It was a night for the Campaniles.
Just hours after Nick Campanile and DePaul, No. 17 in the NJ.com Top 20, won the NJSIAA/Rothman Orthopaedics Non-Public B championship, Vito Campanile and No. 2 Bergen Catholic thumped No. 1 Don Bosco Prep 45-0 in the Non-Public A championship for the second-consecutive year at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.
“The last time we coached together at Westwood we were in that same locker room,” Vito Campanile said of his brother. “It was awesome. I’m just really happy.”
The win served as a taste of revenge for the Crusaders, who were pummeled by the Ironmen in a 31-7 loss in Oradell on Sept. 24. The loss was the program’s first since the 2020 abbreviated season and it may very well have been the best thing that could’ve happened to them.
“They said so many disparaging things when they beat us the last time,” Campanile said. “They said we didn’t want to be in the game, and I don’t think that’s what this rivalry is about. The kids had fire in them that I’ve never seen before. We needed that.”
Junior Kaj Sanders punched in an 8-yard run for the game’s first points prior to a 13-yard screen from sophomore quarterback Dom Campanile to senior Saeed St. Fleur that made it 14-0 with 5:04 to go in the first half.
Junior kicker Guytano Bartolomeo made a 30-yard field goal to end the half and put the Crusaders up 17-0. You just knew a rout in the final 24 minutes was coming.
“We had a long winning streak and we needed a loss to get back to reality,” senior DJ Samuels said of the regular season defeat versus the Ironmen. “We knew we had to stop the run. They like to run behind Chase [Bisontis] and we shut that side down. We knew the first game was a fluke and we knew we were going to win.”
St. Fleur would find pay dirt two more times via the ground game, ripping off long runs to set up the scores that came near the goal line. It was quite the send off for the Delaware commit, who saw phenom running back Ryan Butler do the same stuff a season ago.
“Practice – that’s where it all started,” St. Fleur said. “We had 31-7 on the scoreboard in every practice and that was our motivation. We watched the film. It was 20 plays – the worst 20 plays we’ve ever had. There’s no better way to go out than that.”
A player seldom targeted in the first meeting between these two was wideout Quincy Porter. The sophomore standout made multiple contested grabs and racked up YAC on the way to a huge game.
St. Fleur finished the contest with three touchdowns, but Porter used Friday to let everyone who didn’t know already how special he’s going to be these next two seasons.
“We’ve been working together since seventh grade, he’s great,” Dom Campanile said. “We’ve been grinding up to this point. I know how he’s going to run routes and I know how he’s going to execute. He did that tonight.”
For Don Bosco Prep, it’s disbelief.
Its most lopsided loss of the season came in September to Edgewater (FL), a 34-10 defeat on the road in Orlando. Friday’s loss is one the program will have to wear until the two meet next fall in Ramsey and one that will make their talented senior class sick for a long time.
“We didn’t make enough plays,” head coach Dan Sabella said. “We got out-physicaled in a lot of parts of the game and once they got the momentum, they never looked back. We weren’t able to change it and get things going for ourselves.”
Bergen Catholic played an underdog role the entire year. Even off a championship, no one believed the Crusaders could beat Don Bosco Prep.
They did, and the only folks who needed to believe are on 1040 Oradell Ave.
“We had the whole state doubting us,” Samuels said. “From the beginning to the end they were doubting us. We knew we were the best in the state.”
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Luis Torres covers the Super Football Conference and NJIC. He can be reached at ltorres@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ByLuisTorres. Ryan Patti covers the Super Football Conference and NJIC. He can be reached at rpatti@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ryanwpatti.
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