Bosco vs PC recap

If you weren’t at the Don Bosco vs. Paramus Catholic game on Saturday, you missed out on a good one. Bosco quarterback Frank Nutile and the Bosco offense helped set up a Cameron Baels 41-yard field goal that went wide as time expired. Paramus Catholic is headed back to MetLife stadium with a chance to win Non-Public, Group 4 title for the second time in as many years.

*Michigan commit Jabrill Peppers returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown that gave Paramus Catholic a 7-0 lead. When Peppers gets in space, he’s tough to stop. On  Paramus Catholic’s second drive, quarterback Steve Shanley hit Peppers over the middle on a crossing route. Peppers made a man miss, turned on the jets and took it the rest of the way.  Peppers finished the game with six carries for 3 yards. He was in the backfield on third down and ran a few plays out of the wildcat. Other than that, Peppers played in the slot at wide receiver. Even before the first quarter was over, Peppers had made an impact on his former team and Bosco was down 14-3.

* Frank Nutile stepped in for Bosco at quarterback in the second quarter. Crusco struggled and it was evident with the bad throw that ended up as an interception. PC knew the play action was coming with Crusco and Nutile hadn’t played since taking over in OT vs. Bergen Catholic. I thought Crusco eluded the pocket too early, like he didn’t trust his offensive line. Nutile came in and led Bosco down the field on his first drive. Although Bosco turned the ball over on downs, Bosco took the ball down to the PC 25.

Down 14-10 in the third quarter, Nutile threw an absolute bomb down the middle of the field to Daivon Ellison who caught the ball and ran another 30 yards or so into the end zone. That gave Bosco

* Don Bosco DB Mike D’Alessandro, who tore his ACL playing lacrosse last spring suited up for the game. That turned out to be solely for attention. I don’t think he played one snap. D’Alessando played both ways for the Ironmen last season and was one of four Bosco football players that tore their ACL in 2013.

* Dejon Harrison had 4 receptions for 51 yards and the game winning touchdown. Three of Harrison’s four receptions came on PC’s last drive, which ended in a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Steve Shanley to Harrison. Shanley hit Harrison for a gain of 18 on fourth and seven from the Bosco 41. Harrison continued to keep the drive alive on a third and 9 with a reception for 10 yards. On second and eight at the Bosco 10, Shanley found Harrison to his left.

“It was a pick route, they chose Jabrill, and I was wide open,” he said.

Harrison made a man miss, slipped in between two defenders, and the end zone was just a few yards away.

* In previous games, it seemed like Paramus Catholic tried to mix it up by showing various formations and give the ball to different players. Sometimes quarterback Shanley would play in the shotgun or under center. Other times Jabrill would come in as the quarterback and run the read option with Keyon Washington by his side. I even saw quarterback Steve Shanley line up as a wide receiver on one play. On Saturday, Paramus Catholic found its match. Sophomore running back Ahmad Thomas took charge as the number one running back for PC and ran hard in between the tackles.

Thomas finished 22 carries for 84 yards. He took a lot of pressure off Jabrill Peppers and Keyon Washington. I had seen Thomas come in to replace Keyon Washington earlier in the year but he did not receive the majority of the carries.

“Ahmad works hard. He is one of the hardest workers in the sophomore class,” senior offensive lineman Juwann Bushell-Beatty said of Thomas.

Thomas is short and quick, and I don’t know if bulky is the right word, but he is thick. He reminds me of Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles.