Jordan Moreta Commits to NC State
Feb 05, 2025
Jordan Moreta commits to NC StateJordan Moreta, a linebacker from Paramus Catholic High School in New Jersey, committed to NC State's 2026 recruiting class. Standing 6-foot-2 and weighing 215 pounds, Moreta chose the Wolfpack over many other offers including, Duke, Liberty, Illinois, and Michigan State to name a few. Moreta's commitment followed an unofficial visit to NC State's Junior Day, where he connected with the coaching staff, including head coach Dave Doeren and defensive coordinator DJ Eliot. He expressed that the program felt like home, leading to his decision to join the Wolfpack.
No. 10 Paramus Catholic rallies past No. 16 St. Peter’s Prep in high-scoring thriller
Aug 31, 2024
On the practice field, Xavier Williams and Achylles DuPont are always together, constantly talking and going against each other in an effort to become the state’s best running back tandem. When DuPont was carted off the field in the first quarter with a lower leg injury and the vaunted Paramus Catholic rushing tandem was now a solo entity, Williams knew what he had to do.“I talked to DuPont before he was carted off and told him I was going to do this for him because he’s a very big part of our team and that’s one of my teammates that I love and adore dearly,” said Williams. “So when we spoke and then I spoke with my coaches (head coach Greg Russo and running backs coach Kareem Walker), I knew the game was going to be put on my back and I had to do what I had to do.”Williams’s hard running behind Paramus Catholic’s overpowering offensive line, combined with Crew Colon’s big-play improvisation in key moments, allowed the Paladins, ranked No. 10 in the NJ.com Top 20 to rally back and jolt No. 16 St. Peter’s Prep, 48-47, in Paramus.Williams, an Air Force commit, rushed for a career-high 252 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries. Colon threw two of his three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter and also ran for two scores as Paramus Catholic rallied from a 15-point deficit in the third quarter.With the win, Paramus Catholic snap a 10-game losing streak against teams from the Super Football Conference - United divisions. It was the Paladins’ first win over the Marauders since the 2016 Non-Public, Group 4 final. St. Peter’s Prep had won the previous eight meetings between the two.“This team needed a win like this bad,” said Colon. “We were all just really hungry for this game and like I said, I think this win is huge for our season.”Colon seemingly put the game out of reach when he lofted a 30-yard TD pass to Nehki Martin (6-for-115 receiving) on 4th-and-5 to make it 48-34 with 6:12 remaining.St. Peter’s Prep answered on Tyler Bell’s second rushing score of the night. Then, after recovering the ensuing onside kick, Bell threw his fourth TD of the game when he found an open Chris Horn in the end zone for a 13-yard score on 4th-and-7 with 2:24 remaining to cut the deficit to 1.A low snap led to the potential game-tying extra-point attempt being blocked. Paramus Catholic then successfully ran out the clock when Colon hit Jordan Moreta on a 19-yard play action pass for a 3rd-and-7 conversion.Williams burst through the line on the next play, but gave himself up on a slide rather than run into the end zone, allowing Paramus Catholic to run out the final moments of the game.“I was just trying to listen to my coaches and make sure that we don’t give St. Peter’s another chance to punch the ball in the end zone,” Williams said. “If the game’s on the line, I’m going to do whatever I got to do.”The selfless decision by Williams to tap the breaks on himself rather than accelerate for a touchdown was one of the rare occasions where either offense showed any inclination to slow down on a night where they combined for 1,034 yards of total offense.Williams provided a harbinger of things to come with a 54-yard TD run on the third play from scrimmage for a quick 7-0 lead. The visiting Marauders’ no-huddle offense further elevated the tempo, going 64 yards in just 2:14 as Bell connected with Andres Perez for a 6-yard TD pass. A surprise onside kick recovered by St. Peter’s Kyle Wise was chased by Bell’s 39-yard strike to Hunter Watson and his second TD pass in a span of 22 seconds when he hit Ty’ire Clark for an 11-yard score..Bell (15-of-31, 293 yards passing) deftly moved the Marauders 73 yards in seventy one seconds lefts to give St. Peter’s Prep a 27-19 halftime advantage. The Marauders further added to the lead within the first 50 seconds of the third quarter thanks to Tyler Barksdale 62 yard scamper that made it 37-19.Paramus Catholic then flipped the script with three touchdowns in a span of less than nine minutes as Colon kept it himself for a 1-yard score, then after an Austin Barrett interception return deep into Marauders’ territory, Williams ran for a 2-yard TD. A St. Peter’s turnover on downs at midfield gave the ball back to the Paladins with Colon finding Moreta for an 18-yard TD on 4th-and-4 on the first play of the fourth quarter.“Our entire line, our entire offense took the game over,” Russo said. “We were just running left and telling them we were running left behind Malachi Goodman and Mason LaFond. Our front was so good and X was so good. That was the most encouraging thing, that we wanted to run the ball, we could run the ball there was nothing anybody could do about it.”“We just started pounding the ball on these guys and the momentum just started changing,” said Colon,. “We just started pick up first downs.“Our offensive line is amazing. All five guys. Malachi, Mason LaFond at left guard, our center Josh Richardson, right guard Kris Koram and our right tackle Jordan Gaston. Those guys are unbelievable.”Colon completed 12-of-17 passes for 200 yards while also rushing for 43 yards to pace a Paramus Catholic offense, which scored on its first four possessions of the second half, then on the fifth, successfully moved it to the St. Peter’s Prep 5 before taking a knee. As a team, the Paladins had 533 total yards of offense. Jordan Moreta had 5 tackles and pulled in a Touchdown.
