Craig Carmilani, above, led Westwood to a huge victory over River Dell on Friday night. But was it the biggest win of the week? (STAFF PHOTO/ MICHAEL KARAS)
Each week of the fall season, The Record football staff will have an e-mail roundtable. Check out Varsity Aces every Monday for an extra helping of football knowledge, as we offer opinions, analysis and insight on the week’s biggest win. Feel free to join in on the conversation in the comments.
It was another weekend of big matchups, as Queen of Peace and Westwood picked up huge wins. But who had the biggest win? Click below to see what our team of football writers think…
Jim McConville, Contributor: Hands down it has to be Queen of Peace. Here’s a program that was on the brink not too long ago and now they’re a true contender in Non-Public Group 1. It also points out that in a small school environment one or two players can make a huge difference. Where would the Griffins be without Kevin Monmohin? (Though it certainly isn’t a one-man team.) What made the win more impressive was that QP did not break in the face of St. Mary making comeback after comeback. They answered every punch with a counter punch and in the end they were still standing (I bet Keith will critique my boxing metaphors). That’s the sign of a confident team, and that means they have the potential to make some noise in meaningful November football games.
Keith Idec, Staff Writer: Queen of Peace beating St. Mary was the most significant win of the weekend. Remember, Queen of Peace’s program was in bad shape as recently as last year. There were rumors then that the school’s football program would be eliminated. They also went 2-8 last season and lost to St. Mary, 34-13. So this turnaround has to be extremely satisfying for the Golden Griffins’ players, coaches and fans. And it’s not as if they beat St. Mary in a down year for the traditionally strong Gaels. This is a good St. Mary team. Before losing to Queen of Peace, the Gaels lost by three to undefeated Cresskill on the road in Week 1 and then beat Wood-Ridge and Emerson by a combined score of 98-0.
Ed Mills, Staff Writer: Queen of Peace defeated St. Mary for the first time in over 30 years (they only had resumed playing starting in 2010 with formation of NJIC and St. Mary had won three straight since then; before that hadn’t met since the old North Jersey Parochial Catholic Schools League played on Sunday afternoons). Still, it means Queen of Peace may be going back to some of Ralph Borgess glory days or that one or two years with Andy Cerco several years ago. Kevin Momnohin is for real (also a real good track athlete in the spring), he is not that big but very powerful and quick. These two teams could meet again in Non-Public Group 1 playoffs with another down-to-the wire game).
Second biggest win was St. Peter’s Prep over Bergen Catholic. At least Hudson County is back in the game now, Bergen may be losing a bit of its luster — no matter that BC was 1-3 coming in; St. Peter’s may not be in same class with St. Joseph (we will find out soon since St. Joseph and St. Pete’s Prep meets in two weeks on Oct. 18th) and Paramus Catholic, but they aren’t that far away. Witness for the Jersey City defense – BC.
Mark Czerwinski, Staff Writer: I agree about Queen of Peace. And don’t forget that the win was a particulary big deal in the Non-Public Group 1 race. It will take a mircale for someone to beat St. Joseph of Hammonton in that bracket, the QP resurgence makes this bracket more competitve than it has ever been. These teams could very well meet again in the playoffs, so we’ll probably be referring to this game a lot next month.
Andy Vasquez, Staff Writer: It’s pretty hard to argue that Queen of Peace’s win was the defining win of the weekend. When you beat a team for the first time in 30 years it’s a huge deal. That win legitimizes QoP as a program and as a real threat this season.
The second biggest win of the weekend came from Westwood, which dominated River Dell on Friday night. That win snapped Westwood’s six-game losing streak to River Dell. In addition to exorcizing those demons, the Cardinals announced themselves as a viable contender for the Big North Patriot Division title. Wetwood senior quarterback Craig Carmilani and and junior wide receiver Nolan Borgersen are a force to be reckoned with — they’ve connected for 12 touchdowns and more than 600 yards in four games this year. That’s remarkable.
With Mahwah, Westwood and Dwight Morrow all jockeying for position, the Patriot will be fun to watch as the season winds to a close. And it was all set up by Wetswood’s big win on Friday.