By Andy Loigu

Hackettstown and Warren Hills will play their annual football game for possession of the cherished Beater Board on Friday, Oct. 21, at Warren Hills Stadium.

It is the earliest date for this traditional battle which this columnist can remember, and I’ve been following Skylands Area local sports since 1988.

As of this writing moment, Hackettstown is 5-1 going into a home game against 4-2 Wallkill Valley scheduled for tomorrow, Friday, Oct. 14.

Warren Hills is 3-3, but the Tiger match-ups are always hard to predict because Warren Hills plays bigger schools and there are no common opponents on the schedules. The Blue Streaks visit Montville tomorrow night.

Both teams are hoping that victories tomorrow night will give each extra momentum in advance of next week.

After an 0-2 start, the Blue Streaks have gone 3-1. The Tigers got off to a tremendous start with a five-game win streak.

Hackettstown not only has lost the last two Beater Board battles to its neighboring rival, it came into the season on a 12-game losing schneid.

New coach Mike Arakelian has transformed the Tigers into a high-scoring powerhouse that is headed for the state playoffs for the 17th time in its proud and glorious history. He is working with a veteran group of players. Only four graduates were lost from the 2021 Tigers. The 2022 Tigers were open minded to the changes that were presented to them by a new coaching staff and have executed the game plans brilliantly. Hackettstown became an explosive big-play team which the fans enjoy watching.

The Beater Board is presented to the winning team after each year’s battle for local bragging rights, by the Rotary Clubs that serve the Hackettstown and Washington areas.

It is a farm implement made of flat boards which are used to shape hay into bales for storage and transport. It is presented in keeping with the spirit behind college games which are played for possession of trinkets such as The Little Brown Jug, contested by Minnesota and Michigan in college football. The Beater Board celebrates the agricultural history and heritage of Warren County

The series which has been going on for the past century is led by Warren Hills (Washington High School prior to 1967) by a close tally of 47-43-6. Last year’s game was played in windy and rainy conditions on October 29. The Blue Streaks won 28-21 and enjoyed a “splashy celebration.”

Only twice has one school or the other dominated the series for an extended time. Hackettstown dominated during the coaching career of “Chot” Morrison, who led the Tigers to numerous unbeaten seasons. Warren Hills won 12 straight years under offensive innovator Bob Lockhart, a streak which was halted in 2005. Player after player tells the media about the days when they were kids, watching the games, looking forward to the night when they are the big boys playing in the traditional big game.

STREAKS FACE NORTH IN FINAL

The names change on the Warren Hills field hockey team but the winning continues year after year. Once again, with a 2-0 semifinal win over Lenape Valley, the Warren Hills girls find themselves in the championship game of the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament.

North Hunterdon will be their foe this Saturday for the tournament championship.

The Blue Streaks are 10-2 overall and 7-0 atop the Skyland Conference Raritan Division standings. They are ranked number 11 in the state overall, all groups, by NJ.com.

Gianna Cioni’s goal and assist led Warren Hills to its 2-0 win over visiting Lenape Valley in the semifinal. Sarah Salameh also scored, while goalkeeper Sydney White stopped six shots off the sticks of the Patriots’ attackers.

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Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building.