NORTH JERSEY INTERSCHOLASTIC CONFERENCE
Players of the Week
Jayden Gonzalez, Bogota, Sr., QB/DB
Gonzalez’s showing on Thursday night can only be described as the performance of the week. In a wild, back-and-forth 61-60 win in double overtime over Weehawken, the Bogota quarterback accounted for 407 total yards and seven touchdowns. On the ground he rushed for 200 yards and four touchdowns, and through the air he finished with 207 yards and three touchdowns. Perhaps the most important stat is that he didn’t turn the ball over once. When the Bucs needed a score in double overtime, Gonzalez tied the game on a six-yard touchdown run. That set up Adrien Ventura’s extra point that won the game.
Miles Simmonds, Wood-Ridge, So., RB
Simmonds, just a sophomore, had his breakout game for Wood-Ridge on Friday night. The Blue Devils’ lead running back posted 140 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries in a 25-19 victory over Park Ridge. That was the tightest result of the season so far for the Blue Devils, and Simmonds played a massive role in helping it improve to 6-0. He scored three straight touchdowns in the second half to turn a seven-point deficit into a 12-point lead. It was the second straight 100-yard rushing game for Simmonds.
David Smith, Butler, Sr., QB
Smith saved his biggest game of the season for the biggest game of the season for Butler. The senior completed 11-of-14 passes for 128 yards and a touchdown to go with a whopping 27 rushing attempts for 161 yards and four scores in the Bulldogs’ 43-36 victory over Hasbrouck Heights on Friday in Butler. Smith now has 10 passing touchdowns on the year and eight rushing scores. The win for Butler puts them a Week 6 victory over New Milford away from clinching the NJIC Meadowlands Division title and securing a chance at a conference championship defense.
