By Tom Szieber
Posted: Monday, October 9, 2017 11:20 am
Check out LaRon Hall's photo gallery from Timber Creek's win over Eastern.
St. Peter’s Prep found itself in an early hole against DePaul, but managed to overcome a 14-point fourth quarter disadvantage to defeat the Spartans on a late two-point conversion. A pair of one-yard rushing touchdowns by DePaul QB Ta'Quan Roberson (in the third and fourth quarters, respectively) had put the Spartans up, 21-7, early in the final period, but the Marauders rallied. First, Maasai Maynor hit wide receiver Ayir Asante for a 26-yard score with just over seven minutes to play to lessen the deficit, and running back Dominic Meleo then ran one in the from the 1 with 2:26 on the clock. Peter’s went for the win, and Maynor ran the conversion in to make it 22-21 and cap the comeback.
While we are on the topic of rallies, how about the three-touchdown fourth quarter produced by North Hunterdon, which allowed it to defeat Bridgewater-Raritan, 21-14. Heading into the fourth trailing 14-0, Lions quarterback Matt Busher took over. He connected with wide receiver Griffin Honthy on touchdowns of 17 and 59 yards, and cut the Panther lead to one. Then, faced with a 3rd-and-10 from the Lions’ 25 with less than two minutes to play, the two again connected on a five-yard pass, which Honthy promptly pitched to wide out Connor McMahon. McMahon took it 70 yards to the house, and a Busher two-point pass to Eric Dehkes produced the final score.
Burlington City running back Jimmy Browne had a monster week, carrying the ball 30 times for 379 yards and four scores in the Blue Devils’ 44-38 victory over New Egypt. The performance gives Browne 1,131 in just four games, and puts the Blue Devils in firm control in the race for the WJFL Freedom Division title.
Despite early issues in the red zone, Piscataway’s offense did enough to get the Chiefs a 12-6 win over GMC Red rival Sayreville. The unit committed four turnovers, but star running back Juwan Jackson (143 yards) scored the game-winning touchdown with 25 seconds on the clock. The Piscataway defense was stout all night, holding the Bombers to two field goals and setting up Jackson’s touchdown when receiver Nahjir Woods took a midfield interception to the Sayreville 12.
In a battle of unbeaten teams in South Jersey, Timber Creek made quick work of Eastern in a 43-7 romp. Devin Leary put on another show, completing 11-of-18 passes for 373 yards with five touchdowns, while also adding a 51-yard touchdown run. Junior wide receiver Jayvin Little caught only two passes, but made the most of his opportunities -- one went for an 82-yard touchdown, and the other was a 66-yard scoring strike. The Chargers defense, meanwhile, allowed just 34 yards passing all night, running the team's winning streak to 21 games.
After an 0-2 start, things could have gotten ugly for Cedar Grove. But the Panthers have been money over the last three weeks, and won their third straight to the tune of 19-0 over Weequahic. That result ended a 15-game win streak for the Indians, and showed that the Panthers can be very formidable in the North 1, Group 1 playoffs.
And in case anyone wasn’t sure, Pope John is indeed for real. The Lions not only beat the NJSFC United Red’s Paramus Catholic, but trounced the Paladins, 43-7. Whether by Paladin carelessness or aggressiveness by the Lions D, the victory was sparked by five Paramus Catholic turnovers. Offensively, the Lions were led by running back Berrell Neal, who rushed seven times for 93 yards and three scores.
Tom Szieber can be reached by emailing tom@gridironnewjersey.com.