Group IV 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 IV's playoff bracket features two games on Friday, November 17 where Mount Olive will travel to Ramapo and Mainland will travel into Winslow.</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">Mount Olive @ Ramapo</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After two dramatic wins in back-to-back weeks by a total of three points, Mount Olive returns to vie for the Regional Championship Round. A defender that ensures teams come up short each game out is [player_tooltip player_id='1087572' first='Lincoln' last='Youtz']. Also a baseball player and wrestler, Youtz is a tenacious linebacker who has amassed 113 total tackles thus far. Youtz has made 14 tackles for loss this season to go along with 3.5 sacks 4 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, and 1 blocked kick. Ensuring that his team scores enough points for a victory is junior rusher [player_tooltip player_id='1043545' first='Tyler' last='Cumming']. As he comes toward the end zone, Cumming has 237 attempts on the season that have converted to 1315 yards and 12 touchdowns - including six 100+ yard performances (including his last two games). A stout defender in his own right, Cumming has made 47 tackles (10 solo), 12 tackles for loss, and 1 sack. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When talking about 2023 Ramapo Raiders, the conversation begins with two stars from the class of 2024. A two-year starter at quarterback, [player_tooltip player_id='918873' first='Landon' last='Deprima'] has totally exploded to be one of the state's most prolific performers this season. Deprima is 194 of 269 for 2775 yards on the year. Perhaps his most impressive stat, however, is his 39 to 4 touchdown to interception ration for the year. Deprima has thrown for 6 touchdowns three times, 4 touchdowns three times, 3 games with 280 yards or more, and had a 477 yard game this season. A mobile quarterback as well, Deprima has rushed 60 times for 616 yards and 7 scores. Deprima's favorite target is his 2024 classmate [player_tooltip player_id='1021643' first='Zachary' last='Schnorrbusch']. Schnorrbusch has slashed 72/1234/18 as the Raiders' primary target on offense. He has three 10+ reception games, six 100+ yard games, three 190+ yard games, and five multi-score games. As tremendous as that sounds, Schnorrbusch gets the job done on defense as well. Despite only being credited with 17 tackles on the season he has come up with havoc play time-and-time again. Schnorrbusch has 1 tackle for loss, 2 sacks, 2 force fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 blocked kick, 4 interceptions, and 1 pick-six.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Mainland @ Winslow</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In perhaps the matchup I am most intrigued by this week, Mainland shocked everyone in the state - except for themselves - last week by upsetting Millville on the road. Tailback [player_tooltip player_id='967106' first='Stephen' last='Ordille'] had a big part to do with that as he kept the Thunderbolts electric offense off the field by rushing for 250 yards on 33 carries and 4 scores. On the season Ordille has been a scoring machine, crossing the endzone 25 times on 173 attempts for 1477 yards. A solid defender, Ordille has made 60 tackles with 11 tackles for loss, 1 fumble recovery, and 3 interceptions. As if there were any other carries to go around, [player_tooltip player_id='1087569' first='Cohen' last='Cook'] has found is role in the offense having slashed 66/573/11 on the ground and 11/203/2 as a receiver. Cook, though, has proven to be one of Mainland's most dependable defenders. He has made 81 tackles with an incredible 23 tackles for loss on the season. Additionally, Cook has cooked up 5 sacks, forced 3 fumbles, recovered 3 fumbles, and had a pick-six.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cook will have his work cut out for him as he looks to defend [player_tooltip player_id='389746' first='Cameron' last='Miller']. A bonafide FBS-caliber prospect as a junior, Miller has performed no matter who his quarterback as been. Miller has recorded 1334 yards and 15 touchdowns on 57 receptions for a 23.4 YPC average. Miller has has six games with better than 140 yards on the season and five multi-score games - including his last three. Also a solid defender, Miller has made 32 tackles (31 solo) with 2 tackles for loss and 2 interceptions. Making his varsity debut - and delivering a serious impact - is freshman defensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='212382' first='Ausar' last='Heard']. The talented 2027 graduate has paid immediate dividends as he has made 75 tackles (41 solo) and 3 tackles for loss on the year. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->