On Saturday, October 10, the Pirates of Seton Hall Prep traveled to Montvale to play the St. Joe’s Green Knights. The Prep was coming off a heartbreaking loss to their rival, Delbarton, where the offense did not play to the level of the defense. This game, though, would play out the opposite way. The offense, mainly in the first half, scored regularly while the defense could not stop the high-powered St. Joe’s offense. Last year, The Prep received a program-defining win in this matchup, but this year, the Green Knights were not to be stopped.

The scoring opened on the second play from scrimmage for St. Joe’s when the Michigan State-commit Audric Estime 21’ ran the ball 71 yards for a touchdown. This would just be a small piece of the 26 carries, 286 yards, and 4 touchdowns for the Green Knights running back. The first Prep drive appeared to be a three-and-out when, for the second week in a row, a special teams miscue by the opposing team led to the first Prep score of the game. A roughing-the-kicker penalty by the Green Knights gave The Prep a second life in the drive, and PJ Penders 21’ capped it off with his second wildcat touchdown of the season. The next St. Joe’s drive, like almost every drive throughout the game, ended in a touchdown when the Green Knights quarterback Dorian Nowell 21’ threw his first and only touchdown of the game. 

This pattern would continue for all four quarters. The Pirates were unable to stop the Green Knights offense all game, allowing them to score 49 points by the end of the 48 minutes of play. While their run defense understandably struggled against a three-star prospect in Audric Estime, their pass defense played well again this week. The Green Knights quarterback only threw for 95 yards and a touchdown. The Prep defense would end the day with 90 total tackles, with Jackson Collins ‘22 being the leader with 14 for the second consecutive game. Captain Giye Jenkins ‘21 had 12 total tackles and a key interception following a fumble by the Pirates offense. Jeremy Mckenna ‘21 had the only sack of the game for The Prep defense. 

As for the offense, the first half this game seemed to shake off the struggles from the previous week. Following the PJ Penders touchdown in the first quarter, The Prep scored two more touchdowns in the second quarter. Both were scored by Nick Dunneman 22’, one throw by Brady O’Sullivan 22’ and the other by Jaden Craig 22’. For the second consecutive week, though, the Pirates were unable to score a single point in the second half. The offense could not capitalize on the defense’s second half improvements, giving up only 14 points as compared to 35 in the first. The game would end in a disappointing score of 49-21 Green Knights. The Prep quarterbacks would combine for 219 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. The run game was non-existent once again this week, with the Pirates only gaining 14 yards rushing.  Dunneman led the team in receiving with 150 yards.

The final two games of the regular season will be against Pope John and Paramus Catholic, two teams the Pirates beat last year. With the regular season only consisting of 6 games as opposed to the normal 9, each game is very important for this team. If the Pirates want to turn their season around, they will need to start stringing wins together and in a hurry.