November 30, 2011

Sergio Rodriguez has seven passing touchdowns and four rushing touchdowns. (Photo: Jason Bernstein)

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NORTH BERGEN – Throughout the season, Sergio Rodriguez has heard the comparison to Tim Tebow from his North Bergen teammates. Despite some up-and-down moments one thing is undeniable, just like the Denver Broncos quarterback, Rodriguez has excelled at winning games.

The Bruins have gone 6-2 since Rodriguez took over as starting quarterback and now they are one game away from a North 1, Group IV championship heading into Saturday's title game with Montclair at MetLife Stadium.

"I love the way he plays," said Rodriguez, who happens to wear the number 15 of Tebow. "He plays with all emotion, gives all his effort and that's exactly how I want myself to play."

The similarities go beyond jersey numbers. Rodriguez has made an impact with both his arm and legs.  For the season, Rodriguez has thrown for 800 yards and seven touchdowns. He has also rushed for 450 yards and four touchdowns.

"I like doing running and throwing," Rodriguez said. "I prefer running, but whatever makes the play happen."

"Sergio has this will and this 'I'm going to get it done,' kind of attitude," teammate Vin Ascolese said. "He's just a hell of a quarterback. A hell of a football player."

Rodriguez, the backup quarterback a season ago, initially began the year as North Bergen's starting tight end. But when starter Danny Melian was sidelined with a foot injury against St. Peter's Prep in Week 3, the Bruins turned to Rodriguez and shifted to more a power-based offense.

Despite the significant scheme changes and Rodriguez's lack of varsity experience under center, his North Bergen teammates immediately rallied around their new quarterback.

"Sergio is a very bright kid, he's a leader," head coach Vincent Ascolese said. "They have a lot of confidence in him and it has helped us a lot."

"We rallied around Sergio because Sergio's been our boy since we were little," the younger Ascolese said. "We all had faith in him, we all knew he could do it. We knew he didn't have the greatest arm in the world, but we knew he's really a smart dude and his leadership is up there. We just knew he'd be able to get the job done."

Rodriguez admitted to struggling early on getting used to the Bruin offense, but it didn't stop him from thriving early on at quarterback. He tossed two touchdowns and on defense returned an interception for a touchdown to lead North Bergen past Bayonne in his second start

He ran for two touchdowns in a regular season loss to Union City. In the first round of the playoffs against Passaic County Tech, Rodriguez scrambled for a 25-yard touchdown and later added a key run in overtime to set up the winning touchdown.

"Our offense I think it got a little better when Sergio stepped in," RB/LB Anthony Calabrese said. "Sergio had a little bit of experience playing quarterback. He had experience playing under (starting quarterback) Pete (Ramanand) last year. I think Pete showed him a little something and he came up big in a couple of games this year."

"There's never pressure because I do what I have to do and just play the game and try to help my team," said Rodriguez.

Rodriguez may not feel the pressure, but he knows he'll have to improve his play on Saturday if the Bruins hope to upset an undefeated Montclair team. The North Bergen offense has committed an unsightly six turnovers in its two playoff wins, a trend that he has worked towards reversing.

"We're trying to make everything run smoother now," Rodriguez said. "We're just trying to eliminate the errors and play good football."

North Bergen's Sergio Rodriguez is 6-2 as the team's starting quarterback this season. (Photo: Jason Bernstein)

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