Middletown's Mater Dei Faces Morristown-Beard in State Football Playoffs

Above photo: Mater Dei’s Christian Palmer

No.5 seed Mater Dei Seraphs (7-2, 4-1) @ No.4 seed Morristown-Beard Crimson (6-3, 3-2)

Saturday, 1:00 P.M.

ANALYSIS: Morristown-Beard finished tied for third in the Liberty Division of the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference. The Crimson lost to Mater Dei 12-7 in a NJSIAA Non-Public Group I first-round game last season and would love nothing more than to return the favor. They’re in search of their first-ever state title having reached the finals once in 2007.

The Crimson will run the ball to set up the pass and as a team have rushed for a daunting 2,355 yards this season. Seniors Matt McFadden and Nick Rella have combined for 1,989 yards rushing and 24 touchdowns while wearing out opposing defenses. The 5-foot-8, 160-pound McFadden leads the team with 1092 yards on only 94 carries for a whopping 11.6 yards/ carry average and 13 touchdowns. He’s also a big-time receiving threat out of the backfield averaging an eye-popping 22.5 yards per reception on 13 catches with an additional four scores. Rella – a 5-foot-9, 195-pound north-south runner - has accounted for 897 yards rushing on 148 carries with 11 touchdowns and likes to run over people. He also has the hands to catch the ball out of the backfield grabbing 13 passes for 161 yards. Senior quarterback Colin Waters has been efficient while managing the game but can be prone to throwing the interception. He’s passed for 761 yards going 49-of-110 (45%) with seven touchdown passes, however his touchdown passes (7) to interception (7) ratio is extremely high. 6-foot-3, 225-pound senior tight end Dan Grogg is a big target for Waters and averages an impressive 20.3 yards per catch on 15 receptions.

Senior outside linebacker Matt Reilly leads the team in tackles with 81 but it’s Grogg that has been terrorizing opposing quarterbacks with 11 sacks and 12 TFL included in his 54 tackles. McFadden has been as dominant at free safety as he’s been at running the ball, recording 64 tackles with two interceptions. Junior linebacker Calvin Wetmore has made 37 tackles with an interception while senior middle linebacker Matt Stark has added 42 tackles with two TFL. 6-foot-4, 245-pound defensive tackle Markel Titus (51 tackles, 2 TFL, .5 sacks) and 6-foot-6, 265-pound tackle Alex Motley (40 tackles, 3 TFL, sack) don’t allow much running room in the middle and have the talent to alter game plans.

Mater Dei finished second in the Class B Central Division of the Shore Conference one game behind Shore Regional who they fell to in a hard fought 14- 8 loss. Since that loss, the Seraphs have won three in a row outscoring their opponents 145-40 in the process. Last season Mater Dei posted its first winning season and first playoff win since 1999 and is hoping to ride this season’s momentum to a state title – which would be the school’s first-ever in football.

Senior quarterback Christian Palmer – who grew up in the backdrop of Mater Dei – has been the catalysts of the Seraphs success the past two seasons and has to be considered for the Shore Conference Player of the Year award as he continues on his record-breaking pace. In last week’s 52-13 blowout of division rival Pt. Beach, Palmer piled up 476-total yards. He ran for 195 yards and three touchdowns and went 16-of-26 passing for 281 yards and three touchdowns. Palmer now has 1,511 yards passing with 20 touchdowns and has rushed for 1044 yards on 91 carries for an amazing 11.5 yards/carry average to become a member of the prestigious Shore Conference 1000-1000 club. He’s a leader on and off the field and if anyone could ever will his team to their first-ever state title, it would be Palmer. Seniors Zach Bragg (35-205, 3 TD), Tyson Stamper (50-339, 2 TD) and Tysaun White (38-400, 8 TD) have all seriously contributed to the teams 2,071 yards rushing yardage as well as receivers out of the backfield. Palmer’s favorite target is 6-foot-2, 180-pound sophomore playmaker Eddie Lewis. Lewis has nine receiving touchdowns included in his 36 receptions for 707 yards. His 19.6 yards/catch average earmarks him as a legitimate downfield threat. Palmer has found White 16 times for 392 yards and five touchdowns while Stamper has four receiving touchdowns and averages an extraordinary 41.4 yards/catch for 290 yards.

The Seraph’s defense tends to be underrated and got a bad rap after allowing 76 point in the first three games of the season. Since then, they haven’t given up more than 16 points in any game and have allowed a very respectable average of 11.8 points/game.

The linebacking corp has been a strength of the defense with sophomore John Lubintus leading the team in tackles with 72 and TFL with eight while senior outside linebacker Vinny Mezzacappa has recorded 52 tackles, six TFL and two sacks plus sophomore Juwan Mitchell has had a nice first varsity season with 31 tackles and four TFL. 6-foot-2, 345-pound defensive tackle Quylil Maxwell is a mountain of a man that dominates the line of scrimmage forcing plays to the outside and into the hands of waiting linebackers and safeties. He has still managed to record 25 tackles and three TFL often being double and triple teamed. Sophomore defensive end Artis Hemmingway is a star on the rise. He’s 6-foot-2, 235-pounds, he’s fast and he’s strong. He leads the team in sacks with eight and also plays the run with abandon recording 49 tackles and 6 TFL. Junior Nick Massaro has been solid at defensive end and is second to Hemmingway on the team with five sacks included in his 19 total tackles. Stamper has been outstanding in run support from the safety spot making 49 tackles with 6 TFL while utilizing his ball hawk skills with two interceptions. White is right there with him, registering 34 tackles with one interception.

PICK: This game will come down to who can stop who and I give the Mater Dei defense the edge here. I also feel that Palmer gives the Seraphs all the intangibles and I expect him to pull another rabbit out of his hat and lead the Seraphs to a convincing win.

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