Bergen Catholic Rallies Late to Top East St. Louis in Top 25 National Showdown - Aug. 28, 2025

Both teams lost just once in 2024 as the challenge each other at the Battle at the Beach in Ocean City, New Jersey

No. 11 Bergen Catholic kicks off its 2025 season against No. 25 East St. Louis (IL) at the Battle at the Beach in Ocean City, New Jersey. / Michael Karas-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In a thriller Thursday afternoon, featuring a pair of nationally ranked teams, No. 11 Bergen Catholic rallied in the fourth quarter to claim a 22-21 victory over No. 25 East St. Louis, the top team in Illinois, at the Battle at the Beach in Ocean City, New Jersey.

Bergen Catholic, the No. 1 team in New Jersey, squandered a 14-0 first half lead but got a huge special teams play in the fourth quarter, followed by a clutch two-point conversion to capture the victory.

For all the details follow our Live Update thread below.

Preview

The marquee matchup of the Battle of the Beach at Carey Stadium in Ocean City, New Jersey matches two teams in the High School On SI High School Football Power 25 National Rankings, as No. 25 East St. Louis (IL) comes to the Jersey Shore to face No. 11 Bergen Catholic, New Jersey’s No. 1 team and the 2024 Non-Public A state champion.

Bergen Catholic is on an 11-game winning streak after dropping their 2024 season opener to IMG Academy. The Crusaders feature a disciplined, talent-laden roster. East St. Louis brings a dynamic, high-scoring offense and a reputation for toughness. The Flyers also suffered a loss to IMG Academy, also its only one of the season, on its way to a 13-1 season and an Illinois Class 6A state championship

Pick 'em

Play High School On SI's Pick 'Em and choose who you think will win below.

Bergen Catholic (NJ) vs. East St. Louis (IL): Live Score Updates Top 25 National Showdown - Aug. 28, 2025

Updates will be placed here when the game begins. Refresh for the latest update.

	1	2	3	4	F
East St. Louis	0	7	7	7	21
Bergen Catholic	7	7	0	8	22

Pregame

Bergen Catholic dressed in red jerseys with red pants and gold helmets is set to kickoff to East St. Louis. The Flyers are in all white with silver helments.

1st Quarter

East St. Louis receives the ball first and converts the initial first dow of the game across their own 30.

On a 3rd and 7, but the Bergen Catholic forces a punt with a sack by Mason Marck. The Crusaders will get the ball for the firs time.

BC picks up a pair of rushing first downs and the Crusaders are inside the Flyers 40.

Dante Kane turns the corner of another first down run and Najee Calhoun follows with a run to the 20. Bergen Catholic is in the red zone for the first time.

Facing third and goal from the 2, BC calls timeout with 4:34 to play in the opening quarter. Big play coming up.

TOUCHDOWN! After a steady diet of running plays, QB Trey Tagliaferri finds Bryan Porter with a 3-yard TD toss. The Crusaders strike first and leads 7-0.

Backed up to its own 11 after the kickoff, ESL gets a pair of nice runs by 5-star running back Myson Johnson-Cook and the Flyers are out to the 35.

Jackson Vaughn comes up with Bergen Catholic's second sack of the game, forcing East St. Louis to punt once again as the first quarter comes to a close.

2nd Quarter

TOUCHDOWN! Bergen Catholic quickly drove down inside the 10 and Najee Calhoun converted with a 2-yard TD run. The kick was good and BC jumps out to a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.

Ahmad Coleman runs for 9 on first down and another 5 as the Flyers have a first down at their own 48.

Coleman adds 17 more and East St. Louis moves across midfield for the first time. Johnson-Cook then grabs a sideline pass to move the Flyers to the 18.

TOUCHDOWN! A pass interference call in the end zone creates a first and goal at the five and Ahmad Coleman capitalizes with a 5-yard TD run to put ESL on the scoreboard. The kick is good and its 14-7.

With 2:48 to go in the first half, Bergen Catholic gets out to the 40, aided by a pair of East St. Louis penalties.

Tagliaferri finds Austin Busso on a crossing pattern for a long gainer down to the East St. Louis 41.

BC was forced to punt, but nearly got a huge break, as ESL muffed the punt. The Flyers, however, got on top of the ball with 26 seconds to play. After a handoff, the clock runs out on the first half with Bergen Catholic leading East St. Louis, 14-7.

3rd Quarter

East St. Louis boots the second half kickoff and the third quarter is underway. BC will start inside its own 15.

Bergen Catholic stretches the field with a couple of passing plays and the Crusaders have a first down at the 33 of East St. Louis.

TOUCHDOWN! After a third down sack by Dallas Davis, Bergen Catholic botched the snap on a field goal attempt. The ball was scooped by Jabarri Lofton who raced 54 yards for the special teams touchdown. We're tied, 14-14, midway through the third.

The officials appeared to miss a Bergen Catholic fumble on the kickoff, which was recovered near the BC 20 by East St. Louis. The Crusaders retain possession and avoid back-to-back special teams disasters. There are 4 minutes left in the third quarter.

Bergen Catholic punts it back to the Flyers as the momentum has swung towards East St. Louis. They start at their own 41 with a chance to take the lead for the first time.

Armaad Sharp makes a nice grab inside the BC 15 on a clutch throw from Reece Shanklin.

FUMBLE RECOVERY! A big hit jars the ball loose and Mason Marck recovers it to flip the momentum back to the Crusaders.

Anthony Willis hauls in a 40-yard throw from Trey Tagliaferi and the Crusaders are back in ESL territory.

The third quarter has come to a close with the two teams tied, 14-14. It should be an exciting final 12 minutes.

4th Quarter

Tagliaferri and Busso connect for a huge fourth down conversion and BC is at the East St. Louis 35.

TURNOVER ON DOWNS! East St. Louis stiffens on defense and gets the ball back on downs at its own 30.

Ahmad Coleman runs for a first down as the clock goes under nine minutes in the fourth quarter.

The Flyers pick up another first down, this time at the Bergen Catholic 49.

TOUCHDOWN! Myson Johnson-Cook explodes down the left sideline for a 49-yard touchdown run to put East St. Louis on top for the first time. The DeSoto (Texas) transfers delivers for the Flyers. 21-14.

Facing a fourth-and-one at its own 49, Bergen Catholic calls a timeout. We have 6:16 to play.

On a delayed handoff, Dante Kane runs for two and keeps the BC drive alive.

Bergen Catholic is forced to punt. East St. Louis has the ball at its own 20 with 4:08 to play and a chance to drain the clock.

Johnson-Cook breaks a tackle in the backfield and runs for a huge first down. The Flyers get a new set of downs with less than 3 minutes to play. Time out Bergen Catholic.

Amir Tillman has another ESL first down near midfield. The Flyers are closing in on victory.

TOUCHDOWN! On the verge of putting the game away, East St. Louis had a punt blocked by Ohio State commit Jordan Thomas. The ball was scooped up by Amar'e Newell, who returned it for a TD. BC then took the lead with a two-point conversion on a pass from Trey Tagliaferri to Bryan Porter. The Crusaders lead 22-21 with 1:23 remaining!

After a touchback, East St. Louis has 83 seconds to attempt a comeback.

Armaad Sharp catches a screen and runs it out to the ESL 45. The Flyers are alive as they follow with a big run by Reece Shanklin to the BC 41.

Amir Tillman turns a screen, which appeared flushed out, into another nice gain. ESL has a first down at the Bergen Catholic 29 with 53 seconds left.

After a couple of nice defensive stops, East St. Louis is forced to call timeout with 15 seconds to play.

Shanklin's pass to Ronnie Gomiller down to the Bergen Catholic is called back, as Shanklin was beyond the line of scrimmage.

Game Over! Shanklin scrambled for nice yards on the final play, but the BC defense was able to get him on the ground as the clock expired. Bergen Catholic wins 22-21!