Photo printed with permission NJ Sports Media/Dave Rubel
Don Bosco junior WR Wankeith Akin scores on the Ironmen’s first drive in their scrimmage against St. Joe’s of Hammonton.
In case you hadn’t noticed, the Big Five North Jersey superpowers have trouble even finding teams to scrimmage against. Paramus Catholic only has 1 scrimmage – next week against Timber Creek. Bergen Catholic picked up one, and lost one, and Bosco only has two. And don’t even get me started about St. Joe’s and their regular season schedule.
These scrimmages are vitally important for teams for multiple reason, mainly, to see how they do in real live action.
St. Joe’s of Hammonton has been a quality opponent for Bosco to scrimmage against. I think I was at the last 2 scrimmages between the 2 teams. Bosco won 35-14 in 2013 and 21-0 in 2014. St. Joe’s of Hammonton is one of the best football programs in New Jersey period.
Which is why what happened Thursday so interesting.
My final score was Bosco 53, St. Joe’s of Hammonton 6. In years past, the Wildcats struggled to move the ball against Bosco early, but defensively they were usually able to stand up toe to toe. Not Thursday.
Bosco scored 8 touchdowns.
One by Wankeith Akin on a pass from Tommy DeVito
Two by Malik Bakker on a run
One by Elijah Singh on a pass from DeVito
Two by Kevin Brennan on a run
And then they scored two more kind of with the second-teamers in.
I don’t know who Bosco’s punter is, because they never punted. Their possessions ended
1st half – Touchdown, Touchdown, Touchdown, Touchdown, missed FG on last play of half.
2nd half – fumble, Touchdown, Touchdown.
I’ve been asked a lot of questions about the Big North United, and I think it’s going to be another knock-down drag out. This will be the last season for the Big North United in this configuration (next year, Super North!) and no team has ever gone undefeated in league play.
I kind of don’t believe anyone will this season either. Everyone is just too good.
Last year each team had distinct personalities and strengths, and it was awesome to see how they matched up. This year, it’s kind of the same thing. They all have strengths, but different than they were in 2014.
Anyway, I went off on a tangent, this is supposed to be about Bosco.
My observations…
1. The Ironmen knew that St. Joes coaches would be there (and they were, and Nunzio was sitting behind me in the stands) so they weren’t going to show too much. I bet they ran 8 plays total on offense, counting the passing plays. I think I saw them run off-tackle and they ran a trap play. That was about it.
2. Tommy DeVito played all of the first half and into the 3rd quarter as the quarterback. He can sling it. Totally unofficially, I had him 8-11 for 141 yards and the two TDs. He threw one pass in the flat in the 3rd quarter that should have been picked, but that may have been his only really bad decision. He has already seemed to establish a nice rapport with John Bowen, and Wankeith Akin of course, he can fly. I remember seeing Wankeith run during track season and wondered where he was in football season, well, he was there, and yes, he can fly.
3. And listen, before I was talking about Big North United and identities….it’s no ones surprise that everyone has a loaded defense, particularly defensive line. Well, the best O-line in the league this year is/should be Boscos. (There’s bulletin board material for everyone else). They can do it all, although probably run block a hair better than pass block. All 5 have Division 1 skill/size. These are the 5 who started Thursday: Left tackle Steven Cepalia is already committed to Yale, junior Liam Fornadel is 6-4, 275, the C is senior Michael Maietti, he might be the most athletic, RG is Tyler Friday, only a sophomore, and he’s going to be a beast, he could play D Line too, and RT is Matthew Hennessy who is a prototype. So to me, Bosco’s whole season, and whether or not they win the league/state title may ride on these guys. Can they block the DL at Paramus Catholic? Or St. Joes? Or DePaul? If they can, then Bosco could win it all.
4. The other thing the Bosco offense has going for them is Malik Bakker. I remember Malik as a freshman playing in his first varsity game against Gilman (the game that ended the Ironmen’s win streak). Now he’s a senior and he runs with real power and vision. He might be the best RB in the area. His trouble has been staying healthy (he only played in the first half yesterday, probably just to save him). He can grind out 3 yards when there is nothing there, or gash you outside, and he’s a really good receiver.
5. And now the defense and the player who impressed me the most out of anyone yesterday – Marcus Valdez on the DL. Last year, in the first PC game, Bosco suffered an injury on the DL (I think it was William Mack III) and Valdez had to play. He wasn’t the reason why Bosco lost, but PC did exploit him sometimes. Thursday, on a defense loaded with athletes, he stood out. Big, tall, fast to the ball. St. Joe’s runs a pretty standard, but effective offense, and they just couldn’t move Valdez. Then when they tried to pass, he would push the pocket back and it was easy pickings for Mack, or Brandon Simon coming off the edge.
6. The other defensive standout was Kevin Brennan, who is only a sophomore, yet plays like a senior. He is so fast and blessed with the right instincts for the ball. He also came in for Bakker at tailback in the 2nd half, so that tells you what they think of him. Also, senior fullback Christian Curcio, whew, he put some guys on their fanny.
7. After it got to be about 41-0, the coaches met and both kinda agreed from what it looked like to play the 2nd string. Mark McGuire came in at QB for Bosco and led a pair of TD drives. McGuire is a senior, and while I guess it’s DeVito’s job to lose, McGuire acquitted himself really well. Freshman RB Gavin Sharkey ran wild against the St. Joe’s back-ups.
8. Bosco was almost completely healthy for the game, I didn’t see Eric Chakonis, who just adds to the talent on the DL, or Nick Benfante at LB, but that’s about it.
9. So, final thought? Overall, I thought Bosco looked crisp and fresh, as they always do in mid to late August. You could make the case that the Ironmen peaked kind of early last year (beating St. Thomas Aquinas). They started 3-0, and then went 4-4 the rest of the way. And 2 years ago, injuries just crippled the Ironmen and they finished 7-4. So we will have to see what happens, obviously, MaxPreps has already called the Ironmen’s schedule the toughest in the country, which is just ridiculous. But it’s all out there for them. You know and I know, a Big North United team would probably win a mythical national title if they go undefeated. The Ironmen have a good blend of youth/talent on both sides of the ball. I really do like their offensive line, but to be great, they’ll need contributions from everybody, everywhere.