Football: Check out Darren Cooper's predictions for Week 5 in North Jersey

Our 100-yard walk video feature is in its seventh year, and if you didn’t already see it this week, we did something different.

The biggest story in North Jersey football this weekend is Tenafly celebrating its 100th football anniversary.

That’s a long time to be playing football, and instead of walking with a current Tiger, we had the honor of doing the walk with a member of Tenafly’s “state champion” 1962 football team, tackle Ken Miller.

Miller was The Record’s Athlete of the Decade for the 60s. He was also a baseball stud and a district champ in wrestling back when that was a huge deal, and he told some awesome stories about his days as a Tiger.

Tenafly went undefeated in 1962 for coach Buzz Firkser, 9-0, and was crowned “Bergen County champions” (that was really a thing back in the day) and “state champions," along with Paramus.

There was no playoff system back then, of course, and teams were picked as “state champions” by local and statewide media outlets. The first thing I said to Ken was how did Paramus get to be co-champions when they went 8-1 and lost to Hackensack that year?

Ken just shrugged and smiled. The two teams were in different leagues back then was how he explained it.

The history of North Jersey football dates back more than 100 years, and it was great meeting Ken and hearing some old stories. How can you not love this kind of stuff? And what do we have to do to bring back “Bergen County champions” as a thing?

My picks were not too great last week. Kudos to DePaul. Paramus Catholic’s defense could be the Paladins' Achilles' heel. And score one for Hasbrouck Heights beating Hawthorne.

By the way, that Heights win sets up a three-way tie for the NJIC Meadowlands Division provided Heights beats North Arlington and Hawthorne beats Saddle Brook this weekend. The first tiebreaker is head-to-head, of course, but we will have a tie. Then it becomes power points within the division, so the winner would be Hawthorne because it beat Group 2 Pompton Lakes. So, Hawthorne basically controls its own destiny.

So now you know. Before we get to this week’s predictions, I want to predict that back in 1962 Tenafly beats Paramus by a touchdown. Just a gut feeling.

Ramapo at Northern Highlands

Friday, 6:30 p.m.

Now we’re talking. This game has some serious playoff seeding implications and features what has become – at this moment – the best Bergen County public-school rivalry.

Last year, Highlands beat Ramapo by three in the regular season. In the playoffs, we had the famous “Lights Out” game that went about four hours and the Highlanders won in OT. The Highlanders have won three in a row in this series, not many teams can say they have beaten Ramapo three straight times over the years.

Ramapo had the good fortune to beat Somers (N.Y.) in Week 1 and has now outscored their last three opponents 130-0. That’s right, 130-0.

The pick: This is the whole believe vs. determination thing. Northern Highlands will look across the field and believe they will win because they’ve found ways to beat Ramapo the last two years. But on the flip side, Ramapo is determined. I know how coaches say one game at a time and all that, but some games mean more. This one means more. I think Landon DePrima and Ramapo have had enough and get the win.

St. Peter’s Prep at Don Bosco

Friday, 7 p.m.

This is not the season either team expected so far. I believe both teams will cut loose Friday night. It’s two teams young in spots trying to find an identity. And the winner does get some boost when it comes time for the seeds.

And by the way, last weekend ended up being a big one for Don Bosco after all, as the Ironmen beat Bergen Catholic in the freshman game for the first time in years. If you think that doesn’t matter, then you aren’t paying attention.

The pick: I just haven’t seen the consistency on offense from Don Bosco yet to believe the Ironmen can move the ball. Marauders running back Jalen Cline can make a couple big plays to be the difference. I will take St. Peter’s Prep.

Ridgefield Park at Tenafly

Friday, 7 p.m.

This should be a great game and an amazing atmosphere in Tenafly.

Last year, the Scarlets beat Tenafly by a touchdown. It was the win that sealed a playoff spot for them. I am excited to see if Tenafly can stand up to the Scarlets ground-and-pound game, and on the flip side, can Ridgefield Park handle what the Tigers throw at them offensively?

The pick: The movie script would tell you that Tenafly wins as part of the celebration of the 100 years, but I have to be stone cold when making these picks. I will take Nick Buda and Ridgefield Park to spoil the party. You know, I think Ridgefield Park has been playing football for more than 100 years too.

DePaul at Bergen Catholic

Saturday, 1 p.m.

After all the hoopla last weekend, I asked Bergen Catholic coach Vito Campanile two things: One, how was his back (answer: it’s not good), and two, whether he was going from his favorite week of the year to his least favorite (answer: sort of).

It’s another version of the Campanile Bowl. We already had them when Vito was at Seton Hall Prep and Nunzio was at Bergen Catholic. Now its Vito at Bergen and Nick at DePaul (Nunzio and Syracuse play at the same time Saturday, and Anthony will be on a plane with the Dolphins heading to Buffalo).

Truth is, they don’t really like playing each other, but they have to.

On the field, well, these teams could be the two non-public state champions when all is said and done. I don’t think the margin between DePaul and Bergen Catholic is as big as it has been in the past. I think DePaul is better than it was last year, and I think Bergen just isn’t quite as strong this year.

The pick: If there was one coach who knew exactly how to frustrate/scheme/mess up Bergen Catholic, it would be DePaul, right? So I give the Spartans a fighting chance, but I think the Crusaders are just one or two athletes better. I’ll say Bergen Catholic in this Campanile Bowl.

Quick picks

I almost made this one of the highlighted games of the week, but Saturday is the Battle of Outwater Lane, Garfield vs. Lodi. Both teams are winless, but who the heck cares? This is going to be a real battle. Last year, Lodi finally beat the Boilermakers after a long streak. This year I am going back with the Boilermakers to win it at home.

Last week, I asked for a report on Fair Lawn and got plenty. The Cutters even got votes in our North Jersey Public Top 20 rankings. Thursday night, they get Bergen Tech. The last time Fair Lawn was 4-0 was 2016. I see the Cutters winning this one. Now, the last time Fair Lawn was 5-0? 1987. Let’s check back next week.

It’s Homecoming for Rutherford on Saturday afternoon and a battle of NJIC division winners between Rutherford and Lyndhurst. Could this be a NJIC final preview? We will see in a few weeks. I will take Rutherford in a close one.

We have two interesting non-public crossovers in Donovan Catholic at St. Joseph and Delbarton at Paramus Catholic. I think St. Joe's will win. I have some doubts about both PC and Delbarton, but I will take the Green Wave.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ football: Darren Cooper's predictions for Week 5 in North Jersey