BC1

As reported Monday night, Bergen Catholic junior quarterback Jarrett Guarantano will “likely miss the remainder of the season” with a fractured right wrist suffered Saturday against St. Joseph, according to Crusaders coach Nunzio Campanile.

So, the question now is: Where does Bergen Catholic go from here?

The extent of the injury came just days prior to the Crusaders much-anticipated showdown with rival Don Bosco. While there’s not much time to get a new quarterback completely acclimated and settled in (Saturday’s emergency QB Corey Gaarn said he had taken practice snaps “once in a blue moon” this season, which made his performance even that much more impressive), the Crusaders do have a bye following their matchup with Don Bosco.

Fortunately for the Crusaders, they are already 5-2 and a lock to reach the playoffs — and probably have enough power points for a Top 4 seed (which will get them a home state game in the first round, in a matchup they’ll likely be favored in).

The two-week stretch between Don Bosco (Oct. 25) and Ridgewood (Nov. 7) could give Campanile and his coaching staff a chance to get creative… more so than usual. Even when asked if Gaarn will get the start against Don Bosco on Saturday, Campanile said, “Maybe,” with a laugh. He also added he “might have some tricks up his sleeve.”

What could some of those tricks be? I’ve got a few thoughts.

Last year, Bergen Catholic used sort of a two-QB system with Colin McGovern and Guarantano for much of the season. Gaarn even saw a few snaps at QB (went 4-for-7 for 41 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT). A similar multi-QB system could be in play now, though not necessarily much this week. While I think Gaarn will get the majority of the snaps at QB against Don Bosco, Bergen Catholic will have a few other options to help replace the production that Guarantano provided. Remember, Gaarn has been one of the Crusaders’ top receivers this season. Plugging him in at QB and keeping him there, while perhaps the best option, takes away a dangerous receiving threat.

The game against Ridgewood — the Crusaders’ ninth game of the season, which will have no impact on their state seeding — could provide the Crusaders with an opportunity to try some different things out for the playoffs. And while Saturday’s game vs. Don Bosco is obviously huge, Bergen Catholic is still eyeing a state title. That mindset hasn’t changed.

So, here are the options…

Option No. 1 is obviously Corey Gaarn. If he lights it up on Saturday and leads Bergen Catholic to an upset victory — or even keeps it a competitive game — I don’t think there’s any question he’s the Crusaders’ guy the rest of the way. He grew up a quarterback since second grade, he was playing QB regularly as recently as three years ago for the Bergen Catholic freshman team and he just makes plays whenever he’s on the field. He has the potential to do some of the same things — rushing-wise — as Guarantano did; the read-option stuff with RB Corey Russo, the designed QB runs, things like that. And judging from his two touchdown throws to Gene Coleman, he’s got an arm as well — even on the run. But from a physical standpoint (Gaarn is 5-foot-9 compared to Guarantano’s 6-foot-4 frame), there’s a significant difference. Perhaps BC calls for more rollouts to get Gaarn outside the pocket and avoid possible batted down balls at the line and/or giving him more run/pass options. One important thing to pay attention to going forward… high shotgun snaps. Even Guarantano has had to jump for some snaps this season. If those same snaps are sent in Gaarn’s direction, they’ll be over his head and result in drive-killing — and potentially game-changing — plays.

Option No. 2 is, perhaps, the most interesting one. Now, this is just me talking. Campanile mentioned some tricks up his sleeve Monday night, but did not disclose anything. But… Emmanuel Appiah came to Bergen Catholic after starring for Lodi at quarterback last season. He earned a spot on our First Team All-North Jersey squad after rushing for a team-high 1,491 yards and 13 touchdowns on just 137 carries and completed 64% percent of his passes for 1,031 yards and 12 touchdowns. Very Guarantano-like stats, albeit against lesser-quality competition. Appiah, listed at 6-foot-1, 175 pounds, led the Rams to a 10-0 record before falling to Caldwell in the North 2, Group 2 semifinals. He’s got a similar build to Guarantano — a few inches shorter — and is extremely athletic.

The problem with this option is that Appiah, who sat out the first 30 days of the season because of NJSIAA transfer rules, has really helped solidify the Crusaders’ secondary the past few weeks since making his season debut. He’s been playing very well at cornerback. And while we see two-way players all the time, it really would be a lot to ask of Appiah. He’s athletic enough to make some plays at QB though — and we’ve also seen former public school quarterbacks step into the Big North United spotlight (Willy Hansen at Paramus Catholic; Wes McKoy at Don Bosco; Ryan Adzima at DePaul) and have success. If Appiah did see some snaps at QB, it would obviously allow Gaarn to stay on the field at his more traditional wide receiver spot. It’d be a really interesting wrinkle in the BC offense though if Campanile somehow utilizes both Gaarn and Appiah at QB.

And Option No. 3 is Mike Aniello, a converted quarterback who was actually competing for the starting spot last summer (2013) with McGovern and Guarantano before settling in at tight end. This season, Aniello has been having a terrific year as one of Guarantano’s go-to guys. Like with the Gaarn problem though, plugging him in at QB would take away another receiving threat in the passing game.

Who knows how Bergen Catholic will handle the injury to Guarantano. His injury is a huge loss no matter how you cut it, but it doesn’t have to be season-crippling. As Campanile said Monday night, football is the ultimate “next man up game.” And really, BC has been one of the most resilient teams in the state this season. They get blown out one week on national TV at St. Peter’s Prep and come back the next week and beat nationally-ranked St. Edward; they get blown out by Paramus Catholic one week, then erase an 11-point second half deficit vs. DePaul the next; they lose Guarantano in the 3rd quarter vs. St. Joseph, but come back from it, force OT and win a 2OT thriller later on. Now they’re faced with some more adversity, and we’ll see how they respond.

In a weird way, this might take away whatever pressure there might have been on Bergen Catholic. If people didn’t believe in the Crusaders before, they are certainly going to have plenty more doubters now that their star quarterback is out.

But Bergen Catholic still has options and the Crusaders still have talent. They did beat St. Joseph with Gaarn in at QB for all of the fourth quarter and both overtimes on Saturday.

The defense has been improving all season and BC’s special teams have really been terrific all year (Joe DiFilippo is 20-for-20 on PATs and 2-for-2 on FGs). The offense is going to be different going forward, but not automatically worse. Just different.

Now is the time for Nunzio Campanile to get creative. And it all starts Saturday — in one of the greatest rivalries in the country.