Bergen Catholic's 2022 football schedule features a trip to the desert
It’ll be Crusaders vs. Crusaders at The Jack in Bergen Catholic’s 2022 football season opener.
Then Bergen Catholic will head west.
Bergen Catholic coach Vito Campanile confirmed the Crusaders upcoming football schedule Wednesday. It will include a pair of out-of-state opponents, plus the Crusaders' first trip to Arizona, where they'll face Saguaro High School in Scottsdale in Week 1 (Labor Day Weekend).
Bergen Catholic finished 12-0 and No. 1 in New Jersey last fall, winning the Non-Public A title. The Crusaders opened that season with a win in Ohio.
Campanile said the road trips help create team bonds that can’t be replicated any other way.
“For us, it’s become part of our tradition,” Campanile said. “I really believe the camaraderie of the trip is so great for the kids, especially the seniors.”
The Sabercats are the defending “Open Division” champions in Arizona, which is a bracket of non-public schools that choose to play out of their enrollment classifications. Devon Dampier was the Sabercats' quarterback in 2021. 247 Sports lists his college offers as Arizona, Idaho State and Rice.
Campanile said the Crusaders will open up the season against another reigning state champ, Cardinal Gibbons of North Carolina. They are also the Crusaders and they finished 14-2 (but remember, New Jersey thinks we play too many high school games), winning the North Carolina Athletic Association title in 4A. Cardinal Gibbons has a returning starter at quarterback in Connor Clark.
Campanile said he’s already started watching film of Cardinal Gibbons and was impressed by their skill players. He also said that Bergen Catholic will travel to Raleigh to play Cardinal Gibbons in 2023.
Bergen Catholic will have to replace a handful of starters on offense and defense, most notably Notre Dame-bound quarterback Steve Angeli, but the Crusaders' defense, led by North Jersey Player of the Year candidate DJ Samuels, will be stacked.
Campanile likes the fact that some players have waited their turn.
“In this day and age of immediacy, I’m not sure that that is always the best policy,” Campanile said. “We have some players who had to earn their keep and, to me, those are the greatest kids to coach in the world. They will do everything. They might not be the ones who make the cover of the paper, but they mean so much to me.”
The rest of the Crusaders schedule will follow what has been set by the Super Football Conference.
2022 Bergen Catholic football schedule
Aug. 27: vs. Cardinal Gibbons (NC)
Sept. 2: at Saguaro (Ariz.)
Sept. 10: at Delbarton
Sept. 17: vs. Seton Hall Prep
Sept. 24: vs. Don Bosco
Sept 30: at DePaul
Oct. 7: Idle
Oct. 15: at St. Joseph
Oct. 22: vs. St. Peter’s Prep
Oct. 28: vs. Paramus Catholic
(Times to be announced)
Darren Cooper is a peachy-keen high school sports columnist for NorthJersey.com. For full access to live scores, breaking news and analysis from our Varsity Aces team, subscribe today. To get breaking news directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter and download our app.
Email: cooperd@northjersey.com
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This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bergen Catholic NJ football: 2022 schedule includes trip to Arizona
