Must-See Games in Week 8

The second week of the New Jersey high school football postseason is upon us. Week 8 will feature a ton of great matchups. While some have been forced to cancel, such as Phillipsburg’s meeting with neighboring Pennsylvania rival Easton, many games should bring a ton of excitement. Let’s take a look at the Week 8 must-see games. <strong>DePaul at Ocean City, Friday: </strong>This is an interesting matchup that would normally never take place. DePaul will make the trip to Ocean City after Camden opted out of its game with Ocean City on Wednesday. Ocean City has been a great story this season with a 6-0 record, giving up just 37 points on the season while scoring 253. Senior quarterback Joe Repetti has thrown for 723 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also leads the team on the ground with 394 yards and four scores. Jake Schneider has shown his ability to make plays in the receiving game. He has 27 receptions and 506 yards and six touchdowns, by far the best on the team. Schneider also has four interceptions, including three that were returned for scores. DePaul has only played four games, and is 2-2. The team has not played since Oct. 23, and its game against Don Bosco this week was also canceled due to COVID-19. Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="27896" first="Andrew" last="Butler"] is one of the better quarterbacks in the state. He is precise with his throws and he has thrown for over 1,000 yards in four games. This will be a long trip for DePaul, but it’ll be an exciting matchup for two top-20 teams that had to adjust on the fly and schedule the game last minute. <strong>Lenape at Holy Spirit, Friday: </strong>This will be a game that will unofficially crown the South Jersey champion. Lenape and Holy Spirit, two unbeaten teams, will go at it in the West Jersey Football League postseason championship pod title game. Lenape is coming off a big overtime victory over Cherokee that featured a 48-yard field goal as the difference. Holy Spirit continues to feed Colorado State commit and one of the state’s top running backs in [player_tooltip player_id="27903" first="Patrick" last="Smith"]. This battle could go either way, and it’ll be one of the ones that could be remembered for years in an otherwise difficult 2020 season. <strong>Waldwick at Becton, Friday: </strong>The North Jersey Interscholastic Conference championship will be on the line when Waldwick hits the road for a meeting at unbeaten Becton. Becton arguably has the greatest storyline of the year. The team has not surrendered a single point through five games. That includes a convincing victory over Park Ridge a week ago. Waldwick (4-1) has playmakers, though, including Rashawn Markman and Shawn Grisby, and the team has proven it can put up points. <strong>Donovan Catholic at Wall, Friday: </strong>Two undefeated Shore Conference teams remain, and they’ll meet this week. Wall, the third-ranked team in the state, has got it done on defense with four shutouts in its six wins. The team has only allowed 23 points this season. Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="27948" first="Logan" last="Peters"] has been effective, and [player_tooltip player_id="27929" first="Casey" last="Larkin"] has rushed for 10 scores and over 600 yards. Larkin will surely be used a ton in this game. Donovan Catholic, on the other hand, is 7-0 and has put up a lot of points in multiple games. Behind quarterback Evyn Menta, running back Jahdir Loftland and receiver Jayden Farrar Donovan Catholic is extremely dangerous if it gets going. <strong>Williamstown at St. Augustine, Friday: </strong>Williamstown (5-2) and St. Augustine (3-2) will meet in a rematch of an overtime thriller where St. Augustine squeezed out a 17-16 victory. This matchup will be in the West Jersey Football League C pod final. [player_tooltip player_id="27990" first="Turner" last="Inge"] has emerged as a top weapon for Williamstown in the backfield with over 400 yards rushing and seven scores. [player_tooltip player_id="27959" first="Keon" last="Sabb"] is a weapon at receiver. St. Augustine juniors [player_tooltip player_id="27984" first="Kanye" last="Udoh"], Franklin Simms and [player_tooltip player_id="27976" first="Nasir" last="Hill"]s all make an impact on offense. Junior Brady Small has five of the team’s nine sacks on the defensive line. <strong>Hanover Park at Mahwah, Friday: </strong>This is a fun matchup between two teams with just one loss. Hanover Park has been prolific on the offensive end, and there are a number of playmakers who make an impact, including quarterback Christian Valvano. Valvano has accounted for 20 touchdowns between passing and rushing. Mahwah will look to bounce back from its first loss of the season to Ramsey. <strong>Randolph at Mount Olive, Friday: </strong>Randolph has been one of the top stories in the state this year with its undefeated record. The No. 13 Rams will have confidence going into this one after defeating Irvington last week. Quarterback Aden Koenigsberg has become one of the top players in Morris County, and Justin Townsend and Jimmy Pepe have been extremely productive running the ball and making plays in the receiving game. Mount Olive could play spoiler in the division and create a three-way tie for the division crown with a win. The Marauders (5-1) rely on playmakers such as Gavin Lockwood, Justin Schmidt, Hunter Perez, AJ McKay and Charlie McVicar. <strong>Parsippany Hills at West Essex, Friday: </strong>This will be a rematch of last year’s North 2, Group 3 final. West Essex has been limited in play but remains perfect at 4-0. Giancarlo Farro and [player_tooltip player_id="27950" first="Chris" last="Bell"] have combined for 10 touchdowns on the ground. [player_tooltip player_id="28011" first="Chris" last="Corbo"] has a team-leading 12 receptions, and Vincent Panzarino (38 tackles, three sacks) and Jake Cusano (seven sacks) have made an impact on defense. Parsippany Hills, at 5-2, will look to rebound from a loss to Sparta. Chris Evans has been a nice addition as a transfer quarterback, and [player_tooltip player_id="28009" first="Dominick" last="Verducci"], Ty Sallie, [player_tooltip player_id="27875" first="Jordan" last="Thompson"], Andrew Thomas and Jacob Smith have been effective all season. <strong>Paulsboro at Salem, Saturday: </strong>This will be a fun matchup between two undefeated squads in South Jersey. In the WJFL D pod final, one of these teams will have bragging rights as far as small schools go in the area. Paulsboro is coming off a dominant shutout win over Haddon Heights. Bhayshul Tuten has been a tremendous scoring threat for Paulsboro. Jahki Coates has done a great job as a sophomore quarterback for Salem, and Lee Coleman has caught seven touchdowns. Salem hasn’t played since Halloween due to a COVID-19 shutdown. <strong>St. Joseph (Mont.) at Cherokee, Saturday: </strong>This is an intriguing matchup that came about this week due to scheduling changes. St. Joseph has won three in a row and continues to feed standout and Michigan State commit [player_tooltip player_id="27865" first="Audric" last="Estime"], who has rushed for 1,325 yards and 17 touchdowns for the 4-2 group. Cherokee will need to do its best to limit Estime as much as possible. The Chiefs will also rely on one of their backs in Brandon Boria. The sophomore has 874 rushing yards and 10 TDs to his name this season, and he’s coming off a 258-yard performance in an overtime loss to Lenape last week. <strong>Bergen Catholic at Delbarton, Saturday: </strong>Delbarton has been a breakout team in 2020 with a 6-0 mark, including some impressive wins that include Don Bosco and DePaul. This week will be the Green Wave’s biggest challenge to date with a Bergen Catholic team that will look to make a statement after losing to rival Don Bosco last season. There is Division I talent all across the field in this matchup, and Saturday’s meeting should be a good test for both teams. <strong>Other Games: </strong> Ridgewood at West Morris, Friday Mountain Lakes at Newton, Friday Lenape Valley at Sparta, Friday Freehold Borough at Rumson-Fair Haven, Friday St. Joseph (Hamm.) at Hammonton, Friday Wayne Hills at Watchung Hills, Saturday