Bergen Catholic football registers pivotal win over St. Peter's Prep
ORADELL – Bergen Catholic took a humongous step toward raising its chances of repeating as a state football champion.
The Crusaders defeated St. Peter’ Prep, 42-27, Saturday afternoon and that dramatically increases their chances of securing home-field advantage against their Hudson County rivals should they face the Marauders again in next month’s Non-Public A semifinals.
“It’s all we talked about all week,” Bergen Catholic coach Vito Campanile said. “We know this game’s going to happen again in four weeks.”
Sophomore receiver Quincy Porter made all three of his receptions count. He scored touchdowns on first-half catches of 51, 24 and 62 yards to help stake Bergen Catholic (7-1) to a 35-21 halftime lead in this Super Football Conference United Red Division showdown.
“I was pretty open on all of them, but I made the catches,” said the 6-foot-4 Porter, a New Milford resident.
Sophomore Dominic Campanile, the coach's son, ran for a 35-yard TD with 9:39 left in the fourth to provide a 42-21 lead, and it came one play after senior Joseph Barry made the first of his two interceptions.
Senior DJ Samuels ran for a 3-yard TD run in the second quarter to provide the Crusaders with a 35-21 lead, and the All-State defensive lineman also blocked two extra points before leaving late in the fourth with a sprained ankle.
Crusaders senior Saeed St. Fleur was a workhorse and carried 23 times for 150 yards, and his 20-yard TD run in the first quarter tied the score, 7-7.
St. Peter’s senior Champ Long, arguably New Jersey’s top quarterback, came out strong and threw four TD passes, with two apiece to senior Zion Fowler and junior Kenyon Massey.
“When the offense was struggling, the defense stepped it up, and vice versa,” Barry said. “I thought we did a lot of good things, but there are things we need to work on during the week.”
What it means
A committee will seed the Non-Public A playoffs and Bergen Catholic’s win, combined with a win next weekend over Paramus Catholic, should guarantee no worse than a No. 2 seed, behind Don Bosco.
“We want to play it here,” Vito Campanile said of a projected semifinal against St. Peter’s Prep. “You’d have to kind of be out of your mind not to say it will be here now, right? I would hope, if we take care of business next week, and everything happens the way it should.”
St. Peter’s Prep (5-3) can make the case for the No. 3 seed based on wins over St. Joseph (Montvale) and Delbarton. The Marauders need a win next weekend against visiting Seton Hall Prep (4-4).
For now, Bergen Catholic will climb past St. Peter's Prep when the next USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey Top 25 rankings are released Tuesday. Bergen Catholic should climb from No. 3 to No. 2, while St. Peter's Prep will fall from No. 2.
Key sequence
There were so many pivotal sequences, but Barry’s interception on a second-and-8 at the 48-yard line, followed by Campanile’s 35-yard TD run up the left sideline, provided the 42-21 lead and all but sealed the win. Campanile barely stayed in bounds as he raced up the sideline.
“To have him run the ladder like that, he tight-roped it for about 20 yards there – that was a big-time play,” Vito Campanile said of his son’s TD run. “Joe had two picks today, and he had a hell of a week. He just committed to Yale and he had two picks. That [TD] was the breathing room.”
By the numbers
Bergen Catholic totaled 384 yards, featuring 204 rushing. Campanile was 5-for-6 for 101 yards and two TDs, while senior Jack Duffy was 3-for-3 for 79 yards.
St. Peter’s Prep had 492 total yards, with Long going 20-for-36 for 333 yards, four TDs and two interceptions. He threw TDs of 37 and 10 yards to Fowler and 44 and 7 yards to Massey, who had seven catches for 140 yards.
Risk factor
In a scoreless third, Bergen Catholic went for it on a fourth-and-1 on its 12-yard line and Duffy pushed forward for 2 yards and a first down. With the 35-21 lead, Campanile would have been heavily second-guessed if Duffy did not gain the first down and St. Peter's had a short field and scored.
“I thought we were going to get it," said Vito Campanile, who takes more fourth-down risks than any coach in North Jersey. "That was probably about as deep as we’ve ever done it. But I did have confidence and I did have confidence that we could keep scoring.”
They said it
“I’m really proud of the way that we responded to the game,” Vito Campanile said. “I think that we had a lot of guys contribute, a lot of guys make plays, and there were a lot of big plays in the game. I think it’s the first time that we played them where we matched the big plays. They have elite athletes, they’re a really well-coached team, and I’m really proud to get this win.”
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bergen Catholic NJ football scores pivotal win over St. Peter's Prep.
