Bernards QBs Connr Laverty and Chris Dietrich talk on the sideline during Bernards’ game against Hillside at the “Rumble on the Raritan” at Rutgers on September 5, 2021.
Bernards senior runningback Michael Leanza was leading the state with well over a thousand rushing yards when he went down with a leg injury.
He hasn’t been back since.
The Mountaineers haven’t lost since, either.
But while junior Nicholas Kouflie has filled in quite ably – scoring in all three games Leanza has missed – head coach Jon Simoneau still wants him back when the second-seeded Mountaineers (8-2) take on third-seed Haddonfield (7-2) in the Central Jersey Group 2 semifinals at home Friday night, in the Big Central Game of the Week driven by Mark Montenero and his team at the world-famous Autoland.
Game time is at 7:00. Mike Pavlichko and Max Scheiner will call all the action live from Olcott Field in Bernardsville, with pregame set for 6:45. Click here to listen.
Simoneau says Leanza hopes to learn soon if he’ll be cleared to play.
Click below to hear head coach Jon Simoneau talk about his team and their matchup with Haddonfield: