North Catholic beats Elizabeth Forward to preserve conference mark

By: Steve Nagler
Friday, October 4, 2019 | 11:35 PM

Third-ranked North Catholic stayed unbeaten in Class 3A’s Big East Conference by defeating Elizabeth Forward, 12-7, in front of a home crowd.

The Trojans (5-1, 5-0) shined on defense, limiting the Warriors to 202 total yards and getting two turnovers.

Senior Dominic Prentice was in the Warriors backfield all night and registered several tackles for loss. Jack Friel tackled Warriors quarterback Nico Mrvos for no gain on a four-and-1 late in the fourth quarter to preserve the win.

“Dominic was the defensive lineman of the year in our section in 2018,” coach Pat O’Shea said. “In my 28 years of coaching, he is the best defensive lineman I’ve ever been around.”

Elizabeth Forward (4-2, 3-2) came into Week 6 as the fifth-ranked team in Class 3A but struggled to get anything going offensively in the first half. The Warriors were unable to gain a yard offensively in the first quarter and only had 36 yards of offense at the half.

The Trojans got on the board at 9 minutes, 20 seconds of the 1st quarter when senior quarterback Zach Rocco found Jaren Thimons down the middle of the field for 41 yards. It was a one-play drive on their second possession of the game, and after the extra point was blocked, North Catholic led 6-0.

But the offenses sputtered the rest of the first half.

As North Catholic was driving toward what looked like a second score, Rocco threw his first of two interceptions in the first half.

Warriors freshman Zach Boyd made the interception 3 yards deep in the end zone and returned it for what appeared to be a 103-yard touchdown.

But a block-in-the-back penalty on the Trojans 16-yard line canceled out the score, and Elizabeth Forward eventually turned the ball over on downs.

The Trojans added to their lead with 4:50 left in the third quarter on an 8-yard pass from Rocco to Nick Maher.

Rocco finished 11 of 22 for 174 yards and two touchdowns. He also gained 59 yards on 14 carries.

Elizabeth Forward drew to within five points on an 87-yard pass from Mrvos to Evan Lewis, but the North Catholic defense ended the comeback there.

“I just told our guys that I was really proud of them,” Warriors coach Mike Collodi said. “Even when we’re down, we play with great effort and tonight we just fell a little bit short.”

Tags: Elizabeth Forward, North Catholic