Too early to think about the Prep-Bosco showdown?
In Hansen’s eyes, Marauders can’t afford to look ahead
First things first. After the second game of the season, I predicted that St. Peter’s Prep wouldn’t give up a point to a Hudson County football team this season. Well, I was wrong.
The Marauders carried the scoreless streak through seven full games and a stretch of 356 minutes, before giving up two touchdowns to Bayonne last Friday night in a 28-12 win that gave the Marauders their fourth straight HCIAA championship.
Still, the Marauders, ranked No. 2 in the entire state, had an impressive run of keeping the opposition out of the end zone. They maintain an incredible ledger of having outscored their opponents by a combined total of 401-12 this season. Those numbers are downright staggering.
All systems point to an eventual showdown with the No. 1 team in the state, the seemingly unbeatable Ironmen of Don Bosco Prep, the team that humiliated the Marauders in the NJSIAA Parochial Group 4 semifinals a year ago and loom as a probable opponent in the semifinals of the bracket again this year on Nov. 22.
Things are certainly looking like that is what will take place.
The Marauders have their state playoff ticket punched already, earning the third seed in the bracket and playing host to Paramus Catholic in the first round of the Parochial Group 4 bracket next weekend. Don Bosco Prep, which appears to be the second seed, will draw a bye and await the Marauders the following week.
Notre Dame of Lawrenceville will more than likely earn the top seed, unless three teams, West Windsor-Plainsboro North, West Windsor-Plainsboro South or Nutley, win this weekend.
“It’s not exactly etched in stone that Don Bosco won’t be the top seed,” St. Peter’s Prep head coach and athletic director Rich Hansen said. “They could still get the No. 1 seed.”
But if the powerful Ironmen, who have just steamrolled opponents all season long, including five-time defending Parochial Group 3 state champion St. Joseph of Montvale, 63-17, last weekend, stay the course and earn the No. 2 seed, then a showdown with the local heroes looms in three weeks.
“I know that we’re locked in at No. 3,” Hansen said. “We’ve done everything we can do. The rest falls where it falls.”
It’s quite amazing that the Marauders can be the No. 2-ranked team in the entire state and the No. 10 team in the entire Eastern region of the United States and still be the third seed in their own state playoff bracket.
So there lies another problem with the power point system. Notre Dame plays far more inferior talent in southern New Jersey and piles up the power points because of the size of the schools they play and the amount of wins that their opponents collect against also far inferior teams.
It also means that if things fall as they appear to be headed, that instead of having a state championship showdown between the two best teams in the state, football fans will have to settle for the showdown taking place in the semifinals in Ramsey instead of the finals in Giants Stadium.
“Anytime you have No. 1 playing No. 2 in a state championship game, it gives you everything you want,” Hansen said. “It would be great to play that game if it happens, but we can’t even concern ourselves with that right now. We’re not thinking of that at all. We’re not even talking about Bosco. As tempting as it is to talk about it, it can’t work that way. We have two games before that. Sure, kids will be kids, talking about high school football in the state, and Bosco’s name always comes up, but it’s not on our minds right now. Not yet, anyway.”
For now, the Marauders have two games before they could even think about Don Bosco Prep, namely the regular season finale this weekend against Snyder and a first-round playoff game against Paramus Catholic.
On paper, those two games appear to be walkovers. But Hansen’s not taking anything for granted.
Still, this was a week of celebration for the Marauders, having clinched their fourth straight HCIAA title, which is quite an accomplishment in the competitive world of Hudson County football.
“Winning four in a row is definitely difficult to do,” Hansen said. “There is a lot of parity in the league and it’s hard to keep up. This championship has a little different flavor to it, since we lost 25 seniors from last year’s team and had kids coming in playing different roles. Since each one is different, it makes it very special.”
This one has to be special, because the Marauders actually won what essentially was a championship game. The league title wasn’t decided in the first two weeks of the season, like it was in the last few years. Friday night’s game had a championship feel to it, right down to the 8,000 or so who crammed their way into Don Ahern Veterans Stadium in Bayonne to see the contest.
“It really had an excitement to it,” Hansen said. “It was a great atmosphere.”
Incredibly, the Marauders really didn’t play that well. They made key mistakes, committed penalties, misread defensive coverages.
“It was great to play a game and win a championship and still not play at our best,” Hansen said. “We beat a very good team and didn’t play well at all. I think that’s an indicator of how good of a team we can be.”
Another indication was how the Marauders converted on big plays, made the big plays count. Leo Ferrine, one of the handful of kids who came to the Prep this year, transferring after Bishop Francis Essex Catholic closed in June, made two spectacular plays.
The speedster Ferrine made a juggling catch down the sidelines for an 85-yard touchdown reception in the first half, then supplied the game-breaker in the third quarter, when he returned a fumble off an interception some 65 more yards for another score.
“Leo has had a few nice games for us,” Hansen said. “He’s been steady all season. But this game, these plays jump out at you. It was a high profile game with a lot at stake, and Leo made the big plays. But he seems to make those plays a lot. I don’t remember having one of our kids make big plays like that in a game of that enormity. It’s great that it was on our side for a change.”
Another big play was the touchdown reception made by James Tindall for the Marauders’ first score in the first quarter. It was one of the most remarkable catches ever made by a high school football receiver.
Tindall turned one way, then did a 360-degree spin to come completely around before securing Ryan Boysen’s pass with just his right hand, giving the Marauders the lead for good.
“When I saw it live, I thought it was a pretty good catch, but when I saw it on film, with the slow motion, I said, ‘Holy smokes,’ ” Hansen said. “It absolutely goes down as one of the great ones ever.”
Whether Prep-Don Bosco will go down as one of the great games ever remains to be seen. We have to wait two more weeks. But the showdown is looming. It can happen.
Right now, this current version of the Marauders is making its mark as one of the school’s best teams ever. Don Bosco Prep wants to be known as New Jersey’s best team ever. It looks like a collision of two runaway freight trains. Who comes out the worst for wear after the collision remains to be seen, but the showdown is that much closer to becoming reality.