By: Joe Haemmerle '86
SEPTEMBER 12 – ORADELL, NJ – That's the way to get the monkey off your back! Post a 33-3 victory over Pennsylvania's #1 ranked, and USA's #26-ranked team! Kudos to the coaching staff and players who never lost focus through the first three weeks of the season and generated this result.
The teams entered the field, both exuding the confidence of preparation and commitment. BC's confidence seemed to grow exponentially after a first quarter stop on defense and then, slowly and methodically building an insurmountable lead.
After a quick three and out forced by the defense, BC proceeded 13 plays from their 34 to the Hawk 6 where
Brody Carnahan proved all those doubting the Crusader kicking game wrong with a 23-yard field goal, putting BC up 3-0.
St. Joseph Prep then made its best drive of the day, going from the 20 to BC's six-yard line. That's when Nate Worley (aka Nate the Great) made an impact. He sacked the QB for a 7-yard loss and forced a 20-yard field goal. The kick was good and the teams were tied at 3.
The ensuing Hawk kickoff went out of bounds and BC started at its own 35-yard line with 0:57 remaining in the quarter.
Anthony Cristiano started things off with an 18-yard run.
Trey Tagliaferri followed that up with three-straight completions to
Anthony Willis (18 yards),
Joseph Garcia (8 yards) and
Jamel Hammary (15 yards) as the quarter ended with BC on the Hawk 14.
After a short loss on first down and an incomplete pass, Tagliaferri hit
Bryan Porter, who made a beautiful over-the-shoulder sliding catch in the back corner of the end zone in front of the scoreboard. The
Brody Carnahan kick was good and BC took a lead it would never surrender.
After yielding a first down, the Crusader defense held and SJP punted.
Anthony Willis fielded the ball at the BC 7 and returned it nine yards to the 16.
After
Anthony Cristiano ran the ball for an 11-yard first down, setting up breathing room for the BC offense, Tagliaferri hit
Bryan Porter for a 38-yard completion, putting the Crusaders on the Hawks' side of the field. After a 2-yard completion to Porter, Tagliaferri threw a beautiful spiraling pass that split two defenders and a diving
Anthony Willis corralled for a 29-yard gain to the Hawks 4-yard line.
That drive would produce another
Brody Carnahan field goal, putting BC up 10-3.
After
Jacob Soltys drove another kickoff into the end zone,
Kenneth Hackney made his presence felt, stopping the Prep runner for no gain on first down. On second down, tight coverage and exceptional tackling by freshman corner
Austin Bryan held St. Joseph to a 3
rd and 1. Enter
Yah-Yah Lewis. The big sophomore made his presence felt on the defensive side of the field, holding the runner to no gain.
Then, on fourth and one, perhaps the play of the game was made...at least the special teams play of the game.
Nate Wortley blocked the punt at the 20-yard line and the ball was ultimately downed at the four.
Brian Porter took a
Trey Tagliaferri toss outside right end and battled into the end zone extending BC's lead to 19-3. Carnahan's kick was good and BC was rolling.
Anthony Cristiano scored his third TD of the season (first receiving of his career) in the third quarter and BC completed its scoring with
Bryan Porter picking up his second rushing touchdown of the day on a 24-yard run.
Cruz Araujo, Nick Mauro and
Austin Bryan led the Crusaders in tackles with five apiece.
Nate Wortley recorded a solo sack and
Darnell Wilson and
Rocky Rosenberg paired up to earn a half sack each.
Anthony Alfano, Wortley and Bryan all notched a pass defended and sophomore
Jaxson Bishop made his presence felt with a solo tackle for a loss.
The win
| TEAMS |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
FINAL |
| #21 St. Joseph Prep (PA) (1-1) |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
| Bergen Catholic (1-2) |
3 |
17 |
7 |
6 |
33 |
NOTES:
- PORTER: Senior WR Bryan Porter piled up 167 yards from scrimmage and scored three touchdowns to lead the Crusaders to victory.
- TAGLIAFERRI: Junior QB Trey Tagliaferri becomes the fastest Crusader to hit the 1,000-yard mark in a season (1,071) despite passing for the fewest yards in a game this season (279). TT updates:
- He passes former Notre Dame and U Indiana QB, Matt Lovecchio for 6th on the All-Time Yardage Mark with 3,306 yards.
- Two TD passes bumps state champion QB and current Director of Annual Giving Bob Murray '83 off the Top 10 TD list. Trey is tied with Rob Eckrote and Brad Hartung at 31.
- His 20 completions on Saturday moved him to 6th on the all-time completion chart
- WORTLEY: This sophomore two-way starter continues to make big plays. While he has been a quantity guy coming into Saturday from the Mike linebacker position, this week every of his "one" stats was impressive! 1 solo TFL, 1 solo sack, 1 solo blocked punt and 1 pass defended.
- HOME OPENERS: BC is now 53-14-1 (.787) in home openers. The one season BC did NOT have a home opener was in 1964 when all 9 of the Crusader games were played on the road. BC now has a 7-game winning streak in home openers dating back to 2020.
- BC VS PA: The Crusaders improve to 9-2 (.818) vs. Pennsylvania high schools. The first time BC encountered a PA opponent was a historic game at Bishop Egan in Lower Bucks County. The visiting Crusaders defeated Egan 14-7 on their way to completing a perfect 9-0 season and winning a state championship. The Crusaders are 3-0 vs. LaSalle College Prep and 2-1 vs. Archbishop Wood. BC defeated Malvern Prep in the only meeting between the two teams and BC defeated Imhotep Charter from Philadelphia County. BC's last encounter with a PA foe was in this year's opener against Pittsburgh Central Catholic HS.
- DOMINATING 3rd AND 4th DOWNS: A couple of key stats to consider. BC held SJP 0 for 8 on third down conversions and 0 for 2 on fourth down. Kudos to Defensive Coordinator Tony DeBellis '85 and the entire defensive unit for an extraordinary performance!
- OBSCURE BUT TELLING?: Another stat that normally goes under the radar, 1st downs by penalty. BC displayed excellent discipline on the line of scrimmage as the Hawks jumped off-sides a number of times to extend BC drives.
| GAME STATS |
SJP |
BC |
| 1st Downs |
10 |
23 |
| 1st Downs R / P / Pen |
7 /3 / 0 |
7 / 13 / 3 |
| Rushing Yards |
142 |
118 |
| Passing Comp / Att - Pct |
5 / 16 - .313 |
20 / 28 - .765 |
| Passing Yards |
113 |
279 |
| Passing TD's / Int |
0 / 0 |
2 / 0 |
| Total Plays |
41 |
67 |
| Total Yardage |
255 |
397 |
| Fumbles / Lost |
0 / 0 |
3 / 2 |
| Sacks / Yds Lost |
2 / 18 |
3 / 8 |
| Time of Possession |
21:08 |
26:52 |
| 3rd Down Efficiency |
0 of 8 |
8 of 10 |
| 4th Down Efficiency |
0 of 2 |
0 of 0 |
| Punts / Avg. |
5 / 28.2 |
1 / 36.0 |
