CLARK, NJ- The Arthur L. Johnson High School Crusaders varsity football team will travel to take on Bernards HS tomorrow night, September 15th at 7:00 p.m.
History:
The two teams met last year in Johnson’s home opener, with the Crusaders winning last year’s matchup by a final score of 43-14, powered by four TD’s and 121 rushing yards from senior fullback and co-captain Joe Turek, who scored the last four TD’s for the Crusaders that night.
Jon Duffy and Nick Fischetti, who both graduated last year, supplied the other two TD’s in the win.
Notes:
Johnson is 1-0, coming off their 41-3 home opener win over New Providence HS, where Turek scored three rushing touchdowns. Senior kicker Mike Casalino was 2-for-2 on field goals and 5-for-5 on extra points, stepping up whenever the Crusaders needed to put points on the board when they weren’t able to reach the end zone.
Senior Brandon Rapp fueled a last-minute first half drive with a 47-yard rush that led to Casalino’s second field goal to pad the lead before halftime.
Junior Sebastian Iakouchevitch added a 39-yard rushing touchdown late in the fourth quarter that would be the final score of the night for the Crusaders.
Bernards is 0-2, coming off a 34-17 loss to Roselle-Abraham Clark High School in Rahway River Park. They are led by senior QB Lofton Hoover, who is filling the shoes of Stephen Gribben, who graduated last year.
Other major talent the Mountaineers lost to graduation last year include WR Curt Gouldbin and RB’s Matt Tantleff (playing Division I football at Monmouth University) and Marc Murphy.
They opened up their season in Week 0, a 35-7 loss to Shabazz HS (Newark).
Despite the record, Bernards has a team that is young and fast, providing a test for the Crusaders’ new-look defense under Chris Di Nucci.
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