December 1, 2011

2010 File Photo: Montclair's Khalif Herbin has scored 42 touchdowns this season. (Photo: Jason Bernstein)

Union City at Montclair Football Photo Gallery

The first time Union City head coach Wilber Valdez viewed film in preparation for his 2010 season opener against Montclair he thought he had a problem - a broken DVD player.

Instead, Valdez was alerted of something far more troubling for him and his staff than a malfunctioning electronic device - the speed of Montclair's Khalif Herbin.

"It was funny, I thought something was wrong with the DVD player and I told the coach to fix the DVD player because it was moving in fast-motion," said Valdez. "And they said 'no, Coach, that's how fast the kid is.'"

That speed has made Herbin one of the state's most talked about and feared players in recent memory. The electric 5-foot-7, 160-pound quarterback has been a one-man wrecking crew, scoring 42 touchdowns and leaving opposing defenses searching for answers.

"He can turn compost into gold and players like that are so difficult to defend," St. Peter's Prep head coach Rich Hansen said. "He doesn't need a scheme, he doesn't have a scheme. They kind of just let him do what he has to do and those players are dangerous because you can't necessarily game plan against them. Obviously he's very gifted and obviously he's got elite speed. He's got the total package as a dominating player."

Herbin has saved some of his most memorable performances for Hudson County opposition. He shredded for Prep in this year's season opener for 387 total yards and five touchdowns (three of 60 or more yards) in a 43-41 victory. Three weeks ago, Herbin had six touchdowns (three rushing, two punt returns and one receiving) in the first half against Memorial.

In the 2009 season opener, Herbin had a game-winning 65-yard touchdown on the final play against Union City. The next week, he beat North Bergen with a 21-yard touchdown run in overtime. Herbin added two more scores in a 35-12 playoff win over Union City.

"He can do it any place on the field at any time, in any given situation and that makes it heartbreaking," Hansen said. "You can stop him for losses on first and second down and then on third down he'll drop back to throw the ball and then he just takes off."

Coaches throughout North Jersey can emphasize with Hansen as Herbin has scored at least two touchdowns in each of Montclair's 11 games this year. Seven times over the past two years he has scored four or more touchdowns and he's scored six touchdowns in a game on three occasions.

For the season, he has 1,834 yards and 35 touchdowns on just 132 carries. Despite often being on the sidelines by halftime with the game's outcome well in hand, Herbin enters Saturday's North 1, Group IV title game against North Bergen just two touchdowns away from tying the state single-season record of 44 set by Shawnee's Chris LaPierre in 2005.

"At the high school level it's rare that one kid can take over the game the way he does," Valdez said. "The fact that you have to prepare for him getting the ball on every play makes it a difficult task."

Truly stopping Herbin may be impossible, but both Valdez and Hansen believe one of the keys to containing Herbin (38-for-74 for 652 yards, five touchdowns and five interceptions) is by forcing him to throw the ball.

Both also stressed the importance of playing team defense and taking good angles to prevent Herbin from finding open running lanes. Valdez recalled a series of scrambling deals and preaching the importance of not being overly-aggressive in an effort to cut off running options and slow Herbin down.

"You need to play great team defense against them," Hansen said. "That's not beyond North Bergen because they play great team defense, but it's going to take a great team effort because he's special."