Football: Top 25 Expanded Breakdowns

Here is an expanded breakdown of all Top 25 teams in this week’s Record, with contributions from staff writers Mark Czerwinski, Keith Idec, Ed Mills, JJ Conrad, Darren Cooper and Brian Giuffra. The Top 25 teams were selected by this panel of writers, with each staff member sending in their individual Top 25 ballots. 25 points were awarded for a 1st place vote, 24 for 2nd place, and so on. The points were then totaled and the Top 25 was finalized. Links to the stories of the games we were at last weekend are included below. Coming Tuesday will be a three-part Roundtable Discussion, with contributions from some of the aforementioned writers.

1. Paramus Catholic (6-0) — LW: 2
Last week: Beat Don Bosco, 21-14
Breakdown: The Paladins are riding high heading into their bye week following their upset win over previous national No. 1 Don Bosco. RB Ahmad Thomas scored two TD’s in the first half as PC built a 13-0 lead and Willy Hansen hit Marquis Spence for a 19-yard TD for the winning TD after Bosco came back to take a 14-13 lead. PC’s defense held twice after that and was, as usual, it’s normal dominant self most of the game. It was a monster win for the Paladins and it will, no doubt, raise their national ranking in every poll. Now they have some time to heal up after a grueling start to the season and prepare for big games against St. Joes, DePaul and the playoffs after that.
Next: vs. Eastern Christian, Md., Oct. 24

2. Don Bosco (3-1) — LW: 1
Last week: Lost to Paramus Catholic, 21-14
Breakdown: Physically, and maybe mentally, the Ironmen were wounded in the loss to Paramus Catholic. They lost standout defensive lineman William Mack III early in the defeat, and the offense had some breakdowns late. Still, remember, PC got two big breaks when fumbles on kickoffs bounced back to the Paladins. The Ironmen’s chances at a national title are probably over, but they still have plenty to play for starting with their first home game of the year against Passaic Tech.
Next: vs. Passaic Tech, Friday

3. Bergen Catholic (4-2) — LW: 6
Last week: Beat DePaul, 25-14
Breakdown: QB Jarrett Guarantano and the Crusaders offense came alive in the second half, rallying back from an 11-point deficit. The defense, headed by defensive linemen Sal Mauro and Sebastian Calixte, forced five straight three-and-outs followed by an interception from Matt Sherlock in the second half. Guarantano rushed for two touchdowns in the second half, including a game-clinching 59-yard run with 2:02 left. 
Next: at St. Joseph, Saturday

4. St. Joseph (3-1) — LW: 4
Last week: Did not play
Next: vs. Bergen Catholic, Saturday

5. DePaul (5-1) — LW: 3
Lost to Bergen Catholic, 25-14
Breakdown: After jumping out to a 14-3 lead against Bergen Catholic on a touchdown reception from Hasise Dubois in the first half and a 54-yard touchdown run from Kareem Walker early in the second half, the Spartans’ offense struggled to get anything going after that. The DePaul defense surrendered 22 unanswered points for the Crusaders, as the Spartans’ nine-game winning streak was snapped.
Next: vs. St. Joseph, Oct. 25

6. Pascack Valley (4-1) — LW: 5
Last week: Beat Bergenfield, 49-7
Breakdown: The Indians scored 42 points in the first half and never looked back. Mike Pimpinella caught a pair of TD passes from Colin Dedrick to get the offense going, but senior RB Jorge Cortes slammed the door with four rushing TDs, three in the second quarter.
Next: at. Old Tappan, Friday

7. Old Tappan (4-1) — LW: 7
Last week: Beat Indian Hills, 49-21
Breakdown: RB Zach DeNike had another big night for the Knights — who jumped out to a 35-0 halftime lead — rushing for three touchdowns on a pair of 1-yard runs and one 12-yard score, while Jordan Fuller added touchdowns on plays of 73 yards or more. The highly-touted recruit hauled in touchdown receptions from Kevin Martinez of 85 and 73 yards and ran for another 75-yard score in Old Tappan’s last game before its much-anticipated showdown vs. Pascack Valley on Friday.
Next: vs. Pascack Valley, Friday

8. Ridgewood (5-0) — LW: 8
Last week: Beat Clifton, 47-12
Breakdown: Ridgewood jumped out to a 41-0 lead after scoring the game’s first six touchdowns, including a 65-yard TD run from Drew Granski and 83-yarder from Cooper Telesco. QB Matt Donovan fired two touchdown passes, a 31-yarder to Liam Benjamin and 30-yarder to Anthony Hroncich.
Next: at Paramus, Friday

9. Westwood (5-0) — LW: 9
Last week: Beat River Dell, 22-21
Breakdown: The Cardinals stretched their winning streak to 11 games, winning “The Bird Bowl” against one of their most heated rivals. Senior Steve Baez, who also starred on defense, scored on a 13-yard run with 1:25 left to make it 21-20, and Collin Saunders scored the game winning two-point conversion.
Next: vs. Fort Lee, Friday

10. Passaic Tech (5-0) — LW: 11
Last week: Beat Fair Lawn, 48-0
Breakdown: Passaic Tech QB Zaire Weaver threw three touchdowns and Elijah Dolson rushed eight times for 124 yards and two scores in the shutout victory. Defensively, Raequan Strand had three sacks.
Next: at Don Bosco, Friday

11. Waldwick/Midland Park(5-0) — LW: 12
Last week: Beat Lodi, 49-12
Breakdown: Ron Kruis caught a 30-yard touchdown pass and returned a punt 50 yards for a touchdown to give the Warriors a 14-0 lead in the first quarter over the Rams. Ryan Moore threw two touchdown passes and was 4-for-5 for 130 yards for Waldwick/Midland Park and Nick Dragonetti had touchdown runs of 38 and 17 yards for the Warriors.
Next: vs. Garfield, Friday

12. Paramus (4-1) — LW: 13
Last week: Beat Hamden Hall, Conn., 48-20
Breakdown: The Spartans bounced back nicely from the OT loss to Bergenfield. Derek DelaCruz ran for three TDs. QB Tyler Smith threw one TD pass and ran for another.
Next: vs. Ridgewood, Friday

13. St. Mary (5-0) — LW: 15
Last week: Beat Weehawken, 28-6
Breakdown: Keon Banks continued his season-long excellence as he carried 19 times for 172 yards with a touchdown in the victory over the Indians from Hudson County. Jamie Van Allen caught touchdown passes of 20 and 26 yards from quarterback Andrew Brito and Anthony Pontoriero returned an interception 57 yards for a touchdown for the Gaels.
Next: at Hasbrouck Heights, Friday

14. Mahwah (3-1) — LW: 16
Last week: Beat Ramsey, 17-16
Breakdown: It was high drama against Mahwah’s biggest rival as Patrick Cowan booted a 41-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Thunderbirds. James Ciliento had another big game, piling up 316 yards of total offense and rushing for two TDs.
Next: at Cliffside Park, Saturday

15. River Dell (4-2) — LW: 14
Last week: Lost to Westwood, 22-21
Breakdown: This was a heartbreaker for the Golden Hawks. Dylan Connolly, Matt Lanza and Max Weber all picked up rushing TDs.
Next: at Dwight Morrow, Friday

16. Garfield (5-0) — LW: 17
Last week: Beat Lyndhurst, 25-6
Breakdown: Ricky Reyes had touchdown receptions of  13 and 11 yards for the Boilermakers. Kevin Buron also had a 35-yard touchdown catch for Garfield, which took an 18-0 lead in the second quarter and had an 18-6 advantage at halftime. Senior quarterback Alex Victorino was 10-for-15 for 172 yards with three touchdown passes for Garfield and Aveona Irving scored the first Garfield touchdown in the first quarter on a 25-yard run.
Next: at Waldwick/Midland Park, Friday

17. Ramapo (3-2) — LW: 10
Last week: Lost to Wayne Hills, 22-21
Breakdown: The defense spent a lot of time on the field and did another great job before surrendering a fourth quarter TD that was the difference. QB Sean Dougherty completed six passes for 229 yards and three TDs.
Next: at Indian Hills, Saturday

18. Pequannock (5-0) — LW: 18
Last week: Beat Hopatcong, 7-0
Breakdown: Senior Brendan Monaghan scored on a 2-yard touchdown run to account for the game’s only touchdown in the second quarter for the Golden Panthers and junior Justin Brunda kicked the extra point to account for the final seven-point margin. Pequannock, which is off to its best start in more than 15 years, has outscored its five opponents, 160-82 this season.
Next: at Kinnelon, Friday

19. Cresskill (5-0) — LW: 20
Last week: Beat Becton, 9-7
Breakdown: Matt Ferrara kicked a 31-yard field goal with 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter to rally the Cougars from a 7-6 deficit. Cresskill scored its touchdown in the second quarter when Nick Carroll returned a blocked punt by AJ Gentile 4 yards for the score. Sean Kelly connected with wide receiver James Picinich on a big 23-yard pass to set up Ferrara’s big three-point boot that won the game.
Next: vs. Park Ridge, Friday

20. Passaic Valley (3-2) — LW: 21
Last week: Beat West Milford, 33-14
Breakdown: Passaic Valley QB Zach Mazalewski continued to be a duel-threat weapon for the Hornets, going 15-for-21 for 166 yards and one touchdown through the air while adding 18 rushes for 126 yards and another touchdown on the ground. Chris Armagno added two rushing touchdowns and Keith Martinez had an 80-yard interception return for a score, as Passaic Valley climbed back over .500.
Next: vs. Lakeland, Saturday

21. Hackensack (4-1) — LW: 22
Last week: Beat Eastside, 32-6
Breakdown: Hackensack’s Asante Dyer rushed 25 times for 165 yards and two touchdowns as Hackensack picked up its fourth win in five games. Justin Marin added 133 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries and Kaz Simpson returned a fumble 20 yards for a score.
Next: at Fair Lawn, Saturday

22. Bogota (5-0) — LW: 25
Last week: Beat Queen of Peace, 44-14
Breakdown: The surging Bucs have scored 107 points in their last two games. They’ve won six straight and are 5-0 for the first time since 2006. Anthony Ovalle ran for 172 yards and two TDS and Zayn Ksiyer ran for 99 yards and two more.
Next: at Wood-Ridge, Saturday

23. Pascack Hills (4-1) — LW: Received Votes
Last week: Beat Ridgefield Park, 29-28
Breakdown: Tyler Messinger hit the end zone on the winning two-point conversion run in overtime to rally the Cowboys past the Scarlets. Anthony Marchetti had a 23-yard touchdown run to pull Pascack Hills, which has won four games in a row, within 28-27. Then the Cowboys decided to go for the victory by going for two instead of a kick. Nick Garcia threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Messinger to break a 7-7 tie and give Pascack Hills a 14-7 lead after three quarters. Messinger, who scored three touchdowns, also had scoring runs of 15 and 5 yards. Pascack Hills moved into seventh place in the current North 1, Group 2 playoffoff power point standings.
Next: at Dumont, Friday

24. Glen Rock (4-1) — LW: NR
Last week: Beat New Milford, 43-21
Breakdown: Sean McInerney returned a kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown and also caught a 35-yard touchdown pass to spark the Panthers, who outscored New Milford 21-0 in the second quarter to take a 24-7 halftime lead as they rallied from a 7-3 deficit after one quarter. Brady Miller threw four touchdown passes for Glen Rock, the one to McInerney, 26-yard and 25-yard scoring passes to Tommy Pulzello and a 1-yard scoring strike to Alex Evans. Miller was 20-for-37 for 311 yards through the air. Pulzello (117), McInerney (77) and Evans (50), who also kicked a 30-yard field goal, combined for 244 yards on the ground for Glen Rock, which is now fifth in the North 1, Group 2 playoff bracket standings.
Next: at Lyndhurst, Friday

25. Demarest (4-1) — LW: Received Votes
Last week: Beat Lakeland, 35-20
Breakdown: Demarest senior RB Alex Wasserman rushed for a school-record 346 yards and four touchdowns to up his season totals to 839 yards and eight scores. In total, Wasserman has 1,281 all-purpose yards and 13 touchdowns. Against Lakeland, Wasserman scored on runs of 75, 49, 62 and 7.
Next: vs. St. John Paul (Va.), Friday

Others receiving votes: Ridgefield Park, Wayne Hills, Ramsey, Becton
Dropped Out: Ridgefield Park, North Bergen, Ramsey
Newcomers: Pascack Hills, Glen Rock, Demarest

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