BELLEVILLE – The Belleville High School varsity football team earned its first win of the season, beating Newark East Side, 38-2, Friday, Oct. 31, in Newark.
Senior running back Joseph Rivera rushed for 119 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries to lead the Bucs, who moved to a 1-7 record.
Senior Andrew Morrell opened the scoring on a three-run TD run in the first quarter. Rivera then scored on runs of 15 and 27 yards as the Bucs led 18-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Morrell recovered a fumble in the end zone in the second quarter to make it 24-0. Junior quarterback Kyle Walsh had a 24-yard TD run and junior fullback Terrance Best scored on the two-point conversion. Best returned an interception 21 yards for a touchdown for a 38-0 halftime lead.
Sophomore linebacker Gustavo Viana had 11 tackles and a sack; Rivera, also a cornerback, had nine tackles, an interception and a sack; Morrell, a lineman, had five tackles and two sacks and senior Jared Collazo had four tackles for the Bucs.
East Side, which got a safety in the fourth quarter, fell to 0-8. East Side has lost 41 straight games dating to the 2011 season.
The Bucs will visit Barringer on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 1 p.m.