Bergen Catholic football edges St. Joseph in marquee game that lived up to the hype
ORADELL — Bergen Catholic remains New Jersey's best football team — barely — because St. Joseph may only be one play away.
Bergen Catholic, No. 1 in the Statewide Non-Public Top 10 rankings, fought off No. 2 St. Joseph, 28-23, on Sunday afternoon in what could be a preview of next month's NJSIAA Non-Public A championship.
“If you could bottle this feeling, you would be a very, very rich man,” said Bergen Catholic's ecstatic coach, Vito Campanile.
The Crusaders did not secure the Super Football Conference win until sophomore linebacker Mason Marck registered a sack in the final 30 seconds on a fourth-and-3 from the Bergen Catholic 26-yard line.
“I got in there on the last play, had that man-to-man to the quarterback, and just made the play, and that’s all it is,” Marck said.
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Bergen Catholic's defense came up big twice late in the fourth. Sophomore defensive back Jordan Thomas' interception at the 1-yard line came with just over two minutes remaining.
Bergen Catholic took a huge risk by taking a safety on a fourth-down punt that cut the lead to 28-23, and it allowed St. Joseph to start possession at its 46-yard line with 1:37 left and no timeouts.
Bergen Catholic junior quarterback Dominic Campanile, the coach's son, threw third-quarter TD passes of 11 yards to junior Luca Cuttita and 49 yards to junior Anthony Perrotti for a 21-7 lead.
The Crusaders tied it at 7 in the second quarter on sophomore running back Dante Klein's 2-yard run.
Bergen Catholic extended its lead to 28-14 on senior running back Kai Sanders' 26-yard TD run. During the drive, Sanders carried all eight times for 80 yards.
St. Joseph senior running back Yasin Willis scored on TD runs of 2, 1, and 6 yards, the last of which cut the deficit to 28-21 with 4:45 remaining in the game.
What it means
Bergen Catholic (6-1) will remain No. 1 in the next rankings released Tuesday, St. Joseph (5-2) will stay No. 2, and they have the inside track on the top two seeds in the Non-Public A playoffs. It’s hard to picture the Crusaders and Green Knights not facing off for a state title, with the former seeking a third consecutive title.
“We want to get to the state championship, and win a state championship,” said St. Joseph coach Danny Marangi, whose team hosts Seton Hall Prep on Saturday. “And I’m sure they’ve got the same thing. And if it happens to be that way, and if we meet up again, we meet up again. We’ve got to take care of business moving forward.”
“We’re not going to focus on [St. Joseph] until we get to them,” said Vito Campanile, whose Crusaders play Friday at St. Peter’s Prep. “Because I’ve learned, in this league, you can’t half-step or walk by anybody.”
The big decision
Bergen Catholic opted to take the safety on the fourth-and-6 at its 5-yard line, Vito Campanile said, because St. Joseph had already blocked one punt and came close on another. He also had faith in his defense. Junior Quincy Porter ran around in the end zone before stepping out of bounds.
“I think of it as I trust my players a lot,” Campanile said. "And I’ve said this to you a few times: It’s about when you genuinely love and care about people, you just have a lot of faith in what we do.”
By the numbers
Bergen Catholic had 315 total yards. Sanders carried 20 times for 165 yards and one TD, and he was flipped head over heels on several tackles. Dominic Campanile was 9-for-19 for 133 yards, two TDs and one interception. The Crusaders converted two fourth-and-shorts, including on a fake punt.
“The coaches trusted us as players, and we got it done for them,” Dominic Campanile said. “And they have an immense amount of trust in us – it’s insane.”
St. Joseph had 386 total yards. Senior quarterback Patrick Grusser was 19-for-30 for 252 yards, no TDs and one interception. Willis carried 16 times for 99 yards and three scores. The Green Knights, like the Crusaders, also converted a fourth-and-short in their end of the field to keep alive a drive.
They said it
“I don’t coach this game scared,” Vito Campanile said. “And I know sometimes that can cost you, but I really, genuinely think this has got to be a relationship-first thing, and I tell these kids the truth, and we hold them to a high standard. And if it didn’t work out, I would have slept fine.”
“I’m proud of these guys the way they came out swinging,” Marangi said. “We matched physicality, intensity, and it was a whale of a ballgame. It felt like a state championship, with guys laying it on the line and everything else. Coaches laying it on the line, and that’s what we wanted to do today. We had nothing to lose, and we were going to take our best shot.”
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bergen Catholic NJ football edges St. Joseph in marquee game
