Bernards football remained undefeated with a 17-14 road victory over the Summit Hilltoppers on Saturday afternoon.
This matchup was played in the elements, affecting players’ control of the ball and both coaches’ decision making. The Bernards offense has benefited from a strong passing attack in 2025, but this week the rush attack reigned supreme.
Senior running back Logan Stevens has an impressive showing, rushing for 176 yards and a touchdown. Also on the offense, Quarterback Nolan Walsh ‘27 returned to the field after being sidelined during last week’s matchup against South Plainfield with an ankle injury and threw for 131 yards with a touchdown to Ricky Giebel ‘26.
Summit is considered to be the top team that the Mountaineers are going to face this year, and they proved to be a tough opponent. At halftime, the score was 7-3 in favor of the Hilltoppers marking the lowest scoring offensive half of the season for Bernards. In the back-half of the game, Summit continued their offensive attack, scoring their second touchdown of the game on a run from sophomore Cooper Smoragiewicz. Matt McKeever handled the quarterback duties, and led Summit in rushing yards as well as scoring a touchdown.
Assisted by the rain, the Mountaineer defense dominated, not allowing a completed pass across the first half. Defensive coordinator Chris Schilts told us: “Coach Simoneau has a great plan and picked his spots well” he also gave credit to the players, saying “They left it all out there today.”
Jordan Riley ‘27 was superb as both a linebacker and defensive end, totalling 2 tackles for loss and a pass breakup. Bernards was without Tyce Hanratty ‘27 in this contest, giving Riley a bigger role on the defense. Teagun Hartnett ‘26 also impressed in the linebacking core, he recovered a fumble in the first quarter and led the team with 9 tackles.
Talking to Riley after the game, he said “Logan Stevens told us it was do or die at halftime and it got me really fired up.”
Bernards will return to Olcott Field for their final two games, next week they will play Governor Livingstron on Friday, October 17th.
