The Minutemen football team kicked off September 9^th against Hammonton Blue Devils. The Minutemen fought hard, but suffered a 35-7 loss to a tough Blue Devils squad. Though the difficult loss was a disheartening opener, the Minutemen have gained valuable knowledge that they hope will guide them to a successful season.

“The more we play, the more we will learn about ourselves,” said Township head coach Mark Wechter.

The Minutemen were practically shut down offensively in this game. The lone Minuteman touchdown came off a goal line interception return by Ryan Brady ‘17. Quarterback Michael Piperno ‘17 completed 4-12 passes for 68 yards and an interception. The receiving corps was troubled by an experienced and skillful Hammonton secondary that denied any long passes. Seif Albarqawi ‘17 caught 1 pass for 7 yards, Brendan Flaherty ‘17 had 1 reception for 5 yards, and Brandon Mackney ‘18 caught 1 pass for 4 yards. Tahir Roundtree broke out 1 reception for 52 yards, which was the best of the day. The ground game was decent for the leading rusher, Colin Meintel, who rushed for 62 yards on 11 carries. The other running backs had a difficult time against a stout Hammonton run defense. Kazmere Sturgis rushed for 12 yards on 6 carries and Akennis Yates gained 10 yards on 3 carries.

Even though the Minutemen lost, they gave a strong effort. “We are a young team with talent.  We have to gain experience to strengthen our chances against the great teams on our schedule.  Hammonton is a veteran team that has a solid chance of winning South Jersey group 4.  We knew we had to play an A game to win.  We scored a C- overall as a team. The game plan was solid.  They did not do anything we were not prepared for.  Execution of the plan was an issue,” said Wechter.

The Minutemen are putting this game behind them and are spending their energy preparing for Friday’s game against Atlantic City. One area the team is focusing on is keeping possession of the football.

“We were -3 in turnovers on Friday. We have to continue to practice and stress the importance of ball security,” said Wechter.

The team is also grading their performance after each practice. This is adding urgency to each practice.

“The players are having a great week of preparation going into AC.  They know what they need to do…it’s simple.  Execute your job and we will win as a team,” said Wechter.

The Minutemen football team have a bright future ahead of them. After getting their feet wet in the first game and new players adjusting to the varsity level, the team is ready to win. With a surplus of talent and a dedicated fan base, the possibilities for the future are endless.

“We will win many games ahead if we learn from this.  We will make a deep run into the South Jersey group 5 playoffs. Expect to see great things ahead,” said Wechter.