Central coach Mark Ingram knew coming into this season that his multi-talented junior wide receiver-defensive back Dishon Jerman could impact a game in many different ways.
The Blue Devils’ ‘Mr. Versatility’ certainly made his presence felt with variety in this past Friday night’s 20-16 win at Cedar Grove, running, passing, and being on the receiving end for touchdowns – capped by hauling in a game-winning catch in the game’s final minute – while also coming down with one of his team’s four interceptions.
For his efforts, Jerman is the Parisi Fairfield/Sideline Chatter Athlete of the Week.
In preparing to face an always-formidable Cedar Grove team (5-3) which had defeated the Blue Devils, 44-6, last fall, Ingram and his coaching staff knew they had to develop a couple of new different wrinkles in the game plan, and one of those strategic moves was turning to Jerman’s existing skills as a QB with the ‘Wildcat’ offense, which was implemented for the first time to start the second half of Friday night’s game as Central trailed the Panthers 10-0.
“Dishon is an exceptional player who can do a lot of different things to help our team, and he had finished last season as our quarterback,” said Ingram, who took over a struggling Central program in 2022 and is now in the midst of his third straight winning season at the Brick City school. “During our coaches’ meetings heading into the week we talked about how they hadn’t seen the Wildcat from us, and my coaches asked me to save it for the second half.
“We did just that and Dishon ran for a 31-yard touchdown and then he threw a (7-yard) TD pass to (sophomore) Symier Sorey to give us a 14-10 third quarter lead.
“We battled throughout the fourth quarter and then Cedar Grove scored (on a Pierce Asfalg 5-yard TD pass to George Dakar) with 3:25 remaining to re-take the lead, 16-14.
“That set the stage for our most pivotal drive of the night when (sophomore QB) Zahyir (Taylor) connected with (junior) TJ Bailey on a 4th-and-5 for a key first down, and then he hit (junior) Noah Holliday-Boone for 33 yards, before Dishon hauled in what proved to be the game-winning (7-yard) TD.”
While Jerman usually lines up as one of the team’s wide receivers in an arsenal of very good ones for the Blue Devils (5-3), he is also comfortable returning on occasion to the role as QB, especially when the switch can help spark a rally.
“We had worked on the Wildcat before in practice a few times, and we continued to go over it until we had perfected it,” said the Central standout who has multiple Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS, formerly Division 1-A) college offers. “After a tough first half moving the ball against them we started to get things going there in the third quarter.
“As far as the last touchdown, I saw that Zahyir was rolling out, I adjusted to him, followed his movement and then he delivered the pass to me.
“It felt great to beat Cedar Grove, especially after the way they handled us last year.
“We knew from the start of last week, coming off a rough loss to Hoboken (24-0) where we turned the ball over and committed far too many penalties that we had to play a much cleaner and mistake-free game in order to beat a strong team like Cedar Grove, and our entire team contributed to the victory, including great work from our defense.”
The Blue Devils’ bevy of opportunistic secondary performers came up with picks by Jerman (who also had 6 tackles, including 5 solo stops), Bailey (5 tackles), senior Abdoul Traore and junior strong safety Zamar Carr (7 tackles), while senior DE Andrew Wheeler (13 tackles, 1 sack), junior linebacker Ahmad Williams (13 tackles) and the promising sophomore LB Sorey (13 tackles, 4 TFL, 2 sacks) also provided big performances to help lead Central’s big-play defensive effort which included the 4 interceptions to go along with 6 sacks.
“We’ve continued to improve our communication and the way we trust one another more than ever,” said Jerman. “I love this team and our coaches do a great job preparing us each week.
“We’re definitely looking forward to finishing strong and make a lot of noise in the (North, Group 4) playoffs!”
According to gridironnewjersey.com’s current playoff numbers, Central is currently 13th in North, Group 4 and would slot in as the No. 7 seed in North 1, Group 4 with a first-round game at No. 2 Ramapo.
Those playoff projections can change and gridironnewjesey.com will have the updated seedings posted this Saturday night (Oct. 25). First-round action commences Friday and Saturday, Oct. 31-Nov. 1.
Central lost at Mount Olive, 40-6 in a North 1, Group 4 first-round game last season to finish a 6-3 season.
NOTES- Central, which has won four of its last five games, closes out the regular season hosting Newark Collegiate (1-6) on ‘Senior Day’ set for 2 p.m. Saturday (Oct. 25) at Shabazz Stadium…Jerman, who is an ‘A-B’ student, especially enjoys his Chemistry and Math classes at Central High School…He runs the 100- and 400-meters for the Blue Devils’ indoor and outdoor track and field squads…The versatile Central standout already has college offers from Duke, Syracuse, Temple, James Madison University, Rhode Island, Woffard and Sacred Heart…This season’s Central team will be first one in program history to qualify for the playoffs two years in a row.
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This Week’s Sideline Chatter Essex County Top 10:
1-Shabazz (6-1)- Bulldogs will be major obstacle in North, Group 2
2-West Orange (6-2)- Mountaineers look to build off big win vs. EOC
3-East Orange Campus (6-1)- Jaguars have one of SFC’s top defenses
4-West Essex (4-3)- Knights had heartbreaking loss to Hanover Park
5-Caldwell (3-4)- Chiefs look to even record when Nutley visits Friday night
6-Seton Hall Prep (2-5)- Pirates hope to bounce back from loss to Bosco
7-Weequahic (5-2)- Indians have tough task at undefeated Hanover Park
8-Central (5-3)- Blue Devils came through in crucial spots at Cedar Grove
9-Cedar Grove (5-3)- Panthers have been running ball with effectiveness
10-Livingston (5-3) – Lancers had solid road win at Bloomfield
This Weekend’s Games Involving Essex Teams. Pick To Win In Boldface:
Friday, Oct. 24:
West Orange at Bloomfield, 6
Nutley at Caldwell, 7
Millburn at Wayne Hills, 7
Verona at Shabazz, 7
East Orange Campus at Clifton, 7
Montclair at Livingston, 7
Union City at Columbia, 7
Boonton at Cedar Grove, 7
Glen Ridge at Englewood, 7
Immaculata at West Side, 7
Bayonne at Orange, 7
Weequahic at Hanover Park, 7
Saturday, Oct. 25:
Irvington at Seton Hall Prep, 1
Hackensack at Barringer, 1
Glen Ridge at Englewood, 1
West Essex at Morris Knolls, 1
Newark Collegiate at Central (Shabazz), 2
Record on picks last week: 10-5, for the season: 98-28
