In a rematch of last season’s NJSIAA Non-Public Group A State Final, the Don Bosco Prep Ironmen defeated the St Joseph Regional (Montvale) Green Knights 23-10 at Granatell Stadium. They pick up their fifth win on the year and remain undefeated.
Arguably in their biggest game of the season so far, the Ironmen were ready and they dominated, getting revenge on the defending state champions.
“They all feel good [wins], man, they all feel good,” Don Bosco Prep head coach Dan Sabella said postgame. “These kids work their tails off and they want to come to play in these type of atmospheres and, obviously this one was one. We’ve been waiting to play this one for a while, and just going to keep the momentum going now.”
Rightfully so, the stars showed out for this matchup. Giants General Manager Joe Schoen, Spurs star Dylan Harper, and one half of the Super Bowl champion McCourty twins were all in attendance for New Jersey’s game of the week. However none of them are as notable to Don Bosco Prep than legendary head coach Greg Toal, who made his return to the Ramsey institution, in part of the pregame celebration of the 2006 state championship winning team that was ranked seventh in the nation. It was a heart-warming moment to see Toal out on the field after a controversial exit from the program following the 2016 season.
St. Joseph Regional scored on their opening drive when running back Andrew Wilson ran it in for a three yard touchdown. Right away on the following kick off, the Ironmen clapped back when Isaiah Alvarez returned it for a touchdown of their own. A gutsy two-point conversion was unsuccessful and 7-0 almost instantly turned to 7-6.
That first drive touchdown turned out to be a total tease of the Green Knights offensive performance in the first half. They’d go on to commit multiple turnovers, be forced a three and out, and have one of their punts muffed. Absolutely nothing was going their way.
After quarterback Will Mitchell lost the ball on a fumble, the Green Knights were on their own 13 yard line during the next possession and it was third and 12. They decided to go for a screen pass, and with the quick release, Mitchell threw it directly to Joaquin Phillips, who had nobody around him. The Navy-commit ran in at ease for the pick six and Don Bosco Prep now had a 13-7 lead.
“I saw the swing pass, and I was just sitting on it, and I saw the running back swing, and I was like, ‘all right, I’m gonna go hit him. If he throws it there’ and he threw it right to the receiver, and I just jumped it and took it six,” Joaquin Phillips said talking about his pick six. “It was just reacting and making plays.”
This Ironmen defense was moving like wolves. They were all over their opponents and would swarm them every time they touched the ball. Star pass rusher and Notre Dame commit Aiden O’Neil, who missed the last game due to injury, was back in the lineup, and added his usual extra firepower. They held the defending champions to only a touchdown and it was 16-7 after two.
While the Green Knight defense was holding their own, the offense turned into a liability as their struggles poured into the second half. Two plays into the third quarter, Mitchell fumbled and turned it over for the second time. Don Bosco Prep capitalized instantly and went down the short field for another score. Ca’si Thomas capped it off for his ninth rushing touchdown of the season.
Down two scores, something needed to give for St. Joseph Regional. They still had plenty of time left in the game, but if they wanted a chance to get back in it, they needed to make something work against a defense they had no answers for. They’d do just that, with a field goal from Kyle Salinas with 53 seconds left in the third quarter. A lot of ground still needed to be made, but it was a start.
Clearly the Ironmen wanted this one oh so badly. While offense, defense, and special teams all made impacts, they even succeeded in strategy. Once they got the ball after the field goal, they slowly but surely, marched downfield, chewing the clock. First down after first down, they were pinning the Green Knights further and further into a corner, limiting their options. With just over six minutes remaining, their drive would come to an end when Joseph Bercovicz’s field goal attempt doinked off the right post. Despite not getting any points on the drive, they still managed to take a lot of minutes off the board.
At this point St. Joseph Regional was practically in panic mode. They desperately needed to get in the end zone as quickly as possible to make it a one score game late.
They were able to make a few completions before they were stopped dead in their tracks for the final time. With three minutes left, Don Bosco Prep’s Michael Berardesco forced Mitchell to commit his fourth turnover, a game sealing interception. The Ironmen got the revenge they had been waiting for since the day they lost the Non-Public A state final and won in dominating fashion 23-10.
Now 5-0 on the season, it was a statement win for the number one ranked team in New Jersey. They knew what they were getting themselves into and how they needed to prepare and tonight their hard work showed. As for the defending state champions, the Green Knights are now 2-3. Tonight’s performance adds to what has been a disastrous and rollercoaster of a season for last year’s top team in the Garden State.
“I’ve always been thinking about this [revenge], this whole game, the whole start of the game. I was thinking of what they did to us in the state championship. I came out here and wanted to just kill em,” Alvarez said. “The mood [this week during practice] was get revenge, but also play within us. Be together as a team, and that’s what me and my brothers did. We stay together and we’re one.”
It was the first of a massive two weekends for Don Bosco Prep. While tonight they were victorious in their rematch of the state finals, next Saturday they face fellow NJ powerhouse, their arch nemesis, the Bergen Catholic Crusaders. I asked Ironmen quarterback Carson Schoen what this week will look like as they get ready for their biggest rival:
“I mean, obviously, it’s like the same preparation. Obviously it’s gonna be a big game. I know they have a young defense over there, but it’s definitely gonna be a tough task. Obviously, it’s Bergen Catholic at their place, their refs, but if we just do what we do, like, I feel like we should be fine. But another thing I’m excited for is, like, I’m wondering, like, out of these next couple of games, which teams look the best that I win against? Obviously, tonight St. Joe’s defense look good. There was some stuff that we missed that we could have had. So, coming up, we just got to keep winning, and that’s all we can control.
Don Bosco Prep and Bergen Catholic will face off in Oradell Next Saturday.
