Bergen Catholic rolls over St. Augustine

The Game At A Glance: Bergen Catholic scored 50 points in the first half, scoring touchdowns on their last six drives of the half to beat St. Augustine, 57-33. Much of the second half was played with a running clock, which happens when a team leads by 35 points in the second half.

First Half: Bergen Catholic was on the board first when a St. Augustine punt snap went out of the end zone for a safety and a 2-0 lead. The ensuing punt gave BC good field position on their 40-yard line. Five plays later, they added a touchdown when Johnny Langan escaped a heavy pass rush and waited for the moment to find Andrew Vito for a 19-yard score and a 9-0 lead. St. Augustine closed the gap when Joshua Zamot found Jaylen DeCoteau on a tipped pass that he caught in stride and raced for a 67-yard touchdown. After forcing a punt and taking over on Bergen’s 43, the Hermits were in good position, but were three-and-out. Bergen began their move, scoring on five plays, the last a 6-yard run through the middle for a Josh McKenzie score. The Crusaders then blocked a punt and recovered on the Augustine 25 and Langan scored on the following play down the right sideline to open up a 23-7 lead.

St. Augustine kept a drive going when Paul Meduri (a lineman) found Joe Bonczek on a fake punt for a 21-yard pass for a first down. Two plays later, Zamot found Ezekiel Ennis for a 38-yard score. BC came right back when Langan found Vito again down the right sideline for a 35-yard touchdown. McKenzie scored touchdowns of 4 and 3-yards, followed by a Langan to Ankaury Camilo score to make it 50-13 with 1:30 left in the half.

Second Half: The teams traded touchdowns in the third quarter, with a Zamot-to-Ennis score for St. Augustine and a Langan-to-Isaiah Givens score. The Hermits scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to make the score, 57-33. Much of the half was played on a running clock.

Play Of The Game: BC’s first touchdown when Langan escaped the St. Augustine pressure and threw the touchdown to Vito to make it, 9-0.

Game Balls: Langan was 11-of-17 for 180 yards and three touchdown passes, while rushing for 67 yards on 6 carries and one score. He also showed that his ankle is getting better, as he was more mobile since early in the season. In short, it was a total team effort; the offensive line, with some changes, did its job today and the defense kept St. Augustine on their heels.

Comments:

Bergen Catholic head coach Nunzio Campanile - “This is what we play for. Our offensive line has made great strides in the last few weeks and gave our playmakers opportunities. The one thing we see week-in and week-out is the special teams coaching is off the charts; when we play different teams, even the ones out of state, those things are the difference makers. Every play is critical and not everybody is used to that level of execution on special teams. I thought we did a good job, defensively, lining up and early in the game they didn’t try to run it, which surprised me. Their skill players are as talented as any team’s. Our offensive line has made tremendous improvement, we made some changes in recent weeks. We moved Antonio Alfano to right tackle and we had a scholarship tight end in Connor Hebbeler move to guard. Since we’ve done that, we’ve done a much better job in pass protection. Johnny Langan has done a great job since being healthy, moving around and keeping plays alive. I think Langan is the best football player in New Jersey. I think he’s been healthy and we’re seeing the things he can do: he can run it, he can throw it, and he’s an extremely smart kid, a tough kid, and a great leader.”

St. Augustine head coach Mark Reardon - “The disappointing part for me is we did not represent ourselves well, with the mistakes we made. We’re probably not winning that game, but to just stay in it and battle. We had a good year, but we don’t see that. The glaring thing was on special teams. Their safeties and linebackers run so much better than we do - they overwhelm you. The kids are executing, but we’re not physically big enough or fast enough to do it a lot of the time. We did not do a good job today, defensively. Bergen did a great job today, doing what they don’t normally do, which is all-out pressure and straight man coverage - they get into it a little bit, but that’s not who they are. That was a good game plan against us and I don’t know why people don’t do it. We just got overwhelmed. Their quarterback is a handful because he makes a lot of plays, he’s healthy, has a strong arm, and he’s a big kid - he’s bigger than all of our linebackers. It’s hard to tackle him. They are a good football team and they play a completely different schedule than we play.”