The North Jersey Interscholastic Conference Semifinal Round

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The state's smallest football-playing conference (in terms of member schools) lacks nothing in terms of talent and punch. Due to its size, the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference has a unique format that allows them to name a true, single conference champion. This week we preview the semifinal round matchups.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Friday, October 18</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>#4 Becton (6-0) at #1 Butler (6-0), 7pm<br><br>Becton comes in having allowed just 14 points all season, including four straight shutouts. Aside from playing team defense, this defensive dominance can be attributed to the play of a handful of prospects: [player_tooltip player_id='1002388' first='Everett' last='Bell'], [player_tooltip player_id='1530293' first='Kristian' last='Fragoso'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1530297' first='Messiah' last='Dunbar']. Starting with Bell, he finds himself as the team leader in tackles with 50 on the season. Of those 50 stops, the 5 he has made behind the line of scrimmage are tied for the team lead. Additionally, Bell has contributed in a spell role on offense, scoring 4 times on 22 attempts for 109 yards. Fragoso on the other hand, leads the team with 7.5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. Accompanying that total is a tie for the team lead in tackles for loss with 5 and 26 tackles. Lastly, [player_tooltip player_id='1530297' first='Messiah' last='Dunbar'] is Becton's leader in interceptions with 2. Perhaps in a part time role, Dunbar has made 14 tackles and 1 tackle for loss. <br><br>With two shutouts of their own and allowing 7 points or less in their last three contests, the Butler Bulldogs are ready to brawl. Passing lanes are interrupted by the play of defensive back [player_tooltip player_id='1530298' first='Nick' last='Parkinson']. A junior, Parkinson has collected 12 tackles on the season with 4 interceptions - 1 of which he took the other way for 6. [player_tooltip player_id='1530300' first='Luca' last='Toriello'] gets the job done on defense too, as he has 23 tackles to go with a team-high 8 tackles for loss and 2 sacks. Like Parkinson, he has also taken his only interception back for a score. Lastly, junior [player_tooltip player_id='1530304' first='Peyton' last='Kiburz'] is proficient at rushing the passer, having 2 sacks of his own to accompany 3 tackles for loss, 27 tackles, and 1 forced fumble. <br><br>With all this offense on the field, Butler might be with the best offensive weapon on either side of the ball in quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1530306' first='David' last='Smith']. Smith has had a great season as a passer, competing 58-90 passes for 896 yards. The most impressive thing about Smith's play has, easily, been his 17 touchdown passes to 0 interceptions. Smith is also a threat on the ground too, slashing 37/198/2 on the ground.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Saturday, October 19</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>#3 Glen Rock (6-0) at #2 St. Mary's Rutherford (6-1), 1pm<br><br>The shutouts continue as Glen Rock rolls into Rutherford to take on St. Mary's with two of their own. The single-most disruptive force for Glen Rock might be lineman [player_tooltip player_id='1530307' first='Peter' last='Lagemann']. Lagemann has had an extremely productive season to the tune of 45 tackles with 1 forced fumble and 1 safety. Those respectable numbers, however, do not underscore exactly how disruptive he has been. Most impressively, Lagemann has recorded 6.5 sacks and 16.5 tackles for loss. Offensively the Panthers rely on senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1454042' first='Nick' last='Atme'] to put up points. Atme leads the team in rushing touchdowns with 7, and is also 3 yards off of the team lead with 330 of his own. Between his 47 attempts rushing, Atme has found the time to throw 14 touchdowns to just 4 interceptions on 58-96 passing for 1044 yards. <br><br>Although the Gaels actually have a loss to their record, they find themselves the higher seed in this matchup and hosting a conference playoff game. To their credit, St. Mary's has three shutouts on the season and have only allowed 12 points across their last four contests. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='1361294' first='Nasir' last='Owens'] has taken his mission personally as he vies to earn his Gaels' a conference championship this season. Owens has rushed 97 times for 912 yards with 11 touchdowns. As if that was not enough, Owens leads St Mary's in tackles with 37 on the year, 20 of which have been solo stops. Furthermore, Owens has 4 tackles for loss and a pick to his name. When it comes to stopping the run <em>and </em>rushing the passer, look for [player_tooltip player_id='1530308' first='Marcello' last='Estevez'] to leave his imprint on this game. Estevez is directly behind Owens in terms of tackles on the season with his 29; however, he finds himself to be an outright disruptive force in the trenches. Estevez easily leads the team in tackles for loss and sacks with 14 and 7, respectively. He has also forced a fumble. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list -->