Seton Hall Prep football team gears up for playoffs; falls to Bergen Catholic to move to 2-7

WEST ORANGE, NJ – The Seton Hall Prep varsity football team received the No. 5 seed in the NJSIAA Non-Public Group 4 playoffs and will travel to Ramsey to face No. 4 seed Don Bosco Prep in the first round on Friday, Nov. 11, at 7 p.m.

If the Pirates win, they will play the winner between No. 1 seed Paramus Catholic and No. 8 seed St. Joseph of Metuchen in the semifinals the following weekend.

The Pirates dropped to a 2-7 record on the season after losing to Bergen Catholic, 21-7, Saturday, Nov. 5 in a game played at Crusader Stadium in Oradell.

SHP head coach Vito Campanile faced his brother, Nunzio Campanile, who is the head coach of Bergen Catholic.

The Pirates played a real tough half as they went into the locker room with a 7-7 tie. In the first quarter with 4:04 remaining, Bergen Catholic recovered a SHP fumble and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown. The extra point made it 7-0.

On the ensuing kickoff, SHP went 60 yards in six plays with junior quarterback Cameron Carti hitting junior tight end Andrew Perez on a 34-yard scoring strike. Freshman Tommy O’Rourke’s extra point tied the score at 7-7 with 1:24 left in the second quarter. This was the first appearance for Carti since the first game of the season against Peddie when he was knocked out of the game with a shoulder injury.

Bergen Catholic went on to score a touchdown in the third quarter and fourth quarter.

Following the game, Nunzio Campanile said, “Seton Hall Prep was the hardest working team we played this year.” SHP Head Coach Vito Campanile said of his team: “The team gave a great effort today. We came up a little short today but it was not because a lack of effort.”

SHP stats:

Passing: Carti: 14 of 26 passes for 170 yards, one TD, two interceptions.

Rushing: Senior running back Michael Mughetto: 15 carries for 70 yards.

Receiving: Perez: six catches for 70 yards, one TD. Senior receiver Dwayne Warren: four catches for 66 yards.

Defense: Senior linebacker Paul Theobald: 21 tackles (eight solo). Sophomore linebacker Jonathon Alvarado: 10 tackles (six solo). Defensive back Michael Mughetto: 10 tackles (five solo).

The defense recorded a season-high five sacks. Junior lineman Johnathon Weir had two sacks. Senior lineman Robert Ramsthaler had 1 ½ sacks. Alvarado had one sack and senior lineman Matt Jones had ½ sack.

  Seton Hall Prep football