St. Joseph football makes quick work of state-ranked Donovan Catholic
EAST RUTHERFORD – St. Joseph’s new defensive star looks a lot its offensive one.
Playing more linebacker than he ever has in high school, Green Knights junior Yasin Willis ran back an interception for a touchdown to highlight a 41-13 win over Shore Conference power Donovan Catholic on Friday night at MetLife Stadium in the first game of the Zone6ix Classic.
“Since eighth grade, I played a lot of defense,” Willis said. “Once I got to high school, I transitioned to being an offensive player, but I always kept that mindset.”
Willis said it was the first pick-six of his career.
“Yasin came in and said, ‘Coach I want to help the team, I want to play defense,’ that’s the type of character he has,” said Green Knights coach Dan Marangi. “Jovon Williams has done the same thing, Jahmir Joseph….it just shows the character of all these guys that they want to do what it takes to win.”
St. Joe’s (3-3) scored on defense – thanks to Willis – and scored twice on special teams. Sophomore quarterback Joseph Gaston threw three touchdown passes.
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What it means
This win was the Green Knights' most complete performance. The first half was marked by six tipped passes by the Green Knights defensive linemen, and by receivers running wild in the new up-tempo offense.
Coming off a heartbreaking loss to St. Peter’s Prep in which the Green Knights lost a big lead in the second half, they needed a confidence boost.
“We had to bounce back. It hurts. There’s no question about it. We have to own it as players and coaches and the kids are pretty resilient,” Marangi said. “Our goal every week is to finish. We have yet to play a game that was four quarters. Even tonight, we didn’t play the complete game we will need to down the stretch.”
Turning point
After coming close on a couple Griffins punts, Makhi Jones broke through and deflected one that bounced back into the end zone, where he gathered it up for a score. That made it 27-0 Green Knights midway through the second quarter and took all the drama out of the outcome.
“We always think we have an opportunity to block a kick. We came close plenty of times this season and today we got one,” Marangi said. “When you score on offense, defense and special teams, your odds are pretty good.”
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Game balls
Donovan Catholic scored on two short touchdown runs by freshman running back Najee Calhoun in the fourth quarter. The Griffins' first touchdown was set up by a strange call by the officials after they ruled a tap pass by Gaston was a fumble, instead of incomplete. The Green Knight coaches protested to no avail, and it put the ball at the Green Knights' 27.
Playing more as a standup linebacker at times, St.Joseph senior Jimmy Mullen was a factor early in the game with a sack and multiple tipped passes at the line of scrimmage. Those batted balls seemed to ruin the Griffins' offensive timing.
Green Knights sophomore wide receiver Mekhi Rossignol had two touchdown catches in the first half, from 38 and 40 yards.
Up next
Donovan Catholic (3-2) will host Wall next week.
St. Joseph has a bye before hosting Bergen Catholic on Oct. 15.
“I don’t think anyone has played a harder schedule than we have,” Marangi said. “We can use a week to reset ourselves and get ready for Bergen. They got players. We got players. I think it’s going to be a fun one.”
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: St. Joseph Montvale NJ football makes quick work of Donovan Catholic
