Winners From Week 7’s Friday Night
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Friday night saw plenty of action as Week 7 postseason play heated up. There were matchups of undefeated teams, and players and teams continued to make statements on the field. A total of 56 teams were unable to take the…
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Continue ReadingFriday night saw plenty of action as Week 7 postseason play heated up. There were matchups of undefeated teams, and players and teams continued to make statements on the field. A total of 56 teams were unable to take the field due to COVID-19, too. Let’s take a look at the winner from Friday night’s Week 7 postseason action.
Aidan McLaughlin, Monroe: McLaughlin scored on a 4-yard run and threw three TD passes in Monroe’s 35-10 victory over South Brunswick on Friday. He connected with Kyle Degraw on a 68-yard pass, Jagger Agnew on a 38-yard ball and Anton Updale on a 10-yard strike.
Colin Feeney, Ridgewood: Feeney led Ridgewood to its third straight win following Friday night’s 28-8 victory over Paterson Eastside. Feeney did his damage on the ground with TD runs of 56 and 30 yards. The senior broke free for the 56-yard TD on the first play from scrimmage, and the Maroons fed off that all game. Ridgewood led 21-0 at halftime behind Feeney’s second score.
Hunter Van Zant, Boonton: Despite Boonton’s first loss of the season, Van Zant continued his strong play as one of the top running backs in the state. He totaled 250 yards on 34 carries and scored on runs of 26 and 53 yards in a 35-21 loss to Cedar Grove. The Bombers totaled 354 rushing yards in total.
Dario Bryant, Cedar Grove: Bryant threw for three touchdowns and added another two on the ground in Cedar Grove’s impressive 35-21 win over Boonton in a rematch of the North 1, Group 1 final from last year. Bryant found trusted receiving weapon Anthony Bilotta on two of his three TD strikes. The Cedar Grove quarterback ran for 48 yards and scored on two short runs.
Anthony Bilotta, Cedar Grove: Bilotta caught four passes for 85 yards and scored on 12-yard and 40-yard connections. He has been a top receiver in the conference through Cedar Grove’s 6-1 record.
Anthony D’Alessio, Cedar Grove: A’lessio led four double-digit tacklers with 18 in Cedar Grove’s victory. Nick Bianco (11 tackles), Tyler Rummel (10 tackles) and Nick Coletta (10 tackles) also made an impact defensively.
Patrick Smith Patrick Smith 5'11" | RB Holy Spirit | 2021 State NJ , Holy Spirit: Smith ran for a blistering 265 yards on 33 carries and scored on runs of 2 and 44 yards as No. 8 Holy Spirit stayed undefeated and blasted No. 17 Winslow, 34-0, on Friday night. With the win, Holy Spirit advances to the championship game of the West Jersey Football League top postseason pod. Holy Spirit will play either Lenape or Cherokee in the championship game. Smith carried seven times for 74 yards in the team’s opening drive. He is now up to 1,477 yards in six games.
Ocean City Defense: Ocean City stayed undefeated on the season following a 12-7 victory over St. Joseph of Hammonton. The team responded to a first-quarter touchdown by St. Joseph and recorded a safety in the fourth quarter on a sack by Matt Christy in the end zone. Michael Rhodes also had a sack and Brady Rauner made an interception.
Becton Defense: Becton has been simply incredible this season. The team improved to 5-0 and still has not surrendered a point following a 21-0 shutout victory over previously undefeated Park Ridge on Friday night in a North Jersey Interscholastic Conference semifinal game. Ryan Reid had a sack and interception return for a touchdown, Hunter Schanel had an interception and Sonny Ragusa and Tommielee Minaya recovered fumbles. Becton will play the winner of Waldwick and Pompton Lakes next week in the championship game.
Reid, a defensive end, read a screen pass and returned an interception 33 yards for Becton. He put pressure on Park Ridge quarterback James Brazofsky all night.
Josh Brancy, Sparta: Brancy scored on runs of 5 and 11 yards and the Sparta playmaker finished with 157 yards on the ground in the team’s win over Parsippany Hills on Friday night. Sam Esposito ran for over 90 yards in the first quarter before exiting the game due to injuries. Brancy, a freshman, led Sparta to its fourth straight victory.
James Maloney, Sparta: While Brancy was effective on the ground, Maloney got the job done defensively. He intercepted Parsippany Hills quarterback Chris Evans three times on the night in Sparta’s 28-21 win.
Jayon Farrar, Donovan Catholic: Farrar caught three TDs and Donovan Catholic defeated Red Bank Catholic 28-14 behind a 14-point fourth quarter. Farrar caught TD passes of 1, 5 and 51 yards from Evyn Menta, who tossed four TDs and was extremely efficient. Jahdir Loftland ran for 152 yards on 29 carries for Donovan Catholic. Farrar also made an interception on defense.
Matt Quetel Matt Quetel 5'10" | RB Phillipsburg | 2021 State NJ , Phillipsburg: Quetel ran in a 45-yard score, caught a 64-yard TD and scored from eight yards out in Phillipsburg’s dominating 42-17 win over Ridge.
Justin Townsend, Randolph: Townsend returned a kickoff 74 yards for a TD and scored on a 23-yard run in Randolph’s come-from-behind 43-32 win over Irvington on Friday night. Randolph outscored Irvington 21-7 in the fourth quarter. Jimmy Pepe also scored twice, including a 47-yard run. The Rams stayed perfect at 6-0.
Cookie Desiderio, Somerville: Desiderio continued his incredible play with a 278-yard, four-touchdown performance in Somerville’s 39-26 win over Woodbridge on Friday night in a battle of unbeaten teams. Outside of a 1-yard run, Desiderio went the distance in the other three scoring runs, finding the end zone on runs of 38, 50 and 66 yards. Jaimen Bryant also had a great day for Somerville with nine receptions for 131 yards. Ali Lee Jr. Ali Lee Jr. 5'11" | ATH Woodbridge | 2021 State NJ (32 carries for 158 yards and 3 TDs) and Isaiah Allen (7 receptions for 150 yards and a TD) led Woodbridge.