Nick Cantone leads St. Joseph’s to win over St. John Vianney by Sean Farrell of The Record
MONTVALE – A quick, pre-snap glance across the line of scrimmage was all they needed.
They spent days studying the film. So they knew what was coming next.
When more and more defensive players crowded the line, St. Joseph wide receiver Nick Cantone gave a nod to quarterback Nick Patti.
It was time to go long.
Then Patti scanned the field from the pocket, and watched the play develop as expected. After Cantone beat his defender in a 1-on-1 matchup, there was no one blocking his way to the end zone.
Touchdown.
The 74-yard pass from Patti to Cantone was one of the many long plays that helped St. Joseph advance to the Non-Public, Group 3 final. The top-seeded Green Knights secured a convincing 45-20 victory over St. John Vianney in the semifinals Saturday by using their quick-strike ability and vertical passing game.
“All my hard work has paid off,” Cantone said. “I’ve been working for this moment since I was a little kid, and I’m just glad it came out on Senior Day like this.”
The Green Knights’ senior picked a good time for a career day.
Cantone said he had never caught multiple touchdown passes in a game before Saturday. That all changed during the first half when he hauled in passes of 78 and 74 yards.
“He’s got great hands,” St. Joseph coach Augie Hoffmann said. “He’s a legacy here since his dad played here so he understood what it was like to play St. Joe’s football. And he’s just a tough kid who’s going to make the play. He can run and catch, and he’s grown up tremendously in the past year.”
St. Joseph jumped out to an early lead and never looked back.
Isaiah Hopkinson scored first with a 3-yard run, then Jordan Scott evaded several players on an 80-yard rushing touchdown just minutes later.
After the Green Knights established the ground game, Patti got to work.
The junior completed 7 of 11 passes and tossed three touchdowns, in what Hoffman called the quarterback’s best performance of the season.
Patti attacked St. John Vianney with deep passes down the middle of the field, where both of Cantone’s catches came.
“We studied them all week, and [saw] the safeties rolling down,” Cantone said. “When the shots are there, we’re going to take them.”
Patti took advantage whenever he faced an aggressive “Cover 0” coverage, where there isn’t any safety help deep down the field.
“It’s basically a 1-on-1 situation,” Patti said. “I trust my guys with any secondary player in the entire state of New Jersey. If I have a shot to take, I will. Our wide receivers make great plays.”
And Cantone and his fellow teammates did just that by exploiting the mismatches. In one of his final games as a Green Knight, he delivered possibly his finest performance.
“This is one of the best wins I’ve had in a St. Joe’s uniform,” Cantone said.
He added, “I love this team, and I love being in green and gold.”