By: Joe Haemmerle '86
OCTOBER 3 – ORADELL, NJ - In a battle between New Jersey's top two powerhouse programs, No. 2 Bergen Catholic completed an extraordinary comeback to edge No. 1 Don Bosco Prep, 34-30, in an instant classic.
FAST START FOR NO. 1 DON BOSCO PREP
The Ironmen dominated early, jumping out to a commanding 24–0 lead in the second quarter. The Ironmen opened the scoring in the first quarter with a 2-yard touchdown run by CaSi Thomas followed by a 20-yard Joey Bercovicz field goal. In the second quarter, Carson Schoen connected with Zakai Murphy for a 13-yard touchdown pass, and shortly after, Kane Ramos intercepted Bergen Catholic quarterback
Trey Tagliaferri and returned it 37 yards for a pick-six.
THE CRUSADERS' CLIMB BACK
BC began chipping away at the deficit right before halftime when Tagliaferri found
Anthony Willis for a 26-yard touchdown pass.
The Crusaders' high-powered passing attack surged in the second half behind Tagliaferri, who threw 5 touchdown passes and racked up 341 passing yards.
Jamel Hammary hauled in two touchdown passes (a 1-yarder in the third quarter and a 16-yarder early in the fourth), bringing Bergen Catholic within three points at 24–21. Tagliaferri then hit
Bryan Porter for a 28-yard touchdown to cap off a 28-point unanswered run, giving Bergen Catholic its first lead at
28–24 mid-way through the fourth.
A WILD FOURTH-QUARTER FINISH
Don Bosco answered with a high-stakes drive of its own. Facing 4th-and-6 at the Bergen Catholic 9-yard line, Schoen found Isaiah Alvarez for a clutch 7-yard gain to keep the drive alive. On the very next play with 1:28 left on the clock, Schoen punched in a 2-yard touchdown run to regain the lead,
30–28.
With under 90 seconds remaining, Tagliaferri orchestrated a game-winning drive for Bergen Catholic. With just 15 seconds remaining on 3rd-and-4 from the Don Bosco 38-yard line, Tagliaferri completed a pass to
Bryan Porter, who broke several tackles and stayed in bounds along the sideline to break away for a dramatic 38-yard touchdown, putting Bergen Catholic ahead
34–30. Don Bosco's final desperate attempt fell short as time expired.
| TEAMS |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
FINAL |
| Don Bosco Prep (5-1, 2-1) |
10 |
14 |
0 |
6 |
30 |
| Bergen Catholic (3-2, 1-0) |
0 |
7 |
7 |
20 |
34 |
NOTES:
- TAKING OUT TOP DOGS. Not for nothing...BC has now defeated not one, but two #1 teams in their respective states: St. Joseph Prep (PA) and Don Bosco Prep. Not only were those teams #1 in their states, they were ranked among the top 30 of the country. St. Joseph Prep was #26 and Don Bosco Prep came in at #23. The Crusaders have a #2 notch under their belt as well with St. Peter's Prep.
- TREY TAGLIAFERRI went 27-of-44 for 341 passing yards and 5 TDs. That put him over the 1,500 yard mark (1,547) for the season after 5 games. This was his second-career 5 TD pass day, the first one coming last year in the state quarterfinals against St. Joseph Metuchen. The 341 yards was fifth most for a junior QB at BC and 8th most overall for a Crusader passer. Trey holds the school record for yards in a game with 420.
- BRYAN PORTER was his top target, catching 11 passes for 169 yards and 2 TDs (including the game-winner). Porter has been a fine ball player, but he is starting to truly realize who he can become on the field! He is currently at 579 on the season to go along with 9 TDs. His 1,439 career yards receiving moves him to #3 all-time behind JJ Kulczar and his older brother, Quincy, who leads BC with 2,738 yards. He is currently tied for 8th All-Time in school history for receiving touchdowns (13) with former Seattle Seahawk, Tanner McEvoy '11 and teammate Austin Busso.
- NICK MAURO had a big day on both sides of the ball, but especially defense where he recorded 13 tackles to increase his team lead to 39 on the season. He is just 16 tackles away from the 100 career mark.
- AMARE NEWELL's second interception on the season couldn't have come at a more dire time. The senior ball hawk stopped an Ironman drive with a pick in the end zone when the Crusaders were already down 17-0 in the second quarter.
- CRUZ ARAUJO led the Crusaders with 15 tackles on the afternoon. The hard-nosed sophomore middle linebacker was all over the field, helping to shut down the Ironman offense, especially in the second half.
Additional photos can be found here: https://kylezperspective.pixieset.com/bergen-bosco2026/?pid=20367411155&id=198&h=MTU5NTcwNDI3OA
