In a battle for No. 1 in New Jersey, Don Bosco football sure looked the part | Cooper

EAST RUTHERFORD – Don Bosco did the ground and pound thing again. Now, the Ironmen will rise to the top of the heap.

For the second straight week, Don Bosco downed the No. 1 team in the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey Top 25 rankings. This time, the Ironmen held off St. Peter’s Prep, 35-26, Friday night in the second game of the Zone6ix Classic at MetLife Stadium.

Just like their performance against Bergen Catholic a week ago, the Ironmen didn’t do anything splashy. They relied on their beasts on the offensive line, led by Chase Bisontis and Chris Moreno to control the line of scrimmage. The running back tandem of Nolan James and Logan Bush had another big game.

“It’s a blessing,” Don Bosco coach Dan Sabella said. “Those guys are just playing really good football. They come to work every day, Monday through Thursday. It’s the same approach, they want to get better.”

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Quarterback Nick Minicucci ran for a first half score while only attempting three passes in the first half. But that’s what happens when the other team can’t stop the run, why stop running it?

“Our offensive line is the best in the state, they dominate week in and week out, and that’s why we are so successful because of them,” Minicucci said,

It’s flashy in football today to show off the playmakers, the trash talkers and the stars who go 70 yards for a score, but you can win football games in 2022 by being better up front. Right now, there is no one better in New Jersey than the Ironmen at the point of attack.

Sabella has found ways to win in multiple ways. At Paramus, he had ultra-competitive and athletic quarterback John Robertson. At Paramus Catholic, the offense was tailored to quarterback Andrew Brito, who always found a way to make plays.

These Ironmen almost seem to have five plays in the playbook: inside zone, outside zone, Minicucci on the quarterback draw, a screen pass no one sees coming, or a bootleg pass to a tight end.

It sounds simple, but if they can execute it, no one can stop it. Pinch your defense in and here comes the ball outside. Key on the running backs, and here comes Minicucci. Sell out against the run and here comes the pass.

St. Peter’s Prep battled back from a 28-14 deficit to make a game of it, scoring and getting an onside kick, but when it was crunch time, the Ironmen leaned on the running game again. Bush clinched the game with a 6-yard touchdown run with 1:40 left.

“It’s the offensive line, they’re fast and they do the job every time, and they all play that well,” James said. “We have been in the tight, pressure situations before, I really wasn’t that worried, I had faith in the coaches and offense than we were going to score.”

The Ironmen have two losses, one to talented running back CJ Baxter and Edgewater in Florida and another one to Iona Prep. When’s the last time the team that looks like the best in New Jersey has a loss to a team from New York?

In New Jersey, they have wins over St. Joseph, Bergen Catholic and St. Peter’s Prep. That’s quite the gauntlet.

But the way the New Jersey non-public schedule and playoffs are arranged, I will let you in on a little secret. The regular season doesn’t mean that much, and once you lose one game and there’s no chance at going undefeated, the other games are testing grounds. See what works, see what doesn’t.

There’s no better example than the first game Friday night as St. Joseph throttled Shore Conference power Donovan Catholic. The Green Knights are 3-3. They will rely on sophomore quarterback Joseph Gaston from here on out. Will anyone discount the Green Knights if they win the Non-Public A title with four losses? No. They have the type of offense that can scare anyone and it seems like it is getting better each week.

The goal is to be good in late November, when the weather is cold and you can’t feel your hands. The Ironmen’s offense is already cold-weather perfect, but we will have to see about the St. Joe's offense.

Bergen Catholic got back right to business taking down DePaul on Friday and St. Peter’s still has the playmakers to win a state title. My early theme of the season was: Could anyone block Bergen Catholic? Now, the question is if there's anyone who can’t be blocked by Don Bosco?

Minicucci talked about the team’s goal of going 2-0 at MetLife Stadium this season. He was referring to the Non-Public A state championship game as the second game. At this point, it looks like Don Bosco will bring the blockers and see if anyone is willing to stand in their way.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Don Bosco Prep NJ football looks the part in battle for No. 1