By Andy Loigu

The second group of honored alumni to be chosen to the Hackettstown Sports Hall of Fame will be announced on Friday evening at Morrison Field, as Hackettstown’s football team seeks to exterminate the visiting Hanover Park Hornets.

The Tigers are 2-3, following a 30-13 loss at Parsippany Hills, which had a polished and rapid fire timing passing offense led by an accurate thrower at quarterback. Hackettstown shot itself in the paw, by fumbling away the ball on their first play, leading to a quick score by the opposition. A total of three Tiger turnovers gave the Vikings plenty of opportunities to plunder.

A Tiger touchdown was taken away upon further review, yes, instant replay has become part of the high school game. The referees took a little over three minutes to look at the play before making their deciding call. The 21st Century is here, sports fans.

The Hackettstown boys soccer team has earned the third seed (out of 20 teams) in the upcoming Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament. Lenape Valley and Hunterdon Central were awarded the two top seedings.

The Tigers stood at 6-2 after a 2-0 win over Warren Hills on Sept. 29. Colby Clark and Danny Lucero scored goals on assists by Sammy Giraldo and Jake Weiss. Goalkeeper Vinny Coccaro, with a resolute defense in front of him, made three saves to gain the shutout.

Like a craftsman putting the final touches on a shiny dining room table, the Warren Hills football team produced a great finish. On fourth-and-11, in the final minute, Garrett Koch threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Zach Hamilton for a game-winning score to defeat North Hunterdon 36-33 on Friday evening. Tucker Gabrich ran in a two-point conversion for the coup de gras. Koch, a senior, threw for 195 yards and five touchdowns. On the ground, senior running back Sean Morris gained 77 yards on 20 carries.

After starting the season with three straight losses, the Blue Streaks are now 2-3 with hopes for a state playoff berth. It was a big upset win over North Hunterdon, the defending North 2 Group 4 champions.The Lions have been a Warren Hills nemesis over the years. From 1978 to 1980, the Lions beat the Streaks three straight times by a combined score of 102-8. It hasn’t always been that bad, and the Streaks have won their share, but North has always been a rugged opponent.

The Lions had a final shot, a Hail Mary heave, but it was batted to the ground. The Blue Streaks now will battle the Blue Raiders at Scotch Plains at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

The Blue Streaks’ field hockey team maintained its number 16 state ranking on Sept. 29, with a 2-1 overtime win over number 17 Hackettstown. Warren Hills, playing one of the state’s most ambitious schedules, improved to 6-3-1, while neighborhood rival Hackettstown stands at 6-2-1.

Jenna Wyckoff ended the long battle with the game-winning goal. Samantha Dugan scored an earlier goal for Warren Hills and Megan Doyle scored for Hackettstown. The Tigers maintained an aggressive attack that keeps coming at you, getting off 14 shots on goal. Thirteen of them were turned away by Warren Hills goalkeeper Julia Webber.

Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building.