St. Joseph (Montvale, N.J.) ended 2018 as New Jersey’s No. 1 football team and NJ.com’s Football Team of the Year, following its 13-0 shutout of Bergen Catholic in the Non-Public Group 4 final last December.
The Green Knights would start 2019 as the state’s No. 1 ranked team, which it has yet to relinquish, following a 24-13 win over nationally-ranked JSerra Catholic in San Juan Capistrano, Ca. on August 31.
The team is now one of the most highly-regarded in the country, moving up two spots to No. 4 on High School Football America’s Top 100, despite lacking play-making on the outside.
However, the schedule doesn’t get any easier. The Green Knights still play Big Six juggernauts St. Peter’s Prep, Don Bosco, DePaul and Paramus Catholic throughout the regular season, and could easily run into Bergen Catholic in the Non-Public Group 4 playoffs. And they face two more out-of-state scraps against talented teams beginning this weekend at MetLife Stadium against Cardinal Hayes (Bronx, N.Y.) and on Sept. 28 against St. Frances Academy (Baltimore, Md.) at home.
The defense and running game will play major roles in the Green Knights’ success, but they must score points through the air to open up the defense, especially against teams stacking the box.
The Green Knights will utilize a receiver by committee approach in 2019, forcing quarterback Michael Alaimo, a four-star recruit according to 247Sports.com, to be as sharp as he’s ever been.
“Every day in practice we work on it. We’ve got a couple guys this year who can get it done,” The 6-5, 230-pound senior told NJ Advance Media. “We have Blake Wypler (brother of Luke), who’s good. He actually played a little bit last year. We’ve got this kid Albert Serrano. He’s a baseball player. He didn’t play last year. But he’s really good. He’s playing this year.
“We got a transfer from Washington who is pretty good and we’ve got a couple guys on the defensive side of the ball who can come in and play some receiver, too.”
The offensive line has been an early strength for the team, which has helped.
“We’ve had a couple new guys come in and step up alongside the older guys," said the top quarterback in the state. "We’ve got (Luke) Wypler and Geno (VanDeMark) so the offensive line will be good.
“Wypler has been awesome, especially helping the young guys out with what they have to do. And Geno is a beast. He’s like 6-6, 300 pounds and can move. He’s a big dude. My dad says Geno is a five-star.”
It also hasn’t hurt having a stable of running backs, featuring three players with Power 5 offers in Audric Estime, Te’Rai Powell and Christian Abraham, as well as a fourth in Andre Epps -- the fastest player on the team.
Alaimo is still being recruited by Rutgers, where his older brother Matt plays tight end. It will likely be that way until he signs his national letter of intent as Matt has made an impact since transferring back home from UCLA after one semester at the school.
The staff hopes to continue its pipeline into the talented household.
However, Alaimo pledged to the Boilermakers on June 19 following an official visit to Purdue, where he’ll run Jeff Brohm’s high octane spread offense beginning next year. Rutgers had already secured its quarterback for 2020 in Evan Simon at the time.
“I loved Purdue. It felt like home,” he said. “I have a great relationship with the coaches. My head coach and the quarterbacks coach there both played quarterback in the NFL, so that’s awesome. I just really loved it.”
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Alaimo will get experience playing in a similar system at Joe’s in 2019, where they’ll spread teams out with the pass, but also rely on his ability to run.
“It took a lot of hard work in the summer. Working everyday. A lot of training,” said Alaimo, who played some receiver as a sophomore out of team need while waiting to take over for Pitt quarterback Nick Patti. "But it definitely paid off.”
Rutgers has maintained contact and interest with Alaimo as his kinship with his brother keeps him around the program. Most recently, Michael visited The University of Iowa Saturday with his family to support Matt against the Hawkeyes.
Alaimo has grown an inch-and-a-half since last year, but has also improved his knowledge of the game.
“I definitely got bigger and stronger. I have a stronger arm,” he said. “(I also improved at) being more of a cerebral quarterback. I know everything. I know the offense perfectly.”
Alaimo says he’s also grown as a leader.
“Being the quarterback and captain of the team, you’ve definitely got to be the leader and I accept that role,” he said.
His only goal for 2019 is a team goal, yet would secure Alaimo among the top pantheon of quarterbacks ever to play in the Big North.
“I just want to win another state championship before I leave,” he said.
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Todderick Hunt may be reached at thunt@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TodderickHunt. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.