Bergen Catholic 35 St. Peter’s Prep 10 

Bergen Catholic jumped out to a 14-0 lead, withstood St. Peter’s Prep cut the lead to 14-10, and then dominated the second half to win. 35-10 and advance to the Parochial A final against Don Bosco in a rematch. 

First Quarter: Bergen moved the ball on their first possession and scored when Angeli found Logan Casey for a 30 yard touchdown. Plays of note were a 13-yard run by Saeed St. Fleur and quarterback Steve Angeli getting 40 on the keeper. Two drives later, Bergen went 75 yards with Angeli scoring on an 11-yard rollout to the right, just past the pylon for a 14-0 lead. 

Second Quarter: In the middle of the quarter, Champ Long found Sam Slade for 19 yards to give Prep a first-and-goal on the 9. The BC defense stiffened and Prep had points on the board when Nico Duarte booted a 24-yard field goal with 3:40 remaining. The Marauders had the ball again with one minute left and narrowed Bergen’s lead when Long found Slade for a 53-yard touchdown twenty seconds later to make it 14-10.  

Third Quarter: BC moved the ball quickly, picking up four first downs, the last being Angeli rolling right for a 6-yard touchdown. The drive was mostly on the ground with runs by Ryan Butler and St. Fleur. Gerry Crum intercepted for Bergen shortly after that, giving them the ball on Prep’s 28. Butler had consecutive 13-yard runs for a first-and-goal on the 2 before he scored on an outside run to the right. The Crusader defense got the ball back again when lineman Sydir Mitchell intercepted and returned it 12 yards to the 16. But Butler fumbled on the following play with Prep recovering. Prep had a big play down the field when Long connected with Zion Fowler for 45 yards. 

Fourth Quarter: But the drive stalled and Bergen had the ball again. Four consecutive runs brought the Crusaders from their 26 to the Prep 27. On fourth-and-five, Butler ran inside before bouncing it outside for a 22-yard score with just under seven minutes left. Prep’s last chance for a score ended when Jayden Bellamy intercepted in the end zone.  

Summary: Bergen controlled most of the game with the only exception being later in the second quarter. Their defense stopped Prep from gaining yards consistently on the ground. St. Fleur was as big a factor on the ground as Butler, while Angeli also gained yardage. This was a good all-around effort by the Crusaders.  

St. Peter’s Prep had some big plays, but needed more of them, along with consistency running the ball. Their defense also couldn’t stop BC’s ground game and was simply outplayed most of the game.