards on 10 carries; Jayson Parisi had 19 yards on 10 carries and caught one pass for an additional yard; Shawn Davis had seven carries for five tough yards; Dylan Lesch was 2-for-3 passing for seven yards; Joe Stango had one catch for six yards; and Chris Caraballo and Anthony Palma each picked up three yards rushing.

Nieman, Turner lead Super PeeWees
    Billy Nieman and Evan Turner each scored two touchdowns as Rockaway Township defeated Randolph, 33-19, in an MCYFL super peewee game played on Friday (Oct. 30) night at Randolph.
    Nieman scored his TDs on a pair of 4-yard runs while Turner scored on a 7-yard run and caught a screen pass from quarterback Michael Luo that he turned into a 43-0 yard TD play.
    Jake Sarrell added a 9-yard touchdown run and Pat McAndrew, Turner and Luo each ran for a one-point conversion run to round out the Rockets scoring.
    Bryce Carpenter was the leading rusher for the game with 180 yards running mostly behind the blocking of Daniel Letuja, Drew Fromelt and Kenny Patterson.
    Luo had the defensive highlights for the game with a pair of interceptions.

Clinic team wins by shutout
    The Rockets clinic team got second-half touchdowns from Derek Ferguson and Derek Simmons and the defense made them stand up to defeat Randolph, 13-0, in an MCYFL clinic game played at Randolph on Friday night.
    John VanLenten led the Rocket defense with five solo tackles and was in on five other tackles. It was VanLenten and Parker Campbell who came up big when the Rockets stopped the Bulldogs on fourth-and-short on the Rockaway Township 12-yard line on one drive and then again on a fourth-down play on the Rocket 24-yard line just before the scoreless first half ended.
    Ferguson then capped a Rocket drive by scoring from the 1-yard line. A 35-yard run by Ferguson and a 12-yard pass play from quarterback Campbell to Tom Cicchetti were the big plays in the drive.
    Randolph mounted a fourth-period drive that Rockaway Township stopped on their own 20-yard line and, on the Rockets first play from scrimmage after the stop, Simmons burst through the line of scrimmage, broke a couple of Randolph tackles, and sped 80 yard into the endzone for the game's final TD.
    Campbell then threw to Nate Howell for the one-point conversion and the last point of the game.
    Jacob Severnuk came up with a key solo tackle to stop a second-half Randolph drive and Ryan Lampmann, Andrew Behrendt and Wade Drugac each had solid defensive efforts to contribute to the shutout.

Pre-Clinic Green plays to 6-6 tie
    Rockaway Township and Randolph traded second-quarter touchdowns and the Rockets Pre-Clinic Green team defense stopped the Bulldogs four times inside the Rockets' 10-yard line late in the game to preserve a 6-6 tie in a game played at Randolph on Monday, Nov. 2.
    Noah Flynn scored the Rockets' touchdown on a 44-yard run and finished the game with 72 rushing yards on eight carries.
    On defense, Chris Marra led the way with 10 tackles; Ronnie Stewart had five; Lucas Novak recovered a Randolph fumble; and Chase Bruno, Nick Miller and Scott Pirrello each had tackles for losses.
    Late in the game, when Randolph had a fresh set of downs inside the Rockets' 10-yard line, Jayson Rodriguez, Ronnie Stewart, Brendan Kovar, Donovan Quinones, Miller and Bruno were in on the four stops that kept the Bulldogs out of the end zone.

Pre-Clinc Gold holds off Hackettstown, 7-6
    Patrick Gallagher's PAT run following a second-quarter touchdown by Josh Perez proved to be the difference as the Rockets Pre-Clinic Gold team defeated the Hackettstown Orange, 7-6, in a game played at Peterson Field on Monday, Nov. 2.
    Perez scored on a 55-yard run and Gallagher ran in the all-important PAT for the Rockets' only points of the game. Perez ran cut off a lead block by fullback Mario Maddaloni and then picked up blocks from A.J. Head, Nick Ward and Matthew Luttenberger for the score.
    Gallagher then ran behind Justin Kahn and Tristan Busel one the game-winning conversion.
    On the Hackettstown PAT run attempt to the outside, the Rocket defensive line played it perfectly and strung out the play before forcing the runner out of bounds short of the goal line.
    Late in the game, with Rockaway Township trying to run out the clock, the Rockets fumbled but Nicholas DelaFuente hustled to the loose ball and was able to cover it to allow the Rockets to retain possession and run out the clock.

WEEK SEVEN
Rocket varsity clinches tie;
 junior varsity wraps up title

    ROCKAWAY TWP. - Zach Berkowitz scored two touchdowns and was a perfect 4-for-4 in two-point conversion kicks as the Rockaway Township Rockets varsity beat Roxbury, 32-8, to clinch at least a tie for the 2009 Hills Division title in the Morris County Youth Football League (MCYFL).
    Berkowitz scored on a 1-yard run in the first period and a 30-yard run in the fourth period in the game that was played at Horseshoe Lake Park in Roxbury on Sunday, Oct. 25.
    Mike Marra scored on a 6-yard run in the second quarter and Joe Rosenski broke loose for a 56-yard run to account for the Rockets' third-quarter TD.
    The win gives the Rockets a 6-1 record with two games to go in the regular-season. Long Valley is in second place with a 4-3 record.
    Marra finished as the Rockets' leading rusher for the game with 110 yards.
    On defense, Joe Leonardis recovered a fumble, Hugo Jimenez recorded a sack and the entire defensive unit led by Tremayne Blair, Jimenez and Leonardis forced Roxbury into three three-and-outs in the second half and also made a goal-line stand when the Junior Gaels did manage to put together a drive.

Junior Varsity clinches title
    The unbeaten Rocket JVs clinched the Hills title in the junior varsity division with a 24-13 victory over Roxbury in an MCYFL game played at Horseshoe Lake Park in Roxbury on Sunday.
    The Rockets are 7-0 with Montville and Twin Boro tied for second at 4-3 with two more regular-season games to be played.
    Drew Daniel scored the first two TDs for the Rockets, running one in from 28 yards out and plunging in from a yard out, while Nick Esposito scored on a 1-yard plunge in the third period for the Rockets' final TD.
    A.J. Santiago was a perfect 3-for-3 in two-point conversion kicks to round out the scoring for the Rockets.
    Esposito led the team in rushing with 141 yards on 11 carries; Daniel finished with 72 yards on nine rushes; and Willy Hansen rushed seven times for 38 yards.
    Other Rocket highlights include two recoveries of Roxbury onside kick attempts by Clifton Laughlin; an interception by James Costenzo; and solid play by Kyle Weis, Michael Murphy, Ryan Karpack, Carlos Rodriguez and Santiago.

PeeWees rally for 13-12 win
    Shawn Davis' 29-yard touchdown run and Madison Evans' one-point conversion run made the difference as the Rocket peewees rallied from a two-touchdown deficit to beat Roxbury, 13-12, in an MCYFL game played at Horseshoe Lake Park in Roxbury on Sunday.
    Roxbury got the only touchdown of the first half when the Junior Gaels recovered a Rocket fumble in the Rocket endzone. Roxbury opened up a 12-0 lead by running back the second-half kickoff for another TD.
    Jayson Parisi put the Rockets on the board with a 54-yard touchdown run in the third period and, when Connor Callahan's onside kick attempt was covered by Peter Palumbo, the Rockets went on a drive that ended with Davis' tying touchdown and Evans' winning PAT run.
    Parisi finished the game with 88 yards on eight carries; Davis carried seven times for 68 yards; and Evans added 31 rushing yards in seven attempts.
    On defense, Palumbo was in on a team-leading five tackles and Luke Drugac and Parisi each finished with three tackles.
    The Rocket peewees are 5-2 and tied for second place in the MCYFL's Hills Division with Twin Boro, one game behind division leader Long Valley (6-1) with two regular-season games to go.

Super PeeWees fall to Long Valley
    Evan Turner's 4-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter accounted for the only points of the game for the Rocket peewees as they lost a 13-6 decision to the Long Valley Raiders at Long Valley on Sunday.
    Bryce Carpenter led the Rocket rushers with 90 yards and Daniel Letuja was key in the Rockets shutting down the Long Valley passing game in the second half.

Pre-Clinic Gold team bows, 20-14
    Josh Perez scored two touchdowns as the Rocket pre-clinic Gold team fell to Long Valley, 20-14, in an MCYFL game played at Peterson Field on Tuesday, Oct. 20.
    Perez scored on runs of 47 and 6 yards and Patrick Gallagher and Matthew Luttenberger scored the one-point conversions, Gallagher scoring on a run and Luttenberger catching a pass from quarterback Jason Ponteliona.
    A.J. Head's fumble recovery set up the Rockets' last scoring drive, a drive that was kept alive when Ponteliona hit a fourth-and-long pass to Gallagher for a new set of downs.

Pre-Clinic Green edges Hackettstown
    Brendon Kovar scored on a 48-yard run in the first period and Noah Flynn scored on a 10-yard run in the third quarter as the Rocket pre-clinic Green team turned back Hackettstown, 13-7, in an MCYFL game played at Hackettstown on Thursday, Oct. 22.
    Kovar led the team in rushing with 61 yards on seven carries and Chris Marra added 51 yards on seven carries and also ran for the Rockets' extra point after Flynn's touchdown.
    On defense, Flynn had a big day with 10 tackles; Lucas Novak and Scott Pirrello each finished with seven tackles; Andrew Schwartzman recovered a Hackettstown fumble; Marra stopped a fourth-quarter Hackettstown drive with a big fourth-down tackle; and Nate Bacheldor had a huge hit in the backfield that resulted in a 10-yard loss for Hackettstown.
    The Rockets coaches also had praise for the offensive line blocking of Nick Miller, Pirrello, Bacheldor, Joe Rabeno, T.J. Rome, Jose Santiago and Jake Lissy that keyed the two touchdown drives.

WEEK SIX
Marra's 3 TDs spark varsity;
 JVs win to stay perfect at 6-0

    ROCKAWAY TWP. - Mike Marra scored three touchdowns and Zack Berkowitz kicked four 2-point conversions as the Rockaway Township Rockets defeated the Twin-Boro Bears, 38-6, in a Morris County Youth Football League (MCYFL) varsity division game at Peterson Field here on Saturday, Oct. 17.
    The win gave the Rockets a 5-1 record as they held onto their one-game lead over Long Valley in the Hills Division of the National Conference.
    Marra's first touchdown was a 75-yard return of the opening kickoff with Berkowitz adding his PAT kick for a quick 8-0 lead. Marra added a 14-yard run later in the period with Berkowitz' kick again good for a 16-0 lead.
    The Rockets made it 24-0 at the half when Mike Sweeney scored on a 1-yard run and Berkowitz kicked his third straight PAT.
    Tremayne Blair scored on a 21-yard run for the Rockets in the third period and Marra went long distance once again for this third TD of the game when he scored on a 74-yard run with an intercepted pass.
    Marra rushed for 62 yards on eight carries.
    The Rocket defense gave up only five first downs as it held the Bears' scoreless until the final period, when Twin-Boro scored its only TD of the game.
    Mark Leaver finished the game with two sacks and a fumble recovery as he and Michael Sweeney, Joe Leonardis and Hugo Jimenez led the Rockets' stingy defense.

JVs win, remain unbeaten at 6-0   
    Willy Hansen scored two TDs as he and Nick Esposito each rushed for more than 100 yards as the Rockets defeated the Twin-Boro Bears, 20-12, in the junior varsity game at Peterson on Saturday.
    The Rockets are now 6-0 in the junior varsity Hills Division of the National Conference and need only one win in their remaining three games to defend the division title they won last year when they finished 9-0.
    Hansen scored on runs of 80 and 40 yards and scored a 1-point conversion on a run while finishing with 129 yards on 10 carries. Drew Daniel scored the third TD on a 26-yard run and ran in for the PAT to close out the scoring.
    Esposito had 102 yards rushing in 10 carries and Daniel finished with 59 yards on 12 rushes. Chris Jones had an 18-yard pass reception for the Rockets.
    Hansen also made the defensive play of the game when he intercepted a Twin-Boro pass and returned it 20 yards to halt a Bears' fourth-period drive.
    Ryan Jackson was the team leader in tackles with five with James Costenza, Chris Jones and Hansen each finishing with four. Payton Campbell, Andrew Marra, Kyle Gaeb, Daniel and Esposito also contributed to the Rockets' defensive efforts.
   
Rockets peewees fall, 13-6
    The Rockets peewee team fell out of a first-place tie in the Hills Division of the National Conference with a 13-6 loss to the Twin-Boro Bears at Peterson on Saturday.
    Long Valley (5-1) has sole possession of first place with the Rockets (4-2) and Twin-Boro (4-2) tied for second a game back with three games left to play.
    The Bears scored in the second and third periods to take a 13-0 lead into the final quarter play where Shawn Davis broke loose a 55-yard touchdown run - breaking several tackles along the way - for the Rockets' only points of the day.
    Davis finished the game with 70 yards rushing on only five carries as the Bears were able to keep the ball away from the Rockets with their deliberate style of ball-control offense. Jayson Parisi had seven carries for 28 yards.
    On defense, Peter Palumbo was in on a team-high nine tackles, six of them solo. Luke Drugac and Jake Purzak each finished with three solos.

Super peewees fall
    Bryce Carpenter's 2-yard touchdown run in the third period was the only score of the day for the Rockets super peewees as they lost a 26-6 decision to the Twin-Boro Bears at Mendham High School field on Sunday, Oct. 18.
    The Bears were able to control the game mostly by utilizing their passing attack.     Carpenter broke off several big runs but the Rockets could get into the end zone but once.

Flammia TD wins clinic game
    Anthony Flammia's 23-yard touchdown run in the third period of play was the only score of the game as the Rockets beat Twin-Boro, 6-0, at Mendham High School field on Sunday, Oct. 18.
    Flammia, who also had a 13-yard run during the drive, finished the game with 61 yards rushing while Derek Ferguson had 26, Nate Howell had 15 and Tom Cicchetti caught a pass for nine yards
    On defense, John VanLenten had a team-high nine tackles - including one that saved a touchdown in the scoreless first half and two open-field tackles in the second half; Scott Bornemann finished with a tackle and two assists; and Parker Campbell had two tackles for losses to help stop Twin-Boro drives.
   
Rocket Green team falls
    Chris Marra pulled the Rockets into a 6-6 halftime tie with Twin-Boro only to have the Bears score the only points of the second half and escape with a 12-6 victory in a pre-clinic game played at Mendham on Sunday.
    Marra finished the Rockets' 80-yard scoring drive with a 12-yard TD run to finish the game with 54 yards rushing on 10 carries. Teammate Brendan Kovar ran for 42 yards on six carries.
    Offensive linemen T.J. Rome, Joe Rabeno, Ben Philhower and Jose Santiago supplied the blocking for the Rockets' TD drive.
    Defensive highlights for the Rockets include: Noah Flynn's team-high nine tackles ... solid line play by Adam Haigh, Chase Bruno, Ronnie Stewart and Jayson Rodriguez that forced seven fumbles, and a fumble recovery by Chris Marra.

Perez scores two TDs as pre-clinic Gold falls
    The Rockets pre-clinic Gold team's game against Long Valley was postponed from its weekend date and played on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at Peterson with Long Valley winning, 20-14.
    Josh Perez scored on runs of 47 and 6 yards for the Rockets with Patrick Gallagher running in for one PAT and Jason Ponteliona throwing a pass to Matthew Luttenberger for the second PAT.
    Long Valley scored on a 60-yard run on its first play from scrimmage and added TDs in the second and fourth periods to take a 20-7 lead before the Rockets scored again late in the game.
    Ponteliona finished 2-for-2 passing for 25 yards and a fumble recovery by A.J. Head led to the Rockets' fourth-period touchdown drive, a drive that was kept alive by a pass from Ponteliona to Gallagher that resulted in a first down.

WEEK FIVE
Rockets varsity, JV, peewees
keep division leads with wins

    ROCKAWAY TWP. - Their inside run attack halted by a stiff Morristown defense, the Rockaway Township Rockets picked up one touchdown and some key yardage through the air and used a solid defensive effort of its own to defeat the Junior Colonials, 14-0, in a Morris County Youth Football League (MCYFL) varsity game played at Peterson Field on Saturday, Oct. 10.
    Hugo Jimenez caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from Joe Rosenski in the second quarter and Rosenski scored on a 37-yard run in the third quarter for the Rockets' touchdowns.
    Mike Marra ran in one extra point and Rosenski passed to Jimenez for the other.
    The Rockets (4-1) remain in first place in the Hills Division of the National Conference, one game ahead of Long Valley, which beat Twin Boro, 20-12, this past weekend.
    Rosenski finished the game 6-for-10 passing for 112 yards with Tremayne Blair catching three passes for 72 yards and three first downs to keep alive Rocket drives.
    The Rocket defense, led by linebackers Nicholas Warner and Marra and defensive lineman Mark Leaver, limited Morristown to five first downs. Leaver finished the game with four solo tackles and a sack.
    The Rockets next game is against Twin Boro on at Peterson Field on Saturday, Oct. 17, with kickoff scheduled for 8 p.m.
   
Rocket JVs stay unbeaten
    Nick Esposito scored the first two touchdowns and Drew Daniel, Willy Hansen and Chris Jones each added one - all in the first half - as the unbeaten junior varsity Rockets beat Morristown, 32-7, at Peterson on Saturday.
    The Rockets (5-0) continue to hold down first place in the Hills Division of the National Conference in the MCYFL by two games over second-place Twin Boro. The Rockets and Twin Boro square off at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, at Peterson Field.
    Esposito scored on runs of 53 and 19 yards and finished with 109 yards rushing on only four carries.
    Daniel scored on a 5-yard run and finished with 23 yards on six carries; Hansen also had a 5-yard TD run and finished with 43 yards on four rushes; and Jones' TD came on the business end of an 18-yard pass from Hansen.
    Sam Richeal kicked a 2-point conversion to round out the scoring for the Rockets.
    Andrew Marra, Mike Lajeunesse and Jones each finished the game with five tackles to lead the Rockets defensive efforts.

PeeWees blank Morristown
    The Rockets PeeWees registered their fourth shutout of the season with a 19-0 victory over Morristown in a game played at Peterson on Saturday.
    Rockaway Township is still tied with Long Valley in the Hills Division of  the National Conference of the MCYFL as both team are 4-1 after five weeks of play.
    Dylan Lesch scored the first TD for the Rockets on a 1-yard quarterback keeper. Madison Evans ran in the extra point and the Rockets had a 7-0 first-period lead.
    After a scoreless second quarter, Jayson Parisi broke loose for a 42-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and Evans capped the scoring for the game with a 1-yard blast through the line in the final quarter of play.
    Parisi finished with 97 yards on 14 carries; Evans had 42 rushing yards on seven carries; and Shawn Davis picked up 25 yards on five rushes. Chris Caraballo had one carry for 10 yards.
    On defense, Luke Frugac had two sacks and two interceptions, one of which he returned 20 yards to put the Rockets in good field position for their final TD. Peter Palumbo was in on two sacks and Shane Dougherty added a sack.

Super PeeWees win, 13-7
    Michael Luo scored a touchdown and an extra point and Bryce Carpenter scored a touchdown as the Rockets defeated Morristown, 13-7, in a MCYFL PeeWee Division game at Peterson on Friday, Oct. 9.
    Trailing 7-0 at the half, Carpenter scored on a 12-yard run and Luo ran in for the extra point in the third quarter to pull the Rockets into a 7-7 tie.
    Later in the quarter, Luo scored the winning TD on a 43-yard bootleg for the final points of the contest as the defenses took over for the rest of the game.

Rockets rally to win Clinic game, 20-6
    The Rockets spotted Morristown a touchdown lead before coming back with three long-distance TDs - two by Derek Ferguson - to secure a 20-6 victory in a MCYFL clinic game at Peterson on Friday.
    After a scoreless first half, Morristown scored its only TD on a 60-yard run before the Rockets came back to take the lead for good on Ferguson's 41-yard TD and an extra-point run by Tom Cicchetti.
    Anthony Flammia added a 24-yard touchdown run later in the third period with Nate Howell adding on the 1-point conversion.
    Ferguson scored the game's final points in the fourth period when he broke loose for a 46-yard TD run.
    Ferguson finished with 134 yards rushing; Flammia had 38 and Derek Simmons added 32. Cicchetti had 27 yards rushing and 26 yards receiving for the Rockets.

Pre-Clinic Green ties Madison, 7-7
    Chris Marra's touchdown run and Noah Flynn's all-important extra point enabled the Rocket Green team to rally for a 7-7 tie with Madison in an MCYFL pre-clinic game played at Peterson on Sunday.
    Madison scored the only TD of the first half and added the 1-point conversion to take a 7-0 lead.
    Marra scored on a 4-yard run in the third period and Flynn ran in for the extra point that tied the game at 7-7. Marra finished the game with 109 yards rushing.
    The offense moved the ball well, running 52 offensive plays for 173 yards, most of it behind the blocking of Andrew Schwartzman, Ben Philhower, Nick Miller, T.J. Rome and Jake Lissy.
    The Rockets got inside the Morristown 20-yard line a the end of the first half and at the end of the game only to have the clock run out each time.
    Lucas Novak and Chase Bruno each had five tackles for the Rockets and Jose Santiago recovered a fumble to halt a Morristown fourth-quarter drive.

Rockets Gold bows in Pre-Clinic game
    Josh Perez scored the Rocket Gold's only points of the game on a 65-yard TD run in the second period as Rockaway Township lost an MCYFL pre-clinic game to Morristown, 20-6, at Peterson on Saturday.
    Perez' 65-yard run pulled the Rockets to within a point at 7-6 but the Junior Colonials pulled away with 13 unanswered points in the second half.
    Jake Busel and Nick Ward finished as the leading tacklers for the Rockets while Matthew Luttenberger had one quarterback sack.

WEEK FOUR
Rockets defeat Mt. Olive, 24-6,
with as defense leads the way

      ROCKAWAY TWP. - Mike Marra and Joe Rosenski rushed for TDs to give the Rockaway Township varsity the early lead and the defense intercepted four passes to to make it stand up as the Rockets beat the Mount Olive Marauders, 24-6, in a Morris County Youth Football League games played at Peterson Field here on Saturday, Oct. 3.
      Marra scored on a 75-yard run and Rosenski rushed for a 37-yard TD to give the Rockets (3-1) a 12-0 lead after the first period of play.
      Hugo Jimenez scored on a 14-yard pass from Rosenski in the second quarter to give the Rockets an 18-0 lead at the half. R.J. Petruska scored the final Rockets' TD, crashing over from two yards out in the third period for the final points of the game for the Rockets.
      Zach Berkowitz and Joe Leonardis each finished the game with two interceptions as the Rockets defense held Mount Olive to five first downs for the game. The Rockets defense limited the visitors to only seven plays in the entire second half as the defensive line led by Eric Butler, Jon Ostensen, Mark Leaver and Petruska played solid throughout the game.
      The Rockets hold a one game lead over Long Valley (2-2) in the National Conference's Hills Division.

Junior varsity wins to remain unbeaten
     The Rocket junior varsity remained unbeaten in four games with a 13-6 victory over Mount Olive at Peterson Field on Saturday..
      The JVs are leading the National Conference's Hills Division by two games over Long Valley, Montville and Twin Boro, teams which are 2-2 after the first four weeks of the season.

PeeWees suffer first loss of season
      The Rocket peewees suffered their first loss of the season, falling to Mount Olive, 19-14, at Peterson Field on Saturday.
     The peewees remain in a tie for first place with Long Valley in the Hills Division of the Naional Conference at 3-1, however, because Long Valley also lost its first game of the season, falling to Iron Division leader Randolph (4-0) by a 6-0 score.
      Mount Olive took a 13-0 lead but the Rockets' Jayson Parisi answered Mount Olive's second TD by scoring on a 65-yard kickoff return. Shawn Davis ran in the 1-point conversion and Mount Olive took a 13-7 lead into the half.
    Mount Olive scored in the third period to make it 19-7 and the Rockets put the final points of the game on the board in the fourth quarter on Davis' 1-yard TD run followed by a 1-point conversion run by Madison Evans.
      Parisi finished with 49 yards rushing on 11 carries and Evans picked up another 21 yards on the ground in six carries.
     On defense, Luke Gregg finished with three tackles, one sack and a fumble recovery; Shane Dougherty had two sacks, a forced fumble and blocked a kick attempt for an extra point; Parisi had five tackles and an interception; and Dylan Lesch had three tackles.

Super PeeWees bow to Montville, 19-6
     Bryce Carpenter scored on a 45-yard touchdown run for the Rockets' only points as Rockaway Township lost to the Montville Gold, 19-6, in a Morris County Youth Football League peewee division game played at Peterson Field on Friday, Oct. 2.
      Montville scored all of its points in the first half of play.

Rockets blank Mt. Olive in clinic game
     Anthony Flammia, Scott Bornemann and Derek Ferguson scored touchdowns as the Rockets stopped the Mount Olive Marauders, 21-0, in a MCYFL clinic game at Peterson Field on Friday, Oct. 2.
      Flammia opened the scoring with an 11-yard run in the first quarter; Bornemann scored on a 5-yard pass play in the second quarter; and Feguson scored on an 18-yard run in the third quarter. Nate Howell and Derek Simmons each ran in a 1-point conversion.
     On defense, Simmons finished the game with a team-high three solo tackles; David Pakula recovered a fumble; and Rich DeMary and Jacob Severnuk led the defensive line efforts that produced the shutout.

Perez 2 TDs spark Rockets Gold to pre-clinic win
      Josh Perez scored two touchdowns and Jason Ponteliona added one as the Rockets pre-clinic Gold team beat Mount Olive, 21-6, at Peterson on Saturday.
     Ponteliona scored on a 2-yard run in the first quarter and Perez added TD runs of 37 in the second quarter and 25 yards in the third quarter before Mount Olive scored its only TD.
      The Rockets scored all three of their PATs with Perez throwing to Matthew Luttenberger for the first, Ponteliona running in the second conversion, and Ponteliona throwing to Patrick Gallagher for the final one.
     Defensive highlights included a fumble recovery by Anthony Figueroa, an interception by Perez and a team-leading six tackles by Tritan Busel.

Rockets Green, Mt. Olive tie in pre-clinic game, 12-12
      Noah Flynn and Chris Marra scored the touchdowns for Rockaway Township as the Rockets pre-clinic Green team and Mount Olive battled to a 12-12 tie at Peterson on Saturday.
     Flynn scored on a 7-yard run in the first quarter and Chris Marra scored on a 15-yard run in the fourth quarter for the Rockets.
      Jake Lissy finished the game with two tackles for losses and T.J. Rome had a fumble recovery for the Rockets, who are now 3-1-1.
 

Rockets defeat Par Hills
in varsity MCYFL game

     ROCKAWAY TWP. - The Rockaway Township Rockets defeated the Parsippany Hills Little Vikings, 20-8, in a Morris County Youth Football League night game played in the rain at Parsippany on Saturday, Sept. 26.
      Joe Rosenski scored on a 4-yard run; Tremayne Gambrell ran in from the 3-yard line for a second score; and Michael Marra scored the third Rockets' TD.
     Zack Berkowitz kicked the 2-point conversion after Gambrell's TD.
     The game was closely-played for the first half before the Rockets upped their intensity in the second half and took over the game.
      The win improved the Rockets season record to 2-1.

Four INTs key Rockets JV victory
      Drew Daniel scored two touchdowns and the Rockets junior varsity defense intercepted four passes as the unbeaten Rockets (3-0) defeated the Little Vikings, 27-0, at Parsippany on Saturday night.
      Daniel scored on a 1-yard run to open the scoring and scored the game's final TD on an 11-yard run in the fourth period.
      Nick Esposito broke loose for a 66-yard TD run in the third period and Willy Hansen just about duplicated the long-distance score when he went 69 yards for a TD later in the third quarter.
     Sam Richeal kicked on 2-point conversion and Hansen ran for a 1-point conversion after Daniel's first-quarter TD.
    Payton Campbell, James Costanzo, Chad Reilly and Daniel had the interceptions for the Rockets. Carlos Rodrigues made two open-field tackles on special teams as the Rockets recorded their second shutout of the season.
    Esposito finished the game with 110 yard rushing on nine carries; Hansen was 7-for-81; and Daniel had 59 yards rushing on seven carries.

Davis has 3 TDs as peewees win
     Shawn Davis scored on runs of 44, 77 and 35 yards and finished with 188 yards rushing on only five carries as the unbeaten Rockets peewees (3-0) stopped Parsippany Hills, 28-0, at Parsippany on Saturday.
     Jayson Parisi gave the Rockets an early lead when he scored on a 40-yard run in the first period. Parisi finished with 51 yards rushing on four carries.
     Davis scored in each of the next three quarters.
     Quarterback Dylan Lesch scored two 1-point conversions on keepers and Connor Callahan kicked a 2-point conversion after Davis' last touchdown.
     On defense, Parisi finished with five tackles; Luke Drugac had three tackles and a sack; Jake Purzak and Joe Fullum each had a sack; and Madison Evans and Davis each recovered a fumble as the Rocket defense limited Par Hills to 22 yard of offense.

Rocket super peewees top Par Hills
     The Rockets? super peewee club got touchdowns from three different players in an 18-6 victory over Parsippany Hills at Parsippany on Sunday.
      Jake Sarrel got the ball rolling when he returned a punt 70 yards for a first-period TD. Bryce Carpenter scored on an 11-yard run in the second period on a drive hat was set up when Evan Turner intercepted a Par Hills pass.
      Quarterback Michael Luo put the final Rocket points on the board when he scored on a 55-yard keeper in the third period.
      Tom Griese, Kenny Patterson and Travis Lisa had sacks to boost the Rockets? defense.

Clinic team earns another Rocket shutout
       Anthony Flammia and Derek Ferguson scored the touchdowns and the Rocket defense pitched a shutout in a 12-0 victory over Par Hills in a clinic game at Parsippany on Sunday.
      Flammia scored on a 50-yard run in the second quarter and Ferguson scored on a 25-yard run in the third quarter.
     Flammia finished with 67 yard rushing while Nate Howell had 50, Ferguson had 45 and Rich DeMary finished with 17.
      On defense, John VanLenten led the way with four solo tackles, Derek Simmons had two and Matt Kovacs had one.
      Simmons turned in the defensive play of the game in the second quarter when, with the score 0-0 and the Little Vikings on the Rockets? 5-yard line, he sacked the quarterback for an 18-yard loss. A penalty ended the drive and the Rockets took over and drove for their first TD.

Rockets? pre-clinic Gold team wins
      The Rockets pre-clinic Gold team displayed solid efforts on both sides of the ball to beat Parsippany Hills, 20-6, at Parsippany on Sunday.
     Patrick Gallagher scored on runs of 45 and 28 yards to give the Rockets a 13-6 lead at the half and the Rockets? Joshua Perez scored on a 60-yard run for the only TD of the second half.
      Matthew Luttenberger and A.J. Head closed out the scoring as each ran for a 1-point conversion.
     Other game highlights include: Anthony Figueroa and Tristan Busel each recovering a fumble; Jason Ponteliona hitting Luttenberger with a 10-yard pass to keep a drive going; and the rushing of Jake Antonelli, Trevone Green and Mario Maddaloni.

Pre-clinic Green wins on Flynn's TD
     Noah Flynn scored the only points of the game as the Rockets pre-clinic Green team beat the Montville Broncos, 6-0.
     Flynn's first-quarter 55-yard touchdown run held up throughout the game as Brendon Kovar, Jake Lissy and Joe Rabeno each had five tackles to help keep the Broncos off the board.
 The Rocket coaches also had praise for the defensive work of Chris Marra, Jayson Rodriguez and Chase Bruno, who each contributed tackles for a loss.

Rocket running back Michael Marra picks up yardage against Montville in a varsity Morris County Youth Football League game won by Rockaway Township, 37-0, on Sunday, Sept. 20. Marra finished with two touchdowns.
Photo by Hector Jimenez 

Marra's two TD runs
help Rockets triumph

     ROCKAWAY TWP. - Mike Marra scored two touchdowns and rushed for 97 yards to lead the Rockaway Township Rockets to a 37-0 victory over the Montville Broncos in a Morris County Youth Football League varsity game played at Peterson Field here on Sunday, Sept. 20.
     Marra opened the scoring with a 1-yard plunge; Joe Rosenski scored on another 1-yard TD run; Marra added a 47-yard TD run; and R.J. Petruska scored on a 12-yard run as the Rockets took a 30-0 lead at the half.
     Hugo Jimenez scored on a 30-yard pass from Joe Rosenski early in the third period as the Rockets scored TDs on each of their first five drives of the game.
     Zach Berkowitz kicked three 2-point conversions and Justin Connolly ran in PAT for one point to round out the Rockets scoring.
     The offensive line of Nick Crocetti, Nick Warner, Elijah Whelchel, Ethan Zagara, Mark Leaver and Jon Ostensen drew praise from the coaching staff for their run blocking.
     Solid defensive play by Treymane Gambrell, Andrew Clifford, Eric Butler and Steven Crouch contributed to the Rockets? shutout.  Berekowitz also intercepted a pass.
     The Rockets are 1-1 after the win; Montville is winless in two starts.
      In other Rockets games against Montville, the junior varsity won, 7-0; the PeeWees won their game, 24-0; the super PeeWees won, 25-10; the clinic team won, 13-0; the pre-clinic gold team won, 18-12, and the pre-clinic green team lost to Hackettstown, 18-13.
     The sub-varsity results:

JUNIOR VARSITY: Rockets win on Esposito TD run
    Running back Nick Esposito scored the only TD and PAT of the game in the third quarter as the Rockets junior varsity team beat Montville, 7-0, at Peterson Field.
    Esposito rushed 18 times for 87 yards and  Willy Hansen added another 51 yards rushing for the Rockets, who won their second straight game.
    On defense, the Rockets' tackle leaders were Kyle Gaeb, who had six, and Willy Hansen, who had four. Klye Gaeb and Willy Hansen each had an interception and Drew Daniel recovered a fumble.
     Ryan Jackson, Peyton Campbell, Andrew Marra, Daniel and Esposito were each cited by their coaches for their strong defensive play.

PEEWEES: Rocket defense allows but 50 yards in win
      Four different Rockets scored touchdowns and a defense that allowed but 50 yards contributed to the win as the Rockets beat Montville, 24-0, in a PeeWee game at Peterson Field on Sunday, Sept. 20.
      Madison Evans, Dylan Lesch, Jayson Parisi and Shawn Davis each ran for TDs with Lesch scoring on a quarterback keeper and Davis scoring on a 25-yard run. Evans finished the game with 91 yards rushing on eight carries while Parisi rushed 12 times for 81 yards. Shawn Davis, Damon Green, Anthony Palma and Dyland Lesch each got in some running in the second half.
      On defense, Peter Palumbo registered five tackles; Luke Drugac had three, including one for a loss; Joe Fullum had three tackles, two for a loss; and Shane Dougherty had a tackle for a loss and a fumble recovery.
 
SUPER PEEWEE: Rockets hold on to win, 25-20
     Michael Luo, Bruce Carpenter and Patrick McAndrew rushed for TDs and Luo passed to Walt Lampman for a fourth as the Rockets beat the Broncos, 25-20, in the super PeeWee game.
      Luo's six-yard TD run in the first period was set by by Jacob Sarrel's 35-yard run and another 35-yard run by Evan Turner led to Bruce Carpenter's 10-yard scoring run. After Lampman scored on a 23-yard pass from Luo and Bryce Carpenter kicked the extra point, McAndrew finished the scoring for the day when he scored on a 3-yard run after Turner got the Rockets close with a 47-yard run.

CLINIC: Cicchetti, Ferguson TDs stop Broncos
    Tom Cicchetti scored on a 6-yard run in the second period and Derek Ferguson added a 5-yard TD run in the third period as the Rockets beat Montville, 13-0, at Peterson Field.
    Anthony Flammia finished with 98 rushing yards while Ferguson added 53.
 On defense, John VanLenten finished with five tackles; Derek Simmons had four tackles; and Rich DeMary had two tackles and a sack. Matt Kovacs also had a sack.

PRE-CLINIC GREEN: Flynn scores 3 TDs
     Noah Flynn scored three TDs - including an 80-yard scoring run on the last play of the game to break a 12-12 tie - as the Rockets pre-clinic green team beat Montville, 18-12, at Peterson Field on Saturday, Sept. 19.
      Flynn scored on two 8-yard runs earlier in the game and finished with 158 rushing yards on nine carries.
      Flynn's winning TD was set up by Dan Philower, who made an open-field tackle one yard short of a first down on a fourth-down play to give the Rockets possession.
     Offensive linemen Nat Baceldor, Jose Santiago and Jake Lissy opened a hole in the line for Flynn and fellow running backs Chris Marra and Brendan Kovar added some downfield blocking for Flynn. Kovar had 10 tackles on defense, including three for losses.

PRE-CLINIC GOLD: Rockets edged by late TD
 Touchdowns by Patrick Gallagher and Joshua Perez and a PAT run by Matt Luttenberer gave the Rockets pre-clinic gold team a 13-12 fourth-period lead but Hackettstown scored midway through the final period to pull out an 18-13 victory in a game at Hackettstown on Thursday, Sept. 17.
 After Hackettstown scored on its first two possessions for a 12-0 lead, Gallagher scored on a 48-yard run with Luttenberger adding the PAT and then Perez scored on a 49-yard run to give the Rockets a 13-12 lead at the half.
 After Hackettstown scored the go-ahead TD, the Rockets made one last-ditch drive and got inside the Hackettstown 10-yard line when they ran out of time.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

GEORGIA'S
Stained
Glass
Werks

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Rockets hold
PP&K contest
at Peterson

    ROCKAWAY TWP. - Close to 80 youth football players weren't about to let a little rain get in the way of their day during the Punt, Pass & Kick competition held at Peterson Field here Saturday, August 29.
   In spite of a rain shower here and there and some slippery conditions for the kickers, the competiton went off without a hitch as all participants seemed to enjoy their day in the sun -- er, rain.
   Seven age-group winners - four in the boys competition and three in the girls' - will move on to the sectional stage of the competition scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 3, in Garfield.
   Sectional winners from throughout the state will next compete at halftime of the New York Jets-Caronina Panthers game on Sunday, Nov. 29.
   The boys winners - all from Rockaway Township - were Michael Sternlicht (winner of the 14-15 age group); Zach Berkowitz (12-13), Shane Dougherty (10-11) and Andrew Behrendt (8-9).
   In the girls competition,  the Rosenski sisters of Rockaway Townsihp - Jessica (8-9) and Jacqueline (10-11) - each won their age group competition and the seventh winner was Kelly Whritenour of Boonton, who won the 12-13 age group.
      Visit www.rtrockets.com for updates.