Football: Bergen Catholic upsets nationally-ranked St. Edward, 14-10

The postgame celebration at Overpeck Park was so wild Saturday night, I couldn’t even find Bergen Catholic coach Nunzio Campanile for story quotes (a 10 p.m. deadline didn’t help either).

But it was 12:43 a.m. when I got the call back from Campanile, who still sounded as fired up as he likely was in the moments following the drive of the game — an 8-play, 80-yard masterpiece — highlighted by Corey Gaarn‘s 50-yard reception down the right sideline and capped by TE Mike Aniello‘s 5-yard go-ahead touchdown reception on 3rd-and-goal from QB Jarrett Guarantano.

“I think that was the best performance we have had here in five years,” Campanile said of the Crusaders’ upset 14-10 win over St. Edward (Oh.) — ranked No. 13 in the country by MaxPreps in the most recent poll.

“I’ve been a part of some great wins here, too. But this one… this one was special.”

“This win was all about fighting,” said Guarantano, who a perfect 9-for-9 in the second half and finished 18-of-24 for 182 yards and one touchdown, while adding 11 carries for 64 yards and one score on the ground. Particularly in the second half, Guarantano showed why he is garnering attention from some of the country’s top football programs.

“All season so far has been about fighting. I know I’ve said it many times before, but we knew we couldn’t allow a season like last year [2-7] to happen again. We had to be tough. We had to stand together. And we did that for 48 minutes. We’re brothers and we did everything we had to do as a team.”

“This just shows that we are back,” Guarantano continued. “That St. Peter’s game [a 49-20 loss on Sept. 11], that was a fluke. I don’t know what happened, we just didn’t come out as hard as we should have. But we’re back more than ever now. This is the Bergen Catholic of 2004 — a winning, championship-caliber program. We’re back.” 

“THE DRIVE”

“The Drive” started with 3:19 on the clock at Bergen’s own 20 with the Crusaders trailing, 10-7, against a St. Edward team that, as recently as one week ago was considered the No. 1 team in the country before a 21-14 upset loss to Elder last week dropped them down to No. 13.

In the seven drives following Bergen’s second-quarter touchdown (a Guarantano 15-yard run), the Crusaders failed to manufacture points. Interception, five punts in a row (including three 3-and-outs) and one turnover on downs after going 67 yards in 13 plays.

“I think that drive to start the fourth quarter [the 13-play, 67-yard drive] was when Jarrett said, ‘Hey, we’re gonna win this game,’ ” Campanile said.

Though that promising drive would end with Guarantano getting stuffed on a QB run on 4th-and-1at the 21, it showed that Bergen Catholic could move the chains against a defense that Campanile compared to the current No. 1 team in the country — Don Bosco Prep.

“That was a great defense we were up against tonight,” Campanile said. “I thought they were very comparable to Bosco, in terms of what they do and the kind of players they have. We knew it’d be tough sledding all night, we just figured we’d keep playing and see what happens.”

“The Drive” began poorly, as Guarantano was stuffed for a loss of 1 on 1st-and-10 from the 20. On 2nd-and-11, Guarantano found Gaarn for a modest 6-yard gain. On a key 3rd-and-5, Guarantano hit Aniello for a gain of 6 — first down. After a 15-yard completion to Zachary Hawkins brought the ball to the BC 45, Guarantano dropped back on 1st-and-10 and unleashed the throw of the night — a beautiful ball to Gaarn down the right sideline, down to the St. Edward 10, setting off hysteria at Overpeck Park.

“That route that Corey Gaarn ran,” Campanile said, “that route was one of the best routes I have ever seen. He took him out of his shoes and he made an unbelievable catch. And it was a great throw from Jarrett. And then Aniello finished it off. He’s been a rock for us, one of our best players, and he made a great catch in the end zone. I thought it was a great team effort all the way around.”

“Corey was going up against some Notre Dame kid and he just did his thing,” Guarantano added. “Corey Gaarn is one of the best players I’ve ever seen. He might not be going to Ohio State or anything like that, but honestly, the things he does… he’s just an incredible player.”

After two short runs, one from Corey Russo, the other from Guarantano, brought the ball to the St. Edward 5, Guarantano found a crossing Aniello in the back of the end zone on 3rd-and-goal — right in front of the rowdy Crusader Crazies — with 26 seconds remaining. Because Bergen Catholic was trailing, 10-7, at the time, that 3rd down play was likely the Crusaders’ last chance at the end zone, before having to settle on a potential game-tying field goal attempt on 4th down.

The touchdown celebration following Aniello’s game-winning grab practically included the entire offense joining the frenzy in the stands with their beloved fan base — and actually drew a 15-yard celebration penalty on the ensuing kickoff.

But it didn’t matter. Bergen Catholic picked up arguably its biggest regular season win in the five-year Nunzio Campanile era.

“Honestly, this one was enormous,” Campanile said. “A lot of people doubted our kids. And with good reason, too. That performance we had against St. Peter’s Prep might have been the worst game we’ve had in the history of our school. For our kids to make that kind of turnaround in two weeks, honestly it’s one of the best wins I’ve been a part of here. I’m so proud of the way they hung in there, the way they get better every day, every play, and I think this is just the start of something really big for us.”

THE DEFENSE

In the postgame huddle at midfield, which included players, coaches and what seemed to be the entire Crusader Crazie student section, someone shouted, “How ’bout that Bergen defense?!” That started a totally new celebration, with fireworks going off in the background.

While “The Drive” orchestrated by a locked-in Guarantano may be what grabs the headlines Sunday morning, it was the much-maligned Bergen Catholic defense that won this game. It was a Crusaders’ defense that looked nothing like the defense they put out on national television two weeks ago at St. Peter’s Prep in a 49-20 loss.

And really… it wasn’t the same defense.

The recent additions of cornerbacks Mike Martinez and Jahmel Johnson (only a sophomore) into the starting lineup proved to be exactly what this Crusader defense needed in the secondary. Officially, that pair was credited with a combined three pass breakups, but it seemed to be more than that and — more importantly — they did not surrender any big plays all night though the air.

“Jahmel started for us last week in Arkansas [vs. Bentonville],” Campanile said. “After the St. Peter’s game, we kind of went back to the drawing board. We opened the position up and wanted kids to compete for the spot. Jahmel did a great job, he really stepped up and we gave him a shot out there. He’s only a sophomore, but he’s a tough kid, he plays hard and he has really done his job very well. He’s going to be a great player and he is already a great competitor.”

“The thing with Mike is he gives us a huge change in our team,” Campanile said of Martinez, a Rutgers baseball commit who also added one rush for 27 yards on an end-around. “He gives us attitude, he gives us competitiveness and he’s a winner. He’s the type of guy you want on your team. He has the confidence to go out and make plays, he pulls the trigger and doesn’t hold back. He gives us the chance to be a little more aggressive with our calls on defense because he is going to cover their guy and he’s going to compete. If he has a bad play, he just keeps going. He played fantastic tonight.”

With the shored up secondary — also anchored by safeties Nick Tighe (one great pass break-up on a deep ball in the end zone) and Matt Sherlock — limiting St. Edward QB Brett Kean to just 13-of-27 for 110 yards, it allowed more time for the rapidly-improving Bergen Catholic front seven to make plays at — or behind — the line of scrimmage.

The Crusaders limited the Eagles to just 169 yards of total offense on Saturday, just two weeks after St. Edward exploded for 42 points and 441 total yards of offense against St. Joseph of Montvale in a 42-0 rout. Kean was 18-of-23 for 210 yards and three touchdowns in that one.

“It’s all about these kids,” Campanile said. “Honestly, this was the best turnaround I’ve been involved with my entire life, as far as the attitude and approach everyone took to practices. And we saw that make a huge difference in the game tonight. The coaches did a great job, everyone was so prepared, we worked hard, and we practiced better than we have a long time. It showed tonight.”

“That’s what this game is about… defense,” Campanile continued. “We want to be a tough, physical defense. Credit our defensive coordinator Anthony DeBellis for tonight, too. I’m incredibly proud of everyone involved. We’ve been a great offense in the past, but haven’t matched up defensively. A game like tonight was an old-school, physical battle. That’s what it should be. That’s what we want; we want to be considered a great ‘D’ and our kids and coaches have been working hard toward that.”

Aside from posting a shutout in the second half, the Bergen Catholic defense was truly great in the first half — bailing out the Crusaders’ offense at times and keeping Bergen Catholic in the game. Four times St. Edward started with the ball inside Bergen Catholic territory, but on those drives, the Crusaders surrendered just three points (on the game’s opening possession). The Eagles’ lone touchdown drive of the night actually came on a drive starting at their own 35, following a Bergen Catholic touchdown and ensuing failed onside kick attempt.

Bergen Catholic limited dangerous St. Edward RB Cole Gest to 71 yards on 17 carries. Those defensive numbers on their own are impressive, but consider one of Gest’s runs was a 39-yard touchdown run — the only significant Crusaders’ blunder defensively Saturday night — and the numbers are even better. While you can’t ignore the 39-yard touchdown, Gest picked up just 32 yards on his 16 other carries, thanks to the efforts of a defensive line consisting of Sebastian Calixte, Connor O’Brien (one sack), Frank Feaster and Sal Mauro.

Behind the stout Bergen Catholic defensive line were a quartet of playmaking linebackers, including Hunter Ordukhanyan, Jack Painter, Kyle Cook and Jack Reilly — all of whom took turns shutting down a St. Edward offense which entered Saturday night averaging over 35 points per game. It’s impossible to even single out any specific player, the Crusaders were collectively flying to the ball — gang tackling — and had very few, if any, missed tackles — which had been one of Bergen’s bugaboos the first few weeks of the season.

“The defense played amazing and they are getting better and better each week,” Guarantano said. “There was all the talk about what our offense could do, but lately, it’s been the defense stepping up for us.”

Perhaps lost amidst the game-winning touchdown drive and postgame hysteria was the fact Bergen Catholic had a game-changing goal line stand midway through the second quarter, with St. Edward already ahead, 10-7.

After taking over possession at the BC 33 following a Guarantano interception (which came on the first play from scrimmage following Gest’s 39-yard TD run), the Eagles had third-and-goal from the 2. Momentum was all St. Edward at this point, with the Eagles just two yards away from taking a 10-point lead.

But the Crusaders stuffed a run up the middle on third down and stuffed a QB sneak on fourth down (a rather controversial call… St. Ed’s coaches wanted it ruled a TD, saying the QB crossed the goal line. It was close, tough to say either way), swinging momentum back to Bergen.

The defense would step up one final time late in the first half, after a shanked punt gave St. Edward possession at the BC 32. The Bergen Catholic defense forced a three-and-out, aided by a Connor O’Brien sack that killed the potential drive.

The Crusaders have now allowed just 20 points in their last two games and will be getting another playmaker added to the lineup — both defensively and offensively — next week at Paramus Catholic, when Lodi-transfer Emmanuel Appiah (CB/WR) becomes eligible after sitting out the first 30 days of the season because of transfer rules. Appiah can only help bolster what appears to be rapidly-improving secondary.

THE CRAZIES

With all due respect to the Acey Award winning student section over in DePaul, no one has brought the gameday passion like Bergen Catholic has this year. They are just — simply put — the loudest. Even down 49 in the second half at St. Peter’s Prep, the Crazies were nearly just as loud and enthusiastic as they were for the opening kickoff. They brought it Week 1 vs. La Salle and they matched that performance again Saturday night (and even at SPP, they were fantastic even in a blowout loss). As Bergen Catholic made its way on to the field Saturday night, Corey Gaarn led the team’s 100-yard entrance directly to the South endzone — right where the Crazies were set up. Plenty of player-fan interactions ensued. The student section was even a part of the Crusaders’ postgame speech and huddle at midfield — mixed in along with the BC players and coaching staff. Well done, Crazies.

NOTES

– If there was one area of concern for Bergen Catholic, it was the pass protection on the offensive line. The Crusaders allowed four sacks, but the protection did seem to improve as the game went on. The previously problematic high shotgun snaps, though, were non-existent Saturday night. I don’t think there was one snap that Guarantano had to jump for.

– The run-blocking, especially on interior runs, could improve as well. Only on end-arounds and QB runs off-tackle did the Crusaders have success vs. St. Edward.

– Bergen Catholic was flagged only 3 times for 25 yards, and one of those was a 15-yard touchdown celebration penalty at the end of the game. And I don’t think there was a dropped pass all night. The Crusaders appeared to have really addressed everything that went wrong at St. Peter’s and have minimized their mistakes the past two weeks.

– WR Corey Gaarn might not be the biggest player in North Jersey, he might not be the fastest, but he is one of the best players in North Jersey. And in this part of the country, that’s saying something.

– RB Corey Russo had a big 2-yard first-down run on a 4th-and-1 on Bergen Catholic’s first touchdown drive in the second quarter.

FINAL THOUGHTS

So, we got this question on Twitter from @My_USHSS following Bergen’s win Saturday night: “You get the sense NJ football relationship [are] like the SEC. ‘Bama might hate Auburn, but when they play outside SEC, put hatred aside. Thoughts on this sentiment as resident experts, @VarsityAces?”

I think it’s a great question, with a few different answers. I think Big North United coaches, for the most part, know the value of other Big North United teams winning games outside of division play. They might not like their rivals winning, but they understand that it boosts the national credibility of the division and puts more stock and importance — in terms of national rankings — on those league games. For instance, Paramus Catholic squeaked out 37-31 overtime win on Saturday vs. St. Ignatius (Ohio)… that kind of win just continues to boost the Big North United’s stock, just as the division has done all year by going 11-1 against out-of-state opponents (Bergen 3-0, Bosco 3-0, Paramus Catholic 3-0, St. Joes 2-1… and, while not in the Big North United, St. Peter’s Prep is 1-1. DePaul has not played an OOS opponent). Because of PC’s and BC’s wins over top-notch Ohio teams on Saturday, that makes the upcoming Bergen Catholic at Paramus Catholic game this Saturday that much more interesting… and meaningful. Bergen Catholic’s upset victory over a team that was ranked No. 1 in the country just over a week ago means the Crusaders’ stock is rising fast. And that’s good for the Big North United.

For fans, and maybe even some players, I think they enjoy seeing their rival schools lose, no matter who the opponent. But, if you want your school to gain national recognition, seeing your rivals win against quality in-state and out-of-state opponents only makes your wins against your rivals that much more meaningful. It’s why if any team in the United runs the table and goes undefeated, that team will almost always be in the national championship conversation.

And, by the way, it was a great week for the Big North United with Bosco winning in Florida, PC and BC beating Ohio teams, St. Joe’s of Montvale beating St. Joes of Philly and DePaul cruising past Lawrenceville.

League play is about to start. Now is when it’s about to get good.