Group V Regional Championship Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As we head into Regional Championship weekend, we will finally determine who-will-face-who to earn the right to be named the outright Group Champion. Group V's playoff bracket features two games on Friday, November 17 where Union City will travel to Passaic County Tech and Toms River North will travel into Cherokee.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Below are a handful of athletes that I suspect to have big games and play key roles in determining the outcome of each.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Union City @ Passaic County Tech</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Considering the recent history between these two teams, I just might travel to this one on Friday night. In their last three meetings as top teams in North Group V over the last two seasons, PCTI has come up victorious by final scores of 13-6, 6-3, and 14-7. If Union City is going to shake the PCTI flu tonight, I expect junior back [player_tooltip player_id='341839' first='Mark' last='Boyd'] to play a big role in doing so. Boyd led the Soaring Eagles in rushing yards this year with 1060 and 13 touchdowns on 136 attempts while also taking a kickoff to the house. Attempting to slow down PCTI's lead rusher will be [player_tooltip player_id='378554' first='Denzel' last='Chavis']. A FBS-bound defender, Chavis has come up with 33 tackles this year (16 solos) to go along with 1 fumble recovery, 2 blocked kicks, and 1 pick-six.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When talking about a high school's Mount Rushmore, I feel that [player_tooltip player_id='220060' first='Trashon' last='Dye'] ought to be on PTCI's Mount Rushmore. Having now totaled 4399 yards on 703 carries with 42 scores in four seasons, his place as a Bulldog-great will be solidified with a state title. This season Dye has been a Bulldog unchained as he has rushed for 1849 yards and 21 touchdowns on 240 carries. He has failed to reach 100 yards in a game only once this year, scored in all but two games, had eight games of 140+ yards, topped 200 yards three times, and had eight multi-score games on the year. That is not all, folks! Dye is also the heartbeat of PCTI's defense as he has made 113 stops (58 solos) with 7 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 fumble recovery. A defensive back that will fill allies and be a key force player opposing Union City's Wing-T attack is [player_tooltip player_id='994290' first='Joel' last='Perez']. The junior has mixed it up with 39 tackles this year (31 solo), 1 tackle for loss, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries, 3 interceptions, and 1 pick-six.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Toms River North @ Cherokee</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The defending Group V champs go as far as Stanford-bound [player_tooltip player_id='172516' first='Micah' last='Ford'] does. The reigning Gatorade State Player of the Year Ford has battled through a few injuries this year, but now appears to have returned to full health. As a traditional drop-back passer Ford has gone 29 of 54 for 693 yards with 13 touchdowns and 2 interceptions - both coming in one game. Explosive as fireworks on the Fourth of July, Ford runs like OJ's Bronco weaved through traffic to the tune of 1229 yards and 12 scores on 130 carries. Getting it done on defense as well he has made 32 tackles (10 solos), 2 tackles for loss, and had 2 pick-sixes. Lining up in front of Ford is perhaps the Mariners' most productive linebacker, junior [player_tooltip player_id='1040416' first='Blaise' last='Boland']. Playing with the freedom knowing he has two FBS prospects behind him, Boland has produced 76 tackles (21 solo) on the year. Although Boland has forced 2 fumbles and recovered 1, his most outstanding ability is to make plays behind the line of scrimmage - 9 sacks and 22.5 tackles for loss, to be exact. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the toughest schedules in the state served Cherokee well as the road to Piscataway goes through them. Looking to capitalize on the Chiefs' home field advantage is rusher [player_tooltip player_id='1041986' first='Murad' last='Campfield']. After getting his toes wet as a sophomore on varsity, Campfield has taken and ran away with the lead rusher role as a junior. Campfield has rushed 206 times for 1250 yards and 15 touchdowns. Looking to slowdown Ford will be [player_tooltip player_id='462997' first='Austin' last='Lenart']. A senior, Lenart has done a great job looking to end his prep career on top. On the season he has made 109 tackles (30 solos) with 3 sacks, 10 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception, and 1 scoop-and-score. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->