St. Joseph Regional blasts Bergen Catholic 49-6

PALISADES PARK, N.J. - A week off seemed to do St. Joseph Regional (Montvale, N.J.) a world of good.

Not that the Green Knights were struggling going into the big New Jersey showdown with Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.), which was coming off tough 20-17 home loss to nationally-ranked Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas).

But St. Joseph Regional took a bye week and it paid off in a big way by scoring three first-quarter touchdowns en route to a rather shocking 49-6 Big North–United Division victory at Bergen Catholic.

It helped to get three defensive touchdowns, intercept five passes and record six sacks, according to NJ.com. That helped turn the game to a route.

See Qwixcore tally of the game

St. Joseph Region, No. 12 in the Xcellent 25 national football rankings, scored first on a blocked punt was recovered in the end zone by John Thomas Giles-Harris. Quarterback Spencer Aukamp followed with a 52-yard touchdown pass to Ronald Edwards, to make it 4-0.

Giles-Harris intercepted a pass and traveled 50 yards for another score and Bergen Catholic was shell-shocked, down 21-0.

A scoreless second quarter back Bergen a little life, but Aukamp connected with Mark Fossati with a 9-yard touchdown pass on the first drive of the second half to essentially put this one away.

Boston College commit Sherman Alston added a 2-yard TD run, his seventh of the season, to make it 35-0 and Fossati added yet another defensive touchdown with a 35-yard interception return, making it 42-0 heading into the fourth quarter.

Big North–United Division has a well-earned reputation as one of the top football conferences nationally. The five current members have combined to win two national titles, 13 state titles and compiled a collective 50-9 record against out-of-state opponents since 2004.

With St. Joseph Regional's win, it has even the record with Bergen Catholic at 5-5 since 2004.

St. Joseph coach Tony Karcich told NJ.com this was a complete and through victory.

"That's a tribute to our kids, first and foremost," he said. "They were mentally prepared. I thought we were a little stale Wednesday and Thursday and I was a little concerned with a week off, but, oh man, these kids just turned it on when it counted the most."

Corey Russo rushed for a touchdown for Bergen Catholic in the fourth quarter.

It was the second straight victory for St. Joseph over Bergen Catholic; the Montvale school came away with a 38-37 victory when the two teams met in 2012.

With the win the Green Knights extended their winning streak to nine games.

Bergen Catholic (1-3) goes up against St. Peter's Prep in a non-conference game matchup next week, while St. Joseph Regional (3-0) locks horns with Wayne Hills also in a non-conference game.