Thursday Night Football – High School Week 8 Edition

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This week all but one conference, the Shore Conference, will be hosting a slate of games. These games feature a variety of teams as some look to build momentum heading into next season, some look to build moment heading into their playoff run, and some still fighting for a playoff spot. See which gams you ought to tune into this week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Big Central Conference</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Paterson Eastside (2-6) at Edison (4-4), 7pm<br><br>In a rare matchup, a conference crossover is in effect to conclude the regular season. Paterson Eastside looks to play spoiler as the ghosts travel to Edison to take on the Eagles. Despite a win, the Ghosts have to jump 5 teams in North V to make the playoffs. For the Eagles, they are in a precarious playoff situation as the South V's #15 seed that is taking a relatively weak opponent, and even with a win may get leapfrogged.<br><br>This year it looks as though the ground game has been Eastside's bread and butter. [player_tooltip player_id='1538158' first='Kaden' last='Molina'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1029742' first='Exavier' last='Cuevas'] have led the way all season long. Both seniors, Molina has led the team in carries with his 88. Of those 88 rushes, Molina. has turned out 468 yards and 1 score. Cuevas, however, has been a bit more explosive with his totes. Cuevas has gone for 488 yards and 6 scores on just 53 carries. Additionally, Cuevas is second on the team with 12 receptions for 206 yards, while scoring once through the air. He also has a pick-six to his name. <br><br>The Eagles boast a handful of defensive prospects that will look to shut down the potency of Cuevas and Molina. Along the trenches [player_tooltip player_id='1538159' first='Jermaine' last='Smallwood'] has been getting the job done all season long. Smallwood has made 26 stops on the year; however, what is most impressive is his team-leading 6 tackles for loss and 2 fumble recoveries. Supporting him at the second level are [player_tooltip player_id='1538160' first='Ethan' last='Alcover'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1538162' first='Aidan' last='Nagy']. With both players sitting first and second on the team in tackles, Alcover narrowly edges Nagy in tackles 37 to 36; however, Nagy has the edge in sacks (2 to 0) and tackles for loss (3 to 2). Alcover has also recovered a fumble and blocked 2 kicks.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">North Jersey Interscholastic Conference</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>North Arlington (0-7) at Secaucus (2-5), 7pm<br><br>Although this matchup includes two teams that are not playoff-bound, there is intrigue to me here with some of the pieces both teams have. Starting with North Arlington, they have some very young prospects that are contributing yearly, perhaps boding well for their future. Freshman quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1538164' first='Jason' last='Arocho'] is the first reason that the future looks bright. Having gone 20-33, he has a relatively high completion percentage despite only throwing 1 touchdown and 4 picks for 276 yards. Supporting Arocho in the backfield is sophomore running back [player_tooltip player_id='1538165' first='Julian' last='Castanheira']. Castanheira actually holds the team-lead in rushes with 38, that have netted him 150 yards on the ground. Additionally, the 2027 graduate has made 16 tackles on defense with a tackle for loss. While the youth movement leads the offense, the old guard leads the defense with seniors [player_tooltip player_id='1538166' first='Kevin' last='Barrone'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1538168' first='Felipe' last='Carvalho']. Barrone is their team leader in tackles with 56 and has also made 3 tackles for loss. Carvalho has gotten to the quarterback 4 times and made 8 tackles for loss - both good for team highs - in addition to his 31 tackles and fumble recovery. Lastly, Carvalho leas the team in receptions and yards with 10 for 221, respectively.<br><br>After a remarkable end to his junior season for the host Patriots, it appears that the injury bug has caught up with [player_tooltip player_id='1085729' first='Noah' last='Santos'], who appears to have missed at least 3 games. That said, Santos is still pushing his teammates and is vying to lead his team in all rushing categories. He currently his second in carries (48) and scores (2), while third in yardage with 249; however, Santos is a mere 23 yards off the team lead. Senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1284771' first='Marcus' last='Goldsack'] has had a stelar season, going 63-108 for 1133 yards with 14 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. Further, he leads the team in carries with 53 and scores with 4 for 271 yards. His favorite target is fellow 2025 graduate [player_tooltip player_id='1538172' first='AJ' last='Concepcion']. Concepcion has a 20-reception lead, hauling in 32 on the year for 612 yards and 9 scores. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Super Football Conference</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Passaic County Tech (6-2) vs. Passaic (4-3), 6pm<br><br>This matchup between the two Passaic County schools is an interesting one for a few reasons. First, after two futile years that featured 7 losses each, Mark Dupree's Passaic Indians currently are the #15 seed in North V - quite the turnaround. Passaic County Tech on the other hand, suffered two consecutive losses this year and thus got bumped out of their customary top 2 seed in North V and are currently fifth. Moreover, Passaic can, in all likelihood, clinch a playoff berth if they win or, due to Opponent Strength Indexes, lose by 13 points or less. Anything other than that, plus the wrong outcomes with the brackets bottom-and-bubble teams, Passaic could find themselves on the outside looking in. A loss or victory by less than 13 points could potentially prevent PCTI from hosting a playoff game. <br><br>After years of being a one-man show on the ground, the visiting Bulldogs have evolved and spread the ball around very well. Their offensive yardage splits are 1276 pass to 1456 rush. [player_tooltip player_id='1538176' first='Gabe' last='Miles'] as emerged as a solid option at quarterback this year. The junior has gone 80-127 for 1268 yards and passed for 11 touchdowns with 9 interceptions. Further, he leads PCTI in all major rushing categories, going 56/375/6 on the ground. In addition to Miles, four running backs have rushed 27 times or better, including [player_tooltip player_id='1476925' first='Noah' last='Foxworth'] (47/242/2), [player_tooltip player_id='1187352' first='Ian' last='McDuffie'] (26/231/4), [player_tooltip player_id='1052330' first='Aarom' last='Mendoza'] (34/219/1), and [player_tooltip player_id='1538183' first='Kadir' last='Young'] (27/173/1). McDuffie doubles as a receiving threat too, adding 16/350/5 as a target to his rushing total. [player_tooltip player_id='994290' first='Joel' last='Perez'], a standout corner from last year, his now also a standout receiver with 25 receptions, 444 yards, and 3 scores. PCTI's most productive defender is linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1552378' first='Michael' last='Moro']. A junior, Moro leads the team with 62 tackles (39 solo). He also has recorded 4 sacks, 6 tackles for loss, and forced a fumble. The aforementioned Mendoza leads his Bulldogs in sacks (6) and tackles for loss (12), and has made 43 tackles (27 solo).<br><br>For Passaic, running back [player_tooltip player_id='990209' first='Justin' last='Griffin'] is having an unbelievable season. A prospect who I wrote about as a back you should not sleep on during our last rankings update, has gone for 1337 yards and 11 scores on 151 carries - all good for team leads - and has nearly outpaced the Indian's passing attack 4-to-1 <em>by himself. </em>[player_tooltip player_id='1537252' first='Aasod' last='Adams'] was highlighted recently with a game ball as a pass defender. Adams has intercepted 4 passes on the year, taking one back to the crib. [player_tooltip player_id='1538184' first='Josiah' last='De Los Santos'] is a sophomore who can be relied on in spell situations. De Los Santos has make a tackle for loss, forced a fumble, and recored 2 sacks to lead the team. Lastly, the ball seems to find junior linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1538186' first='Makih' last='Motley'] more times than not. In addition to being third on the team in tackles, Motley leads the team in fumble recoveries with 2.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">West Jersey Football League</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Paulsboro (6-2) at Clayton (4-2-1), 6pm<br><br>Closing out Thursday is some critical Group I action. With OSI locks being set if you already have 8 games played, for #14 seed Clayton this game matters a lot. If they lose by less than 14 or win, either outcome will codify their playoff status. Paulsboro on the other hand, looks to remain a top 4 seed in South I and claim to be the only team that had played 9 regular season games that are in top contention. For the visiting Red Raiders, [player_tooltip player_id='1466302' first='Jeremiah' last='Carr'] represents a big part of their their passing attack. Carr has nearly 20 receptions more than his next closest teammate, totaling 28/330/7 through the air. Meanwhile, defensively [player_tooltip player_id='1515048' first='Sawyer' last='Cabanas'] leads the way. The junior linebacker has made 36 stops on defense (27 total) with 2 tackles for loss and 1 sack. Supporting him with disruptive ply all season long has been [player_tooltip player_id='1538190' first='Eric' last='Scott']. Also a senior, Scott has made 24 tackles (20 solo) with a team-leading 4 sacks and 3 tackles for loss. He has also recovered a fumble for a touchdown and intercepted a pass.<br><br>You will be hard-pressed to find a team in the state more run-oriented than Clayton. The Clippers ground game outpaces their passing attack by a 2707 yards to 185 on the season. Any one of their running backs are a threat, including: [player_tooltip player_id='1029743' first='Demetris' last='Williams'] (104/1302/15), [player_tooltip player_id='1538191' first='Quaddy' last='Walls'] (60/329/6), [player_tooltip player_id='1538192' first='Josiel' last='Figueroa'] (64/508/3), and [player_tooltip player_id='1566417' first='Enoch' last='Figeruoa'] (46/352/3). A youthful player producing early is linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1538194' first='Isaiah' last='Hunter']. Hunter, has made 41.5 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and 1 tackle for loss on the season. Believe it or not, Hunter is actually still being out produced by another sophomore in [player_tooltip player_id='1538195' first='Nico' last='Thongchanh']. Thongchanh leads the team in tackles with 51.5, while making 4 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, and intercepting a pass.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->