CRANFORD, NJ – Cranford football, coming off a riveting loss against North Brunswick, looked to avenge their losses in the playoffs as they took on West Essex on the road. Much unlike the North Brunswick game, there were only 13 points scored in total, yet like the North Brunswick game, they mostly came from one side.
The Cougars went down 7-0 quickly, and then neither them or West Essex scored in the second or third quarters. On the back of junior quarterback Tyler Veltre, Cranford was hunting a game-tying touchdown in the final seconds as they unimpededly marched down toward the end zone. Breaking sacks and busting out of the pocket, Veltre, on the final play of the game, threw on the run, before an incredible defensive play by West Essex’s Jordan Simeone intercepted the pass and returned it for 95 yards, good for his, and his team’s, second touchdown on the day. Time ran out, and Cranford fell 13-0, ending their season in heart-breaking fashion.
The end of their season brought about the end of many senior careers, which consisted of state titles and undefeated seasons. However, Cranford football will look forward to its rising seniors, like the aforementioned Veltre, Amari Petgrave, Justin Hoeffler, and Dylan Jones, to continue their program’s success.
Cranford girls soccer, in their state tournament run, defeated Iselin-Kennedy in a heated double extra time match 3-2. Shea Matheson tallied 2 goals, including the game-winner, and Selena Rivera scored one. This was an incredible upset in the tournament, as Cranford was assigned the eleventh seed, and Iselin-Kennedy the sixth. The girls moved on to face third-seeded Summit in the tournament quarterfinals, a team who were coming off of a five-game winning streak.
Cranford and Summit were deadlocked at zero in the first half, as the girls continued their momentum from the previous game. Summit proved their status, however, as they eventually took a commanding lead, which was only answered by Shea Matheson’s one goal. As the Cougars were heavy underdogs according to their low ranking, it is noteworthy that they were able to compete with a storied program like Summit for the breadth of the game. This concluded their season, finishing with an 8-10 record.
Boys soccer had a much better regular season than the girls, but were unable to bring the same success in the playoffs, as they fell to Randolph 2-1 in the first round. Despite Cranford being the higher seed, this was not much of an upset, since Randolph was only the ninth-seed compared to Cranford’s eighth. Scoring for the Cougars was senior James MacMillan, who amassed their only goal. The boys finished their season 10-7-1, a marked improvement from last year’s 5-14.
Field hockey finished their season on a strong note despite an unfortunate exit in the county tournament, defeating both Metuchen and Caldwell, which required stellar performances from senior goalie Lily Goodwin and offensive players Shaye Burns and Lillian Costello, who scored goals in both contests. This gave field hockey a perfect .500 record on the year, accentuated by a 5-2 record in Union County’s Blue division.
In the face of a seven-game losing streak and an eleventh seed in the NJSIAA tournament, girls volleyball has made a miraculous run to the Central Jersey semifinals. The volleyball team reached these heights after defeating sixth-seeded Science Park 2-0 and reverse-sweeping three-seeded Rumson-Fair Haven 2-1
Their win against Science Park was nothing short of dominant, with Cranford preventing their opponents from reaching a mere 20 points, due to superb play across the team, totaling seven aces and three blocks. The matchup against Rumson-Fair Haven was not as dominant to start, however, as the opposition took an early 1-0 lead, winning the first set 25-18. The second set swung into Cranford’s favor 26-24, forcing a third and final set. This final set again ended in Cranford’s favor 26-24, giving them the hard-fought upset win.
In the semifinals, the girls took on second-seeded Raritan, who was yet to surrender a set in tournament play. While the first set was close, Raritan took it 26-24, and then took the second set 25-16, eliminating the Cougars after a brilliant Cinderella run.
Cranford Gymnastics surrendered their final game to Scotch Plains-Fanwood 108.625-106.725. Mia Altobelli was the top performer in the meet on both the bars and floor, scoring a 9.35 and 9.55, respectively. This ended the gymnastics season, finishing 5-2 and optimistic about the future.
Cranford finished 13th in the Men’s 5,000 M group 3 sectionals, led by finishers Ethan Klapinski and Ryan Hunton, the former landing in the top 50. In the Girls’ 5,000 M, Cranford finished the same 13th, this time led by top-15 finisher Caitlin Owens, followed by Ellie Semple. The track program will turn its attention to the winter season, in which throwers like Kristen Fries and Ben Fossella have brought the program a multitude of laurels.
