Perhaps the biggest shocker of the young football season took place last week, when St. Peter’s Prep, which earned the No. 1 ranking in the entire state to start the 2010 campaign, lost to St. Joseph of Montvale, 21-17, a week after manhandling St. Joseph’s Prep of Philadelphia by a lopsided 35-7 score.
No one could have ever imagined the Marauders would lose an early season game, especially since they defeated the Green Knights so handily late last season.
Maybe the No. 1 ranking was a little premature, considering that the Marauders hadn’t really done anything to earn the top slot. After all, Don Bosco Prep has been the reigning No. 1 team in the state for the last four years and should have retained that spot on the pedestal until some other team came along and knocked the Ironmen off it.
Now, Bosco is in its rightly and lofty position as the No. 1 team in the state and it will take some other squad to come along and try to knock them off it, but unfortunately, it won’t be the Marauders.
The Marauders may eventually get a shot later on down the road in the state playoffs, but for now, they have to get over the fact that they simply were not good enough to deserve a national ranking and the No. 1 spot in the entire state…
Some other grid observations over the first two weeks of the season:
Hoboken, led by the big-play ability of Delquan Groomes, managed to sneak by a very good Cedar Grove team, 28-27, last week to improve to 2-0. Groomes had a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and caught a 45-yard TD pass in the win. Considering that Hoboken had to endure a 3-7 season a year ago, the 2-0 start is a breath of fresh air for coach Lou Taglieri and the Red Wings…
Marist won a good bounce-back game against Sussex Tech, thanks to the running of Isaiah Perryman and Garry Merrill. Perryman had 172 yards rushing and three touchdowns and Merrill had 131 yards and one score in the Royal Knights’ 38-0 victory. It comes a week after Marist suffered a tough loss to Parsippany, helping Parsippany snap a 31-game losing streak…
Secaucus moved to an impressive 2-0 with a 56-7 win over Harrison. The Patriots have now outscored their two opponents, Manchester Regional and Harrison, by a combined total of 102-15. Eddie Delgado is once again proving he’s one of the best running backs around, motoring for 166 yards on just nine carries and a touchdown in limited duty against Harrison…
The Hudson Reporter H.S. Football Top Five: 1. St. Peter’s Prep (1-1). 2. Lincoln (2-0). 3. Secaucus (2-0). 4. Hoboken (2-0). 5. St. Anthony (2-0).
The Hudson Reporter H.S. Soccer Top Five: 1. St. Peter’s Prep (3-1). 2. Union City (2-1). 3. North Bergen (1-2). 4. Dickinson (1-2). 5. Memorial (1-3).
One of the highlights of the young soccer season so far has been the play of Prep freshman forward Johnny Phillips, who has scored four goals in the Marauders’ first four games. It’s very rare to see a freshman make that kind of a splash right away….
In cross country, St. Peter’s Prep senior Charlie Bates has enjoyed a strong start to the season, finishing third overall at the St. Dominic Academy Invitational in Lincoln Park two weeks ago and then finishing fourth at the Bernie Magee Invitational at Warinaco Park last week…
St. Dominic Academy’s Sarah Sisk, who was more recognized for her work in field events last year, like the high jump, did well at the SDA Invitational, finishing 10th overall…
It was sad to hear the news that Ebon Meyers was not retained as the track and field coach at Snyder High School. Meyers spent the last two decades coaching track at the school, but the powers-that-be decided to go in another direction. Meyers was part of the resurgence of the Snyder track program, monitoring the development of state 200-meter dash champion Zamir Thomas…
Speaking of people named Meyers, Lincoln Park Little League guru Jerry Meyers has to be overjoyed that his facility inside Lincoln Park will be upgraded to a Field Turf facility. No one is more dedicated to Little League baseball in Hudson County and the refurbishing of that field is going to be a god-send to those kids who play there…
While Prep grad Rashawn Jackson didn’t make the final cut for the Carolina Panthers, he was signed to the team’s practice squad, so Jackson is indeed a professional football player in the NFL. And that is quite a feat for a kid from the Greenville section of Jersey City…
What does it say about high school sports in Jersey City when two public school teams, Ferris’ girls’ soccer team and Lincoln’s girls’ tennis team, had to disband operations because of a lack of participants? It says that it’s a pretty sad state of affairs. Someone should have reached out to try to get more girls involved in athletics at those schools…
On a sad note, three friends passed away over the last two weeks and all three had ties to the local sports scene.
First, Jersey City Recreation aide Jamie Lynch died two weeks ago. He was one of basketball great Bobby Hurley’s closest friends growing up and was always a fixture at Bobby’s games. Jamie was only 38, far too young to leave us.
Then, Butch Kachel passed away. Butch was the dad of former Prep baseball standout Jeff Kachel, who fought a valiant battle against cancer about 20 years ago, only to tragically leave us all at the age of 19. Butch Kachel was a good friend who cared about everyone whom he ever met. He had a heart transplant a few years ago and had moved to North Carolina, but always wanted to know about his friends back home in Jersey City.
Finally, Brian “Buck” Ellerson died last week after fighting cancer for the better part of the last year. Buck, the father of former Hudson Reporter Baseball Player of the Year Brian Ellerson, who had a great career at Hudson Catholic, later Montclair State and for a while in pro ball with the Montreal Expos’ organization, was a dedicated firefighter, a good friend and someone who always wanted to help every single kid he came across.
All three died too soon and all three will always be remembered in these circles. Rest in peace… –Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.