Paramus Catholic football edges St. Peter's Prep in wild, high-scoring game

PARAMUS − Paramus Catholic's "Curse of The Big Six" has finally been exorcised after seven long, losing seasons.

The Paladins opened their season Friday with an emotional 48-47 victory over St. Peter's Prep that snapped a 29-game losing streak against their fellow Big Six non-public rivals dating back to 2017.

Paramus Catholic rallied from a 34-19 deficit and took a 48-34 lead on senior quarterback Crew Colon's 30-yard touchdown pass to sophomore receiver Nehki Martin with 6:12 left in the Super Football Conference game.

“I heard about the streak that was continuing and I’m glad we snapped it,” Colon said. “We’re excited to start the season up, and it’s great win to start it off.”

St. Peter's pulled within 48-41 on junior quarterback Tyler Bell's 14-yard TD run at 5:25. Bell threw a 13-yard TD pass with 2:24 remaining, his fourth scoring pass of the night, but the potential game-tying extra point went low and into a pile of Paramus Catholic rushers.

In a game that featured so many scores, senior running back Xavier Williams' willingness to not score in the final minute secured the win for Paramus Catholic. Rather than score, he slid down at the 5-yard line for a 9-yard gain so the Paladins could run the clock out rather than take a seven- or eight-point lead and give St. Peter's the ball back.

“I was listening to my coaches,” Williams said. “I knew if they got the ball back – I’m not saying it’s a high possibility that they would get in the end zone – but I knew there was a chance, so let’s keep the ball in our hands and let’s just end the game.”

What it means

Paramus Catholic had lost 29 consecutive games against St. Peter’s, Bergen Catholic, Don Bosco, St. Joseph and DePaul.

The Paladins' last victory against a Big Six rival came Oct. 20, 2017, a 22-21 overtime win over Don Bosco. Last season, they lost to St. Peter’s, 28-27.

“We haven’t beaten some of the Big Six schools in a long time,” Williams said, “and I feel like this is going to put us in a good spot for later in the season.”

Paramus Catholic coach Greg Russo is in his third season and dismisses that 29-game losing streak. He's now 1-8 leading his alma mater against the Big Six.

“This ended it,” Russo said. “And I’m going to be really honest. All that streak that started, a majority happened when I wasn’t here. We don’t fear anybody. We don’t care what happened when we weren’t here, and we can only go on what we were doing. And we’ve been building, and my team played with a lot of pride, and a lot of character tonight, and I think we’re going to be a problem for people.”

So many key PC plays

From TD passes to scoring runs to interceptions to fourth-down tackles, Paramus Catholic made a bunch of pivotal plays in the second half to erase the 34-19 deficit.

Let’s start with Colon’s 30-yard TD pass to Martin, which came on a fourth-and-5. Colon avoided a sack by stepping up in the pocket, and Martin made a falling-down catch in the end zone to provide the 48-34 cushion.

“[Colon] got stuck with the ball for a second, and they had pressure, and he bought time, knew he was going to get hit, delivered a strike, and he made the play,” Russo said. “He’s a great player, and he doesn’t get a lot of respect.”

Williams had a non-stop motor between the tackles and the Air Force commit scored his second TD of the night on a 1-yard run, then ran for a 2-point conversion to pull Paramus Catholic within 34-33 at 4:55 of the third.

On defense, Paramus Catholic sophomore defensive back Austin Barret’s interception near midfield and return to the 21-yard line set up Williams’ TD run and conversion.

Junior defensive back Isaiah Selby’s tackle of Bell for no gain on a fourth-and-1 gave Paramus Catholic possession on the 48-yard line. Five plays later, Colon threw an 18-yard TD pass to junior tight end Jordan Moreta on a fourth-and-4 for a 41-34 lead at 11:50 of the fourth.

They said it

“I’m just really proud of them. It was a seesaw game, a lot of swings,” Russo said. “My kids stayed steady. We were scrambling for running backs and tight ends. Guys were gassed. And they really rallied. And it probably doesn’t show to anybody watching, but we had guys step up all night.”

“It was definitely special,” said Colon, who threw two TD passes and ran for two scores. “We came out in the first half, and we messed up a couple of things, went to halftime [trailing 27-19] and we didn’t sweat it, honestly. We came back out here, and we knew what we were capable of, and as you saw right here, we came back and won the game.”

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paramus Catholic football edges St. Peter's Prep in wild, high-scoring game