Bergen Catholic quarterback Jarrett Guarantano should have some new weapons at his disposal this fall.
I made myself a list yesterday of 5-6 blogs that I wanted to post. I never got to the last one.
Then later on, I was like darn, because I knew it was timely. Football season has begun. I know Bosco had workouts yesterday, I saw the picture tweeted from St. Joes, and I know Bergen practiced too. Yes, thanks to the NJSIAA “summer rules†football practice did begin at several places.
The 2014 schedules are done, 2013 is really finished. So what’s my early (very early) thoughts on the Big Five (aka The Big North United)…and what has changed since we last saw them.
Then I thought, I should do it as 5 parts, one per team.
Bergen Catholic
Coach: Nunzio Campanile
Last year: Unfortunately, by some standards, last year could accurately be called the worst football season in Bergen Catholic history. The Crusaders finished 2-7 and did not accrue enough power points to make the Non-Public Group 4 playoffs (which was terrible, because they were probably one of the best 4 teams in the bracket). It was a season where the Crusaders didn’t get the breaks at the end of games. You know, I was watching NFL Network the other night and they had on “A Football Life: Randall Cunningham†Did you know a big part of that documentary is on Randall Jr. and sure enough they had footage from the end of the Gorman/Bergen game? (Yes, I thought the kid was inbounds on the TD pass – they had the footage). Bergen lost that game by 3, lost a heartbreaker to Prep by 7, and the coup de grace was the loss to Bosco in triple OT. They win those three and they are 5-4 probably get in the playoffs and win a game.
Who Starts at QB: This is the question for all five teams in the Big North United, which is wild. All 5 have to replace starting quarterbacks. Jarrett Guarantano looks like the man. I thought there were times last year he looked like a stud, and times last year he looked a little overwhelmed. But he was only a sophomore. He has all of the physical tools in the world to be a superstar. You can make the case too, that of all 5 teams in the Big North United, Guarantano has the most experience of any QB in the league. I like him a lot, but the jury is still out.
Best Case for Bergen: Guarantano emerges as a dual threat running and throwing. Nunzio tailors the offense a little bit more to what Guarantano can do. Corey Gaarn becomes a hybrid WR/RB threat and the offensive line comes together. Also, it’s a poorly kept secret that Lodi quarterback Emmanuel Appiah is probably transferring in to Bergen. He gives the offense a jolt of athleticism and if I’m BC, I put him all over the field….also Jelani Garvin becomes a serious deep threat and the Crusaders get back to putting up a lot of points on the board.
Worst Case for Bergen: The Crusaders get off to a rough start and Guarantano never quite fits in to the Bergen offensive set. They go out to Arkansas and get steamrolled in week 3.
What do I really think about the Crusaders? There is just no way this team is going 2-7 again. No way. They have too much talent and they will have such a big motivation to prove everyone wrong. I think Nunzio has to go back to the drawing board and tailor the offense to what he has, and he’s a lot smarter than me, so he knows that too. Remember, it’s kind of a hidden fact that when the Crusaders run the football well, either with a traditional RB or a running QB, they succeed. The transfer of Appiah is a huge plus for Bergen. He’s a real threat on the field wherever he plays. Defensively, the Crusaders are going to have to gamble some. I think they are going to be better, good enough to win some games in the Big North United….how many? We will have to see.