Rivals Recap: New Jersey

It was a weekend full of big-time matchups in northern New Jersey. Olney (Md.) Good Counsel traveled up I-95 to play Wayne (N.J.) De Paul Catholic. The trip proved to be worthwhile because Good Counsel came away with a 42-28 win. Montvale (N.J.) St. Joseph's Regional held on for 22-20 win over Lakewood (Ohio) St. Edward. In a game full of special teams miscues, Ramsey (N.J.) Don Bosco beat Philadelphia (Pa.) St. Joseph's Prep 50-21.

I was impressed with...

Good Counsel dominated De Paul Catholic and a lot of credit needs to go to the Falcons linebackers, led by Rivals100 Maryland commit Keandre Jones. There was a series of plays where Jones made every single tackle. It didn't matter if it was a running play between the tackles or to either side of the field. Jones also knocked two players out of the game because of his physical play, something he has elevated since last season. He ended the game with 15 tackles and a sack. Good Counsel linebackers Ayinde Eley and Jalen Lea, who each registered six tackles, also had very good games.

While the Good Counsel defense was stout, the Falcons' offense put up a lot of points. 2017 Rivals250 running back Mohamed Ibrahim led the game with 201 yards and five touchdown, with scoring runs of 32, 19, five, two and 36 yards. Joshua Contee, Naasir Watkins, Branden Johnson and the rest of the Good Counsel did a very good job of holding their blocks and getting to the second level to disrupt the De Paul Catholic linebackers and spring Ibrahim for big gains. The De Paul Catholic defensive line is very talented and it's worth noting that the young Good Counsel offensive line kept them in check for nearly the entire game.

De Paul Catholic running back Kareem Walker is the only five-star running back in the 2016 class and he played very well on Friday night. He averaged just over seven yards per carry for a total of 171 yards and one touchdown along with 24 receiving yards. There were a number of times Good Counsel should have stopped Walker in the backfield but his great vision and strength allowed him to make something out of nothing. That vision helped Walker turn losses into gains and short gains into big gains.

A historical powerhouse, St. Joe's Regional doesn't have as many major college prospects as some of the other teams in their conference but they are one of the most disciplined and technically sound teams around. All three of their touchdowns came from players that measured in less than 6 feet tall. "Scrappy" is a word thrown around to describe undersized but tough, never-say-die players. The scrappy players on the St. Joe's Regional team never quit and showed that they can overcome another team's size advantage.

I was surprised that...

St. Joe's Prep was not on their "A" game on Saturday against Don Bosco. They let up kickoff returns for touchdowns, punt returns for touchdowns and even had a bad snap on a punt that resulted in the safety. They could not get the running game going, a normally productive unit featuring 2017 Rivals100 running back the D'Andre Swift. St. Joe's Prep has a lot of playmakers but defensively they had a hard time holding up in certain situations and special teams really let them down. Once they were in a hole early in the game they could not recover and then when it started raining conditions were too tough to mount a comeback.

Swift is one of the top players in the 2017 class but as a running back had a hard time gaining yards if the defense was always in the hole to stop him. Luckily Swift found another way to impact the game in a positive way for St. Joe's Prep. He was able to take a kickoff return for about 95 yards and broke about seven or eight tackles before running to daylight. There were times when Swift was able to grind out a couple of first downs but he always had to break through one or two tacklers. It was good to see how hard he would fight in it in adverse situations and there's no doubt he's stronger than a year ago.

Other thoughts...

The young players at Don Bosco could be the best young crop of players in the mid-Atlantic. Guys like junior Tommy DeVitoClick St. Joseph's Regional defensive end Dorian HardyClick Quarterback Sheldon Applewhite has all the tools to be a major Division I prospect. He's still only a sophomore and is adapting to the speed of major high school football. There's a lot he can do with his big, powerful arm but he also has the mobility to keep defenses on their toes. Applewhite was able to scramble for you key first downs to keep important De Paul drives going.Here to view this Link. has the athleticism of a major Division I prospect. The sophomore only played spot duty on Saturday but he can be a major impact player when he is able to rush off the edge. Hardy also has the athleticism to play in space and possibly turn into a hybrid linebacker.Here to view this Link. and sophomores Kevin BrennanClick St. Joseph's Regional defensive end Dorian HardyClick Quarterback Sheldon Applewhite has all the tools to be a major Division I prospect. He's still only a sophomore and is adapting to the speed of major high school football. There's a lot he can do with his big, powerful arm but he also has the mobility to keep defenses on their toes. Applewhite was able to scramble for you key first downs to keep important De Paul drives going.Here to view this Link. has the athleticism of a major Division I prospect. The sophomore only played spot duty on Saturday but he can be a major impact player when he is able to rush off the edge. Hardy also has the athleticism to play in space and possibly turn into a hybrid linebacker.Here to view this Link., Tyler FridayClick St. Joseph's Regional defensive end Dorian HardyClick Quarterback Sheldon Applewhite has all the tools to be a major Division I prospect. He's still only a sophomore and is adapting to the speed of major high school football. There's a lot he can do with his big, powerful arm but he also has the mobility to keep defenses on their toes. Applewhite was able to scramble for you key first downs to keep important De Paul drives going.Here to view this Link. has the athleticism of a major Division I prospect. The sophomore only played spot duty on Saturday but he can be a major impact player when he is able to rush off the edge. Hardy also has the athleticism to play in space and possibly turn into a hybrid linebacker.Here to view this Link. and Marcellus EarlingtonClick St. Joseph's Regional defensive end Dorian HardyClick Quarterback Sheldon Applewhite has all the tools to be a major Division I prospect. He's still only a sophomore and is adapting to the speed of major high school football. There's a lot he can do with his big, powerful arm but he also has the mobility to keep defenses on their toes. Applewhite was able to scramble for you key first downs to keep important De Paul drives going.Here to view this Link. has the athleticism of a major Division I prospect. The sophomore only played spot duty on Saturday but he can be a major impact player when he is able to rush off the edge. Hardy also has the athleticism to play in space and possibly turn into a hybrid linebacker.Here to view this Link. look to have very bright futures. Offensive lineman Liam FornadelClick St. Joseph's Regional defensive end Dorian HardyClick Quarterback Sheldon Applewhite has all the tools to be a major Division I prospect. He's still only a sophomore and is adapting to the speed of major high school football. There's a lot he can do with his big, powerful arm but he also has the mobility to keep defenses on their toes. Applewhite was able to scramble for you key first downs to keep important De Paul drives going.Here to view this Link. has the athleticism of a major Division I prospect. The sophomore only played spot duty on Saturday but he can be a major impact player when he is able to rush off the edge. Hardy also has the athleticism to play in space and possibly turn into a hybrid linebacker.Here to view this Link. already has an offer and his recruitment is expected to take off soon.