Connor Laverty of Bernards (second from right) gets set to take a snap in the third quarter against Overbrook at Olcott Field in Bernardsville on August 26, 2022. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
It’s not often Bernards plays a team from South Jersey, but it’s been a trend in recent years with the new playoff format since 2018.
In 2019, they lost in the opening round 50-10 at Cedar Creek. Last year, the Mountaineers dropped their opener in the Battle of the Beach in Ocean City to Penns Grove 40-20, then got knocked out at home in the second round of the the playoffs, 24-14, by Haddonfield.
So head coach Jon Simoneau challenged his team by bringing in Overbrook, a team that went 8-2 last year and brought back a junior quarterback in DeAngello Conquest who threw for over 1,400 yards last season as a tenth-grader.
Challenge accepted. Mission accomplished.
Bernards topped Overbrook 21-6 with stifling defense – including a couple of interceptions by Daniel Ferguson, and another each from Nicholas Kouflie and Max Austin – and got enough offense for the win. Three different players scored, including a two-yard keeper by Connor Laverty and a three-yard score by Terrance Hanratty – both in the first quarter to stake the Mountaineers to a 14-0 lead – and a five-yard run by Jake Caldwell to give Bernards breathing room at 21-6 after the Rams got it to within eight points.
Click below for postgame reaction from Bernards’ 21-6 season-opening defeat of Overbrook: