Wayne Hills did not just win a top-five showdown on Friday night — the Patriots owned it from the opening minutes. Ranked No. 2 in the North Jersey Public Super 20, Wayne Hills raced past No. 4 Ramapo 34-13 in Franklin Lakes, building a 27-0 lead before Ramapo recorded a single first down and piling up a 245-30 edge in first-half yards. The Patriots improved to 7-1 with as complete a first half as any team in New Jersey has played this season, doing it in a rainstorm in the first half, no less.
Senior Chase Canning has raised his game since All-Passaic County receiver David Van Hook was lost for the season in the second game of the year, and Friday was his finest night yet. Canning caught four passes for 76 yards and two touchdowns, scoring from 48 and 18 yards on throws from James Wolf. His 48-yard touchdown was followed by a Ramapo muff on the ensuing kickoff, and on the very next play Wolf found Chernoh St. Paul for a 13-yard touchdown — a two-score swing in a blink that broke the game open.
Wolf finished 8-of-11 for 107 yards and three touchdowns, and his only two runs, for 13 yards, were both key third-down gains that kept drives alive. On the ground, junior Ethan Zacharski led the way with 97 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. Add it together and Wayne Hills scored through the air and on the ground, early and late, from every part of the field — the mark of an offense with no single answer for defenses to take away.
At 7-1, with a statement win over a top-four team in hand, Wayne Hills looks every bit like a championship contender. Canning's emergence, Wolf's efficiency and Zacharski's running give the Patriots balance that travels into November — and Friday night, on the road in the rain, they showed the whole state how high their ceiling is.
Stars of the Game: Chase Canning, the Big-Play Receiver, with four catches for 76 yards and touchdowns of 48 and 18 yards. James Wolf, the Surgeon, 8-of-11 for 107 yards and three touchdowns. And Ethan Zacharski, the Ground Game, with 97 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries.
Game details compiled from published box scores.