Garden State Gridiron Game Report: Punishers vs. New Jersey Rated

Despite my strong distain for 7on7, its impact on the sport of football, the culture it is cultivating, and all that surrounds or comes with it, I covered my first 7on7 this weekend on Saturday, April 18, 2026. Prep Redzone produced the Garden State Gridiron tournament, a two-day championship event, hosted at Elizabeth Public School's William's Field and the city's downtown Todd Bowles Stadium. Day 1 of this event was a 10-hour nonstop, gauntlet of a marathon, with games every half-hour, on the half-hour. Nearly 35 U18 teams from as far as Western New York, Maryland, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Long Island, as well as local teams alike, fiercely competed against everyone - their competition, the referees, event staff, coaches, spectators, security, and even internally amongst themselves - as nobody was safe.   With a lunch break, I did my best to cover each U18 team that was participating. With as much action as there was, I have decided to release my observations as game performance reports. Unfortunately, not all rosters were made available -neither by teams' managers nor Prep Redzone. As such, I have tried to report with as much fidelity as possible.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Punishers</h2>   Unfortunately I was not provided Punishers' roster by either the team or by Prep Redzone; however, I recorded jersey numbers and corresponding notes for individual player performances.   Jersey #11, [player_tooltip player_id='1891858' first='Eric' last='Cespedes'], continued to have a strong performance into the evening. I watched him cleanly pick off a pass. With a steady and fluid backpedal, his eyes were locked into the quarterback, whose movements he mirrored, successfully breaking on the ball to end that drive. Offensively I noticed how strong he was. Cespedes' sheer force allowed him to break through holds and keep going to gain additional yardage.   Jersey #15 had a tremendous catch radius. Towering over any-and-all opponents, he was able to grab passes off the top shelf and to either side. With his huge frame, he also was able to protect himself when he made a sliding catch.   The quarterback, who was not in a jersey number, delivered a Joe Montana-esque strike on a corner route. As the ball was delivered it evaded traffic and limbs, as it arrived safely into the receiver's hands.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">New Jersey Rated</h2>   Because of church, I only caught the tail-end of this matchup. As such, I regretfully was unable to record any notes for New Jersey Rated's prospects.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Garden State Gridiron U18 Coverage</h2>   <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/04/garden-state-gridiron-u18-teams-that-were-the-most">Garden State Gridiron: U18 Teams That Were The Most...</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/04/garden-state-gridiron-game-report-nj-dream-chasers-vs-ny-hustle">Garden State Gridiron Game Report: NJ Dream Chasers vs. NY Hustle</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/04/garden-state-gridiron-game-report-new-york-hustle-vs-hype-fam">Garden State Gridiron Game Report: New York Hustle vs. Hype Fam</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/04/garden-state-gridiron-game-report-hail-mary-vs-black-ops">Garden State Gridiron Game Report: Hail Mary vs. Black Ops</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/04/garden-state-gridiron-report-ny-hustle-v-rock-hoppers-hustle">Garden State Gridiron Report: NY Hustle v. Rock Hoppers (Hustle)</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/04/garden-state-gridiron-game-report-new-jersey-rated-v-black-ops">Garden State Gridiron Game Report: New Jersey Rated v. Black Ops</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/04/garden-state-gridiron-game-report-litm-superstars-v-black-ops">Garden State Gridiron Game Report: LITM Superstars v. Black Ops</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/04/garden-state-gridiron-game-report-32-sports-vs-nj-rated-red/%E2%86%97">Garden State Gridiron Game Report: 32 Sports vs. NJ Rated (Red)</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/04/garden-state-gridiron-game-report-litm-blue-vs-nj-rated-red">Garden State Gridiron Game Report: LITM (Blue) vs. NJ Rated (Red)</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/04/garden-state-gridiron-game-report-asg-metro-vs-team-mars">Garden State Gridiron Game Report: ASG Metro vs. Team Mars</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/04/garden-state-gridiron-game-report-asg-metro-v-diamond-athletics">Garden State Gridiron Game Report: ASG Metro v. Diamond Athletics</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/04/garden-state-gridiron-game-report-camboyz-vs-next-level-air">Garden State Gridiron Game Report: Camboyz vs. Next Level Air</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/04/garden-state-gridiron-game-report-camboyz-vs-4th-quarter-elite">Garden State Gridiron Game Report: Camboyz vs. 4th Quarter Elite</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/04/garden-state-gridiron-game-report-ghosts-vs-boardwalk-beasts">Garden State Gridiron Game Report: Ghosts vs. Boardwalk Beasts</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/05/garden-state-gridiron-game-report-camboyz-vs-kingdom-way">Garden State Gridiron Game Report: Camboyz vs. Kingdom Way</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/05/garden-state-gridiron-game-nxt-era-panthers-v-boardwalk-beasts">Garden State Gridiron Game: Nxt Era Panthers v. Boardwalk Beasts</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/05/garden-state-gridiron-game-report-nxt-era-panthers-v-ghosts">Garden State Gridiron Game Report: Nxt Era Panthers v. Ghosts</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/05/garden-state-gridiron-report-train-to-go-vs-next-level-greats">Garden State Gridiron Game Report: Train to Go vs. Next Level Greats</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/05/garden-state-gridiron-game-report-punishers-v-next-level-greats">Garden State Gridiron Game Report: Punishers vs. Next Level Greats</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/05/garden-state-gridiron-game-report-ct-pride-vs-next-level-greats">Garden State Gridiron Game Report: CT Pride vs. Next Level Greats</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/05/garden-state-gridiron-game-report-punishers-vs-new-jersey-rated">Garden State Gridiron Game Report: Punishers vs. New Jersey Rated</a>

Despite my strong distain for 7on7, its impact on the sport of football, the culture it is cultivating, and all that surrounds or comes with it, I covered my first 7on7 this weekend on Saturday, April 18, 2026. Prep Redzone produced the Garden State Gridiron tournament, a two-day championship event, hosted at Elizabeth Public School's William's Field and the city's downtown Todd Bowles Stadium. Day 1 of this event was a 10-hour nonstop, gauntlet of a marathon, with games every half-hour, on the half-hour. Nearly 35 U18 teams from as far as Western New York, Maryland, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Long Island, as well as local teams alike, fiercely competed against everyone - their competition, the referees, event staff, coaches, spectators, security, and even internally amongst themselves - as nobody was safe.