Behind an explosive 28-point second quarter, the Millburn football team dominated Paterson Kennedy 34-6 on Friday, September 25, improving to a 3-2 overall record and 2-1 in Super Football Conference Ivy Gold play.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Miller offense caught fire in the second. Nico Hilas started it all with a pair of touchdown runs. Hilas opened the scoring with a 23-yard touchdown dash, followed shortly by an 18-yard touchdown run to put Millburn up 14-0. Hilas finished as the game’s leading rusher with 105 yards on 12 carries.
Millburn’s passing game emerged before halftime, with two different quarterbacks finding the end zone through the air. Owen Skinner connected with Hunter Emrich on a 7-yard touchdown pass, and Brandon Rey found Emrich for a 33-yard touchdown strike just before the break.
Emrich converted all four of his extra-point attempts in the quarter, giving Millburn a commanding 28-0 lead at halftime. Emrich put together a dominant two-way performance, leading the Millers in receiving with three receptions for 47 yards while anchoring the defense with five tackles.
Millburn extended its lead in the third quarter when Rey connected with Will Arrufat for a 36-yard touchdown pass, pushing the lead to 34-0. Rey ended the night 2-for-3 passing for 69 yards and two touchdowns, while also adding 65 rushing yards on five carries.
In total, Millburn’s offense accumulated 297 rushing yards and 83 passing yards on the night.
Paterson Kennedy managed to get on the board in the fourth quarter with a 6-yard touchdown run to break the shutout, but the Millers’ defense kept the Knights contained for most of the night.
Defensively, Millburn dominated the line of scrimmage. Emil Carames led the pass rush with two sacks and two tackles for loss, while Troy Chastain provided a takeaway in the secondary with an interception to go along with his five tackles.
When asked about the night, senior captain Owen Skinner said, “Being able to win on senior night in front of the home crowd was a special feeling and it meant a lot to everyone on the team. Shoutout to the underclassmen who were able to step up and get us that win.”
When asked about the team’s goals for the remainder of the season, Skinner said, “Our goals for the rest of the season are to finish first in our division and then make the playoffs and hopefully go to the Ivy Championship.”
