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N.J. native helps send team to Super Bowl

BY BOB HOLT

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

The Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Jets won't be going to the Super Bowl, but thanks to Washington Township's B.J. Raji some New Jersey fans might be getting unexpected tickets.

Raji reached up and intercepted a pass from third-string Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Hanie, then the 337 pound defensive lineman ran 18 yards to score the game-winning touchdown in the NFC Championship Game and send the Green Bay Packers to the Super Bowl.

"I was like, 'Man, he threw this ball to me. I just gotta catch it,' " said Raji, who will enter the NFL's biggest show in just his second season, his first as a starter.

Raji, a Westwood High School alum, gave Green Bay a 21-7 lead with his score. He stepped in front of running back Matt Forte, the Bears' only offensive weapon Sunday. Philly.com reports Forte ran 17 times for 70 yards and was targeted for 15 passes, catching 10, for 90 yards.

Packers.com reports Raji was a three-year starter at Boston College who anchored one of the nation's top run defenses in 2008. That year Raji made first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference as well as various All-America honors, and concluding with a trip to the Senior Bowl. Leading a defense that ranked seventh in the nation in run defense, allowing 91.2 yards per game on the ground, he was tops on his team with 16 tackles for losses, including eight sacks, the first defensive tackle to lead Boston College in sacks in 23 years.

Raji grew up in Washington Township as the son of two Pentecostal ministers.

Raji "had a great year," according to Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers. "Feels like I'm living a dream," he said, according to the New York Post. "This is only my second year, first year starting, and to have the opportunity to win a Super Bowl, words can't describe."

For the record, according to NorthJersey.com, Raji said he had not scored a touchdown since he was playing seven-on-seven in the Washington Township streets.