Football: Check out Darren Cooper's predictions for Week 2 in North Jersey

Before I get into this week’s picks and talk about how well I did (New Milford, I was wrong about you), I want to go back to this time last year.

I was in Florida for the Don Bosco-Edgewater game when my beautiful wife called to tell me something was seriously wrong with our youngest son. He had an unusual brain infection that showed as a tumor on an MRI.

After a long hospital stay and a ‘minor’ brain surgery (that’s our joke around the house, there’s nothing minor about it), doctors identified the problem and were able to treat him medicinally. As I write this, he just walked in from his first day of middle school, sweaty, tired and perfect.

On my panicked drive back to the hotel in Miami, I got two phone calls, one from sports editor Dave Rivera and the other from executive editor Dan Sforza. They both offered support and kindness in pretty much my lowest hour ever (I mean, I was a long way from home). I want to take this opportunity to recognize their kindness and thank them. If nothing else, I had someone to talk to when I needed it.

Thursday, I leave for Florida again to see a match-up of two Top 20 teams in USA TODAY Super 25 rankings: Bergen Catholic and Chaminade-Madonna. I am sure it will be a fun trip – and I am very confident I will actually get to stay and cover the game this time.

Last week was an awesome week of high school football in North Jersey, the true start to the season. I thought I had the game of the night until I saw the finish of Ramapo-Somers (N.Y.) posted by my brilliant colleague Greg Tartaglia. I admit, I did think Gavin Taylor was short of the goal line on first viewing.

Referees are humans and never want to make a wrong call. I think when it’s a bang-bang play like that, they usually opt in the favor of the athlete succeeding at what they’re trying to do. A lot of times, they're right. Think of all the times you’ll see a great catch on the sidelines and somehow the wide receiver got one toenail down when his body was moving in 17 other directions. The refs give the benefit of the doubt and I think they should.

I hit on 4 of 5 of my main picks last week. I knew there were a lot of other tight games, and it’s hard to get a read on teams. I want to get every pick right, just like a ref.

Before we get to the Week 2 picks, remember, hug your kids.

Old Tappan at Northern Highlands

Friday, 6:15 p.m.

Lost in the Ramapo shuffle − and the DePaul frenzy − was that Northern Highlands and Wayne Valley played one heck of a game with the Highlanders scoring in the final 20 seconds to win. What this tells me is that Wayne Valley is the best 0-2 team in North Jersey right now. I also wonder just how good Notre Dame is (the Fighting Irish beat Wayne Valley in Week 0).

Now Northern Highlands gets the defending Group 3 state champion, Old Tappan. Bergen Catholic has the longest active win streak in North Jersey at nine. Old Tappan is next at seven. It's possible both streaks could end Friday night 1,200 miles apart (then North Jersey would have about eight teams tied with three-game winning streaks).

The pick: Old Tappan smoked Northern Highlands 28-0 last year, and Highlands went on to the Group 4 final. Both teams are so well-coached and poised. I lean toward the Highlanders in a classic, but I wouldn’t at all be surprised to see a Golden Knights win.

Park Ridge at Wood-Ridge

Friday, 7 p.m.

Last year, the biggest upset of the season was Wood-Ridge beating Park Ridge. It basically propelled the Blue Devils to a division title and the NJIC championship game.

I am quite sure the Owls remember. Wood-Ridge’s defense struggled in a loss to Butler last week. Were the Blue Devils looking ahead?

Owls QB Cole Hughes ran for four touchdowns and threw for another in a win over St. Mary, and he also ran back a pick for a touchdown. That’s, uh, quite a night.

The pick: Let’s stick with the Revenge Week theme. This has been the game circled on the Owls' schedule for almost a year. I think it will be close, though. Wood-Ridge is good at home, but I am going with Park Ridge.

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Pope John at Paramus Catholic

Friday, 7 p.m.

Let me be the first person to say I see a path for Paramus Catholic to make the Non-Public A state final.

Last week, I talked about long road trips and how they can build confidence for a team. You know what else builds confidence? 55-0 wins over teams that beat you the year before. That’s what PC just did to Hudson Catholic.

But, on the flip side, Pope John is coming off its biggest win in years over Seton Hall Prep. The Lions are 2-0 and running back Tylik Hill looks like the real deal. To me, this game screams ‘levels.’ Is PC at a different level than Pope John? Or are these teams about the same?

The pick: I had a lot of time to think after driving back and forth to Youngstown State last Saturday. Come Friday, I will have seen every North Jersey non-public power except St. Peter’s Prep, and guess what…I think they all have flaws. This means we will have some great match-ups in the weeks to come. I like Paramus Catholic in this one, and I think we have to start taking the Paladins seriously as a state title contender.

Don Bosco at St. Joseph

Saturday, 1 p.m.

Here we go, the first Bergen County blue-blood match-up of the season between the Ironmen and Green Knights. Don Bosco did lots of things right in its win over Erasmus Hall (special teams is always such a weapon for the Ironmen). Meanwhile, St. Joe's cruised to a win over Cass Tech out of Michigan.

I have seen both teams, so I have to nail this pick. Bosco has won four of the last six games in this series, and for a while, this was the hottest rivalry in North Jersey. You know what we’re getting: tough, physical, hit-em-in-the-mouth football here.

The pick: I think we have strength-on-strength with St. Joe's offense against the Bosco defense. But I think the Green Knights can beat the Ironmen outside with their skill players and get some big plays. Defensively, I am buying the Green Knights' improvement. St. Joe's is so good on the back end, that they can kind of sit back and just cover and eventually collapse the pocket. I like St. Joe's by a touchdown or two.

WRESTLING: Two-time medalist, a 2022 state champ, transferring to St. Joseph

DePaul vs. St. Peter’s Prep

Saturday, 6 p.m. at Hinchliffe Stadium

That DePaul/Bishop McDevitt game was bonkers. I can’t remember the last time I saw DePaul so crowded for a game, and I can’t ever remember seeing Spartans coach Nick Campanile so discouraged. His team was up 35-20, and it just spiraled out of control. DePaul made one mistake after the other.

Give Bishop McDevitt a lot of credit and I loved the Crusaders' play-calling down the stretch. They played to win. I walked back to my car thinking I couldn't wait to see this game against next year.

I can’t imagine it was an easy week of practice for the Spartans because Campanile was right, they are good, like top-5 in New Jersey good. They just need to show it.

The pick: St. Peter’s Prep has played a brutal early schedule. I looked it up, the Marauders haven’t started a season 0-3 in a very, very long time. They believe – and they’re probably right – that it will prepare them for the state playoffs, but I do think DePaul gets the win here. The Spartans will be hyper-focused on this one.

Quick picks

There are some other interesting games out there, there’s 1-0 Mahwah against 1-0 Tenafly, two teams trying to turn things around. I am going to ride with the T-Birds.

Clifton vs. Ridgewood is a Group 5 classic. I lean toward the Maroons. Give me Westwood over Dumont, Rutherford over Glen Rock and Passaic Tech over Passaic, but the Bulldogs need to score some points and stop making it so hard on their defense.

One of North Jersey’s best rivalries is/was/will always be Ramapo-Wayne Hills. I think you have to go with the Green Raiders.

Becton might be sneaky pretty-good. I will take the Wildcats at home over Lodi. Lakeland can make a real statement with a win over Ramsey and jump to 3-0… it’s tempting, but I am going to go with the Rams.

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This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ football: Darren Cooper's predictions for Week 2