Circle Your Calendars: Week 8’s Top (Thursday) Matchups

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Week 8 is the cutoff for the NJSIAA playoff race. With several teams still vying to get in and even more jockeying for position, here are a few interesting matchups to key in on this weekend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Big Central Conference</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Brearley (3-4) at Dunellen (4-3)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both teams are currently on the outside-looking-in, respectively, at the North I and South I playoff standings. Dunellen is the first team out at #17 and a win will go a long way for them; whereas Brearley needs a win and some help to rise from #19. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>All season long the visiting Bears' have been paced on the ground by senior [player_tooltip player_id='1025992' first='Gavin' last='Marranca']. On the year Marranca has slashed 130/937/8 on the ground. He has rushed for over 100 yards in all but one game - including five straight - and scored in all but two games - also including five straight. As defender Marranca has made 36 tackles. Defensively Marranca teams up with [player_tooltip player_id='1052339' first='Michael' last='Kollarik']. Kollarik is one of the team's top tacklers with 41 so far on the season. Two of those tackles have gone for a loss.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For Dunnellen, [player_tooltip player_id='723583' first='Chiekezie' last='Ogbuewu'] has been a total monster all year long. Having already easily surpassed last year's totals on fewer carries, Ogbuewu has slashed 115/1228/15 on the season. His rushing total lead the Big Central Conference. He has rushed for over 200 yards in all but two games and scored multiple touchdowns in all but one. Ogbuewu has added a receiving touchdown and also scored 6, two-point conversions on the season. As a defender Ogbuewu makes equally as dramatic an impact. Ogbuewu has made 31 tackles on the season, 1 sack, and forced 1 fumble; however, one thing Ogbuewu and the rest of the Destroyers seem apt at doing is destroying plays before they ever get started. Ogbuewu has made 10.5 tackles for loss this season. Joining him in the defensive backfield are defensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='1052332' first='Kevin' last='Roberts'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1001987' first='Luke' last='Pettersen']. Both juniors, Roberts has made 35 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, and 7 tackles for loss this season. Pettersen, however, might be Dunellen's most productive defender. On this year Petterson has made 46 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and 7 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>Passaic Tech (8-0) at Paterson Eastside (3-5)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two North V teams link up in the regular season finale with much on the line. For PCTI, who is currently the #1 seed, a win will ensure the road to the playoffs travels through Reinhardt Road. A loss will likely mean Phillipsburg will be the first overall seed. Currently #14 in the same bracket the Ghosts do not have much wiggle room with a loss, but a win will be sure to have them leapfrog several teams.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For the visiting Bulldogs, it is hard to believe that [player_tooltip player_id='220060' first='Trashon' last='Dye'] is still in high school. It seems that Dye has been playing forever; however, the senior is looking to go out with a championship to his name. As a tailback Dye has basically been a household name the last three seasons. This year he has slashed 162/1192/13 on the ground. Dye has gotten more explosive as he has increased his attempts by more than 2 YPC, averaging 5.1 YPC last year to 7.3 YPC this year. Dye is also the Bulldogs top defender at linebacker as he has made 84 tackles, forced 2 fumbles, recorded 1 sack, and made 4 tackles for loss. Aiding him on defense at linebacker is junior [player_tooltip player_id='1052330' first='Aaron' last='Mendoza']. Talented in his own right, the leader-to-be has made 42 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, and 5 tackles for loss.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Ghosts have had an extremely physically gifted edge defender in [player_tooltip player_id='172490' first='Nyreek' last='Clyburn'] the past few seasons. With as productive as he appears on film, there is no doubt that Clyburn's stats are under reported. This year Clyburn has been credited with just 33 tackles, but his havoc plays are what caught my eye. Clyburn has been credited with 1 sack, 6 tackles for loss, forced 2 fumbles, recovered 1 fumble, and registered an impressive 7 safeties on the year. Offensively he has slashed 19/266/4 as a tight end. The Ghosts' secondary is anchored by [player_tooltip player_id='1052342' first='Messiah' last='McCullom']. Suspecting his stats are also under represented, McCullom has been active all over the field during his senior year. Credited with 20 tackles, McCullom has made 8 tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 pick-six.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->