Brearley, Mountain Lakes looks like a test of wills for North 1, Group 1 title

Just let Sims do what he does.

Sure, Brearley senior quarterback Matt Sims has people around him, but there’s no secret weapon for the Bears in 2022, not in the regular season, not in the playoffs.

The challenge for every opponent is to stop Matt Sims. And no one has done it so far.

That’s the task at hand for Mountain Lakes, as the 2nd-seeded Herd (9-1) faces 4th-seed Brearley (10-0) Saturday afternoon for the North Jersey, Section 1, Group 1 championship. (The game was moved from Friday night due to bad weather forecast from the remnants of Hurricane Nicole.)

Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Chris Tsakonas will have live updates during our broadcast of the North 2, Group 4 title game between North Hunterdon and Randolph – which also starts at noon. Follow Chris on Twitter by clicking here for the very latest, and a recap and postgame reaction will be on cjsportsradio.com after the game.

But even without Sims, when he was hurt a few weeks ago and missed the Bears’ October 7 game against Highland Park, fellow senior Brendan Fitzsimmons filled in admirably, only throwing two passes – completing one – and rushing 19 times for 188 yards and three scores.

For Mountain Lakes, they have had success this season – particular against the Herd’s toughest opponents – by running the ball, valuing the ball, and taking the ball away. The third item on the list may be the toughest of all, since Sims doesn’t cough it up much. Sims has completed 61 of 85 pass attempts this year, throwing just nine TDs (he’s rushed for 26 on 1,335 yards) but only one interception.

Brearley just doesn’t make mistakes.

In fact, Sims is plus-4 in the interception category all on his own. He’s thrown one, but logged four on defense.

And they are putting up a lot of points. Brearley beat North Arlington and Kinnelon in the first two rounds by a combined 95-30 score. Mountain Lakes beat Boonton and Waldwick by a combined 62-31.

Still, the Herd have passed nearly every test this year, their lone loss coming to Caldwell, 35-14, on cutoff weekend. And that’s no wimpy loss. The Chiefs have won 25 straight games heading into this weekend’s North 2, Group 2 finals against Newton.

The game will be a rematch of the 1991 North 2, Group 1 title game, which Brearley won 14-13. The Bears are 5-4 all-time in sectional finals, while the Herd have won seven titles. They were declared champs in 1974, the first year of playoffs, with no other teams eligible, and are 6-8 otherwise in sectional title games.