Circle Your Calendars: Week 4’s Top (Saturday) Matchups

<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>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Super Football Conference</h2>   <ul> <li>Saturday: Jefferson (2-2) at Wallkill Valley (2-2)</li> </ul>   <p>In a battle of 2-2 teams looking to get the leg-up, Jefferson will be traveling to Wallkill Valley Saturday afternoon to take on the Rangers. Both rosters feature two runners/defenders that impact their teams success.</p>   <p>Wallkill Valley Rangers features an impressive receiver-quarterback tandem in [player_tooltip player_id='1005646' first='Zack' last='Clarken'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1005658' first='Jaiden' last='McNeil']. Starting with McNeil, he is an atypical two-way player who lines up out wide on offense and with his hand in the dirt on defense. Thus far the senior has caught 30 balls for 359 yards and 3 scores in the four-game season. He started the year with three consecutive games with a touchdown score and at least 7 catches and 100 yards. Defensively I have been impressed with him as an edge player, accounting for 32 tackles - 28 of which have been solos - and 3 tackles for loss. On the other hand Clarken is off to a great start to his season too, going 77 of 117 throwing for 918 yards and 4 touchdowns to just 1 interception. Adding to the threat that he is, Clarken has rushed 43 times for 134 yards and scored 5 times. </p>   <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1005660' first='Matt' last='Cruz'] of Jefferson is also a two-way player, but in the more traditional running/defensive back sense. Cruz will be looking to stifle McNeil's production as a receiver and frustrate Clarken's two-way ability this week. What I like about Cruz's game is that as a defensive back he seems to get in the mix a number of ways on defense. The senior has made 30.5 stops (17 solo), 2 tackles for loss, forced a fumble, blocked a kick, and had a pick-six. He can impact and break the game open in a variety of ways as a defender. Offensively we have seen Cruz's carries fluctuate between 5 and 18 carries a game, but he has still been productive when given totes, slashing 45/275/1 on the ground. Cruz has also caught 4 passes for 24 yards and returned 5 kicks for 83 yards this season.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Shore Conference</h2>   <ul> <li>Saturday: Manchester Township (4-0) at Keyport (3-1)</li> </ul>   <p>The top two teams in the Shore Conference's Patriot Division square off in game that could have pivotal implications in the South Group I playoff bracket. For Manchester it seems as though things begin and end on offense with their stud senior tailback [player_tooltip player_id='819127' first='Joshua' last='Love']. On the season Love has rushed 53 times for 640 yards and an impressive 11 scores. Compairing these numbers to last year (173/705/8) it appears that Love is a the same beast, yet a different animal. In his best game of the year against Point Pleasant Beach he ran 9 times for 234 yards and 4 scores - or better than 26 yards per carry. To add insult to injury, he has caught just 5 balls on the season. Although 5 may seem like a low number, he has accumulated 213 on those 5 catches (42.6 yards per reception), 3 of which have gone for scores. </p>   <p>Having no love for Love will be Keyport's sophomore athlete [player_tooltip player_id='1005632' first='Mekai' last='Henderson']. After getting his feet wet as a freshman on varsity, Henderson plays all three phases of the game and is productive in each. Offensively it seems though he takes most of his snaps at back, having carried the ball 19 times for 202 yards and 1 score, while on specials he returned a kickoff 85 yards for a house call. However, to me defensively is where Henderson gets most of his work done as he has made 20 tackles on to this point of the season. This total, good for second on the team, comes with 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss, 1 forced fumble, and 1 fumble recovery thus far. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">West Jersey Football League</h2>   <ul> <li>Saturday: Haddonfield (3-0) at Woodbury (3-0)</li> </ul>   <p>Another compelling contest of undefeated teams out of the WJFL features Group I's Woodbury Thundering Herd against the Haddonfield Bulldawgs. Haddonfield, typically a run-heavy team, has been paced this season by their senior-in-charge [player_tooltip player_id='1005659' first='Dominic' last='Hahn']. Thus far Hahn has rushed 45 times for 384 yards and 5 touchdowns in three games, all victories, where has scored at least once in each contest. Hahn is looking to go out in style as a senior, set to easily surpass his 102/550/6 totals on the ground as a junior.</p>   <p>Looking to disrupt Hahn's senior season is Woodbury's junior defender [player_tooltip player_id='218552' first='Jasuan' last='Solomon']. A lineman by trade, Solomon has been a 2-year letterman thus far, totaling 99 tackles, 25 sacks, 5 fumble recoveries, and 1 pick-six in his first two seasons of play. In three games, the disruptive lineman has made 30 tackles - 26 that were solo - forced 2 fumbles, and made 9 tackles for loss. With the track record Solomon has and the degree of attention I expect him garner from Haddonfield, it will be interesting to find out and see who wins this battle of wills. </p>   <p></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.