Similar teams will vie for Non-Public 2 title

Football coaches like to win games - by any means, manner, or method.

Trick play? Fine.

Razzle-dazzle? Sure.

Crazy bounce, odd call, strange twist? Whatever.

But there's something special when the most important game gets decided at the most elementary level, and that could happen in Friday's Non-Public 2 state championship clash between Camden Catholic and Holy Spirit at the College of New Jersey.

"They are going to line up and come right at you," Camden Catholic coach Gil Brooks said of Holy Spirit. "Really, it becomes a challenge of whether or not you can stand up to them."

Lots of different actions by lots of different players could turn the battle between the 10-0 Irish, the No. 3 team in The Inquirer's South Jersey rankings, and the No. 8 Spartans (who are 7-3 officially but 8-2 on the field since one of the losses was by forfeit for using an ineligible player).

But this game most likely will hinge on the game's basics - blocking and tackling. These are big, strong, physical teams that like to run the football on offense and put their trust in an active, linebacker-led defense.

"Like looking in the mirror," Holy Spirit coach Chalie Roman said of looking at Camden Catholic.

Holy Spirit, which was No. 1 in the preseason Top 10, has won four in a row after a choppy first half of the season that included lopsided losses to current No. 1 St. Joseph and current No. 7 Hammonton.

"We needed to start playing smarter football," Roman said. "We've cut way down on the mistakes."

The Spartans have a powerful ground game that features senior running backs Donta Pollock (191 carries, 1,358 yards, 16 touchdowns) and Nigel Jones (166, 1,142, 13). Pollock and Jones are the first set of classmates in New Jersey history to rush for more than 4,000 career yards.

Pollock and Jones run behind one of South Jersey's largest offensive lines. The Spartans' front wall is led by 6-foot-4, 285-pound senior Nico D'Angelo, a Villanova recruit.

"They're going to test you," Brooks said of Holy Spirit. "They're going to see if they can wear you down with that line and with those backs. If you can't stop them, they will keep coming at you all game."

Unlike Holy Spirit, Camden Catholic has been remarkably consistent this season. The Irish have met every challenge. They are in position to become the first 11-0 team and the first state champion in the history of the program.

"The big thing is how hard these guys have been willing to work," Brooks said of his players.

Camden Catholic also features a strong ground game behind a powerful offensive line led by center Jeff Miller. The top rusher is junior Jarred Alwan (79 carries, 645 yards, 12 touchdowns), and senior running back Mike Blandon (59, 437, six) and senior quarterback Pete Galiano (65, 487, three) also are threats on the ground.

Galiano also has passed for 881 yards and 10 touchdowns, and that makes the Irish a little more balanced and unpredictable than the run-heavy Spartans.

Defensively, these teams are strikingly similar. Camden Catholic's defense is led by Alwan (86 tackles, Sean Collins (119), and Will Jackson (77), all junior linebackers.

Holy Spirit's defense features senior linebackers Ethan Gambale (136 tackles) and Dan Mastromatteo (89), a North Carolina recruit.

Strong offensive lines clearing the way for bruising ground games. Sturdy defenses led by hard-hitting linebackers. Proud programs likely to draw thousands of supporters to a college stadium on a Friday night in early December.

There's not much to separate these teams. But after 48 minutes at the end of the long season, the difference will show on the scoreboard.