Bull Session Week Eight
October 19, 2023
Rain, Rain, go away. Please come back some other day. I have lost count of how many weekends this season it has rained or threatened to rain. This week is another one of those where rain is in the forecast…..For all the complaining about Daniel Jones making 40 million dollars a year, he is in the middle of the pack with quarterback salaries and that is where he belongs. Starting quarterbacks make an extraordinary amount of money once they are past their rookie contracts…..Weequahic has outscored their opponents 415-2 in seven games, with those 2 points being allowed last weekend. Their two toughest regular season games remain with Immaculata this weekend and Shabazz on Thanksgiving Day…..Four other teams who have been stingy allowing points this year are Holmdel, Cherokee, Millville, and Passaic Tech. Holmdel has allowed 20 and have five consecutive shutouts, Cherokee has allowed 36 points in 7 games and since allowing 19 in the opener, they have allowed 17 in 6 games, Millville has allowed 50, while Passaic Tech has allowed 52.….. Also, Millville faces off with Cherokee this weekend…..Chris Stapleton has a great voice, not the voice one hears from country singers. He is very bluesy and soulful and I love hearing him sing Phil Collins’ In The Air Tonight before Monday Night Football…..Last Thursday night, I took in a NJIC Union division semifinal between Elmwood Park and Bogota. It was a competitive game and both teams had good athletes at quarterback: Bogota’s Joseph Perpepaj and Elmwood Park’s Jayden Ferrer. Elmwood Park won, 7-6 and face Weehawken in the final…..While I made the right choice to attend Ramapo-Old Tappan last Friday, if I could have been in two places at once, I would have seen Caldwell-Cedar Grove…..Kudos to Rutgers for their comeback win against Michigan State last week…..I discovered a customer of mine in my real job once coached under the late Tony Verducci at Seton Hall Prep. Heard a good story or two…..Some of the big performances that caught my eye – Passing: Cedar Grove’s Stephen Paradiso completing 40 of 68 for 470 yards and 2 touchdowns, Jalen Parker of Winslow going 21-29-366-6, Andrew Harris of Haddon Heights completing 17 of 22 for 217 yards and 5 touchdowns, Jett Genovese of Philipsburg going 13-18-199-3, DeAngelo Conquest of Overbrook going a perfect 10-10-166-4, and Ala-Meen Watkins of Plainfield completing 19 of 27 for 388 yards and 4 scores; Rushing: Bergenfield’s Gabe Perez gaining 307 yards and 3 touchdowns on 23 carries, Isaiah Bennett of Manville gaining 297-2-17, Dominic Massaro of South Plainfield gaining 281 yards and 3 touchdowns on 14 carries, Josh Love of Manchester Township going 254-3-22, Carter Shallcross of Summit going 226-5-26, and Rashawn Marshall of Weequahic gaining 165 yards and 3 touchdowns on 10 carries; Receiving: Zachary Schnorrbusch of Ramapo catching 11 for 192 and 1 touchdown, Jackson Morrice of Cedar Grove with 14 receptions for 134 yards, Parsippany’s Lukas Grippo with 6-198-2, Nate Ford of West Milford with 8 receptions for 197 and 3 touchdowns, Lotzeir Brooks of Millville with 4 receptions for 163 yards and 3 scores, and Josh Brancy of Sparta with 8-177-3…..Getting back to Shabazz, if they beat Glen Ridge this weekend, they have a good chance of making the North Jersey Group 1 playoffs and will be a very tough game for one of the top seeds. Don’t be surprised if they win and they lost to Cedar Grove by one point earlier in the year…..Some recognition to Burlington City’s Malachi James. Since I did not post a Bull Session last week, there was no mention of his game from two weeks ago when he had 100 yards receiving and 100 yards rushing. And he also had an interception on defense…..That’s all for now. I will be back soon with some more bull!
Most stats come from nj.com – some from Maxpreps and Jersey Sports Zone