Circle Your Calendars: Week 3’s Top (Saturday) Matchups

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With school in full-swing there is a full slate of games on the docket across the state. In observance of Rosh Hashanah on Friday, September 15, many school districts opted to play games the day before on Thursday. Here are a handful of headlining games and key players in each matchup I am looking forward watching go against one another.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Big Central Conference</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Saturday: Union (2-1) at St. Joseph (Metuchen) (1-1)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A trio of athletes that I have seen perform live and in-person square off in person on Saturday. Unfortunately for one, he is the odd man out in the 2-on-1 affair.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A player I have been impressed with, both on tape and in person at BCC media day, is [player_tooltip player_id='723590' first='Jeremy' last='Decaro']. He is everything you want in a student-athlete: humble, hard working, versatile, and prioritizes team success over his own self-interests. A playmaker in all three phases of the game, Decaro is off to a strong start having slashed 11/66/1 on the ground and 13/246/3 through the air. He also completed a pass for 21 yards, made four stops on defense, and returned a kick 40 yards. A key indicator in this game for the Hawks' success will be Decaro's production.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Teaming up to stop him are two standouts for the Fightin' Farmers, [player_tooltip player_id='723594' first='Kordal' last='Hinton'] and [player_tooltip player_id='389775' first='Renick' last='Dorilas']. Should Decaro attempt to run the ball, chances are Hinton will hunt him down. Building off of a 133 tackle campaign in 2022, he is off to another great start with 44 tackles across three games this season. Should Decaro be targeted in the passing game, Dorilas will be there to compete with every ball thrown in their direction. Across three games Dorilas has made 10 tackles - already half of his total in 2022 - and forced a fumble while returning one pick for six. Typically an outside corner, perhaps the Hawks are best served by working Decaro in the slot this week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Super Football Conference</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Saturday: St. Peter's Prep (0-3) at Delbarton (1-1)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Despite a rough 0-3 start St. Peter's Prep unquestionably remains one of the state's premier programs. Opting to showcase their team on a national stage, they opened up in Georgia against Creekside (GA) and then hosted St. Joseph's Philly. Now they return back to league play and will be paced on the ground by two players: [player_tooltip player_id='995367' first='Jalen' last='Cline'] (junior) and [player_tooltip player_id='212405' first='Tyler' last='Bell'] (sophomore). Bell, a quarterback who I have covered pretty often to this point, has had mild performances from under center through the first three games; however, he adds an element and extra threat on the ground when he opts to rush - which is a skillset I have not had the opportunity to see this past camp season. Omitting negative sack yardage, Bell has rushed 16 times for 118 yards and 2 scores in the young season. Further complicating things for Debarton will be Bell's teammate [player_tooltip player_id='995367' first='Jalen' last='Cline']. The Marauders' cowbell has ran the ball 36 times for 185 yards and 2 scores. Both in the backfield, I imagine read option is a big concept for St. Peter's, as the duo of underclassmen have collectively rushed for 303 yards on 52 carries while scoring 4 times. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In hopes to stop the ground game, lining up on defense will be Delbarton's [player_tooltip player_id='995369' first='Kyle' last='Checchio']. Following up a very strong sophomore season where he made 49 tackles (4 for a loss), 2 sacks, 2 Ints, and 2 blocked kicks, Checchio finds himself off to an even better start to the 2023 campaign. Facing two out-of-state opponents, he has totaled 37 tackles, 20 of which were solos, 2 tackles for loss, and 2 blocked punts. A dynamic defender in his own right, expect Checchio's stat sheet to explode and his profile to rise as he has the opportunity to hawk down two exceptional offensive threats this weekend. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">West Jersey Football League</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Saturday: Cedar Creek (3-0) at Camden Eastside (2-1)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Yes, Cedar Creek is undefeated and a perennial contender. And yes, Camden Eastside shocked everyone outside of their locker room by defeating Irvington on the road; however, this matchup seems to be flying under the radar for some reason. Upon review, this game is totally loaded and bursting at the seams with big-time matchups. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For Camden Eastside things begin and end with their all-everything defensive back and athlete [player_tooltip player_id='172522' first='William' last='Love']. As Prep Redzone's #3 prospect in New Jersey's class of 2024, he is a big time talent that has over 20 FBC-level offers to choose from. At 6'4" 210lbs he has ideal size to do anything on the field. Some of his most impressive offers come from Penn State, Miami, and Georgia. Love may have his hands full, however, if he tries to cover two receivers at once. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='321787' first='Alim' last='Parks'] and junior [player_tooltip player_id='389371' first='Darius' last='Benjamin'] have morphed into their own obnoxiously talented and productive tandem. In three games this season they have an aggregated output of 19 catches for 642 yards and 8 TDs. The operative word to describe these two might be "explosive," as perhaps their most gaudy stat is their combined ~34 YPC average. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another intriguing matchup in this game is Eastside's offensive engine, quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='995360' first='Nazir' last='Flack']. A yardage machine, Flack has thrown for 197 yards through the air and rushed for 127 yards from scrimmage. This is is easily the highest collective offensive output by any Tiger. Two players that will be looking to slow down Flack, and frankly I am interested to see how their careers progress, are linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='995371' first='Justus' last='Peyton'] and defensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='995366' first='Aiden' last='Jinks']. Yes, Cedar Creek does have senior linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='378553' first='Justin' last='Castillo'] who is an outstanding prospect in his own right; however, with 3-0 start facing an upstart opponent, something is drawing me in to see how the young bucks perform. Just a sophomore, Peyton is has cracked the varsity lineup from day one. Thus far he has just 13 tackles, but has shown an emerging propensity to get opposing offenses behind the chains with 4 tackles for loss and 3 sacks. Jinks on the other hand has been a tough run stopper, amassing 12 tackles on the season with 3 for a loss and half a sack. These two will look to menace Flack all through the afternoon. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->