Bernards hosts Hanover Park and Hornets’ familiar coaching staff in North 2, Group 2 opening round

In its regular season finale, the Bernards football team took a Saturday Cutoff Weekend trip down to Summit, a team that’s usually very good, and always well-coached by Kevin Kostibos.

His predecessor was John Liberato, who spent seven seasons at the helm, with the Hilltoppers never missing the playoffs. They won two sectional titles in that span, in 2009 and 2012. And again, those teams had excellent coaching.

His son, Nick, has been the head coach at Hanover Park for the past two seasons, and his father is working under him as the offensive coordinator. Again, they’re well-coached, something Bernards mentor Jon Simoneau is very familiar with.

And that’s just one of the backdrops when the third-seeded Mountaineers and sixth-seeded Hornets meet Friday night in the opening round of the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 2 playoffs.

You can hear that game live Friday night at 7 pm, our Bellamy & Son Paving Big Central (Friday) Game of the week, with Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel on the call. Pregame starts at 6:40; click here to listen.

Bernards started the season with losses at Rutherford and at home to Cranford, which was unbeaten until this past weekend, when they lost to Hillside. But since then, they have won seven straight to come into the contest 7-2, and playing some of their best football all year.

Senior quarterback Nolan Walsh pilots the offense, throwing for 1,212 yards and 16 touchdowns this year, but he also is the team’s leading rusher, with 938 yards on 106 carries – that’s over 8.8 yards per carry – with 12 more touchdowns.

It doesn’t take a scientific calculator to figure out that’s 2,150 yards of total offense – 67 percent of the unit’s total yardage – and 28 of the team’s 37 touchdowns scored in 2026. We know, it’s mind-boggling.

But there’s a solid supporting cast, too, even if the team is senior heavy, with a small junior class. Luke Bubnowski has rushed for 402 yards and two touchdowns, while Sean Arcelay is Walsh’s top target, with 38 catches for 616 yards and nine scores, while Zach Favreau had 22 for 391 yards and six TDs.

On the defensive side, the Mountaineers have logged a whopping 13 picks on the season, five from Favreau, and four from Chase Hawthorne.

Every player mentioned above is a senior, making this an experienced group.

Hanover Park comes in at 5-4, after a 9-1 campaign last year, though they suffered a first-round defeat in this very section at the hands of Becton, 26-22.

This will be the first meeting with Hanover Park since a pair of tussles in the Eisenhower administration. Bernards won both: 46-0 in 1956 and 20-19 in 1957.

Those interceptions may not come in too handy on Friday night however, as the Hornets like to run the ball. They’ve only thrown for 666 yards this season, 500 from starting QB Vin Fusella, who has six touchdown passes to his credit, but seven interceptions.

The runningback room is balanced. Junior Mark Perillo leads the way with 582 yards ans six touchdowns on 126 carries, while senior Luke Morgese has 465 and five scores, and fellow senior Rocco Zirpoli has 285 yards rushing and four touchdowns.

Click below to hear pregame interview with both head coaches: