Game recap: Paramus Catholic makes it two in a row

The heavy rain, wet footballs, St. Peter’s Prep, and the pre game traffic jam on Route 17 all failed to stop Paramus Catholic from winning its second Non-Public, Group 4 championship in as many years. 

How the game was won: Paramus Catholic quarterback Steve Shanley threw two touchdown passes including one in the fourth quarter to wide receiver Tyrone Washington to give Paramus Catholic a 13-6 lead. St. Peter’s Prep could not get much going offensively once junior quarterback Brandon Wimbush left the game in the second quarter with an apparent concussion. Paramus Catholic held St. Peter’s Prep to 259 total yards of offense. 

PC gets the job done:

The rain and cold weather kept the Paramus Catholic offense from creating drives and putting more points on the board in the first half.

“You cant be thinking, oh, this rain is going to stop our offense… It was just fundamental football the whole game,” Shanley said.

The Paladins feel like they have brought their school to the top when it comes to competing with other Non-Publics in New Jersey.  

“It’s an unbelievable feeling, coming into high school, coming to a team who is losing to public schools, I mean you’re not coming in thinking I’m going to be a two-time state champion. You know you had dreams of it. But we were able to put together a team that fights ’till the very end… It’s a new name, it’s a two time state champion, back to back, and you know thats huge for the school.” Shanley said. 

He credited his offensive line for their blocking.

“I mean, I didn’t get touched all game and I was able to sit in that pocket for that extra second and hold onto the ball and deliver a good strike.”

The go-ahead touchdown proved to give Paramus Catholic a lead they could hold on to and they did so. 

Through the eyes of Peppers: Consensus five star Michigan commit Jabrill Peppers spoke about the flow of the game, his teammates and what it took to win four sectional titles. Peppers started his career at Don Bosco where he won two sectional titles including a national championship in 2011 during his sophomore season. Shortly after, Peppers transferred to Paramus Catholic, a team that had not won a sectional title since 1997. Peppers single-handedly did what no one thought was possible and balanced the playing field between the Non-Public powerhouses in New Jersey. 

“It speaks for itself. Numbers don’t lie. Just to end my senior campaign off with a bang, thats just the main thing I’m happy about,” he said.

Even though Peppers only finished with 65 yards rushing and 35 receiving yards, his team still came out on top. 

“They did a pretty good job of containing me. I broke off here and there. He (coach Partridge) just wanted to use me as a decoy.We knew they were going to key on us. We got a lot of great athletes that a lot of teams sleep on.”

Peppers went on to praise Tyrone Washington, Keyon Washington, Steve Shanley and Ahmad Thomas and the offensive line for their performance and focus despite the bad weather. 

Sophomore running back Ahmad Thomas rushed 23 times for 93 yards. Thomas took over as the number one back midway through the season and has been great all year. 

“Remember that name. Ahmad Thomas will be big. He will be big, mark my words. He comes to to practice with a chip on his shoulder every day. Hes a smaller guy, but hey, if you see his film, he might as well be 6’5, 300. Running the ball, as a sophomore, getting thrown into the flames like that… hes just been tremendous all year and I’m proud of him.” Peppers said. 

Peppers said he plans to continue running track in the spring. He already has an offer from Georgetown as a sprinter.

“I’m coming for the state records.” 

By Adam Cazaz