Bergen Catholic Erases 24-0 Deficit on Last-Second TD to Stun No. 1 Don Bosco Prep

There have been 84 meetings between Don Bosco Prep and Bergen Catholic. None of them ended quite like this one.

Trailing 24–0 at halftime against the number one team in New Jersey, Bergen Catholic came out of the locker room and did something that should not have been possible. Trey Tagliaferri threw five touchdown passes. The Crusaders scored 34 unanswered points. And with 15 seconds left on the clock, Bryan Porter caught a 38-yard touchdown pass and somehow found a way to stay in bounds along the sideline to give Bergen Catholic a 34–30 win that sent Oradell into complete bedlam. If you were there, you will not forget it.

The first half told a completely different story. Don Bosco was dominant from the opening drive. Ca'Si Thomas punched in a two-yard run to open the scoring, a Joseph Bercovicz field goal made it 10–0, and then Carson Schoen found Zakai Murphy on a 13-yard touchdown strike to push it to 17. The knockout blow came from Kane Ramos, who stepped in front of a Tagliaferri pass and returned it 37 yards for a pick-six. Just like that it was 24–0 and the game looked like it was over. Aidan O'Neill was all over the field for the Ironmen in the first half, collecting a sack and forcing a fumble recovery that choked off any momentum Bergen tried to build. Tagliaferri was under constant pressure and Bergen's offense never got out of its own way. Thomas finished the night with 175 rushing yards on 34 carries and was a load all game long.

Then came the second half, and everything changed. Tagliaferri, to his credit, never panicked. He hit Anthony Willis for a 26-yard touchdown to get Bergen on the board before halftime, and when the Crusaders came back out in the third quarter, it was a different team. Jamel Hammary caught a one-yard score early in the third to cut it to 24–14, and the crowd that had been quiet all afternoon started to come alive. Bergen had life.

The fourth quarter was something else entirely. Hammary caught a 16-yard touchdown to make it 24–21, and then Porter — who finished with 11 catches for 169 yards and two scores — hauled in a 28-yard touchdown to flip the lead to Bergen at 28–24. Schoen answered with a two-yard run to put Don Bosco back in front 30–28 with just over a minute to play, and when Bosco fumbled the snap on the extra point, they left the door open by the thinnest of margins.

Tagliaferri took it. With under 30 seconds on the clock, Bergen drove into Don Bosco territory and Porter did the rest. Breaking tackles, high-wiring along the sideline, staying in bounds by inches on a 38-yard catch that ended the game. Tagliaferri finished 27-of-44 for 341 yards and five touchdowns. In one of the most pressure-packed environments in New Jersey high school football, he was the best player on the field in the second half.

Don Bosco falls to 5-1 and will almost certainly get a chance to see Bergen Catholic again in the state playoffs. Schoen was solid despite the loss, finishing with 192 passing yards and Isaiah Alvarez hauling in seven catches for 118 yards as his top target. Thomas carried the offense all game. This Ironmen team is still very much a playoff threat — and if the two programs meet again in November, you already know what kind of game to expect.

Bergen Catholic improves to 3-2 and has now beaten Don Bosco in back-to-back meetings. Porter and Tagliaferri gave the Crusaders a performance that will be talked about for a long time in Bergen County. The 84th chapter of this rivalry produced the best game yet. And the next one can't come soon enough.