Thanksgiving Week Games to Watch

The last week of the football season is upon us. Thanksgiving Week always features a bunch of unique matchups, and that holds true this year as well. We’ll have a bunch of games that features teams from different regions going up against one another, a powerhouse showdown this weekend and more. Of course, nothing is constant this year and the schedule can change on a daily basis. Let’s take a look at some Thanksgiving Week games to watch. <strong>Pascack Valley at Bound Brook, Tuesday: </strong>Pascack Valley heads to Bound Brook in a unique matchup on Tuesday evening. Pascack Valley is 2-3 on the season, but two of those three losses have come by a touchdown, including the last two weeks against Old Tappan and River Dell. Zach Traina provides senior leadership at quarterback, Mike Solazzo and Nick Messina have led the charge in the backfield and Dylan Hutchinson has been a top weapon at receiver. Pascack Valley has a number of impact players on defense, including Sean Cuffe, [player_tooltip player_id="28000" first="Steven" last="Demboski"], Daniel Haag, Nick Messina and Desmond Von Tobel. Bound Brook sits at 4-2. The Crusaders are coming off a 44-28 loss to Brearley, but the Somerset County squad is capable of putting up points, and fast. Junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="28054" first="Patrick" last="LePoidevin"] has been effective with 17 touchdowns to four interceptions, and he has thrown for over 1,100 yards. There are playmakers all across the offense, including [player_tooltip player_id="27994" first="Bryce" last="Cobb"], Sharrod Tedder, Jayden Brimage, Brett Miller and Jahman McNeil. <strong>Gov. Livingston at New Providence, Wednesday: </strong>These Union County foes will meet on Thanksgiving Eve. Gov. Livingston (4-1) has been impressive with a 4-1 mark, which includes a big victory over Hillside earlier this season. Senior Jayson Schmidt has carried much of the load on offense with 438 rushing yards and six scores in five games, also catching three TDs with 119 receiving yards. The Highlanders pride themselves on the defensive end. The team has 10 interceptions overall, with Victor Chalt’s four leading the way. Schmidt, Andrew Ciraco and Peter Iossa have also been effective on defense. Outside of a loss to Glen Rock, New Providence has been perfect with a 7-1 record. The offense is heavily reliant on [player_tooltip player_id="27997" first="Charlie" last="Barth"], who has emerged as one of the state’s top running threats with 1,525 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns on 156 carries. He also has 106 tackles and a pair of sacks on defense. Other impact players on New Providence include Dean Licari, Sean Michaels, Jacob Wied, Tim Walsh, Owen Forbes, Gavin Duffy and [player_tooltip player_id="28019" first="Anthony" last="Kaspereen"]. If Gov. Livingston wants to leave with a victory, it will need to make stopping Barth a priority. <strong>Hanover Park at West Essex, Wednesday: </strong>Here is a matchup with two prolific offenses. Hanover Park (5-1) is on a five-game winning streak, scoring 40 or more points in every contest. Quarterback Christian Valvano has accounted for 22 touchdowns through the air and on the ground, and he can beat a defense in many ways. Michael Filippone is an exciting player to watch on the ground. He has run for 851 yards and 12 scores. Justin Tuli and Brett Behre have combined for eight of the team’s 10 receiving TDs, and they each have 18 receptions for over 300 yards. Hanover Park has shown it can get to the quarterback with 12 team sacks. Luca Zirpoli and Leo Ferrantelli have four each, Owen Feldman has two sacks to go with 51 tackles, Michael Borrello has 42 tackles and two sacks and Sonny Conley has two interceptions. West Essex remains one of the undefeated teams in the state at 5-0. The team is coming off a dominant and impressive 35-7 win over Parsippany Hills. Giancarlo Farro and [player_tooltip player_id="27950" first="Chris" last="Bell"] have been a two-headed monster on the ground, and [player_tooltip player_id="28011" first="Chris" last="Corbo"], Mike Girardi and Vincent Panzarino have made timely plays. <strong>Randolph at Sparta, Wednesday: </strong>Randolph (6-1) dropped its first game of the season this past week in a loss to division foe Mount Olive. The Rams have been impressive this season, however. Quarterback Aden Koenigsberg has thrown for over 1,000 yards and has 12 touchdowns to four picks, also adding six rushing scores. Seniors Jimmy Pepe and Justin Townsend have been the threats on the ground, and they have combined for 15 TDs. Randolph is a balanced team that can get it done on both ends. Sparta will be a tough challenge on the road, however. Sparta is coming off a loss to Shawnee that snapped a four-game winning streak. Austen Frattura is a sophomore quarterback, but he’s experienced after playing last season. Junior Sam Esposito has 12 of the team’s 19 rushing scores, and Brendan Cica, Colby Plotts, James Maloney and Kevin Struble are all weapons in the receiving game. Maloney has four interceptions on defense. This is a game that could go either way, and one of these teams will finish the season on a high note. <strong>Lenape at St. Augustine, Wednesday: </strong>This has the potential to be the best game on Thanksgiving Eve. Lenape will have revenge on its mind after falling to Holy Spirit this past week after a big victory over Cherokee, while St. Augustine may be one of the best .500 teams in the state at 3-3. St. Augustine has dropped the last two games in very tight meetings with Holy Spirit and Williamstown, and the Hermits will like to pick up a major home victory over a top opponent to send the seniors off the right way. <strong>St. Peter’s Prep at Bergen Catholic, Saturday: </strong>One of the most anticipated meetings of the season will take place on Saturday. St. Peter’s Prep, the No. 1 team in the state that has dealt with COVID-19 in recent weeks, will take on a Bergen Catholic team that fell to Don Bosco Prep last week and then had its game against Delbarton canceled right before kickoff due to a positive test this past weekend. These two teams were supposed to meet earlier in the season before it was shut down just 24 hours before the game. There will be talent all over the field in this one, and we’ll see if St. Peter’s can close out the season as the top team in the state. <strong>Other Games:</strong> Morris Hills at Parsippany Hills, Thanksgiving Gloucester at Gloucester Catholic, Saturday Irvington at Clifton, Friday