Bull Session Week Nine
October 26, 2023
Now that the Phillies are eliminated, does anyone in the northeast care about the World Series?…..Elizabeth is currently 1-8 and those eight losses are by a total of 37 points and all nine opponents are in the playoffs…..Back around 1997, Hudson Catholic beat St. Peter’s Prep for the first time in many years. The game was played at Caven Point, the field that is shared by all the Jersey City schools and on its way back to the school, Hudson Catholic made a detour towards St. Peter’s Prep. They arrived at the school as Prep was getting off the bus and the Hudson Catholic bus circled around the school beeping the horn. When reached for comment, former Prep coach Rich Hansen Sr. said “if we did that every time we beat them, we’d run out of gas.”…..Speaking of the Phillies, I love the throwback uniforms the Eagles wore the other night with the kelly green jerseys. They should make them permanent uniforms…..Friday night, I will attend the playoffs game between Cedar Grove and Shabazz at Cedar Grove. It is a rematch of a game won by Cedar Grove, 25-24. One thing I will enjoy is the Cedar Grove PA announcer who sounds like Big Pussy from the Sopranos…..Shabazz may be 5-3, but their losses are the aforementioned loss to Cedar Grove, a loss by two points to Group 4 Randolph and by two touchdowns to Group 3 Lincoln – both teams are in the playoffs…..Some performances that caught my eye were – Passing: Jackson Magley of Randolph completed 27 of 41 for 316 yards and 3 touchdowns, Frankie Williams of Red Bank Catholic went 18-29-281-3, Jayden Johnson of Woodbury threw for 5 touchdowns and 273 yards on 12 of 23, New Milford’s Jerzey Ryan going 20-26-235-2, Michael Schmelzer of Montgomery completing 14 of 25 for 231 yards and 5 touchdowns, and Dom Santiago of Paul VI going 11-15-208-5….. Rushing: Chiekezie Ogbuewu of Dunellen was a workhorse gaining 314 yards and 5 touchdowns on 34 carries, Jakob Saus of Hunterdon Central going 301-3-39, Ben DeCore of Hopewell Valley gaining 297 yards and 2 touchdowns on 40 carries, Emmanuel De La Hoz of Weehawken going 280-2-27, Justin Mary of Riverside gaining 190 and 2 touchdowns on 15 carries, and Matt Oliphant of Point Pleasant Boro going 171-3-06……Receiving: Emmanuel Ross of Red Bank Catholic catching 7 passes and 2 touchdowns for 161 yards, Jeremy DeCaro of St. Joe’s (Metuchen) with 7 receptions for 153 and 2 touchdowns, Matthew D’Avino of Montgomery going 10-141-4, Ma’khy Acey of Orange with 9 receptions for 173 yards and 2 touchdowns, David Thom-Rogers of Montclair going 6-147-3, and Ibn Muhammad of Woodbury with 8 receptions for 138 yards and 2 scores…..For the record, I am one who does not mind consolation games for team that do not qualify for the playoffs. It is a chance for players to play one or two more games against similar teams and a chance to win one or both games, especially when a team is struggling…..I will be at the Morris Knolls-Linden game on Saturday and Knolls has an outstanding facility. The view from the parking lot to the field below could be breathtaking with the fall foliage hitting its peak…..Speaking of Morris Knolls, longtime Morris Knolls head coach, Bill Regan, was the freshman football coach for former Wayne Hills coach, Chris Olsen, in the late 60’s. That’s 50-plus years ago…..An interesting playoff matchup is Shawnee visiting Middletown South in a battle of traditional powers. Both have losing records playing brutal schedules. Shawnee is 4-5, losing to Chrokee, Winslow, St. Augustine, Millville, and Washington Township. Not too many are getting through that very well. Middletown South lost to Donovan Catholic, Red Bank Catholic, Toms River North, and Rumson-Fair Haven. Again, not many teams would get through that. Both teams were competitive in these games I mentioned and their game could be a very good one…..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