BERGEN CATHOLIC DOWNS DON BOSCO

Exhausted yet ecstatic, Bergen Catholic coach Vito Campanile said championship teams have to "tough out games." It didn't get much tougher than Saturday. Experiencing his first real taste of the Bergen Catholic-Don Bosco Prep rivalry, Campanile pushed the right buttons to help propel Bergen Catholic past Don Bosco Prep, 14-13, before 4,500 fans in Oradell. "What a classic," Campanile said after the 70th installment of one of the top rivalries in America. "Just an unbelievable football game. There's such a competitive environment and such a similarity in the schools. The competitive fire of both teams makes this really special to be a part of." Making his first career start at safety, junior Pierson Tobia secured Bergen Catholic's second straight win over Don Bosco Prep with a one-handed, Odell Beckham-like interception with 1:21 left on Don Bosco's final comeback attempt. Saturday marked the seventh straight game between these two teams decided by seven points or less. Tobia, also a wide receiver who pulled double-duty Saturday, atoned for a lost fumble earlier in the second half to help give Bergen Catholic, ranked No. 2 in the NJ.com Top 20, its second straight win over Don Bosco Prep, ranked No. 11, for the first time since 1999. The Ironmen still lead the all-time series, 38-30-2 dating back to 1958. "The best way you can put it about Tobia is you just trust him to make plays," Campanile said. "He's just a football player, through and through. After the fumble, he's ready to smash his own head then makes that circus catch to win the game. That's kind of what he is, just a special player." It was hardly an offensive masterpiece from either team, with 20 penalties, eight punts and both teams going a combined 7-of-23 third-down conversions. Don Bosco was flagged 11 times for 113 yards, while Bergen Catholic committed nine penalties for 66 yards and turned the ball over twice in the second half. Bergen Catholic's defense, though, did its job bottling up Don Bosco Prep RB Jalen Berger (17 carries, 63 yards) and limiting both Don Bosco Prep QBs -- starter Jahquil Batts (left with injury in the third, according to coach Mike Teel) and Tarentino -- to 7-of-18 passing for just 58 yards. The strong defensive effort came even after losing star DE/TE Aeneas DiCosmo on the first possession of the game. DiCosmo, left with an fractured leg and will be out approximately six weeks, Campanile said of the four-star recruit who did not play one defensive snap in Saturday's win. But others stepped up in his absence with Bergen Catholic showing the kind of depth necessary if it wants to repeat this season as Non-Public Group 4 champion. Campanile made several tweaks on both sides of the ball, including starting Tobia at safety, playing four-star CB Jordan Morant and second-team All-State LB Anthony Corbin more on offense along with rotating a slew of underclassmen and lesser known commodities throughout the front seven. "You know what this rivalry is like," Campanile said. "You can take the records and throw them out the door. Armani Cruz, Tyler Booker the freshman coming in and replacing Aeneas, then guys like Griffin McGovern, Jed DeNobile, Nick Bellini all playing new spots. Anthony Corbin carrying the ball in the second half. Ryan Butler going in at fullback and making a huge catch for us. It was emotional day all around for us. We know we're a great defensive football team. And we have no problem with exactly what we are. We've got to tough out game. Every championship tam has to tough out games. I'm really happy the way we won this game." Bergen Catholic jumped ahead 7-0 on its first possession, moving 75 yards in 14 plays. The scoring drive was aided by a 15-yard pass interference on a 3rd-and-15 and, later in the drive, a 15-yard personal foul by Don Bosco Prep. Five plays later, QB Andrew Boel (13-of-22, 138 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT) snuck it in from 1 yard out to give Bergen Catholic its first lead with 5:13 left in the opening quarter. That drive came with a cost, though, as DiCosmo went down on the seventh play from scrimmage on a shovel pass reception that went for no gain. Don Bosco Prep would rally later in the first half with 10 straight points, beginning with a 29-yard field goal from Guy Fava with 9:22 left in the second quarter. The points were set up by a nice punt return from Christian Dremel, plus a personal foul on Bergen Catholic at the end of the run, which put Don Bosco Prep on the BC 12. Following Bergen Catholic’s third straight drive without a first down, Don Bosco Prep took a 10-7 when Batts found a wide-open Kyle Monangai for a 22-yard touchdown on a wheel route with 4:48 left in the first half. It was the only throw on a 7-play, 47-yard drive. "Listen, nobody's a bigger Kyle Monangai fan they me," said Campanile, who coached Monangai, and Don Bosco LB Jonathan Alvarado, the past few years at Seton Hall Prep before the pair of talents transferred to Bosco this off-season. "He's a special person to me. I couldn't be happier with the football players that they both are. I can't say enough about all the players in this game. The effort, the attitude, the determination, is this not what high school football is all about? This was everything it's supposed to be. Just tremendous." Bergen Catholic responded to the Monangai touchdown with a momentum-shifting 11-play, 64-yard touchdown drive to go into halftime with a 14-10 lead. The drive included a key 4-and-2 conversion on a Johnson 7-yard run down to the Don Bosco 12, but started and ended with Tyler Devera. The senior tight end began the series with a 24-yard reception and ended it on Bergen Catholic's version of the "Philly Special" as Boel took the shotgun snap, tossed it to Rene Nunez who rolled right and found Devera open in the end zone for a 8-yard strike with 31 seconds left before halftime. The play has been in the Campanile family coaching tree for years, going back to Vito and Nick Campanile's days at Westwood. "Nick Campanile was running that play at Westwood eight years ago," Vito said of his brother, who is currently the offensive coordinator at DePaul. "We've been fortunate it's been good to us ever since." Bergen Catholic converted a key 4th-and-2 on the touchdown drive when Rahmir Johnson (24 carries, 100 yards) picked up a first down with a 7-yard run down to the DBP 12. The only points scored in the second half came on a 47-yard field goal from Don Bosco Prep’s Guy Fava with 11:49 left in the fourth to pull within one. Devera proceeded to supply arguably the biggest first down of the game in the fourth quarter, moments after Don Bosco pulled within one, when Boel hit him along the right sideline on a 3rd-and-15 from BC's own 15 with 10:40 left. The drive ultimately ended with a Bergen Catholic punt from Tobia with 7:19 to go (downed at the 3), but had Bergen Catholic not converted there, the Crusaders would have been forced to punt from their own goal line with only a one-point lead with Don Bosco Prep featuring one of the best kickers in the state. "He's a beast every day," Campanile said of Devera, who finished with five catches for 70 yards, both team-highs. "I think he's the best tight end in New Jersey. His energy, his effort, his attitude, the plays he makes... he's just as good without the ball as he is with it. He makes quality plays every game." While not many points were scored over the final 24 minutes, there were still plenty of theatrics. Don Bosco Prep’s Jason Haber forced a fumble on a 34-yard Tobia catch-and-run at the Don Bosco 20-yard-line with 6:32 left in the third. Monangai recovered the loose ball and brought it to the 40. Don Bosco’s ensuing drive, however, would stall at the 50. After punting, Don Bosco Prep forced another Bergen Catholic fumble on a Johnson run with 3:37 left in the third, setting up Fava’s 47-yard FG to pull within one. Bergen Catholic missed a 25-yard field goal with 2:20 left, one series before Tobia’s game-ending interception, capping another classic between two North Jersey rivals.

BERGEN CATHOLIC DOWNS DON BOSCO

Photo Credit: Andrew Mills