With one away game left in the regular season before the classic match-up with Peddie, the Blair Buccaneers continue a mixed season, being on both sides of blowouts as well as close games.
But as they say, close only counts in horseshoes and tax accounting.
The 2-5 snapped a three-game losing streak Oct. 17 at home against Wyoming Seminary then fell to Lawrenceville 40-14 this past Friday.
Head coach Greg Bowman said the Wyoming game showed what his team can accomplish.
“Our kids practiced hard and competed, and we knew we had to come out with energy,” Bowman said. “We knew it would be a physical game. We wanted to come out of the gates, and the kids came out, fired up, and ready to play.”
The Blair defense forced and recovered two fumbles, both eventually leading to touchdowns.
“Our plan was to come out and play hard,” Bowman said. “They executed a game plan and caused turnovers, and our offense put points on the board.”
Several losses this season were separated by one touchdown including Penn Charter, 13-7, and Kiski, 16-8. And while the loss to Lawrenceville was pretty definitive at 40-14, the Bucs also finished on the winning side of a 42-7 game against St. Luke’s of Connecticut.
Against Wyoming, quarterback Max Bowers completed 17 of 21 passes for 209 yards and three touchdowns. At the other end of Bowers’ long pass of 54 yards was Davis who scored a touchdown.
Other favored receivers, Kellen Nelson and Mayan Muchugia each totaled 44 yards, each with one touchdown.
“It’s good to be on the right side of the scoreboard again,” Bowman said. “I credit the kids.”
“They keep working, and they went out and earned it.”
Blair plays the Hill School this Saturday in an away game. The next and final home game Nov. 8 against Peddie starts at 2 p.m.
The Buccaneers closed out last year the best way possible—beating the beak off their long-time rival, the Peddie Falcons, on their turf, 42-7.
The win bumps Blair’s lead over Peddie to 59-50, following the Buc’s 14-0 win over Peddie in 2023.
The Blair-Peddie game is the oldest high school rivalry in New Jersey and one of the longest in the United States going back to 1903. It’s even older than the Phillipsburg-Easton rivalry by two years.
Joe brings decades of journalism experience to the Ridge View Echo, covering everything from local school boards to the U.S. Supreme Court. A former National Law Journal editor and Columbia Law School press officer, he now enjoys telling community stories in Blairstown, where he lives with his wife, Rose, and their two dachshunds.
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
