Week 3 Games to Watch

The second week of the season brought a lot of twists and turns, unpredictability and exciting plays. Week 3 promises to have some more excitement. Let’s take a look at the games to watch for the third week of the season. <strong>Northern Highlands at Wayne Valley: </strong>Northern Highlands, the No. 8 team in the state, takes its 2-0 record to Wayne Valley in a rematch of last year’s North, Group 4 regional championship game, where Wayne Valley scored 14 points in the fourth quarter and rallied for a 21-17 victory. Northern Highlands is 2-0 with victories over Hackensack and Ridgewood. The Highlanders have proven they can score a lot of points and make plays on defense and special teams. Wayne Valley is coming off a tough 20-15 loss to rival Wayne Hills. Being at home will certainly help against a top-10 opponent. <strong>Cliffside Park at Memorial: </strong>In a battle of 2-0 teams in West New York, Memorial hosts Cliffside Park. Memorial is coming off a 38-0 shutout of Ferris, with Darwiem Mora rushing for 149 yards on 11 carries with a 9-yard TD run. Memorial has outscored opponents 74-32 through two games. In a 36-32 win over Dickinson in the season opener, Donoso Juan carried for 226 yards on 16 carries with three scores. Cliffside Park has wins over Fort Lee and Bergen Tech. Last week in a win over Fort Lee, Lucas Lodono had over 100 yards rushing and 100 yards receiving for Cliffside Park. <strong>Wall at Jackson Memorial: </strong>Wall, the No. 5 team in the state, has had no trouble in its first two games, outscoring opponents 99-13. Jackson Memorial, also 2-0, has not surrendered a point in two games, shutting out Neptune and Manasquan by a combined 61 points. Wall could be tested in this one, and it’s a game that will have a lot of interest. <strong>Weequahic at Cedar Grove:</strong> Weequahic has had no issues in its first two games, dominating Caldwell and Newark Collegiate. Cedar Grove is 2-0 following a tight win over Hoboken and a 38-7 demolishing of Verona last week. This one has big-time playmakers on both sides and could go either way. <strong>Hun at Cherokee:</strong> Hun is coming off a 48-20 victory over Paramus Catholic. In the win, [player_tooltip player_id="28042" first="Marco" last="Lainez"] went 18-for-20 for 393 yards and threw four touchdowns, and Ahmad Dixon rushed for 136 yards and a score. Owen Anderson caught four balls for 155 yards and a TD. Cherokee has been impressive as well. The team shut out then-No. 12 Woodrow Wilson 35-0 last week. Cherokee has given up just six points through two games. <strong>Delbarton at Don Bosco Prep: </strong>A top-15 matchup takes place at No. 11 Don Bosco this week, as No. 9 Delbarton comes to town coming off a major win against DePaul. Both teams have been challenged against premier competition already, as Don Bosco went up against No. 1 St. Peter’s Prep. This one could go either way. Delbarton is coming off a strong defensive showing, and it will need to have another strong performance on that end to come away with a huge road win. <strong>St. Joseph (Mont.) at St. Peter’s Prep: </strong>This is the marquee matchup of the week. St. Joseph will feed its workhorse, [player_tooltip player_id="27865" first="Audric" last="Estime"], and St. Peter’s Prep wants to prove it’s still the most complete team in New Jersey. St. Peter’s Prep had a strong defensive performance against Don Bosco, and it showed it can score with the best teams following a 62-point outing in Week 1 against West Orange. St. Joseph was in the game against second-ranked Bergen Catholic in Week 1, and it can defeat any team on any given week. St. Peter’s will be looking for revenge after losing this meeting last year. It will need to contain Estime, a Michigan State commit, who has been putting up video game numbers the first two weeks. <strong>Other Games:</strong> <strong>West Morris at Sparta</strong> <strong>Hoboken at Lincoln</strong> <strong>High Point at Newton</strong> <strong>West Orange at Montclair</strong> <strong>Winslow at Woodrow Wilson</strong> <strong>Gov. Livingston at Bernards</strong>