The Alternative Press

CHATHAM, NJ - On a cold afternoon at Cougar Field in Chatham, the Roxbury Gaels defeated the Chatham Cougars 23-6 in a very physical football game.

Chatham started the first quarter of the game off well when Chatham senior Sean Coyne tackled a Roxbury lineman. After Coyne’s tackle, the penalties began to add up for Roxbury. At just 10:38 in the 1st, Roxbury received their first penalty. Chatham also received a penalty at 7:58 in the 1st. Just a minute later, Chatham’s Jack Duane scored a touchdown giving the Cougars a 6-0 lead over the Gaels. At near the end of the first, the game became intense when Roxbury’s Shawn Leydon scored giving his team a 6-6 tie against Chatham.  Notable players in the 1st quarter included Chatham’s Chris Peters and Jack Duane.

Roxbury started off the second quarter well. At just 8:44 in the 2nd, Roxbury’s Donald Panciello scored giving his team a 12-6 lead. Shortly after Panciello scored, Roxbury’s Kyle Young had a two-point conversion giving his team a 14-6 lead.

During halftime, the award-winning Chatham High School Marching Band, under the direction of Brian Conti, featured music from “Rhapsody in Blue” and “American in Paris.” In September, Chatham High School took high honors for best music in a marching band competition in Scotch Plains. At Morris Hills High School, Chatham took 3rd place at their competition. At Somerville High School, Chatham took 2nd place for their marching band and 1st place in guard. Next Sunday, Chatham will compete in the All-States Group 3 Open Championships at Rutgers.

In the third quarter, Chatham’s Scott Lynch recovered a fumble at the 6:38 mark.  However, Roxbury then received two points for a safety in the end zone, increasing their lead to 16-6 over Chatham. At 4:44 in the 3rd, Roxbury’s Donald Panciello scored a touchdown giving them a 23-6 lead over Chatham, which remained the final score of the game.

In response to Roxbury’s win over Chatham this afternoon, Roxbury Head Coach Cosmo Lorusso said while he was glad the team defeated Chatham, "There were too many penalties today. In order for our team to do well, we need to limit the amount of penalties and turnovers.”

After Chatham’s loss to Roxbury this afternoon, Chatham Head Coach Don Morgenroth reflected on today's game and what the team needs to do to improve when they face Morris Hills next Friday.  Morgenroth said his team needs to work on reducing bad mistakes and that if they do so, he feels his team will do much better against Morris Hills.