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

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another week, another slate of games. See what some of the top individual, prospect vs. prospect matchups of the weekend are below.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Big Central Conference</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>St. Thomas Aquinas (5-0) at Hillside (3-1)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This first matchup features tons of athletes, talent, and is sure to be filled with big plays all over the field as the Trojans travel to face the Comets. Although both teams compete every year, there seems to be a retooling youth movement going on at Hillside. They are still as competitive as ever, however, they feature young players at key spots. We already discussed junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1004630' first='Zion' last='Risher'] recently, but he lines up in the backfield with fellow junior, tailback [player_tooltip player_id='849550' first='Talibi' last='Kaba']. Kaba is simply a massive human being. Gifted with size, he has only gotten stronger as the season has gone on. In three straight victories for the Comets, Kaba's rushing totals have increased from 117-, to 175-, to 200 yards. All the while he has scored in each game this season. For the season he is at 537 yards and 6 scores on 40 carries. Will be bust loose for an even more gaudy amount of total yardage this week? While Kaba lines up next to Risher, Risher's favorite target is sophomore wideout [player_tooltip player_id='1022162' first='Kamari' last='Robinson']. Robinson, who actually leads the team in receiving, has slashed 18/232/3 just four games into his varsity career. Lastly, on defense you might see a blur flash before your eyes out of the secondary. That flying comet is actually [player_tooltip player_id='723598' first='McNaulley' last='Erminal']. The senior is having a totally unbelievable season so far. He has made 34 tackles - 20 of the solo variety - along with 6 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception, and 3 blocked kicks. Yeah, Erminal can single handedly ruin your game plan.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For the Trojans, the feature on two defenders who play out of their mind and will have their mind focused only on stopping Robinson, Risher, and Kaba. I will start with their stud linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='999497' first='Christian' last='Magliacano']. Magliacano is having himself one helluva senior campaign, as he is the conference's top tackler and fourth leading tackler in the state. His 72 stops, a whopping 50 of which have been solos, have him within 5 tackles of being second in the state. To go along with being a stout run stuffer, Magliacano makes big plays as he has 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 pick-six, and 1 blocked kick. Lining up in front of Magliacano is [player_tooltip player_id='976963' first='Chase' last='Young']. Young is a player I vividly remember watching his film over the winter and was impressed with how disruptive, twitchy, and violent his hips were. This has translated to 27 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks on the season. Believe it or not, Aquinas' 'tweener defensive lineman is actually their lead horse out of the backfield too. With two, 100+ yard games under his belt and having found the end zone in every game, Young is slashing 68/481/10 on the campaign so far. Young vs. Erminal in the alley is a one-on-one matchup I would pay to see. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">North Jersey Interscholastic Conference</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Lyndhurst (4-0) at Rutherford (4-0)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In one of only a few matchup of unbeaten teams on Saturday, the Golden Bears will be traveling to Rutherford, home of the Bulldogs. With much of the offense for Rutherford revolving around [player_tooltip player_id='1002365' first='Chris' last='Gioia'], you can argue that their defense revolves around [player_tooltip player_id='1022216' first='Chris' last='Lora']. Lora, a senior offensive lineman and linebacker, has had a very solid fall thus far. Aside from opening up holes for Gioia, Lora has been an enforcer on defense. Through three games he has made 36 stops; however, his big play numbers are really strong as he has made 10 tackles for loss, 2.5 stacks, forced 2 fumbles, and recovered 2 fumbles. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lora will have his hands full as he looks to stop the two-headed monster of [player_tooltip player_id='1022239' first='Shawn' last='Bellenger'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1022234' first='Roddy' last='Morinho']. The two juniors form a talented backfield for the Golden Bears. At quarterback Bellenger is 35 of 69 for 636 yards with 8 touchdowns to 2 interceptions. Bellenger has also added 1 score and 167 yards on the ground in 17 attempts. Flanking him will be Morinho, who is a prospect that gets in done in a variety of ways. As their primary ball carrier Morinho has four straight games with no less than 100 yards while scoring in each game, bringing his total to 77/467/7 on the season. He also serves as a safe outlet with 8 catches for 165 yards and 2 scores through the air. Lastly, as a defender Morinho has made 43 tackles on the season and manages to make plays behind the line of scrimmage with 9 tackles for loss.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Super Football Conference</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Union City (3-1) at Irvington (2-3)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In a matchup that many had circled when the schedule came out, the Soaring Eagles will travel into Essex County to face the Blue Knights. Irvington has absolutely challenged themselves this year with an extremely tough out-of-conference schedule. This schedule has included Camden Eastside, Millville, and Seton Hall Prep. These three games have not been kind to the Blue Knights; however, they appear to be doubling down on young talent on offense incubated with a strong supporting cast of upperclassmen. [player_tooltip player_id='1022159' first='Na'cir' last='Ransom'] is in at quarterback this year, starting varsity after receiving limited burn as a freshman. In just three games worth of stats, Ransom is 16 of 32 for 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Despite those numbers, he has kept the Blue Knights competitive, especially when he targets his his fellow sophomore receiver [player_tooltip player_id='1022160' first='Jayden' last='Herron']. Herron has hauled in 30 balls for 176 yards and 2 touchdowns in four games thus far.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Union City's defensive front looks to absolutely terrorize the sophomore duo from Irvington. Leading the assault will be [player_tooltip player_id='829410' first='Omar' last='Tillman']. Tillman is a prospect I have seen up close in personal at scrimmages and at the PSR Combine. Although he has just two games worth of statistics available, in those two games he made 14 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and forced a fumble. From what I have witnessed, Tillman is strong, technically sound, and is the type of player who looks to live in the backfield and under the skin of offensive linemen rent free. Backing him up is a linebacker that Coach Valdez mentioned to me at one point, [player_tooltip player_id='1022237' first='Ja'zaire' last='Aurelus']. With one more game's worth of data, he has made 19 stops thus far. Additionally, Aurelus has scored a rushing touchdown as well. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Newark East Side (3-0) at Dwight-Morrow (3-0)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two up-and-coming schools will fight it out for Ivy White Division supremacy as Raiders will clash when the Raiders play host to the Red Raiders. Dwight-Morrow's offense seems to flow through their junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1022238' first='Damani' last='Williams']. A dual-threat in his own right, Williams has rushed for 310 yards and 3 scores on just 22 carries this season. With only 3 touchdown passes, he has yet to throw an interception while maintaining an efficient 13 of 20 completion rate - yet he manages to make big plays with 361 yards (27.8 yards per completion). Finally, he has added 15 tackles and 1 tackle for loss to go along with one, two-point conversion. It is important to note that one game's worth of passing stats are not available for Williams. Williams is supported by his senior running back [player_tooltip player_id='1022208' first='Jordan' last='Moorer']. Moorer has rushed for 449 yards and 4 scores on 22 carries this season. He is a reliable safety valve in the passing game as he has gone for 5 catches and 181 with 2 touchdowns. Also a key contributor on defense, he has made 26 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, and intercepted a pass. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The renaissance of Newark East Side is officially underway and it has begun with a youth movement on offense. Showing the way to an even <em>younger </em>running back is quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1022163' first='Xavier' last='Smith']. Smith, a sophomore has had a strong year, throwing for 541 yards and 8 touchdowns on 23 of 29 passing without an interception. He has also scampered for 116 yards and 3 scores. That younger running back I spoke of? His name is [player_tooltip player_id='379045' first='Isa' last='Thomas']. Thomas, a freshman, is forging forward in his young career with 131 yards and 3 scores on 17 attempts, while also serving as a punt returner. With these two young bucks in the backfield it appears that it is only a matter of time before Newark East Side pops. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Shore Conference</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Red Bank Catholic (3-1) at Seton Hall Prep (1-3)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In this matchup of North vs. South prep schools, I chose to highlight some of the younger, defensive talent each team features. Starting with Seton Hall Prep, the Pirates solicit the tenacity of junior linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1022242' first='Justin' last='Cook']. With a very solid frame, Cook's performances have gotten sharper with each passing week. He now has 26 tackles on the season the season accompanied by 1 fumble recovery, 2 interceptions, and 1 blocked kick. Cook is a player who disrupts the ball and is solid in stopping the run. Behind Cook in the secondary is a talented sophomore defensive back by the name of [player_tooltip player_id='933805' first='Kenyon' last='McClain']. McClain has gotten plenty of early playing time as he has made 25 stops thus far, including a 10-tackle game in his varsity debut.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As senior [player_tooltip player_id='971291' first='Davin' last='Brewton'] leads the way on defense for the Casey's, junior [player_tooltip player_id='1022241' first='Jamie' last='Gutridge'] is on his heels and working to ensure that he can surpass Brewton's production when he is a senior. Gutridge is amongst the team leaders in tackles with 35; however, he also makes plays on the ball and behind the line as evidenced by his sack, 3 tackles for loss, and fumble recovery. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">West Jersey Football League</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Hopewell Valley (3-1) at Nottingham (2-2)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hopewell Valley will take short trip across I-295 into Hamilton to take on Nottingham. The host Northstars have been paced this year on offense by [player_tooltip player_id='1022214' first='Saemeni' last='Faeflen'], their senior running back. Also a basketball player for the Hamilton-based school, Faeflen has 522 yards on 70 carries to go along with 5 touchdowns. He has rushed for better than 100 yards and 1 score in each of his last three games, including a 200-yard, 2 score game last week at Steinert. Faeflen also adds two, two-point conversions to his stat line. Defensively [player_tooltip player_id='999500' first='Lewis' last='Cassidy'] has been reeking havoc on opposing offenses all year long. He has made 22 tackles thus far where 14 have been solos, 4 tackles for loss, and 5 sacks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lewis would be wise to start by stopping the efforts of Hopewell Valley's running back [player_tooltip player_id='1022243' first='Ben' last='Decore']. As a senior Decore is a tough runner who has totaled 425 yards and 6 scores on 44 attempts, while managing to score in every game this season. The Bulldogs' main vertical threat is [player_tooltip player_id='1022244' first='Owen' last='Lengle'], a junior wide receiver. Their primary target, Lengle has hauled in 16 grabs for 256 yards and 3 scores including a season-high 8 catches last week in a 7-point loss at Northern Burlington. Senior tight end [player_tooltip player_id='1022207' first='John' last='Michael Vlasac'] also mixes it up in the passing game, as he leads the team in both catches (20) and yards (276). Despite 9 catches in the game, he had a three-game scoring stream snapped last week. From linebacker Vlasac makes some noise too, as he has made 23 tackles with 5 tackles for loss during his senior campaign. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->