Circle Your Calendars: Week 6’s Top (Saturday) Matchups, Part II

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With the playoffs right around the corner, team's are coming up on their 6th or 7th game of the season. The NJSIAA only takes a team's first 8 games and counts them toward playoff standings. As we come down the wire, here are some top matchups that will inevitably impact the playoff landscape.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Big Central Conference</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Linden (5-1) at Summit (4-1)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In a divisional crossover matchup the one-loss Tigers travel to take on the one-loss Hilltoppers. Summit is a team that our followers should be somewhat familiar with at this time; however, we might be unfamiliar with the starting quarterback for the Hilltoppers [player_tooltip player_id='1031710' first='Cole' last='Sabol']. Just a sophomore, Sabol is leading an offense that is headlined by numerous seniors playing key roles. Thus far Sabol has gone 23 of 45 on the season for 651 yards while throwing 8 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Sabol has also punched it in 4 times on the ground too.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As far as Linden goes, their success seems to begin-and-end with the that of their star quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='971149' first='Tequan' last='Thomas']. Definitively a run-first quarterback, Thomas has passed for 3 touchdowns and 275 yards while going 27 of 38. On the ground Tequan has been a total menace as he has rushed for 877 yards and 12 touchdowns on 81 attempts. He has scored in each of the Tigers' six games and rushed for at least 100 yards in all but one game. On defense Linden is rolling out a cub in freshman [player_tooltip player_id='1031703' first='Joe' last='Boyd'], who is taking his licks and dolling them out too. Appearing in each game this year, Boyd has been credited for 23 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 1 sack, and 1 fumble recovery. </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 (4-1) at Lincoln (4-1)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Call it one-loss Saturday as the Soaring Eagles take on the Lions at Caven Point in Jersey City. Union City is a team we are very familiar with here at Prep Redzone, but linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1031715' first='Jeremiah' last='Hayes'] is a player we must become familiarized with. Appearing in four games thus far, the junior has done a good job as an emerging prospect with 18 tackles - half of which have been solos. Further, Hayes has made 2 tackles for loss and 1 interception during his varsity debut campaign. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lincoln has an interesting prospect patrolling their secondary in [player_tooltip player_id='1031719' first='Mekai' last='Casseus']. After transferring out from Bayonne last year, Casseus is having a highly productive junior campaign for Lincoln. It appears that the new system is serving his skillset better has he already has 36 tackles, including his 3 tackles for loss. However, were Casseus' game has exploded is in attacking the ball and making big plays. Thus far Casseus has 3 interceptions - including one reutrned the other way for a score - and 1 blocked kick.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">West Jersey Football League</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Delsea (4-1) at Cedar Creek (5-1)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Closing out the weekend is <em>another </em>battle of one loss teams as the Pirates will play host to the Crusaders. A pair of junior defenders are looking to slow down the Pirates' dynamic offensive raid. First up is linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1031717' first='Alex' last='Grippo']. Grippo is having an outstanding varsity debut as he has made 41 tackles (28 solos), 4 tackles for loss, 1 sack, and 1 interception. He has also spelled on offense, totaling about 160 total yards and 1 score. Lining up next to Grippo is fellow linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1031726' first='Dan' last='Russo']. Russo appears to be on track to be a four-year letter winner and is busting out in a big way as a junior. Defensively he has made 37.5 tackles (25 solos) along with 5 tackles for loss, 1 interception, and one-half sack. Russo has an even bigger impact on offense though, has he is the Crusaders lead rusher with 624 yards, 10 touchdowns, and a two-point conversion on 97 carries. Russo has had at least 100 yards and 1 score in every game this year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I am not sure that the offensive stars from Cedar Creek need to be highlighted any further on a weekly matchup basis, so we turn our attention to two emerging defenders who will impact this game and the future. Lining up with his hand in the dirt is [player_tooltip player_id='354978' first='Mandel' last='Pettiford']. After a strong sophomore season where he legitimized himself as a south Jersey talent, Pettiford is having an even stronger campaign as a junior. He has made 34 tackles - 30 of which are solos - to go with 14 tackles for loss and 4 sacks on the season. Pettiford is a legit terror in the trenches. In the secondary [player_tooltip player_id='973797' first='Gyan' last='King'] has appeared in every game this year as just a sophomore. Splitting his tackles 14 total/12 solo, King has picked off 5 passes, including two games with two-picks. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->