Post 174 – HS Football – Bull Session Week 9

Sussex County had a memorable weekend with all six of their playoff teams advancing.  In addition, they also won three of their four consolation games. It won’t happen this weekend, due to Newton and High Point playing one another……….This is where the playoffs get very interesting, as average teams have been weeded out and that is a big problem that has arisen from expanding from four groups to five……….We sometimes hear about a team that has many stars, but the one thing most football teams need is a player or two who also wrestles.  If I see a wrestler on a team, I know he will be a tough player.  They know leverage and they know how to tackle. They do not shy away from a one-on-one or open field tackle, willing to use the wrestling moves such as a one or two-leg takedown.  In short, they are winners and one who comes to mind is South Plainfield RB/DT Zach Delvecchio……….If anyone is looking for a Thanksgiving Day game to attend and distance is not a factor, go see Phillipsburg-Easton (Pa.) at Lafayette.  The atmosphere is second to none and you get to see good football ……….Another good atmosphere was in Randolph last Saturday night to see them beat Colonia.  I can only imagine the place when they had their big winning streak in the late 80’s and early 90’s……….In case you didn’t know, this is the third week in a row that Hasbrouck Heights is facing an undefeated team.  Two weeks ago, it was Rutherford, last week it was New Providence, and this week, it is Weequahic……….Two more good team nicknames are the Verona Hillbillies and the Vineland Fighting Clan……….Two unique nicknames are the Highland Tartans and the Willingboro Chimeras, though I don’t like or dislike them.  ……….Uniform front – The Good:  There is a lot of good to report.  I like the road white jersey/red pants/red helmet look North Bergen has; it reminds me of the Kansas City Chiefs.  Cranford also has a good royal blue-and-white traditional look.  Voorhees also has a USC burgundy, gold, and white with a Minnesota Viking helmet.  Kudos to Wallkill Valley’s all-white head-to-toe with black numbers and the “WV” West Virginia-style logo.  I mentioned Randolph a few weeks ago and I like the navy blue Baltimore Colt look at home.  Colonia also has a navy blue-and-white look that is sharp.  The only negative is the “C” on the helmet that a colleague said looks cheesy and I agree.  The Bad:  Linden’s home jersey with a black and what looks like a charcoal or gray number that is hard to read…  Also, Montclair putting black in their uniforms when they were royal blue-and-white for decades is a bummer.  In addition, the black does not look anywhere near as good……. There are rematches and there are rematches for the second consecutive year who also played in the regular season the last two years, their fourth meeting in two years:  Rancocas Valley-Lenape, Woodrow Wilson-Delsea, River Dell-Paramus, and Ridgewood-Clifton………. If it was more local and I can choose a game this weekend from the South and Central sections, it would be Middletown South-Brick in the Central and West Deptford-Camden in the South.  As it is, I am considering Hillside-Bernard in the Central section, but Hillside is just outside Newark and that is really North Jersey……….I forgot there was a second round of consolation games this weekend……….That’s it for this week.  I will be back with more bull next week!