Coming into 2014, High School Football in New Jersey was expected to be a hot topic, and thus far High School Football is still a hot topic. With the likes of Don Bosco, St. Peter’s Prep, St. Joe’s Montvale, and Paramus Catholic all competing for the coveted top spot in the New Jersey High School Football Rankings, it should be a very interesting fall. As of October 21, 2014 the top spot is held by Paramus Catholic, followed by Don Bosco, and your Marauders round out the third spot. With more time left in the season, fans should be eagerly awaiting Friday or Saturday Nights to watch their beloved team in action.
St. Peter’s Prep came into the 2014 football year with the bar set very high, being ranked 23rd in the country in the pre-season rankings. The offense is led by Senior Quarterback, Brandon Wimbush (University of Notre Dame Commit), Senior Running Back and Corner-back, Minkah Fitzpatrick (University of Alabama Commit), and Senior Running Back and Corner-back Corey Caddle (Fordham University Commit), along with Junior Wide Receivers, Kolton Huber and KJ Gray. As usual Coach Hansen and the Marauders expect to have a very strong defense, led by Minkah Fitzpatrick, along with Jordan Fox, Cheyenn Robertson, Miles Strickland, Dave Tolentino, and many others.
The Marauders kicked off the season against Wise High School, from Upper Marlboro, Maryland. The game was part of the I-95 Kickoff Classic held in Overpeck County Park. The Marauders got off to a hot start by leading 28-9 at halftime. Coming out of the break, St. Peter’s put another touchdown on the board making the score 35-9, but the scoring and the game would end there due to inclement weather around the area. So in a lightning shortened game, Prep moved to 1-0 on the year, and a date with rival Bergen Catholic in a game, that would be nationally televised on ESPNU.
As the anticipation for the Bergen Catholic game kept growing and growing. From the excitement of Marauder Nation to the fact that people all over the world would be able to watch this game and the excitement of the players, everyone just wanted it to be Thursday night. Fans from St. Peter’s and Bergen packed Caven Point to watch their beloved teams battle it out on the gridiron. The atmosphere was electric inside the stands. When it came to the game it looked like only one team was ready to play and that was St. Peter’s. After a blazing, start St. Peter’s was up 21-0 at the end of the first quarter, it was almost unimaginable what was happening! The Marauders did not cool down either, at halftime the score was 35-0! Bergen fans were stunned and the St. Peter’s fans couldn’t have been happier. Even after halftime St. Peter’s couldn’t be stopped resulting in a 49-0 score at the end of the third quarter. Since this game was on national television, the whole world could see the dominance of St. Peter’s Prep, and the talent that is on the football team.In the fourth quarter Bergen Catholic made the score seem not that bad, as the final score was 49-20, but St. Peter’s dominated in all three phases of the game (offense, defense, and special teams). Next up for the Marauders was another rival in Seton Hall Prep.
Coming off the huge win against Bergen Catholic on national television, people thought that the stardom would rush to the heads of the players and that Seton Hall could be set to pull off a huge upset, however Coach Hansen and his coaching staff wouldn’t let that happen. The Marauders got off to another fast start by leading 21-3 after the first quarter. Again, St. Peter’s kept their foot on the gas pedal by outscoring Seton Hall 13-0 in the second quarter giving the Marauders a 34-3 lead at the break. Compared to the first half, the second half was not filled with as many points. The Marauders outscored the Pirates 14-7 in the third and fourth quarters giving St. Peter’s a 48-10 victory. With this victory the Marauders moved to 3-0 on the year with a trip to Bradenton, Florida next to face IMG Academy.
On a wet, gloomy, dark Friday night in Florida, the Marauders were set to take on IMG. With the poor playing conditions, the game got off to a slow start. After the first quarter St. Peter’s and IMG were tied at 7. With expectations of the St. Peter’s offense to pick up the pace and start a scoring outburst, IMG prevented that from happening by stiffening up their defense and making this game a defensive battle. With two quarters of their Florida experience in the books, the Marauders led IMG 14-13 at halftime. IMG gave St. Peter’s their first deficit of the season by scoring in the third quarter, making the score 19-14 after 3 quarters.IMG held off the Marauders attempt of a comeback in the fourth quarter, making the final score 36-20 IMG. This loss put the Marauders at 3-1 on the year with the more favorable part of their schedule coming up.
St. Peter’s capped off two County wins against Ferris High School and Bayonne with Union City up next. They next travel to Elkton, Maryland to face Eastern Christian Academy. Following that game the New Jersey State Playoffs will begin when the Marauders will look to compete for a New Jersey Championship.