Group II Regional Championship Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As we head into Regional Championship weekend, we will finally determine who-will-face-who to earn the right to be named the outright Group Champion. Group II's playoff bracket features two games on Friday, November 17 where Bernards will travel to Westwood and Willingboro will travel into Rumson-Fair Haven.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Below are a handful of athletes that I suspect to have big games and play key roles in determining the outcome of each.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Bernards @ Westwood</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both the future and present looks bright for Bernards as they find themselves being led on both sides of the ball by two sophomores. Defensively, [player_tooltip player_id='1087580' first='Thomas' last='Diemar'] is a pure winner in the trenches. After playing varsity sparingly as a freshman, Diemar has made waves on defense to the tune of 30 tackles (13 solo), 7 tackles for loss, and is amongst the team leaders with 6 sacks. His fellow 2026 counterpart on offense is [player_tooltip player_id='1087578' first='Logan' last='Stevens']. Stevens has been Bernards' most efficient and effective runner as he has gone for 605 yards on 76 attempts with 10 touchdowns. A keep-you-honest type of receiver, Stevens has hauled in 12 passes for 130 yards and 1 touchdown as well. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As a dual-threat quarterback for the host team, [player_tooltip player_id='220046' first='Robbie' last='Carcich'] has been a force all season long. Leading a balanced attack, Carcich is truly a 50-50 threat to run or pass each time out. When dropping back to pass Carcich is unworldly accurate, having gone 143 of 179 (79.8 completion percentage) for the season with 2048 yards with 21 touchdowns and just 3 interceptions. On the ground Carcich makes defenses pay too, having totaled 646 yards and 11 touchdowns on 80 attempts. Where Carcich paces the offense, the case can be made that [player_tooltip player_id='739692' first='Dario' last='Mathurin'] does the same for the defense. An edge player, Mathurin has been credited with 30 total stops this season. Although this does not seem like much Mathurin big play stats tell a different story. Along with 6 tackles for loss, he has forced a fumble, recovered a fumble, recorded a safety, and leads the team with 7.5 sacks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Willingboro @ Rumson-Fair Haven</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An upstart Willingboro is another team that has a blend of contributing talent across all graduating classes. Most notably, Willingboro features sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='402227' first='Lamar' last='Best'] at quarterback. After performing at a high level last year Best has played even better this year. On the season he has gone 145 of 220 for 2425 yards with 34 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. A threat to tuck-it-and-run as well, Best has rushed 95 times for 744 yards and 14 touchdowns. Lastly, he has hauled in an 80 yard touchdown reception and scored on 4, two-point conversions. A role player on offense, [player_tooltip player_id='1029761' first='Zahir' last='Bryant'] is also a member of the class of 2026. At receiver, Bryant has caught 10 passes for 228 yards and 2 touchdowns; however, on defense is where he makes his bones. From the secondary Bryant has made 68 tackles (24 solos) in his varsity debut season. In terms of play disruption Bryant has made 6 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, recovered 2 fumbles, and intercepted 1 pass. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After a tremendous run last year, Rumson-Fair Haven finds themselves in similar territory once again. Linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='801496' first='Austin' last='Kiernan'] was a player I have been monitoring for some time now, and as he is nearing the conclusion of his junior season it is clear why he caught my attention. Building upon last year's role, Kiernan appears to have taken a huge step forward this year with 61.5 tackles (20 solo) on the season. He has also made 4.5 tackles for a loss to go with 2.5 sacks. Kiernan also picked off a pass that he returned for a score. Despite being second on the team in carries by about 25, [player_tooltip player_id='1088333' first='Kellen' last='Murray'] leads the team in both rushing yards and touchdowns. Just a sophomore, Murray appears to have stepped up as a spark plug in the ground game. On the year Murray has slashed 87/571/6 on the ground. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->