North Jersey Interscholastic Conference Championship Preview

Our state's smallest conference, the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference, may be small in terms of the number of member-schools; however, there are some cool caveats that come due to their size. the NJIC is the only conference in the state that plays a championship game before the playoffs. This is akin to the Big 10, SEC, or ACC championship games being played prior to the College Football Playoffs.   This year's conference championship game will feature two unbeaten, 7-0 teams as #4 seed Butler travels to #2 seed Rutherford on Friday, October 24.   Prep Redzone's Winter Showcase is back for 2025 with more locations than ever. Looking to attend? Register <a href="https://prepredzone.com/all-events/?type=Showcase">here</a>. Save a few dollars off the cost of registration by using my special promo code, MankariousWinterPRZ   Be sure to follow me on <a href="https://x.com/BrendanScoutsNJ">Twitter</a> for the latest New Jersey high school football prospect news and not miss a beat!   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">4-Butler (7-0) at 2-Rutherford (7-0)</h2>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Butler Bulldogs</h2>   Offense: The pack-leader of the Butler Bulldogs is [player_tooltip player_id='1530306' first='David' last='Smith'], their quarterback. Smith has proven to be a dynamic threat all season long as he has taken all but one pass attempt on the season and also leads the team in rushing. Smith has passed for an efficient 61-94 for 952 yards. He takes care of the ball extremely well too, throwing 13 touchdowns to just 4 interceptions. Although he is slightly edged in rushing attempts by just 2 attempts, he leads the team with 778 yards and 13 touchdowns on 108 tries.   Skills-wise, [player_tooltip player_id='1305459' first='Yadi' last='Perez'] has done a great job taking the pressure off of Smith when he is asked to carry the rock. Perez's 110 attempts have netted him 633 yards and 6 scores. Butler has the benefit or three receivers who all seem to try to outdo one another. Starting with [player_tooltip player_id='1530298' first='Nick' last='Parkinson'], he leads the team with 7 touchdown receptions on 18 catches for 263 yards. Teammate [player_tooltip player_id='1970739' first='Evan' last='Croker'] matches Parkinson's 18 receptions, to lead the team, for 242 yards and 2 scores. Croker has also added a kickoff return score to his ledger. Lastly, [player_tooltip player_id='1970740' first='CJ' last='Bentley'] leads the team in yardage with 367 on 16 receptions and 3 scores. Bentley also leads the team with 2 interceptions. Defense: The most impactful, as measured by disruptive plays, defender appears to be [player_tooltip player_id='1882894' first='Ryder' last='Higbie']. Just a sophomore, Higbie leads the team with 42 tackles, but also is tied for the team lead with 4 sacks and 1 blocked kick. Moreover, Higbie has forced the ball loose 3 times this year. [player_tooltip player_id='1882898' first='Tommy' last='Henehan'] is another prospect that figures to live in the backfield. Henehan has made a team-leading 7 tackles for loss to go along with 25 total stops, 11 solo, 4 sacks, and 1 fumble recovery. Lastly, [player_tooltip player_id='1970741' first='AJ' last='Kilmat'] is another tough, run-stuffing defender that takes away gaps and flows to the ball well. Kilmat has recorded 41 stops (15 solo) with 1 tackle for loss.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Rutherford Bulldogs</h2>   Offense: [player_tooltip player_id='1543889' first='Myles' last='Balchan'] loves to sling the ball all over the lot and score touchdowns. A junior, you must believe that Balchan's best ball is ahead of him. On the season he has completed 92-134 passes for 1246 yards with 12 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Adding to his threatening nature, Balchan has scored a team-leading 5 times when he decides to use his feet. Like his opponent suiting up for the other Bulldogs, Balchan has a talented trio of receivers - albeit a bit younger - that he works the ball to with about equal tendency. Their leading receiver and scorer when they elect to go through the air is [player_tooltip player_id='987741' first='Quinn' last='Weber']. A sophomore, Weber has 23 receptions for 270 yards with 5 scores. His yardage total is bested by the "old" man in the corps, junior [player_tooltip player_id='1970753' first='AJ' last='Nunziato']. Nunziato has a team-leading 286 yards on 16 receptions with 3 scores. Finally, sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1905700' first='Will' last='Holman'] completes the trilogy at receiver. No slouch himself and showing plenty of promise, Holman has slashed 15/244/2 on the year. Another sophomore we ought to be mindful of is the Bulldogs' primary bal carrier in [player_tooltip player_id='1550118' first='John' last='Gioia']. A lency player who fills the shoes of his since-graduated older brother, Gioia leads the way on the ground with 94 carries for 618 yards, scoring 4 times.   Defensive: Picking up where we left off, [player_tooltip player_id='1550118' first='John' last='Gioia'] has made a strongimpact on defense with 44 tackles (23 solo), 1 tackle for loss, and 1 sack. His output matches that of [player_tooltip player_id='1923216' first='Hank' last='Schroeder'], who like Gioia, has made 44 tackles (31 solo) on the season. Schroeder has added 2 tackles, 4 tacklers for loss, 1 forced fumble, and an interception to his stats. Their leading tackler, by far, is [player_tooltip player_id='1970754' first='John' last='Kozlik'] and his 64 stops (35 solo). Kozlik has added 2 tackles for loss and a sack to his name. [player_tooltip player_id='1970755' first='Evan' last='Diaz'] is a lineman onf impact. Diaz has a share of the team lead with 2.5 sacks, while finding himself second on the team with 7 tackles for loss of his 31 total (18 solo) tackles. Lastly, from his position in the secondary [player_tooltip player_id='1905702' first='Jo' last='Jo Marullo'] has a team-lading 4 interceptions to go along with his 27 total (14 solo) stops. Marullo has also accumulated 4 total touchdowns and 217 total offensive yards.

Our state's smallest conference, the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference, may be small in terms of the number of member-schools; however, there are some cool caveats that come due to their size. the NJIC is the only conference in the state that plays a championship game before the playoffs. This is akin to the Big 10, SEC, or ACC championship games being played prior to the College Football Playoffs.