a Chiefpigskin original
  Oct 26, 2011




Don Bosco Prep, ranked #1 in the country all season long among high school teams, continues to roll. The undefeated Ironmen stopped #15 St. Edward, Ohio 38-7at Jack Coffey Field at Fordham University in the Bronx. Don Bosco started strong with a three and out by the defense and took their first drive down field, 80 yards on 12 plays. Sophomore Jabrill Peppers punched in a one-yard score to give DBP a 7-0 advantage. Quarterback Mike Yankovich went 5 for 5 with 51 yards on the drive. St. Edward just couldn't handle the hurry up offense by DBP as the Ironmen from NJ raced out to a 28-7 halftime lead. DBP went on to control the game in the second half to remain undefeated.

The Ironmen are the nation's top team in 2011, thanks in large part to a sensational senior class. Four members of Don Bosco's class of '12, including Darius Hamilton, a 6'4" 245 pound defensive tackle, have already been named to the U.S. Army All-American Bowl—the most a single school has ever sent. Yuri Wright (6'2", 180 pounds) is a lockdown cornerback; safety Elijah Shumate (6'1", 205) also plays a little running back; Leonte Carroo (6'1", 205) is a very fast, high-flying wideout. Then there's Hamilton, the Ironmen's pass rushing demon, who stampeded his way to 63 tackles and 13½ sacks last season.

"They call us the Fab Four," says Wright. "We wanna go out as one of the best teams Don Bosco has ever had."

The rest of the roster is similarly loaded. Nine starters return from a defense that surrendered just 8.1 points per game in 2010, including sophomore cornerback Jabrill Peppers, who hauled in six interceptions. Senior defensive end Mike Strizak, who committed to Boston College last month, had 12 tackles for loss and nine sacks. Junior defensive end Alquadin Muhammad (6'4", 230) is in line for a big season with defenders set to double- and triple-team Hamilton.

On paper at least this appears to be the best team ever at Don Bosco. That's saying something: Recent alumni include Packers running back Ryan Grant, Bears defensive end Corey Wootton and University of Tennessee quarterback Matt Simms.

Much of the credit for the program's success belongs to Coach Greg Toal. Since taking over the team in 1999—nine years after the school's previous state title—he's gone 132--10, and the Ironmen have been to the state championship game in every one of the last nine seasons, winning seven times. Toal won a national title in '09 (mythical) and has knocked off a raft of the country's top teams, including Alabama's Prattville High in '09 and California's De La Salle High in '08, handing the latter its first home loss since 1984.

Toal's training program is year-round and grueling. His two-a-day sessions begin around 1:30 p.m. and are supplemented by film sessions that keep the players busy for the next nine hours. "Some of our guys come back and say, 'Hey, Coach, Bosco's tougher than college,'" says the 58-year-old Toal. "Our kids are used to being worked hard."

It hasn't always been easy for DBP prep this year. They escaped with a 22-16 win at Manatee (FL) but did gain a comfortable 35-7 win over #23 Mission Viejo (CA). Are they really the #1 team in the country? Who knows, but it's fun to speculate and Maxpreps does a great job of it.