2025 Team Preview: The Bayonne Bees, Part I

<p>As head coach Jerome Hayes enters his fourth season, there has been a steady ascension in the Bees' win column. After a playoff appearance in 2024 as the #16 seed, last season's 6-2 campaign ended in a first round defeat in Piscataway. This year, with a talented senior class, the Bees are looking to make a deeper playoff run.</p>    <p class="text-gray-700">After starting late in the season as a freshman, missing a major chunk of the season as a sophomore, and throwing 12 touchdowns to just 1 interception across 8 games as a junior, [player_tooltip player_id='1183273' first='Nico' last='Sampson'] has full reign of the Bees offense at quarterback. In terms of raw arm talent, Sampson has plenty of that. We see on tape that he can deliver a ball to the far numbers from just inside the opposite hash. What makes this throw so impressive is that he is capable of putting touch on those type of throws to mitigate against superior angles by defensive backs. Additionally, after watching film I thought that Sampson was more accurate, with plenty of arm strength, in terms of on-target ball placement when he was on the move rather than in the pocket - for when he is in the pocket, it seems as though he is focused on making a decision quickly and getting the ball out. As such, more drive off of his front foot would add to his velocity. </p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/nicosampson_7 </div></figure>     <p class="text-gray-700">There might be a backlog of talent at Bayonne's skill positions, as [player_tooltip player_id='1801140' first='Jared' last='Edwards'] was used in a variety of ways doing a little bit of this and a little bit of that. As a ball carrier, he recognizes poor pad level of tackling defender and will use his shoulder to deliver stunning blows that opposing linebackers ought to deploy. A slot receiver at other moments, Edwards appears to be the Bees' jet sweep player, and shows good vision when taking those hand offs as he picks and weaves his way as he climbs through the latter levels of a defense. I thought that his routes were a bit rounded and could be sharper and absent from his film were him eeking out tough yardage or winning in space. Lastly, Edwards uses his off-arm well, using it for both balance and separation. </p>      <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='1183272' first='Chance' last='Fischer'] has impressive film. As the Bees' returning starter in the backfield, Fischer shows that he instinctually varies the style of runner he is, while maintaining that vintage Bayonne blue collar grittiness. Fischer is able to make hard breaks after going full speed to make defenders miss in open space. With a low center of gravity, defenders must get real low on his shorter frame to tackle him, only for the rising senior to hurdle ankle-biters with ease. It seems as though his eyes are always downfield as he seeks the next avenue and lane to attack. The acceleration downfield is there as well. Squirmy at times, Fischer is the type of back that opponents must gang tackle. A hands-catcher, Fischer's tape would be more complete with clips of him in pass coverage; while his collegiate stock, at his size, will depend largely on how well he runs - specifically how quickly he can achieve top speed.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Chancewavy </div></figure>     <p>Akin to Edwards' situation, [player_tooltip player_id='1801124' first='Caleb' last='Bazile'], was a freshman on varsity last fall but seemed to be without a true positional home due to an abundance of more seasoned skill players. Bazile was used as a running back, tight end, and wing across various sets and personnel groupings. As a running back he seemed to gain more and more speed with each stride he took; whereas at the wing he showed soft hands and the wherewithal to run inside-out. I thought Bazile brought a high level of physicality when blocking as he did a great job buzzing his feet and working his hands up, tightly into the frame of his assignment. Contrarily, despite being an outstanding, secure wrapper when tackling, Bazile appears to give up his feet in the process and seems to rely on the hip drop or his dead weight momentum to take ball carriers down. He also looked as though he was unsure of his reads, or perhaps reading he backfield, at moments. As a pass defender Bazile's spacing was appropriate, although he can stand to get to his spot a bit quicker. That all said, there is much to like and much promise for this rising sophomore prospect who already has had serious and meaningful varsity burn. </p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Caleb02Bazile </div></figure>   <p></p>     <p class="text-gray-700">The son of Bayonne's head coach Jerome Hayes, [player_tooltip player_id='1207618' first='Jerome' last='Hayes, Jr.'] is a big-bodied linebacker who plays with a level of physicality and desire you look for in a defender. Good at timing his blitz, Hayes will get through the line more easily as his pad level lowers. Right now, he is big, strong, and strapped enough to out-muscle most. Like a madman, the rising senior does a great job of pursuing the ball to all areas of the field, never giving up on a play, while he also wraps opponents up tighter than a Christmas gift. As a linebacker I would like to see Hayes use his hands to disengage with and take oncoming blockers on with. Similar to Bazile, reading his keys will make Hayes move more effectively at linebacker and allow him to be quicker to flow over the top and/or play down hill. Offensively we have seen him split out side and run fades well. His ability to track the ball vertically well combined with his size advantage over most corners made him exceptional at this. Taking this into consideration and due to his first few steps being a bit slow off the ball, I suspect that Hayes' collegiate future at Long Island University might be spent either as a tight end or a 4i-type defensive lineman. </p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/ljhayes5 </div></figure>   <p></p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">2025 Team Previews</h2>   <p><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/08/2025-team-preview-the-bayonne-bees-part-i/">Bayonne Bees, Part I</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/08/2025-team-preview-the-linden-tigers/">Linden Tigers</a></p>

As head coach Jerome Hayes enters his fourth season, there has been a steady ascension in the Bees' win column. After a playoff appearance in 2024 as the #16 seed, last season's 6-2 campaign ended in a first round defeat in Piscataway. This year, with a talented senior class, the Bees are looking to make a deeper playoff run.