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Brearley first-year head coach Elliot Platt is a happy man with big smile on his face as he addresses his Bears following their 10-7 win at Dayton which enables the Kenilworth team to qualify for the playoffs in North, Group 1. In bottom photo, Brearley sophomore defensive end Rocco Federico (5) talks to reporter after being the outstanding defensive player in game as he produced QB sacks in both first and second half to boost Bears' efforts. (Photos by JR Parachini)
SPRINGFIELD - A year ago Brearley could not stop anyone. On Saturday, Oct. 25 Brearley came up with one of its biggest stops in program history. As a result, the Bears are headed to the playoffs for the first time in three years and are projected to be the No. 8 seed in the North 2, Group 1 bracket where they will travel to meet top-seeded Mountain Lakes in a first-round game on Friday night, Oct. 31. As far as that pivotal moment in this past Saturday’s pivotal final regular season contest, it all came down to the game's final play as Dayton had a first-and-goal at the Brearley one-yard line with 10.6 seconds left. Instead of choosing to kick a game-tying field goal to send the game to overtime, Dayton went for the win. Dayton junior quarterback Adrian Bernknopf took the snap, moved a bit to his right and, after getting hit by several Brearley defenders, tried to extend the ball past the goal line. Bernknopf fell just short. Brearley first-year head coach Elliot Platt said it was a combination of No. 65 senior Kevin Maytidu, No. 53 sophomore Emmanuel Velez, No. 21 sophomore Monroe Passmore and No. 8 senior Mathew Resende that stopped Bernknopf. Once the officials conferred and then said that Brearley stopped Dayton and that the game was over, Brearley immediately began celebrating a hard-fought 10-7 triumph over Dayton in the Saturday, Oct. 25, Big Central Conference-Freedom Gold Division action at Dayton High School's field. Brearley improved to 5-4 overall and defeated Dayton for the 12th time in 13 years. Dayton snapped an 11-game losing streak against Brearley last year with a 15-6 triumph in Kenilworth. Brearley also finished 4-1 in the Freedom Gold Division, good for second place behind outright champion Spotswood, which defeated Brearley 40-7 in Spotswood on Sept. 12. The biggest thing for the Bears is that Brearley, on the outside looking in when play began Saturday, was able to move up and qualify for a playoff berth out of North, Group 1 for the first time since 2022. As aforementioned, the first projection has Brearley as the eighth seed in North 2, Group 1 and at top-seeded Mountain Lakes (6-2). Brearley's last playoff game was at Mountain Lakes in the 2022 North 1, Group 1 final, which was a 16-6 Mountain Lakes victory. "The sky's the limit now," Platt told his players after the game. Brearley led from start to finish, scoring all of its points in the second quarter on a 38-yard field goal by senior Chris Miserendino and a 68-yard touchdown run by Resende and a Miserendino extra point that followed. Dayton closed to within 10-7 in the third quarter on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Bernknopf to junior wide receiver Jackson Babiarz in the left side of the end zone against single coverage. The big play in the drive was a 39-yard completion from Bernknopf to junior receiver Aiden Delpeche, who made a nice over-the-shoulder grab against a Brearley defender. Late in the third quarter Dayton was gifted a Brearley turnover on an errant quarterback-running back pitch, but could not cash in from the Brearley 29. A big sack of Bernknopf for a 10-yard loss by Passmore on the final play of the third quarter forced the Bulldogs to punt. Speaking of quarterback pressure, Brearley sophomore end Rocco Federico was the game's top defensive player. Federico could simply not be contained and he made Dayton pay for his movement past the line on several occasions. Federico had a sack of Bernknopf for a nine-yard loss midway through the second quarter and then another one for a four-yard setback on the same possession. "We had to stop the run and get to the quarterback," said Federico, as Brearley also did a good job of containing Dayton junior running back Tyler Fuscaldo. "We had a great week of practice to prepare." In the fourth quarter Federico recorded another sack for a seven-yard loss that forced Dayton to once again have to punt the ball away. "The best move we made was moving Rocco to end," Platt said. "He's physical at the point of attack and can also hold the runner at the point of attack." Federico and No. 6 senior Paul Santoro, who Platt referred to as "Walnuts," received game balls. Platt also highlighted the great job both the offensive and defensive lines performed. The offensive line consisted of Maytidu, No. 78 senior Joel Aguirre, No. 51 sophomore center Ryan Scuderi, Velez and No. 54 freshman Nolan McHale. When Brearley lost at Spotswood 40-7 on Sept. 12 the Bears were 0-3, with a losing streak that reached 15 dating back to 2023. Brearley was outscored 95-20 in its first three games. Since then the Bears have won five of their last six, culminating with a win over a 6-1 Dayton squad that was favored to win the game and advance to the program's first playoff berth in 13 years. For the host Bulldogs it didn't happen. For the visiting Bears it did. "We did what got us here," said Platt, who is a former standout player at Montclair Kimberley Academy. "We showed a lot of heart. "I can't ask for a better group of kids. They were hungry and played inspired football." Resende rushed for 111 yards on 14 carries in the first half. He finished with 139 on 22 carries. Dayton was held to just 40 yards of total offense in a rare first half that the Bulldogs did not score. Dayton rushed 14 times for minus-eight yards and passed for 48. Dayton had a five-game winning streak snapped and fell to 6-2. Six wins is the most Dayton has had since 2010. The Bulldogs were seeking the program's seventh playoff season and first since 2012. BIG CENTRAL CONFERENCE-FREEDOM GOLD DIVISION CONTEST AT DAYTON SECOND QUARTER: THIRD QUARTER: FINAL 2025 STANDINGS FOR Projected seeds and pairings
North Jersey, Section 2, Group 1
Follow JR Parachini on 'X' @parachini_jr
Brearley's offense, with senior quarterback Joe Squillaro getting ready to take the direct shap, goes to work vs. Dayton in their pivotal Oct. 25 Big Central Conference-Freedom Gold Division showdown in Springfield.
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