7 Hills rolls to NCAL flag football title

The Seven Hills Raiders’ 8th grade flag football team left no doubt on just who the top squad in the Nevada County Athletic League was this season.

The Raiders posted a perfect 8-0 season to win top honors in the 8th grade division. Coached by Ken Jones and John Paye, Seven Hills used a combination of an explosive offense with a hard hitting defense to wilt foes this season.

“We had a fairly evenly balanced attack this season,” said Jones. “We passed and ran the ball well and the defense was great.”

Jones noted that quarterback Josiah Paye was a team leader for the Raiders and that Matt Whittler, Brandon O’Callaghan, Charlie Margherita, Conner Fuller and Brandon Kishiyama were the standouts in the running and receiving departments.

The offensive line also did a stellar job with Dalton Hollander, Steven Langley and center Ian O’Halloran all having fine seasons.

On defense for the Raiders it was the likes of Harley Koch and Miles Ward starring at ends and receiving plenty of help from Kaleh Baggerman and Logan Hemmert at linebackers.

Also playing well on defense were Derek Margherita and Ben Huff at nose tackle along with Paye, Whittler, Fuller, Langley and O’Callaghan contributing additional big plays.