Bergen Catholic narrowly avoided an upset loss to East St. Louis in its first game of the 2025 high school football season. The top-ranked team in the state of New Jersey likely wouldn’t have escaped the top-ranked team in the state of Illinois without a boneheaded clock management with less than two minutes left to play.
It is the early contender for worst late-game decision of the year.
The Flyers gifted the Crusaders with a touchdown on a blocked punt. I am truly baffled as to how a high school football coach with 20+ years of experience can make such a dumb decision in such a crucial moment. I understand wanting to win the game but sometimes the smart decision is also the soft one.
East St. Louis was (probably) going to beat Bergen Catholic.
East St. Louis is an 11-time state champion program in the Prairie State. Bergen Catholic is a 20-time state champion program in the Garden State.
They met at the Battle at the Beach in Ocean City, New Jersey on Thursday to begin the new season. It was a powerhouse matchup that nearly proved to be a pretty significant upset.
The Crusaders trailed the Flyers by seven with under two minutes remaining.
East St. Louis had the ball on offense with a 21-14 lead. Approximately one minute and 50 seconds were left on the clock.
High school football clock management proved to be the difference.
Even though Bergen Catholic was struggling to stop the run, the offense decided to throw the ball on third down to try and end the game. It was a terrible idea.
The pass was broken up, which stopped the clock that otherwise would’ve kept running and/or forced a crucial timeout.
Here is the pass breakup by Ohio State commit Jordan Thomas on third down to force an East St. Louis punt (the first video I posted somehow was deleted). The play led to a blocked punt and a touchdown by Amare Newell to help Bergen Catholic secure a 22-21 win over the Flyers. pic.twitter.com/bOrSJ8pEut
— Kevin Emmons (@OfficialKEmmons) August 29, 2025
The pass breakup forced a punt. The punt was blocked.
And not only did the punt get snuffed, the Crusaders took it back the other way for a touchdown. A two-point conversion gave them the lead just moments later that they would never get back.
Bergen Catholic beats East St. Louis (IL) 22-21 in a STUNNER!
— Jersey Sports Zone (@JSZ_Sports) August 28, 2025
Jordan Thomas' blocked punt late in the fourth quarter set up Amar'e Newell's scoop and score touchdown. The Crusaders go for two, convert to take the lead and then make a stop in the final seconds to win.
We'll… pic.twitter.com/uISbKh9W3f
East St. Louis could’ve run the ball and the clock on third down. Maybe they would’ve picked up a first down. There is no way to predict a blocked punt but the Flyers’ decision to throw on third down created a much different scenario. They lost 22-21.