NJ Football Recap and Preview: A Year of Firsts Continues For Delbarton

With Week 4 of high school football in the books, it’s clear there’s something special about this Delbarton team.

For the first time in years, Delbarton is 4-0 to start the season. Also, for the first time in history, Delbarton is the Super Conference Champion. The aforementioned title was earned this past Saturday in their 33-2 route of Pope John. Previously ranked #4 in the state, Delbarton proved they are deserving of another bump up. Now ranked #3, the Green Wave is making a strong case for a chance at the state’s best in the upcoming playoffs. However, with two teams left on their regular season schedule, Delbarton doesn’t intend on losing focus.

This week’s game started slow and was almost concerning had it not been for the Green Wave defense. Yet again, and I do feel like a broken record here, the Delbarton defense stepped up and played outstanding football. The defense stifled Pope John, an impressive offense on paper. The defensive line continues to warrant tremendous praise for their efforts. All day the Pope John quarterback seemed uncomfortable in the pocket. Sack after sack after sack culminated in a defensive shutout. With no time to throw, Pope John couldn’t get the ball in the hands of their athletic receiving core.

Disruption in the trenches led to disruption in the run game. With inside zone runs completely holed up, Pope John attempted to focus on outside zone and power concepts. This is where the linebackers and secondary proved their prowess. Linebackers PJ Casale and Ryan Carey (filling in for the injured Dylan Miccolis) exhibited tremendous pursuit to the ball, disallowing any sort of outside run game. With no ability to pass or run the ball, Pope John never really found their groove, and the Delbarton defense took advantage. Delbarton also produced several turnovers. DE Pat Caughey recovered the first of these: a muffed handoff which gave Delbarton tremendous field position right before the half. The second turn-over, an interception courtesy of junior safety Jake Checcio, again set up the offense with great field position. This is where the defense really started to assert their dominance. The next three Pope John drives proceeded as follows: safety, interception, fumble recovery. The Green Wave defensive line stifled a rush attempt in the endzone for two points. Junior corner Jack Eisenhardt intercepted his first pass of the season. Finally, Pat Caughey found himself on top of yet another fumble. Overall, there’s not much negative to take away from this game defensively. I’d be surprised if Pope John tallied over fifty yards of total offense. They only crossed midfield once in “garbage time” and still couldn’t produce any points. Had it not been for defensive dominance, this game would have looked a whole lot different.

Offensively, the Green Wave started off extremely slowly. The first few drives yielded next to nothing, and Pope John is no slouch on defense. It was clear one side was motivated and the other was not, in the first half at least. However, Delbarton rallied in the end. The Green Wave offense has had a sort of mantra all season: “It’s us against us”. After a few failed drives and a stern talking-to from Coach Chiarlonzio, the Green Wave remembered what got them to this point: efficiency. A few key turnovers set up scoring drives from deep in Pope John territory. The first of which, a touchdown catch courtesy of receiver David Link, began the ensuing onslaught. Pat Ryan was then able to drill a field goal putting the Green Wave up 10-0 going into the half. If you’ve been following this season, you’d be shocked to see Delbarton only having put up 10 points in the first half. Scores in the twenties at half are common. The major question entering the second half was whether or not the Green Wave offense would be able to rally. They did exactly this and showed everyone what they are capable of when playing at their best. The first touchdown of the second half was receiver Andrew Ross’ first of the season. An impressive catch and run put the Green Wave up 17-0. RB Aidan Papantonis caught what would be his first of two touchdowns on the day. Papantonis concluded the quarter with his second touchdown—this time, a rushing touchdown from nearly thirty yards out. This capped off the day for the Green Wave offense.

Up 33-0, the Green Wave rested their starters and put in the second team for a few plays. Unlucky field position resulted in a safety and Pope John’s only points on the day. Cole Freeman did not disappoint yet again on Saturday. The most important takeaway from his game as of late is the efficiency, both rushing and passing. Gary Lewis was another standout performer despite not finding the end zone. He showed just how elusive he can be in the open field, and proved the switch to running back a good one yet again. The main takeaway from all of this is that the Green Wave offense is one of the most efficient when they are playing good football.

This past Saturday was just another stepping stone on the road to a championship in the playoffs. While it was by no means the most impressive win, it was a blowout win nonetheless. And a Super Conference Divisional Championship is nothing to complain about.

Next week the Green Wave hosts Hudson Catholic in what should be another good football game. At this point, “us vs. us” is ringing in the ears of the Delbarton football team. They should look to continue their impressive start with efficiency, camaraderie, and heart on all sides of the ball. If this does continue, the Green Wave should have no problem finishing out the season strong.

Final Score Prediction: Delbarton over Hudson Catholic 31-14

Other notable scores:

• St. Joe’s – 35; Hun – 6
• Seton Hall Prep – 49; Union City – 22
• St. Peter’s – 25; Paramus Catholic – 7
• Don Bosco vs. Bergen Catholic: Postponed due to COVID-19 related circumstances