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Jefferson beats West Milford for first win

| 03 Oct 2017 | 02:23
    Jefferson ball carrier Paul Monaco is put down by a wall of West Milford defenders in the first quarter.
    Jefferson ball carrier Paul Monaco is put down by a wall of West Milford defenders in the first quarter.
    Jefferson running back Ryan Leyden carries the ball in the first half.
    Jefferson running back Ryan Leyden carries the ball in the first half.
    West Milford quarterback Zackary Milko runs out of bounds in the first half.
    West Milford quarterback Zackary Milko runs out of bounds in the first half.
    Jefferson kick returner Matthew Cappello carries the ball during the first quarter.
    Jefferson kick returner Matthew Cappello carries the ball during the first quarter.
    Jefferson defender Matt D'Alessio tackles West Milford ball carrier Dan Diminno during a kick return in the first quarter. D'Alessio made six tackles.
    Jefferson defender Matt D'Alessio tackles West Milford ball carrier Dan Diminno during a kick return in the first quarter. D'Alessio made six tackles.

OAK RIDGE — Jefferson Township High School defeated West Milford High School, 35-14, in varsity football on Thursday, Sept. 28.
Jefferson drew first blood by reaching the end zone first. Running back Justin Randzio's 1-yard run into the end zone the first quarter along with teammate Matthew Johnson's extra point kick put Jefferson ahead 7-0. West Milford pulled even later in the quarter when quarterback Zackary Milko, threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Daniel DiMinno. Andrew Finke's extra point kick split the uprights to tie the contest 7-7.
The Jefferson Falcons (1-3) and the West Milford Highlanders stayed tied until late in the third quarter. Running back Paul Monaco ran into the end zone from 13 yards out and Andrew Benfatti's kick allowed Jefferson to pull ahead 14-7. Later in the quarter running back Joseph Batelli ran the ball into the end zone from 5 yards out and the extra point kick by Andrew Benfatti widened the scoring gap 21-7.
West Milford (2-2) was unable to make it to the end zone in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, West Milford quarterback Zackary Milko threw a touchdown pass to receiver Ryan Coyle to tighten the score 21-14. But from that point Jefferson stepped up their game with running backs Ryan Leyden and Justin Randzio reaching the end zone for scores. The followup extra point kicks by Andrew Benfatti sealed the deal.
Jefferson running back Justin Randzio carried the ball 19 times for 109 yards and two touchdowns.
West Milford quarterback Zackary Milko threw for 139 yards, resulting in two touchdowns and two interceptions.