Union City makes most of second chance in New Jersey

Union City surprised West Orange for the biggest upset in New Jersey's 19 state playoff brackets last weekend, while the likes of Carteret, Lincoln (Jersey City), Nutley, Oakcrest (Mays Landing), Paramus, Rahway and Wall Township defied their seedings and stated compelling cases as dark-horse championship contenders in their respective sections.

Click here to view MaxPreps' New Jersey football playoff brackets.

All eight of the squads who sprung upsets last weekend — we are talking seeds 6-8 here since many 4-5 matchups pit teams with comparable resumes — share more in common than just their Cinderella status entering this weekend's semifinals. Most, if not all, entered their eighth games needing to win and/or get help from other schools so they could accumulate residual points just to qualify.

Prior to last Monday's official announcement of the playoff pairings, some projections left Union City, the No. 8 seed in the North 1, Group 4 bracket, being edged out by Clifton for the final seed. After a 5-3 regular season, the Soaring Eagles barely edged Clifton for the final spot in their sectional and were essentially an afterthought when it came to discussing potential state titlists.

Especially after a 21-6 loss to the Mountaineers earlier this season.

However, Union City quickly defied the odds and skeptics by staking itself to a 13-0 first-quarter cushion. A three-touchdown performance by tailback Dominick Montanez and Steve Le's interception with a minute remaining gave the Soaring Eagles a double dose of redemption.

This week, the Soaring Eagles continue their redemption tour in the sectional semifinals when they travel to fourth-seeded Montclair, the same Montclair squad the Soaring Eagles dropped a 27-22 decision against on Sept. 22. A win there, combined with No. 3 North Bergen knocking off No. 2 Randolph, could set up an all-Hudson County final the first weekend of December.

After last weekend's slew of first-round upsets, it makes you wonder: What will the semifinals and finals hold in store?

FEELS LIKE THE FIRST TIME
Congratulations are in order for Barnegat, New Egypt and Oakcrest (Mays Landing), who both recorded their first state playoff victories in school history.

Making just its second playoff appearance, quarterback and Tulane recruit Nick SanGiacomo helped No. 5 Barnegat survive No. 4 Lower Cape May, 29-28, in the South Group 2 first round.

No. 2 New Egypt overcame a regular-season setback the previous week against No. 7 Florence, defeating the Flashes for the first time ever, 21-14, after a big goal-line stand with 5:27 remaining in Central Group 1.

Meanwhile, Oakcrest overcame a 7-6 halftime deficit against Williamstown to derail an anticipated Cherokee-Williamstown South Group 4 title game, using two Joe Spriggs touchdown runs to highlight a decisive 26-point third quarter in a 38-13 triumph.

TOP FOOTBALL PERFORMERS
* Matt DelMauro, Nutley: His Herculean 46-carry, 255-yard, six-touchdown performance carried the seventh-seeded Maroon Raiders past No. 2 Colonia in their North 2, Group 3 opener.

* Vinny Fuschetto, New Providence: More than just running for 105 yards and three touchdowns, he also blocked a field goal attempt and returned an interception 43 yards to set up a game-winning field goal in the final seconds as the Pioneers outlasted Hoboken in the North 2, Group 1 first round.

* Connor Gabriel, Roselle Park: On just 16 rushes, he ran for 331 yards and six scores as the Panthers snapped a 22-game losing streak by beating Whippany Park.

* Khalif Herbin, Montclair: The Mounties' talented signal-caller rushed for 268 yards and three scores while going 8-for-10 passing for 191 yards and two touchdowns passing in a first-round North 1, Group 4 triumph over Ridgewood.

* Quadree Hubbard, St. Mary (Rutherford): His 30-carry, 301-yard, four-touchdown effort lifted the Gaels past Montclair Kimberley Academy and into the Non-Public Group 1 & 2 semifinals.

* John Kuhn, West Morris Mendham: Carried 36 times for 351 yards and five touchdowns in a consolation-game win over Irvington.

* Tanner McEvoy, Bergen Catholic (Oradell): Threw for seven touchdowns and 293 yards as the Crusaders rolled up 63 points in the Non-Public Group 4 first round vs. Red Bank Catholic. For good measure, he also rushed for 179 yards.

* Matt Soltes, Vernon: In addition to completing 11 of 15 passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns, he ran for 130 yards and two scores, intercepted two passes, threw a 2-point conversion pass and kicked two extra points as the Vikings defeated Fair Lawn in their consolation game.

* Delon Stephenson, Sayreville (Parlin): With 112 yards and two scores rushing, 114 yards and two more touchdowns receiving and a 47-yard punt return to paydirt, he helped Sayreville roll past Rancocas Valley in its first-round Central Group 4 contest.

* Deonte Thomas, Oakcrest (Mays Landing): Keyed a defense that forced eight turnovers in a South Group 4 upset of Williamstown, finishing with two interceptions and two fumble recoveries (one for a touchdown).

LOOKING AHEAD
All 38 semifinal games in New Jersey's 19 brackets possess varying level of intrigue, but both matchups in Non-Public Group 4 are this week's most anticipated.

If you are planning your Saturday, put it this way: do you go to Ramsey and watch Don Bosco Prep try to corral St. Peter's Prep (Jersey City) star Savon Huggins and stay on track for its fifth straight state crown? Or go eight miles away to Oradell so you can see if Tanner McEvoy and Bergen Catholic can outduel Seton Hall Prep (West Orange) and its terrific tailback, Kevin Monangai? Although the seeds point to a Don Bosco Prep-Bergen Catholic rematch, any combination of these teams would make for a memorable title game in early December.

Other games especially worth watching this weekend include:

- DePaul (Wayne) at St. Joseph Regional (Montvale), Saturday: DePaul is a much different (read: better) team than it was when it dropped its season opener, 35-6, to the Green Knights on Sept. 10. The Spartans, seeded fourth in Non-Public Group 3, have won eight straight, including an impressive 41-33 triumph over Immaculata in last Friday's first round. Top-seeded St. Joseph has won three straight since suffering successive losses to Ramapo and Bergen Catholic in mid-October.

- Paramus at Northern Valley (Old Tappan), Friday: A regular-season rematch, this is a battle of two tremendous dual-threat quarterbacks in Devin Fuller of No. 2 Old Tappan and John Robertson of No. 6 Paramus. The Golden Knights won a 50-31 shootout on Sept. 16.

- Phillipsburg at Piscataway, Friday: This North 2, Group 4 battle features the last two sectional champions in No. 2 Piscataway and No. 3 Phillipsburg, which dealt Piscataway a 19-16 overtime defeat in the 2009 first round en route to winning this section.

- Winslow Township (Atco) at Lacey Township (Lanoka Harbor), Saturday: Sure, top-seeded Lacey is 10-0 and the prohibitive favorite to run the table in South Group 3, but how will the Lions stop dual-threat quarterback Bill Belton, a Pittsburgh recruit and possibly the best player they will see this season? Winslow wideout Devante` Waugh, who holds scholarship offers from Rutgers and Louisville while drawing interest from Purdue, is Belton's top threat when he looks deep.

Brian Falzarano, a veteran New Jersey sportswriter, covers the state of New Jersey for MaxPreps.com. You can reach him with story ideas or questions at bfmaxpreps@gmail.com.