Paramus Catholic (N.J.) vs. St. Peter's Prep (Jersey City, N.J.)
Brandon Wimbush, St. Peter's Prep
Photo by Glenn Kross
The final crescendo of New Jersey's rugged Non-Public Group IV playoff chase happens Friday night at Met Life Stadium with this matchup of Xcellent 25 squads. No. 13 Paramus Catholic has designs on a third-consecutive state crown, all of which would have included a postseason victory over St. Peter's Prep. The Paladins (9-1) earned a chance for the three-peat thanks to a heart-stopping 18-17 win over Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey) in a Nov. 22 semifinal game. It took a 12-yard game-winning pass with under a minute to play from senior
Willy Hansen to
Marquis Spence to keep the Paladins' season alive,
according to nj.com. On the other hand, No. 21 St. Peter's Prep's 31-14 semifinal win over Bergen Catholic (Oradell) was more decisive. The Marauders again rode the arm of senior quarterback
Brandon Wimbush. The Notre Dame recruit turned in another phenomenal performance, throwing for 424 yards and four touchdowns, according to
northjersey.com.
Follow live scoring of this game on Qwixcore Just the facts: The final scores of Paramus Catholic's wins over St. Peter's Prep the past two seasons were 13-6 in last year's state championship and 21-0 in the 2012 semifinal round. These are the only two meetings between the teams in at least the last decade. … By the end of the weekend, New Jersey will have crowned 24 different state champions in football.
Mitch Stephens: St. Peter's Prep 21, Paramus Catholic 20
Kevin Askeland: St. Peter's Prep 28, Paramus Catholic 12
Jamie DeMoney: St. Peter's Prep 27, Paramus Catholic 13
Stephen Spiewak: St. Peter's Prep 22, Paramus Catholic 15
Leland Gordon: Paramus Catholic 18, St. Peter's Prep 17
Colin Ward-Henninger: Paramus Catholic 23, St. Peter's Prep 21
