North Jersey Interscholastic Conference Games of the Week, Week 4

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With as much football action as our Great Garden State has this coming weekend within the high school ranks, here are a handful of games – and as a fan what I am looking for in each one – throughout the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference this weekend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Be sure to follow me on&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/BrendanScoutsNJ">Twitter</a>&nbsp;for the latest New Jersey high school football prospect news and not miss a beat!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Thursday, September 25</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Park Ridge (2-1) at Bogota (3-1)<br><br>After a frustrating, one-possession opening day loss, Park Ridge has seemingly righted the ship as they have rattled off two straight victories by at least 24 points or more as they prepare to take on their toughest test to-date. Their opponent, Bogota, were winners of 3 straight games, allowing only 6 points in those three contests. Last week they were slowed down in a 20-14 defeat at the hands of St. Mary's of Rutherford. <br><br>Despite getting it done with a somewhat equal attack, Bogota has had much success when they drop back to pass. Leading the way has been [player_tooltip player_id='1891835' first='Jayden' last='Gonzalez'], their senior quarterback. Gonzales has gone 38-69 for 805 yards with 8 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Moreover, Gonzalez also leads the squad in rushing totals, slashing 42/232/2 thus far. Gonzalez seems to look toward the direction of [player_tooltip player_id='1905698' first='Derek' last='Cabana'] more times than not. The breakout sophomore has 11 receptions for 309 yards and 3 scores - all of which are either tied for, or lead, the team. Being a smaller school, these two are forced to play defense - and are having tremendous seasons thus far. Starting with Gonzalez, he leads the team in tackles with 41 (18 solo) and interceptions with 2; he has also accumulated 3.5 tackles for loss and forced a fumble. For the sophomore Cabana, he has made 21 tackles (10 solo), 5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, forced a fumble, and recovered one for a score.<br><br>From one breakout sophomore to another, offensively Park Ridge has been paced by the play of [player_tooltip player_id='1548605' first='Patrick' last='Randolph']. The 2028 graduate leads the team on the ground with 30 carries, 412 yards, and 7 scores. Also a contributor on defense, he is one-off the team lead in tackles with 17 (10 solo), with 2 tackles for loss and 1 forced fumble. The youth movement continues on in Park Ridge with the play of freshman [player_tooltip player_id='1905699' first='Emory' last='Gordon']. Gordon currently leads the team in tackles, 18 (11 solo), tackles for loss, 2, forced fumbles, 1, and sacks, 1. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Friday, September 26</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Glen Rock (4-0) at Rutherford (3-0)<br><br>In what will certainly be a battle for NJIC tournament seeding, regardless of the outcome of this game, if things break how they should for these two unbeatens, Rutherford and Glen Rock ought to link up again later in the season. For both of these teams, every one of their victories has been by double-digits.<br><br>For the hosting team Rutherford, the future looks bright as they have several young players - mostly sophomores - contributing in key roles. Sophomore tailback [player_tooltip player_id='1550118' first='John' last='Gioia'] is, by far, their leading rusher. Gioia has slashed 46/367/3 to-date, while also catching 7 passes for 49 yards, and currently leads the team in tackles with 25 (10 solo). A pair of sophomores are the Bulldogs go-to receivers: [player_tooltip player_id='1905700' first='Will' last='Holman'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1905701' first='Quinn' last='Webber']. Holman lead the team in yardage with 203 on 12 catches with a score, while Webber leads the team with 14 grabs and 4 touchdowns for 148 yards. Webber is also an impact defender, having made 24 tackles (14 solo) with a tackle for loss. Defensive back [player_tooltip player_id='1905702' first='Jo' last='Jo Marullo'] is making early-season waves with his team-high 2 interceptions and adding 15 tackles (5 solo) thus far.<br><br>The rock of Glen Rock's offense seems to be the play of [player_tooltip player_id='1032177' first='Brendan' last='Burkhardt']. Aside from having the best name know to humanity, Burkhardt, the quarterback, appears to be a true dual threat. Although he leads the team in rushing scores with 5, he is second on the team with 29 carries for 299 yards. Those later two figures are second to [player_tooltip player_id='1557296' first='Matt' last='Boisits'], who paces the team with 65 totes for 373 yards, scoring 4 times. Burkhardt has gone 25-44 on the season for 438 yards with 3 touchdowns to 2 picks; while Boisits is second on the team with 33 tackles (11 solo) and 2 tackles for loss. Yet <em>another </em>sophomore making a big impact across NJIC schools is Glen Rock's [player_tooltip player_id='1538064' first='Jack' last='Spitaleri']. A linebacker, Spitaleri leads the team in tackles (39, 15 solo) and sacks (4), while also having 2 tackles for loss.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->