NJSIAA Football Non-Public B State Semifinals Preview: St. John Vianney vs. Pope John
NJSIAA FOOTBALL NON-PUBLIC B SEMIFINALS
WHO: 10-St. John Vianney (9-3) at 6-Pope John (4-7)
WHEN: Saturday, Nov. 23 at noon.
WHERE: Pope John XXIII Regional High School – 28 Andover Road, Sparta, NJ.
ST. JOHN VIANNEY’S ROAD TO THE STATE SEMIFINALS: Defeated 7th-seeded Notre Dame 41-10 in the first round; defeated No. 2 seed Red Bank Catholic 31-27 in the quarterfinals.
POPE JOHN’S ROAD TO THE STATE SEMIFINALS: Defeated 11th-seeded Camden Catholic 42-7 in the first round; defeated No. 3 seed Paramus Catholic 14-10 in the quarterfinals.
SJV’S BEST WINS: 35-7 over Central Jersey Group 4 semifinalist Marlboro; 33-19 over South Jersey Group 3 semifinalist Holmdel; 31-27 over defending Non-Public B champion Red Bank Catholic.
POPE JOHN’S BEST WINS: 26-20 over Seton Hall Prep; 14-10 over Paramus Catholic.
PLAYOFF HISTORY: The non-public schools used to play to sectional champions and St. John Vianney has one of those titles, which it won in 1980 when the Lancers were 10-1 and Parochial South A champions in a four-team bracket. Since the non-public playoffs switched to the current group format, the Lancers have reached the Non-Public Group 3 semifinals in 2014 and the Non-Public Group 3 final in 2015 led by current NFL quarterback Anthony Brown. They also made it to the semifinals of Non-Public Group 3 in 2016 and 2017…Pope John has an illustrious state playoff history with 18 sectional titles, 27 finals appearances and a 51-28 postseason record. The Lions’ last state title came in 2002 when it won the Non-Public Group 2 championship.
ST. JOHN VIANNEY’S STAT LEADERS
ANALYSIS
St. John Vianney will try to continue its turnaround season and its underdog run in the state playoffs when it heads to Sparta to face Pope John on Saturday afternoon in the NJSIAA Non-Public B semifinals.
After a rousing 31-27 win over Shore Conference rival Red Bank Catholic in the quarterfinals, the Lancers find themselves one victory away from reaching the state final. Despite being the No. 10 seed, it’s a winnable road game thanks to the chaos in the bottom half of the bracket where the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds are both out. DePaul is the overwhelming favorite to win the tournament but is on the other side of the bracket. Another state-ranked team, Holy Spirit, had the misfortune of drawing the No. 4 seed and has to meet DePaul in the other semifinal game.
Two of the state’s best running backs will square off with a trip to the state final on the line when St. John Vianney sophomore Abdul Turay and Pope John senior Tylik Hill try to outdo each other. Turay was a starter as a freshman and showed flashes of his potential. He has exploded this season to lead all of New Jersey in rushing yards and touchdowns with a school single-season record 2,292 yards and 36 touchdowns on an average of 8.7 yards per carry. He has rushed for over 100 yards in 11 of 12 games, including seven 200-yard games. He is coming off a 177-yard, 3-touchdown performance in the win over RBC.
On the other side is Hill, who is from Asbury Park. He has also been electric this season with 1,916 yards rushing and 21 touchdowns on an average of 7.3 yards per carry. He has seven 100-yard games, four 200-yard games, and an incredible 389-yard, 6-touchdown game in a loss to St. Peter’s Prep in Week 8.
Both offenses run through their tailbacks but it will take more than just Turay or Hill to lead their respective teams to a victory on Saturday. St. John Vianney junior quarterback Zach LaBarca gives the Lancers a dual-threat element and is a great complement to Turay in the backfield. He has thrown for 1,826 yards and 15 touchdowns and also rushed for 706 yards and four touchdowns. He has three standout receivers in seniors Jahmere James and Dante Campagana and junior Adam Uhrs. If Pope John crowds the box to try to slow down Turay, LaBarca can beat them over the top. He can also deliver big plays on the ground if teams crash down on Turay when the Lancers run zone-read plays.
Outside of Hill, Pope John has junior quarterback Luke Irwin, who returned from injury at the start of the playoffs. He has thrown for 1,253 yards and 11 touchdowns but with 13 interceptions. He spreads the ball around with seniors Wes Johnston and Joseph Rozynski and junior Prince Joshua all with over 300 receiving yards.
St. John Vianney sophomore running back Abdul Turay scored four touchdowns in a 35-7 win over Marlboro in Week 1. (Photo Credit: Tom Smith | tspsportsimages.com)
St. John Vianney is one of four Shore Conference teams to score over 400 points this season. The Lancers average 34.2 points per game and have scored less than 30 points just three times. They should put up points versus Pope John. The question is whether they can get enough stops against the best running back they will have seen all season. St. John Vianney has allowed 21.6 points per game. Turay is also an excellent defensive back who has 79 tackles, 4 sacks and 13 tackles for loss. Junior linebacker Danny Breen leads the team in tackles (111) and tackles for loss (14). Irwin has not taken care of the football and Vianney has been proficient at intercepting passes with 14 this season, including five by DJ Carter.
Pope John’s defense is led by senior linebacker Tyler Houser, who is committed to Wake Forest. He has 88 tackles, 5 sacks and 10 tackles for loss. Junior Shawn Baumann has 4.5 sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss. The Lions have allowed 34.9 points per game this season, but a big caveat to that number is Pope John’s schedule.
While St. John Vianney played a good regular-season schedule that featured Central Jersey Group 2 finalist Wall and sectional semifinalists Marlboro, Holmdel, Manalapan and Middletown North, it does not compare to the gauntlet Pope John ran through playing in the powerful North Jersey Super Football Conference. Among the Lions’ losses this season are defeats to No. 2 DePaul, No. 1 Bergen Catholic, No. 13 Delbarton, No. 6 St. Joseph (Montvale) and St. Peter’s Prep.
Pope John played a low-scoring game last week in a 14-10 win over Paramus Catholic so anything can happen, but a high-octane duel between Turay and Hill seems likely. If that is how it plays out, it’s going to come down to which defense can come up with a critical stop or turnover to turn the tide.
