After four days of voting, Wayne Valley was selected as the North Jersey Football Team of the Week for Week 1, edging out Wayne Hills for the top spot.
The Indians (2-0) rallied from a double-digit deficit and defeated Lenape, 28-25, at the Rumble at the Raritan at Rutgers. Senior Alex Scheuplein scored the game’s final TD on a 1-yard run in the fourth. That was the Indians’ fourth rushing score, with senior Joe Costa scoring twice and senior Danny Smith once. The Indians rushed for almost 200 yards and had more than 300 yards of offense.
Here were the other nominees:
The Crusaders (2-0) traveled to Arizona and beat fellow national powerhouse Saguaro, 28-7. Senior Saeed St. Fleur carried 24 times for 144 yards and a TD as the Crusaders, No. 9 in the USA TODAY Sports Super 25, opened a 28-0 lead over No. 14 Saguaro. Sophomore Dominic Campanile threw two second-quarter TD passes, and junior Chris Mimmo returned a third-quarter interception 48 yards for a score.
The Mustangs’ season-opening, 21-0 win over East Orange Campus in the Super Football Conference crossover helped avenge last year’s controversial 30-24 triple-overtime loss in the North Group 5 final. Sophomore Romelo Tables threw two TD passes. Junior Devon Stroble ran 27 times for 110 yards and caught a 15-yard TD pass. Senior Marcos Betances returned junior Trumain Lawson’s blocked punt for 9 yards for a TD.
In North Jersey’s highest-scoring opener of the season, the Scarlets outpointed Demarest, 47-44, in a Super Football Conference crossover. Senior Brevin Cooney was 23-for-34 for 303 yards and four TD, and he ran 11 times for 106 yards and two scores. Senior Jeremy Chocoj caught TD passes of 65 and 32 yards, and senior Joseph Rinaldi caught scores of 24 and 20 yards, the latter providing a 47-37 lead.
The Maroons’ season-opening, 42-0 victory over Hackensack made a winner of Torre Watson, now the interim coach after veteran Chuck Johnson stepped aside due to a medical issue. They held the Comets to 127 yards in this Super Football Conference Liberty Red Division game while earning their fourth shutout in their last 10 games. Senior Red Kossick had 93 yards rushing, 124 receiving and three TD.
The Bulldogs’ 37-0 season-opening win over next-door neighbor Becton in the NJIC Colonial Division was its most dominating shutout win since 2018. Senior Van Weber threw four TD passes, with sophomore Chris Gioia catching scores of 22 and 11 yards. Senior Zach Herninko caught an 11-yard TD and junior Matt Scheibe a 20-yard score. Junior Cole Goumas returned the opening kickoff 88 yards for a TD.
The Patriots opened their season in Tennessee and won at Liberty Creek, 34-19. Senior John Sees was a two-way standout, rushing 13 times for 222 yards and three TD and making seven tackles. Sophomore Johnny Mongelli scored on runs of 5 and 3 yards. Senior Tyler Demikoff was 8-for-14 for 164 yards and threw a two-point conversion. Senior Nick Hogan had 13 tackles and senior Matt Quagliana 12.
The Blue Devils seek their first winning season since 2018 and started the season strong with a 23-6 victory at Cresskill in the NJIC Patriot Division. Senior QB Braden Negro sandwiched TD passes of 58 yards to senior Leo Ramirez and 4 yards to senior Nick Chromey around his 17-yard scoring run to help build a 20-0 lead. Junior Klejdi Elezaj’s 26-yard field goal in the fourth provided the 17-point cushion.
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