Plaxico caught the game-winning touchdown in Super Bowl XLII with the New York Giants and now Elijah is catching passes just 17 miles away from his father's old Giants Stadium stomping grounds.
Elijah, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound junior wide receiver, has 23 receptions for 419 yards and five touchdowns this season against a schedule that includes many of New Jersey's power programs. He is part of an explosive receiving unit that includes four-star junior
De'zie Jones, who has six touchdown catches of his own.
When DePaul Catholic took on Bergen Catholic (Oradell) on Sept. 30, Burress hauled in seven receptions for 117 yards and a touchdown. His score came late in the third quarter with the ball at the 12-yard line. Wearing the No. 17 just like his father, Elijah went across the middle on a slant and caught the touchdown in-between two defenders from sophomore quarterback
Derek Zammit, who has offers from Rutgers, Wake Forest and Duke.
After the Bergen game, Burress — who previously had an offer from Liberty — added an offer from Duke.
Both of Elijah's parents are used to competing in championships. His mother Tiffany ran track at Penn State, where she competed in the Big Ten championships in multiple events including the 100-meter. Plaxico helped
Green Run (Virginia Beach, Va.) make deep postseason runs in both football and basketball.
Junior Elijah Burress of DePaul Catholic has excelled this season for the Spartans. The son of NFL legend Plaxico Burress went for more than 100 receiving yards against Bergen Catholic in September and has offers from Duke and Liberty. (Photo: Pete Hagedoorn)
On the football field, Plaxico was a stellar receiver and a lockdown member of the secondary. As a senior he had six interceptions and blocked four punts. As a sophomore, he even went up against a freshman Michael Vick in the secondary during a preseason scrimmage.
On the hardwood, Plaxico averaged a double-double and scored more than 1,000 points in his high school career. In the NFL postseason Plaxico had 46 career catches for 688 yards and six touchdowns. None of those touchdowns were bigger than Super Bowl XLII, when the Michigan State alum caught the game-winning touchdown with the same football that moments earlier had been snagged by teammate David Tyree as part of the famous "Helmet Catch."
This season Elijah has made postseason memories of his own. In DePaul Catholic's playoff opener against St. Mary (Rutherford), the junior had his second career 100-yard game in a win. He turned two of his receptions into touchdowns including one that went for 62 yards where he showed off his jets as he outran multiple defenders into the end zone.
Plaxico posted the 62-yard touchdown of his son on
his Instagram and many former NFL players including Thomas Jones, Corey Webster and Pro Football Hall of Famer Edgerrin James all commented with approval.
Last weekend against St. Thomas Aquinas (Edison), the Spartans again got the victory, this time by a score of 13-10. The win sends DePaul Catholic to the championship against Red Bank Catholic (Red Bank) on Nov. 28.
