Check out more outstanding high school sports photos from Brian Carr.
By Tom Szieber
Posted: Monday, October 27, 2014 4:00 pm
For the first time since 1999, Bergen Catholic celebrated a victory over its biggest rival, Don Bosco Prep, on its own home field. The Crusaders won a defensive slugfest Saturday afternoon, 10-3, to surprise an Ironmen team that was looking to regain some of its mojo after a loss to Paramus Catholic two weeks ago. The difference was a 42-yard scoring run by running back Corey Russo in the fourth quarter, but Bosco hurt its own cause with sloppiness throughout. The Ironmen finished the game with 12 penalties for 123 yards.
Another team that did itself in with some sloppiness was Elizabeth, who lost a fumble on a late kick return that resulted in Hillsborough’s game-winning field goal. Linebacker Andrew Patrizio was the Raider who snagged the ball after it popped free on the return, and his teammate and kicker Zach Eilbacher drilled the field goal minutes later to lead Hillsborough to the 31-28 triumph.
Long Branch running back Dahmiere Willis is setting the Green Wave record books on fire. Currently leading the Shore Conference in rushing, Willis ran for 370 yards and four scores in the Green Wave’s 40-28 victory over Matawan, giving him a sixth consecutive contest with 200-plus yards on the ground. He has rushed for over 1,800 yards already this year.
Ridgefield Park running back Tommy Visaggio joined Willis in the dominant rushing performances club for the weekend, thrashing the Fort Lee defense for 359 yards and five touchdowns -- on only five carries! He scored on runs of 70, 31, 97, 65 and 96 yards. The 48-7 Scarlets victory was their second straight after suffering through two consecutive losses. They now sit in third place in the North 2, Group 2 race.
Delsea comes to mind as a squad that is streaking at the right time, and has bounced back from a tough start. After a close loss to Clearview and back-to-back losses to ranked teams in Camden and Timber Creek, the Crusaders have now won four straight—most recently by beating Hammonton over the weekend, 17-14. It’s a quality win for Delsea, as the Blue Devils were a perfect 6-0 prior to the meeting.
Tom Szieber can be reached by emailing tom@gridironnewjersey.com.