Bull Session Week Four
October 3, 2024
Congratulations to Ferris for winning their first game since the last game of the 2019 season, a 35-game losing streak snapped and their first win of the 2020’s….Bergen Catholic probably has the state’s best team and may lead the state with tents on the sideline. The worst sideline for a reporter to navigate during the game with its gridlock just got worse. Jay Cook of Jersey Sports Zone refuses to film on that sideline because of the lack of space to move around. He films on the opposite sideline. Don Bosco also had a couple of tents across the way and those first few rows behind them could be classified as obstructed view seating….The Toms River North 24-21 win over Point Pleasant Boro was an instant classic. Boro jumped out to a 14-0 lead, consuming 16:06 of the first 16:13, including an opening, nine-minute drive. TRN tied the score, followed by a Boro score. TRN’s game-tying drive featured two successful fourth-down conversions, followed by the winning field goal with less than one minute remaining that hit the upright before bouncing inside…..Brick Memorial scored an impressive win over Donovan Catholic and Jason Lajara is proving to be a good replacement for Connor Dietz….A player to watch these next two-and-a-half years is Passaic Tech sophomore Ian McDuffie. He is a utility man who makes plays and plays several positions on each side of the ball….Winslow was very impressive in beating Millville last week….Larry Lifrieri of WCTV in Westwood/Washington Twp. is critical of halftime lengths, always comparing it to basketball halftimes….Two throwback players in the Bergen-Bosco game are BC defensive end Ben Carey and Bosco running back Dante DeLuca….One of the games I will attend this weekend is St. Thomas Aquinas visiting Paramus Catholic and it looks like STA employed some version of the Tush Push against Elizabeth….One of the players who may rise in the NFL Draft charts is Boston College edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku by way of Williamstown and his former teammate, Aaron Lewis, a defensive lineman at Rutgers may be drafted in the draft’s latter half….NFC East: It seems the seat is getting hotter for Eagle coach Nick Sirianni with the latest loss to Tampa Bay, while the Giants are a long shot to win in Seattle this Sunday….In AFC East news, the Jets looked like the same old Jets in that loss to Denver….Rumbling, bumbling, stumbling: I have seen three scores by defensive linemen. Two recent ones are Max Caruso of Ridgewood with a fumble return against Ramapo and last week’s interception return by Butler’s Luca Toriello….Performances that caught my eye this past weekend from nj.com are Passing: Jack Moran of Hun passing for 608 yards and 7 touchdowns on 25 completions of 33 attempts, Connor Consiglio of Jefferson with 15-20-373-4, Joe Vezzosi of Central Regional going 13-19-320-4, Connor McLachlan of Ridge going 5-6-191-4, Charlie LaMorte of West Orange with 7-8-172-3, Frankie Williams of Red Bank Catholic going 10-12-151-4, Elyjah Calderone of Vineland with 8-10-176-3, Alex Caserta of Waldwick/Midland Park went 8-9-181-3, and TJ Valerio of Toms River North going 19-25-207-2…..Rushing: Randall Blount of Pennsauken rushed for 246 yards and 6 touchdowns on 24 carries, Shaun Jackson of Sayreville went 20-287-6, Jaimin Parkinson of Pinelands went 12-237-3, Chris Gioia of Rutherford went 16-192-1, Kenny Smith of Glassboro with 14-197-2, Kevin Regula of Pascack Valley with 8-149-4, and Chris Kelm of River Dell going 5-130-2….Receiving: Jamar Robinson of Hackensack caught 10 for 178 yards, Brody Deiter of Rancocas Valley with 9-254-2, CJ Yates of Central Regional went 6-190-3, Allen Frias of Lyndhurst with 8-141-1, Brandon Bradsher of Perth Amboy went 8-165-2, Ryan Turner of Ridge went 4-160-4, Sah’nye DeGraffenreidt of Atlantic City with 7-115, and Matthew Scerbo Jr. of Phillipsburg went 5-153-2….The nj.com broadcasts of high school games are good, but if I have been watching for a little while and hit pause, some advertisement pops up and the full-screen returns to a partial screen. It appears I hit these curved lines instead of the hidden pause button….That’s all for this week! I will be back with more bull soon!