High School Game of the Week: IMG Academy vs. Bergen Catholic

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @HogManInLA

Firepower on both sides of the ball does not get much better than this week’s top game between IMG Academy (FL) and Bergen Catholic (NJ).

IMG is loaded with talent leading many to wonder how a team filled with this many next level stars could lose 19-7 in the preseason to American Heritage. The loss does not count on the regular season win-loss record allowing the team to shake off the setback jumping out to a 3-0 start with wins over Miramar (38-14), DeSoto (TX) (47-29), and Cocoa (49-7).

Bergen Catholic, the pride of Oradell, has a common opponent with IMG, American Heritage. Bergen beat American Heritage in their opening game of the season 37-7 increasing the intrigue of how things may playout on Saturday. Bergen beat another recognizable school in St. Peter’s Prep, 47-14, last weekend.

Bergen’s offense starts and ends with dual-threat quarterback Jarrett Guarantano. The Tennessee verbal commitment is off to a solid start hitting 26-of-34 pass attempts for 283 yards with one touchdown and one pick. He has also kept the chains moving with 118 yards on 26 carries with three more scores.

Guarantano’s top targets in the pocket are Gene Coleman and Korab Idrizi. Idrizi has eight receptions for 91 yards and Coleman has pulled down seven passes for 88 yards.

When Bergen runs the ball senior tailbacks Melvin Covin and Ryan McCarthy will get the call. McCarthy has 171 yards on 31 carries with three scores and Covin has 121 yards on 18 carries with another three touchdowns.

When the Bradenton, Florida all-star high school team takes the field on offense safety Jevon Dunmore Jr. (14 tackles), linebacker Shqipron Idrizi (13 tackles), linebacker/safety Danny Delorenzi (10 tackles), and defensive end Frankie Feaster (10 tackles) will be charged with the task of slowing them down. Feaster is all over the field coming up with .5 sack, the team’s only interception of the season, one pass defended, and a fumble recovery.

Other Bergen players to watch for include Class of 2017 cornerback Jahmel Johnson, wide receiver Gene Coleman, and athlete Emmanuel Appiah.

The list of players to watch for on the other side of the field is long and highly recruited. The senior class has 10 players considered 5- and 4-star recruits. The offense starts with 5-star transfer from Louisiana, Ole Miss commit Shea Patterson. Patterson has gelled well with his new team completing 28-of-43 passes for 597 yards with nine touchdowns and zero picks. His top playmaker has been Drake Davis. Davis has only caught three passes but has turned in 180 yards with three scores proving to be a true big play threat every time he gets his hands on the ball.

Seven other players have caught touchdown passes for the Ascenders with Kerrick Hahn tied for the team lead in receptions with five for 92 yards and two scores. 5-star tight end Isaac Nauta has five receptions for 74 yards with one score.

The top two running backs for IMG are junior Jordan Anthony and Notre Dame commit Tony Jones. Anthony has 19 carries for 100 yards with one score and Jones has 23 totes for 85 yards and three touchdowns.

Rahshaun Smith, Bryce Beard, Brendan Pyne, Joel Dublanko, and Jango Glackin have been the leaders on defense each over 20 tackles on the season. In the secondary Elvis Hines Jr. and Gerardo Rodriguez have each collected an interception along with Beard.

IMG’s defense might be loaded with more talent, if possible, than the defense. Linebacker Rahshaun Smith is a 5-star as is defensive end Shavar Manuel, and cornerback Saivion Smith (LSU). Linebackers Joel Dublanko and Jango Glackin (Northwestern) are four stars. Another 4-star up front is defensive tackle Malik Barrow (Ohio State). The secondary has even more depth with 4-star cornerback Khalil Ladler and 3-star safety Spencer Perry (Notre Dame).

All the names only cover the Class of 2016 recruits. The Class of 2017 is led by 5-star defensive end Josh Kaindoh, 4-star linebacker Jordan Anthony, and 4-star defensive tackle Camaron Spence.

Both teams enter the game with some injuries but an official injury list has not been provided. Fans and the opposition alike will not know who is sitting this one out until the game gets going.

The highly anticipated game kicks off at 1 p.m. ET from Bergen Catholic High School on Saturday.

Photo credit:  Bradenton.com; No. 7 Shea Patterson leads IMG in practice.