Circle Your Calendars: Week 4’s Top (Friday) Matchups, Part I

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The season is officially off and running. All teams have now played at least one game and will do so until the end of their seasons. Unique about this weekend, we are fortunate enough to have four full days of games, starting Thursday and ending Sunday at Rutgers. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Big Central Conference</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Friday: Summit (2-1) at Rahway (3-1) </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Friday will feature two, one-loss teams from within the Big Central Conference as Summit squares off on the road against Rahway. This matchup features a quartet of prospects, one from each side of the ball for each team, that deserve to be highlighted.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Starting with Summit, senior back [player_tooltip player_id='1002331' first='Carter' last='Shallcross'] seems to be one of the key cogs in the Hilltopper's run-first approach. So far on the season Shallcross has slashed 57/463/5 on the ground, as he has scored and ran for 100 yeards in each of Summit's three games. Most recently against St. Thomas Aquinas he ran 17 times for 136 yards and 1 TD while also catching 3 passes for 109 yards and a score. Defensively, while [player_tooltip player_id='712951' first='Tyler' last='Kessel'] leads the way and [player_tooltip player_id='723596' first='Luke' last='Harris'] is a safety I really like, it appears that [player_tooltip player_id='1002364' first='Oscar' last='Marx'] is the heir-apparent on defense. Marx, who is in his junior year, is one of the Hilltopper's top tacklers. In what appears to be his first season on varsity Marx has acclimated to the speed of the game and carving out a nice role for himself, cleaning up whatever, seemingly, Kessel does not. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Off to a great start this year, Rahway's senior class seems to be anchored by [player_tooltip player_id='1002332' first='Trevor' last='Delapara'], a linebacker and running back. Delapara has been a steady force across four games on the ground by slashing 34/212/2; however, where he truly makes his presence felt is at linebacker, where he has amassed 43 tackles for the season with more than half - 24 to be exact - being solo tackles. Further, he has forced a fumble, sacked the quarterback once, and made 7 tackles for loss thus far. Perhaps a prodigy in his own way is [player_tooltip player_id='1002386' first='Andrew' last='Avent'], also a linebacker and running back, for the Indians. As just a <em>sophomore </em>Avent is already 6'2" 200lbs and runing through everyone in sight. This year he has rushed 75 times for 401 yards and 6 TDs while scoring in every game. Comparing his production to that of his freshman year, he finished with 418 varsity rushing yards in 94 attempts with a long of 94. Defensively this freight train continues to roll, having made 35 tackles (9 solo), 9 TFL, and 1 sack. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">North Jersey Interscholastic Conference</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Friday: Becton (3-0) at Rutherford (3-0), 6pm</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In a matchup within New Jersey's smallest league, Becton will visit Rutherford in a battle of undefeated teams. Leading the way for the home team will be the Bulldogs' all-everything [player_tooltip player_id='1002365' first='Chris' last='Gioia']. Having apparently converted from wide receiver last year, now at quarterback he is 21 for 28 on the season for 222 yards and a perfect 6:0 TD to Int ratio; he has rushed 14 times or 173 yards and scored 3 times; and from his spot in the secondary he has made 21 tackles (3 solo) with 3 for a loss. For the Bulldogs to come out on top, expect a lot of things to click for Gioia - as they have been all season thus far. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A player that piqued my interest on Becton's roster is defender [player_tooltip player_id='1002388' first='Everett' last='Bell']. Last year as a freshman Bell recorded 51 tackles, 5 TFL, and forced 2 fumbles. This year he has accrued 18 tackles (6 solo), 2 for a loss, and one-half sacks. This tackle total actually leads the team for Becton. Just a sophomore, I am curious to see how Bell fairs in a high-stakes game of undefeated, bitter divisional rivals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Super Football Conference</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Friday: Mountain Lakes (3-0) at Hanover Park (3-0)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Super Football Conference also features a matchup of undefeated teams this weekend as Hanover Park will host Mountain Lakes. Hanover Park will look to the play of quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1002361' first='Joey' last='Borrello'] to ensure his team stays out of the loss column for at least one more week. Borrello is 48 for 75 with 546 yards passing with a 4:2 TD to Int ratio. Moreover, Borrello has ran 50 times for 173 yards and 3 scores, while even catching one pass for 19 yards thus far on the young season. The Hornet's junior gunslinger will look to continue with his moxie and multi-dimensional style of play. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lining up on the opposite side of the line of scrimmage from Borrello will be two Herd members ready to stampede: [player_tooltip player_id='533691' first='Marco' last='Dzamba'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1002360' first='Sebastian' last='Borie']. Dzamba, who is a tri-sport senior athlete by way of lacrosse and basketball, has been a calming force on defense thus far for Mountain Lakes as he has been credited with 11 tackles, 6 solo, 5 for a loss, and 1 interception in two games. Lining up adjacent to him is Borie, who is in his junior year. In one game's worth of stats, Borie was a man on a mission as he made 10 tackles with 2 for a loss. If this defensive duo shows up to play, Mountain Lakes may end up victorious. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Shore Conference</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Friday: Long Branch (2-2) at Point Pleasant Boro (3-0)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An interesting matchup from the Shore Conference will feature Long Branch and Point Pleasant linking up at Point Pleasant. This matchup may come down to a tale of two backs: [player_tooltip player_id='1002333' first='Zaheem' last='Brown'] for Long Branch and [player_tooltip player_id='378666' first='Matt' last='Oliphant'] for Point Pleasant.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Starting with Brown, after getting modest burn as a junior it now appears that the keys to the offense have been turned over to him. With two games worth of <em>incomplete </em>stats we see that Brown has rushed for 184 yards in one game while scoring twice in another. This makes it reasonable to assume Brown has already surpassed last year's total of 333 yards and 3 scores. Opposing him, Oliphant is an athlete we have familiarized ourselves with at Prep Redzone New Jersey. Last year he ran 107 times for 970 yards and 19 scores. Despite being 3-0, in two games worth of stats we have seen Oliphant already rush for 328 yards and 5 scores. Which back will be outdone by the other? Stay tuned to find out in what might be the most interesting running back vs. running back matchup of the 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>Friday: Mainland (4-0) at Hammonton (3-1)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lastly we turn our attention to the West Jersey Football League for an interesting matchup of top-heavy teams. Hammonton features an extremely talented junior tailback in [player_tooltip player_id='967081' first='Kenny' last='Smith']. As a sophomore, the young prospect ran 224/1670/21 on the ground, 7/81/2 through the air, intercepted 1 pass, and converted 1, two-point conversion. Guess what? Your boy is back for more. Through the Blue Devils' first four games, Smith has ran 94 times for 666 yards and 7 scores. He has rushed for over 100 yards in each game - with two games having rushed better than 180 yards - and scored in all but one contest. Meanwhile Smith continues to be a threat through the air, catching 2 balls for 72 yards and a score. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For as talented a prospect [player_tooltip player_id='877036' first='Hunter' last='Watson'] is, I want to turn our attention to [player_tooltip player_id='1002362' first='Rocco' last='DeBiaso'] in this matchup. Something of a jack-of-all-trades for Mainland, this Mustang gets in the mix both offensively and defensively. Profiling as more of a spell or situational back, the junior has rushed 24 times for 268 yards and 4 scores - finding the end zone in each game. However, where he has caught my eye is with his consistent play on defense. Currently second on the team in tackles, DeBiaso has amassed 30 on the season, including 5 for a loss. The leader of tomorrow's Mustang defense has arrived a year early. DeBiaso's ability to impede Smith's progress will be a key indicator of Mainland's success this Friday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->