Bergen Catholic NJ football shuts down Seton Hall Prep
WEST ORANGE – Bergen Catholic’s defense returned with an absolute vengeance, one week after an incredibly humbling experience.
The Crusaders translated five interceptions and two fumble recoveries into a 38-0 victory over Seton Hall Prep in the Super Football Conference on Saturday afternoon at the Kelly Athletic Complex.
Sophomore defensive back Jordan Thomas had two interceptions to set up first-half touchdowns. Senior linebacker Christian Gonzalez, senior lineman Anthony Morales and sophomore linebacker Mason Marck also had pickoffs.
“If you can score off of those turnovers, it really creates a landslide, and that’s kind of what happened,” Bergen Catholic coach Vito Campanile said.
Bergen Catholic (3-1) parlayed five turnovers into points and won the turnover margin, 7-0, one week after the two-time reigning NJSIAA Non-Public A titlist traveled to Florida and lost to national powerhouse Chaminade-Madonna, 61-21.
Bergen Catholic junior quarterback Dominic Campanile, the coach’s son, was 12-for-13 for 181 yards and four TDs, including a trio of scoring passes to All-State junior receiver Quincy Porter.
Campanile threw first-half TD passes of 5, 4 and 28 yards to Porter, as well as a 10-yard score to his junior cousin, Michael Campanile, to help build a 31-0 halftime lead.
Crusaders senior Kaj Sanders scored on a 9-yard TD run at 8:52 of the third, after Morales’ interception, and the 38-0 lead triggered the automatic 33-point running clock.
“Our team worked very hard this week, and we all came together,” Thomas said. “We all established our goal this week: to blow out Seton Hall. And we came here, and we played together, and we dominated.”
What it means
Bergen Catholic (3-1) regained some momentum after the 40-point loss at Chaminade-Madonna dropped the parochial school from No. 1 to No. 2, behind SFC rival St. Joseph, in the North Jersey Super Six and USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey Non-Public Top 10 rankings. The Crusaders should regain the No. 1 spots following St. Joseph's 42-34 loss at St. Anthony's (N.Y.).
“The one thing we did really focus on was we wanted to start fast,” said Vito Campanile, whose Crusaders travel to archrival Don Bosco on Friday. “We really had not had a first-quarter touchdown until today, and I think we were really hitting on all cylinders.”
Turning turnovers into points
Bergen Catholic transformed five turnovers into four TDs and a field goal to extend a 7-0 lead to 38-0 early in the third.
Porter caught his 4-yard TD pass for a 14-0 lead, nine plays after Thomas’ first interception.
Junior Guy Bartolomeo kicked a 37-yard field goal for a 17-0 lead, six plays after Gonzalez’s interception.
Porter caught his 28-yard score for a 24-0 lead, one play after junior Naiim Parrish recovered a fumble on a kickoff.
Michael Campanile caught his 10-yard score for a 31-0 lead, eight plays after Thomas’ second pickoff.
“That was good, those guys did a really good job,” said Vito Campanile, a former Seton Hall Prep coach. “Every loose ball they kind of got on. It’s a recipe to win. It’s complementary football.”
By the numbers
Bergen Catholic had 302 total yards, while limiting Seton Hall to 164 yards and not allowing the host inside the 25-yard line.
The 6-foot-4 Porter, among the state’s top recruits, had four receptions for 40 yards and three scores. He was among 10 Crusaders to catch a pass.
They said it
“The defense is just playing on a next level right now,” Dominic Campanile said. “The game last week wasn’t good enough, wasn’t what we expected it to be, and we came back and came back firing.”
“There was a sting, but it was a good sting, actually,” Thomas said of the Chaminade-Madonna loss. “It pushed us in the right direction, so we all have the right mindset to move forward and dominate the conference.”
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bergen Catholic NJ football shuts down Seton Hall Prep
