By Gridiron New Jersey Staff
Posted: Friday, December 11, 2015 8:20 am
Gridiron New
Jersey will be unveiling our
final Top 20 in three parts, beginning with teams that missed the final
cut, but were under consideration. We'll follow with numbers 20 through 11 on Friday and numbers 10 through 1 on Saturday.
Top 20: Others Getting Consideration
Top 20: Numbers 20-11
Top 20: Numbers 10-1
20. St. Augustine Prep (9-1)
The Hermits
couldn’t overcome St. Joseph (Mont.) in the opening round of the
Non-Public, Group 4 playoffs, but had a big year highlighted by a
Cape-Atlantic League American Conference crown. Running back Kyle
Dobbins -- just a sophomore -- ran for 1,613 yards and 19 touchdowns, and St.
Augustine found itself the top seed in its postseason bracket.
Linebacker Jim Brady led the Hermit D with 116 tackles and eight sacks,
while quarterback Jose Tabora engineered the passing game with 1,484
yards and 17 touchdowns through the air.
19. Passaic County Tech (10-2)
After
falling short in 2014, the Bulldogs captured their first state sectional
title since 2001 by playing Passaic Tech-style football -- that is,
hard-nosed running and tough defense. Running back Kyle Copper led PCT
to 10 victories, including postseason wins over Bergen Tech, Hackensack
and Ridgewood. He rushed for 1,068 yards and 14 touchdowns on the year.
On the other side of the ball, safety Jermaine Wilder led the team with
91 tackles, while cornerback Rhazeer Jones had 72 tackles, including 12 in a 27-0 win over the Maroons in the North 1, Group 5 finals, and both had three interceptions
on the season for the Big North Liberty Division champions.
18. Rumson-Fair Haven (10-2)
With just
two losses -- each coming by a single score -- it was clear that this Bulldogs
team was a good one. The Central, Group 3 champs won a third-straight
title, but this was the first at the Group 3 level. It came in dominant
fashion, via 21-0 victory over previously undefeated Red Bank.
Linebacker Mike Ruane led a Bulldogs’ defense that held the Bucs to a combined 3-of-15 on third and fourth downs. Among the
other feathers in Rumson’s cap was a season sweep of rival Matawan, as
well as a victory over Central, Group 2 champ Raritan.
17. Shore (12-0)
You can’t talk about
one-two punches without talking about the backfield of Doug Goldsmith
and Jack Britton. The duo of seniors was as big a reason as any that the
Blue Devils emerged from this season as both Shore Conference Class
B-Central and Central, Group 1 champs. Goldsmith rushed for 1,178 yards
and 12 touchdowns this year, while Britton tallied 1,128 and 14 of his
own. The two were monsters in Shore’s 56-28 finals win over Palmyra,
with Goldsmith racking up 257 yards and five scores, and Britton
accumulating 207 yard and a TD, as well. The sectional championship was
Shore’s second straight and third in six years.
16. Timber Creek (8-3)
Quarterback Devin
Leary’s 23 touchdown passes led the Chargers to a somewhat surprising
South, Group 4 title run -- considering they were 2-2 after four games.
Leary threw for 2,600-plus yards as a sophomore, 1,041 of them to star
receiver Cameron Chambers, and Timber Creek got on track after a game
four loss to Washington Township to win seven of their next eight. Their
last victory was one that came over a Shawnee team that had beaten them
in the past two sectional finals. The championship was Creek’s second
in the last four years.
15. Bridgewater-Raritan (11-1)
The Mid-State 38 Delaware Division champs came up just short of a North 2, Group 5 championship, falling 10-7 to Westfield in the finals. The Panthers beat East Orange Campus and Ridge en route to the final, and stayed in it with Westfield throughout. Unfortunately for the Panthers, the offense never got going, but Cole Harper did block a punt and recover it in the end zone to make things interesting with just 14 seconds to play. Wins over Phillipsburg, Union, Hunterdon Central and Elizabeth prove that Bridgewater undoubtedly ruled what is traditionally one of the state’s most competitive divisions.
14. Toms River North (11-1)
The Mariners
won their first sectional title in eight years with a hard-nosed, 14-7
victory over Williamstown in South, Group 5, a feat that is properly put
into perspective when one considers they were just 6-5 last year, and
1-9 in 2013. Running back Asante Moorer rushed for 1,561 yards and 17
touchdowns during North’s 11-win campaign. Meanwhile, quarterback Mike
Husni churned out 1,251 yards and 18 touchdowns of his own, and threw
for 13 scores while being intercepted just four times. But defense put
the squad over the top, led by the likes of defensive lineman Da’Shon
Copes, who had over 100 tackles and a dozen sacks. TRN ended up
sharing the Shore Conference Class A-South title with both Brick
Memorial and Brick Township.
13. Cranford (12-0)
It’s impossible talk
about the 2015 Cougars without talking about quarterback Jack
Schetelich. The senior signal-caller led Cranford to its second North 2,
Group 3 championship in five seasons, throwing for 1,998 yards and 24
touchdowns versus just three picks, while completing 63% of his passes.
Schetelich also rushed for 1,122 yards and 21 touchdowns, and Cranford
rebounded from last season’s finals loss to Parsippany Hills to cruise
through most of this year. The Cougars defeated Chatham, 50-23, in this
season’s final, and rolled to the Mid-State 38 Raritan Division
championship, as well.
12. Westfield (12-0)
Losing star running
back Jack Curry in the second quarter of the North 2 Group 5 final could
have proven disasterous for Westfield, but the Blue Devils hung tough
and beat Bridgewater-Raritan for the championship in a hard-fought 10-7
ball game. Curry was unquestionably one of the top running backs in New
Jersey this season, rushing for 1,700 yards 27 touchdowns for a Blue
Devil squad that won its first sectional championship since 1977.
Defensive end Owen Kessler bolstered Westfield’s pass rush -- though
rushing the quarterback was just one element of a complete and
outstanding unit. Westfield also took home the Mid-State 38 Watchung
Division crown.
11. St. John Vianney (11-1)
The Lancers’
season ended on a tough note, as they fell hard to DePaul in the
Non-Public, Group 3 final. Still, St. John Vianney accomplished a lot
this season despite a late offseason coaching change. The departure of
Mark Ciccotelli and hiring of Derek Sininsky in July raised questions
about how the Lancers would adjust to the abrupt change, but they erased
any doubts by winning its first 11 games and winning the Shore
Conference Class A-Central championship. Quarterback Anthony Brown was
one of the biggest threats in the Conference, and the Lancers proved
their legitimacy with big wins over Red Bank Catholic and
eventual Central, Group 3 champion Rumson-Fair Haven.