Recap of first few weeks in unpredictable north jersey high school football

North Jersey high school football has been anything but predictable in the first 3 weeks of the 2012 season. The first thing that stands out to me is the spectacular game last weekend between Bergen Catholic and St. Joseph. Both teams provided an entertaining game that involved comebacks, turnovers, and yea, a missed extra point. But let’s not forget what got us to the best game of the season.
Oh right, Don Bosco lost to Gilman (Maryland) in the first week and followed up against St. Thomas Aquinas (Florida) with an impressive victory. Bergen Catholic also played very well vs Bishop Gorman In a victory out in Nevada and that prompted a new argument for who would be the best team in NJ.
Then all of a sudden, St Joseph made a statement and a claim of their own for the top spot in New Jersey when they knocked off Bergen Catholic in a 38-37 overtime victory.

In case you didn’t know, Wayne Hills quarterback Kevin Olsen broke a bone in his foot in the first game of the season against Northern Highlands. At first it was believed that Olsen would likely be out for the year. However, Olsen flew down to Charlotte, North Carolina two weeks ago to have surgery and he could be back in the next 5 weeks. Today, Olsen officially accepted an invite to the Under Armour All-American Game that will be held at the end of the year in Florida.

Also, for the first time in a long, long, time (21 years to be exact), Wayne Valley beat Wayne Hills. Valley has gotten victories with a strong ground and pound game and a reliable passing game. The Indians are 3-0 after playing West Milford, Passaic, and Wayne Hills. They play Passaic Valley this week.

Paramus Catholic has definitely been under the radar this season. The Paladins mounted a nice comeback over Delbarton in week 1. Jabrill Peppers was hard not to notice as he went on to score 3 touchdowns in that game but there were two other players that caught my eye. Junior receiver Tyrone Washington and sophomore wide recieiver Najee Clayton both hold offers from Rutgers and made some big plays for the Paladins in their home opener. I think we will get to see how good PC is when they face off against Bosco three weeks from now. So far, the Paladins have posted a 3-0 record with victories over Northern Valley Demarest, Depaul, and Delbarton.

A few recruiting notes:

– Kiy Hester, a class of 2014 standout transferred this week to St. Joseph Montvale from Depaul after the Greeen Knights victory over Bergen Catholic. Hester is a speedster and plays cornerback and receiver. He currently holds offers from over 10 Division 1 schools including Miami, Michigan, and Nebraska among others. It does look like Hester will have to sit out four weeks until he will be eligible to play.

– Bergen Catholic Junior defensive end and Junior Safety Cameron Quiero both picked up offers from Vanderbilt today.

-Junior all purpose back Jabrill Peppers has a top 5. Peppers currently has 9 offers from Division 1 schools. Here is the top 5:

1. Stanford
2. USC
3. Michigan
4. Notre dame
5. Ohio State