On a rainy evening, St. Joe’s beat Bergen Catholic, 13-0 to win the Non-Public/Catholic Group 4 championship, avenging a loss to them earlier in the year. There was nothing pretty about tonight’s game; in fact, it was the most boring of all the games played at Giants Stadium this weekend. But if you’re a St. Joe’s fan, you’re happy.
Bergen’s first possession was an inkling of things to come, with the punter dropping the snap as he was ready to punt and St. Joe’s recovering on the BC 21. Joe’s could not get anything going on the drive, offensively, and Angelo Guglielmello kicked a 35-yard field goal to put the Green Knights in front. Little did we know that those were all the points needed this evening. BC punted again and Joe’s came up with a big pass when Michael Alaimo found Gavin Sharkey for 57 yards to the 12. They followed up with a touchdown by Audric Estime and the Green Knights were up, 10-0, eight minutes into the game.
In the second quarter, Connor Grieco intercepted a pass for the Green Knights and they went inside the 10-yard line, with Guglielmello kicking his second field goal, a 19-yarder, with two minutes left in the half.
There was not much action in the second half, but Bergen looked as if they were ready to make a move when Andrew Boel found Garrett Cody for 46 yards, but they were unable to do anything after that.
St. Joe’s took advantage of their opportunities early in the game and their defense would not allow anything to Bergen, pitching the shutout. They won the battle up front and their pass rush pressured Boel all night, led by Howard Cross and Smith Vilbert. Grieco had the interception in the first half that led to their second field goal. In addition, the St. Joe’s secondary did a good job in coverage all night.
For Bergen, it was a disappointment. Their offense struggled the entire evening. Boel, their quarterback, had a night he would rather forget and the running game never got going. The defense, while allowing only 13 points and one touchdown, still missed too many tackles.
The game may have been dull, but that is how St. Joe’s likes it and paid off in a championship, making them the #1 Catholic school in New Jersey.