No. 21 St. Peter's Prep celebrated its first state title since 2005 on Friday night after beating No. 13 Paramus Catholic.
Photo by Glen Kross
A few weeks ago we saw how far Notre Dame commit
Brandon Wimbush can
throw a football. Tonight we saw how far he can lead a team.
The senior dazzled in a convincing 34-18 victory over No. 13
Paramus Catholic (Paramus, N.J.) to give No. 21
St. Peter's Prep (Jersey City, N.J.) its first state title since 2005.
Wimbush threw for 167 yards while rushing for 158 more and amassed three total touchdowns in leading his team to the Non Public Group IV title.
"This is an unbelievable feeling for us right now," Wimbush
told NJ.com after the game. "Just to be able to capture it all with these guys is special. I wouldn't go out like this and win a state championship with another group of dudes. It's unbelievable and I can't wait to celebrate."
Brandon Wimbush was spectacular in leading his team to the Non Public Group IV title.
Photo by Glen Kross
Paramus Catholic struck first with a 64-yard touchdown from
Willy Hansen to
Donald Stewart on a play-action pass with 1:29 left in the first quarter.
Wimbush responded by hitting
Corey Caddle for a 14-yard touchdown to give the Marauders a 7-6 lead.
St. Peter's Prep finished the half in the most unlikely of ways. Junior
Kolton Huber provided a highlight-reel punt block with 58 seconds left in the half, which he recovered and ran back 43 yards for a touchdown to put the Marauders up 14-6.
The Paladins answered with 5:18 left in the third quarter, when Hansen once again found Stewart for a long touchdown, this one 54 yards. Paramus Catholic elected to kick the extra point but it missed, leaving the score at 14-12.
It was Wimbush's time to take over once again, as he hit
Minkah Fitzpatrick for an 18-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 21-12, and the Marauders never looked back.
St. Peter's Prep finishes the season at 11-1, its only loss coming in Florida to
IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.). We'll have to wait and see how the win impacts the Marauders' standing in the
Xcellent 25 Rankings.
