The second week of November means one thing for the top high school football teams throughout the state of New Jersey — it’s time put the pedal to the floor and chase down a state championship.
With the first round of the NJSIAA state tournament set to begin this weekend, three local teams are gearing up for their runs at a state crown, while another, Rumson-Fair Haven, is left wondering what could have been.
The Bulldogs did what they were supposed to do, posting a 28-7 win over Point Pleasant Beach on Friday by taking advantage of a pair of key interceptions in the second half and riding its opportunistic defense to their sixth win of the year (6-2). Unfortunately, it just wasn’t enough to earn head coach Shane Fallon’s team a return trip to the Central Jersey Group II playoffs.
The Bulldogs entered Friday’s game trailing both Delaware Valley and North Plainfield by a couple of power points in the race for the eighth and final spot in the CJ II tourney. That meant RFH needed to beat Point Beach and have both Del Val and North Plainfield drop their contests to get in. While North Plainfield cooperated, dropping a 19-13 affair to Governor Livingston over the weekend, Delaware Valley (6-2) did not, handling Belvidere, 29-7, to earn the eighth seed in the tournament and a date with top-seeded Manasquan this weekend in the first round.
In the end, RFH fell one power point short of the state tournament; however, the Bulldogs have every reason to be proud of their season nonetheless. After graduating nearly the entire offense from last year’s sectional championship team, the Bulldogs still managed to put together another strong season against a tough schedule.
Following their state consolation game this weekend (the official state playoff schedule had not been released as of press time), the Bulldogs will gear up for their Thanksgiving Eve game against a team that did qualify for the state tournament: Red Bank Catholic.
The Caseys have been one of the most impressive teams in the state this year, rolling to an 8-0 mark by outscoring its opponents 307-20. Head coach Frank Edgerly’s team has been dominant on both sides of the ball, and is yet to be truly tested.
That will change on Friday night, when the Caseys will host one of the state’s best programs in St. Peter’s Prep, which has reached the finals of the Non-Public Group IV bracket the past three years.
RBC has certainly made a case for being the top seed in this bracket (which is without question the best bracket in the state, and by a wide margin).
However, the Caseys were hurt by the Shore Conference’s scheduling program, which had them facing Mater Dei this past Saturday. While the Caseys rolled to a predictably lopsided 43-0 win over the Seraphs, the match-up hurt them with its lack of power points, leaving RBC as the likely third seed in the bracket behind Bergen Catholic (7-1) and nationally ranked Don Bosco Prep (7-1).
While it may seem unfair to have an undefeated team seeded third behind a pair of one-loss teams, the Caseys have not faced the kind of schedule both Bergen Catholic and Bosco have tackled. RBC did everything it could to distinguish itself this year, but even with the top seed and their gaudy statistics, the Caseys would still be an underdog in most peoples’ eyes against either of the top-seeded teams.
This may be the year that RBC proves it’s ready to compete with the heavyweights of the Non-Public Group IV bracket. But they’ll only have one chance to do it in front of their hometown fans. And that chance comes Friday night at Count Basie Park.
Shore Regional will also be hosting a state playoff game this weekend, as the Blue Devils, the second seed in the Central Jersey Group I bracket, will host a 6-3 Metuchen team.
Shore locked up the second seed with a 28-14 win over St. John Vianney on Friday, as Gerard Carnevale paced the Blue Devil offense with 207 rushing yards and a pair of TDs. Meanwhile, the Shore defense withstood a furious SJV passing attack to secure the team’s seventh win of the year against one loss.
Head coach Mark Costantino’s team enters this state tournament firing on all cylinders, and may be the only team in the bracket familiar with top-seeded Asbury Park, having already lost to the defending sectional champs earlier this year, 24-3, in the opening game of the season.
In that game, Asbury Park’s Will Johnson threw for 183 yards, while Derrell Bell caught seven passes for 165 yards and a touchdown. No team has managed to figure out a way to stop the Bishops’ playmakers this year,
Shore Regional is a vastly improved team from the one Asbury saw in September, and one that could certainly challenge the Shore’s top-ranked team with a title on the line.
However, before they can worry about Asbury Park, Shore will need to win two games, starting with this weekend’s game with Metuchen. The winner will get the winner of the Florence (6-2)-Bound Brook (8-0) first-round game.
This is a tough bracket this fall, but one that a very good Shore Regional team can certainly navigate if it continues to play as well as it has down the stretch.
That leaves Ocean Township, which improved to 6-2 on Saturday with a hardfought 7-0 win over Wall Township in overtime.
A one-yard QB sneak by Christian Bailoni on third-and-goal in the extra session was the game-winner. The score came after Jamar Jefferson broke free for a 12- yard gain, following a pair of runs from R.J. D’Apolito for 10 yards.
The Spartan defense, which struggled at times to contain Wall’s Blaze Caponegro (32 carries for 211 yards), was extremely opportunistic throughout the game, causing four turnovers, including a fumble at its own two-yard line early in the fourth quarter and a big Hank Limardo diving interception deep in Ocean territory in the third quarter. However, it was another fumble on Wall’s possession in the overtime that sealed the win.
Eric Buckalew forced a fumble on a third-down blitz, and Richard Lyster was there to pounce on the loose ball to end the game.
With the win, Ocean was predicted to lock up the seventh seed in the CJ Group III bracket and a date with second-seeded Monroe (6-3) this weekend.
The winner will get the winner of the New Brunswick-Middletown South opening round game.