The Thriller at MetLife

Friday nights battle at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford will be remembered as one of the best games ever played in that stadium. Paramus Catholic won its first Non Public Group 4 state title since 1997 when they were in Non Public Group 3. The Paladins jumped out to a 14-0 lead by using Jabrill Peppers in the wildcat formation while it took the Bergen Catholic offense four possessions to score. Despite several pass interference penalties on the PC secondary and a Bergen Catholic comeback, Paramus Catholic held on to win a game that will not be forgotten.

HOW THE GAME WAS WON: Jabrill Peppers rushed for 159 yards in the first half and 2 touchdowns to put Paramus Catholic up 14-0. Steve Shanley, who had not played at all in the first half, came in hot and completed 7 of 8 passes including the game winning touchdown pass to Tyrone Washington for 55 yards.

TURNING POINT: Paramus Catholic was down 28-27 after Keyon Washington ran off tackle for a 27 yard touchdown with 3:15 left. Then, Paramus Catholic coach Chris Partridge went for it all. He decided to go for a 2 point conversion to take the lead rather then tie the game up at 28 with an extra point. Steve Shanley found Najee Clayton in the end zone and just like that, Paramus Catholic regained the lead with 3:15 remaining.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Without question the player of the game was Jabrill Peppers. He engineered the wildcat offense the entire first half and had two outstanding touchdown runs. Let’s not forget, Peppers has won 3 straight state titles. (2 with Bosco and 1 with PC.)

QUOTE OF THE GAME: “You can never hold you head down. You always have to keep playing. You never know what can happen, you always have to keep playing.” – Tyrone Washington’s response when asked about losing the lead in the 4th quarter.

UP NEXT: Both teams finished their season tonight. Bergen finished 8-4 while Paramus Catholic finished 10-2.

STATISTICS:

PC:
Peppers: 19 rushes for 211 yards and 2 TD’s
Peppers was 0-3 through the air
Keyon Washington: 7 rushes for 58 yards and 1 TD
Steve Shanley- 7-8 138 yards and 2 TD’s
Tyrone Washington- 2 receptions for 64 yards and 1 TD

Bergen:
Germano: 12 rushes for 30 yards and 1 TD
Dawson: 12 carries for 47 yards
Kulscar: 11 receptions for 167 yards and 2 TD’s
Germano: 20-38 238 yards and 3 TD’s.

Statistics courtesy of Darren Cooper and Jim McConville of the Bergen Record.