Saturday's Matawan, Saint John Vianney Matchup Features Two of the Shores Top Quarterbacks

Photo’s above: Matawan’s Pearson and Saint John Vianney’s Brown at @JSNSPORTING NEWS photo shoot.

MATAWAN – If you’re a high school football fan you just might want to take the drive to Matawan Saturday for the Huskies season opener against Saint John Vianney.

Not only are both the schools ranked in the top 10 of every Shore Conference preseason football poll, but each program headlines a quarterback that may not only be the best signal caller in the Shore but quite possibly the state.

Matawan features 6-foot-2, 205-pound sophomore quarterback George Pearson, who last year obliterated the freshman passing record for yardage when he threw for 1,956 yards and 16 touchdowns. On the way, he was named third team All-Shore quarterback while leading his team to the NJSIAA CJGIII championship.

Pearson has added size and muscle to his already chiseled frame in the offseason and is a beast to bring down given the opportunity. He’s a pure pocket passer with an incredibly strong arm with the accuracy to hit his receivers from anywhere on the field. He loves to sling the ball all over the field and is gifted enough to do that on pure talent alone.

By contrast, Saint John Vianney’s 6-foot-2, 196-pound senior quarterback Anthony Brown – a Boston College commit – is a dual-threat quarterback that can hurt you from anywhere on the field with his arm or his legs. He was a first team All-Shore pick last year when he led the Lancers to their first divisional title since 1982 and their first state playoff win since 1982 before falling to No.1 seed Delbarton in the semifinals.

The Lancers averaged almost 43 points a game under Brown last season when he threw for 2,198 and 25 TD’s while running for an additional 839 yards with eight TD’s. Brown is one of the top rated dual-threat quarterbacks in the Northeast. He received a three-star rating per both Rivals and 247Sports. Rival ranks him the 30th best recruit out of New Jersey in the class of 2016 while 247Sports has him the 20th best in New Jersey and the 18th best dual-threat QB in the nation.

This is the season opener for both teams and it should be a barn-burner you don’t want to miss. Game time is 2:00 p.m. at Matawan High School.

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