VIDEO: Last-second touchdown lifts New Milford over Becton | ||
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The New Milford football team dreamed of ending its season at the big stadium in East Rutherford. Instead, the Knights finished up at home against a team from East Rutherford in a consolation game. But New Milford still managed to script a memorable finish. Justice Witowski caught a 44-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Picinic with just nine seconds left to play to give New Milford a dramatic 20-14 win over Becton. The play prevented what seemed to be a sure overtime.
With both teams just missing the playoffs despite 6-3 records, the game started somewhat slowly. Becton built a 14-7 halftime lead, though the Wildcats missed a couple of other scoring opportunities. After stopping Becton to open the third quarter, New Milford drove downfield to tie the game on Chris Jurgensen's touchdown run. The Knights had a great chance to take the lead in the fourth quarter, but could not finish the drive. However, Becton was forced to punt in the final minute, and New Milford struck for the game-winning play. Christian Correa ran for 160 yards and one touchdown to pace the New Milford offense. Witowski had 64 receiving yards and 44 yards rushing in his final high school game. Matt McElroy notched 13 tackles and Jhari Rogers had an interception. Gianni Failla scored twice for Becton in the opening half, on a short run and on a screen pass from Michael Bolwell. The Wildcats' no-huddle attack was effective for two-plus quarters, but could not do much late in the game. The game was officially a "regional crossover" contest, the new terminology for consolation games in New Jersey. New Milford finishes 7-3 while Becton wraps up the season at 6-4. For sports video highlights of this New Jersey high school football game, click play in the box at left. |