The exchange that altered New Jersey high school football forever took place some time in the spring of 2008.

Nunzio Campanile, then Don Bosco Prep’s athletic director and offensive coordinator under then-head coach Greg Toal, fielded a call from California powerhouse De La Salle, a program which won a national record 151 straight games from 1992 to 2004.

At the time, the West Coast power was ranked No. 3 in the country by ESPN and Don Bosco Prep had emerged as the cream of the crop locally – winning four state titles in the previous six years.

But, until then, no team from the Garden State truly had been tested by a team of De La Salle’s caliber. This was Toal’s chance to put Don Bosco Prep – and New Jersey football as a whole – on the map.

“Nunzio comes to me saying, ’What’s the worst that can happen? We lose?’” Toal, now an assistant coach at Bergen Catholic recalled of the conversation more than a decade ago with Campanile, now an assistant at Rutgers. “He’s like, ‘Don’t duck these guys!’ I just go, ‘I’m with you, Nunz. I’m jumping on that plane. I’m with you.’ Nunzio was persistent about it.

“He just felt like we had to go play those guys, and I was with him.”

What happened five months later laid the groundwork for what was to come -- and the ripple effects can still be felt today.

Don Bosco Prep, 3,000 miles from home playing before a nationally televised audience, stunned De La Salle, 23-21, with future NFL kicker Pat Murray nailing the game-winning field goal with 10 seconds left. The dramatic finish provided the final points in an upset win against a team with six national titles and decades of success.

"I think people thought we had pretty good football in New Jersey before that, but I don't know if people really believed we could compete on that level,” Campanile said. “De La Salle is probably the most storied high school football program in America so to be able to go out there and beat them the way we did, it was obviously special and sent an unbelievable message for the state."

The following year, it was the Ironmen garnering mythical national championship honors following a 12-0 season that started with another win over De La Salle, this time in dominant fashion, 30-6, in Ramsey.

In the decade since, several other North Jersey non-public powers have followed suit, all challenging themselves against some of the best teams America has to offer.

They have proven that it’s not just Don Bosco who can hang with the big boys.

Since 2008, North Jersey’s Non-Public Group 4 powers – Don Bosco Prep, Bergen Catholic, Paramus Catholic, St. Peter’s Prep and St. Joseph (Mont.) – are a combined 84-36 against out-of-state competition from 16 different states nationwide, as well as Washington D.C.

They’ve won on the road. They’ve won at home. They’ve won at neutral sites.

They’ve won low-scoring games. High-scoring affairs. And, at times, in blowout fashion.

They all have been, and remain, fearless in their pursuit of getting the most competitive opponents out there, wherever they might be.

“The only way you learn is to go out and play, and we’re not only going out and playing games we know we’d win,” Campanile said two years ago while with Bergen Catholic, but still holds true for the United Red today. “Where is the fun in that? What’s the fun in taking on a fight you know you’ll win?”

And for more than a decade, New Jersey has won plenty of fights to help continue bolstering the state’s overall football reputation.

Don Bosco has played the most OOS games (31; 20-11 record) since 2008 and owns a pair of national titles in 2009 and 2011, Bergen Catholic has the most wins (22-8) and Paramus Catholic has the best winning percentage (.789; 15-4 entering Thursday). St. Joseph (13-7) and St. Peter’s Prep (14-6) are both well above .500, too.

It all adds up to one of the most talented, respected and competitive divisions in the country.

“Iron sharpens iron,” Campanile said. “The level of football that is being played here is really elite and the reason is because everyone is pushing each other. When I was there, that was the biggest thing. You’re constantly being challenged every week. It’s super competitive, but there’s also a tremendous level of respect among all the programs. There has to be, because they earn it from each other every week.”

No team, however, has accomplished what Don Bosco Prep did in 2009 and again in 2011, but there is reason to believe this weekend might be the start of something special.

St. Joseph (Mont.) and Don Bosco Prep are out in California for a pair of high-profile games against JSerra Catholic and St. John Bosco, respectively. A third marquee national game, featuring Bergen Catholic in Florida against St. Thomas Aquinas, was cancelled on Wednesday due to Hurricane Dorian nearing the coast.

Only a hurricane can keep a Jersey team away from a challenge.

Still, North Jersey’s Power Five will have eight games this season against out-of-state competition.

Eight more opportunities.

“These games are just great chances for you to measure yourself,” Toal said. “It’s fabulous for New Jersey. People have a different respect for New Jersey because of these games and how the state has performed in them. Before it was like, ‘Oh, New Jersey... do they really play football there?’ But the football here is tremendous. Going out there to California was probably the best thing we ever did. Now, no one doubts the quality of football because of what we did.”

What Don Bosco did was build New Jersey’s brand, challenging the likes of high school football monopolies in states with bigger schools and richer traditions. The Ironmen did it with toughness, a reflection of their tough-guy coach and New Jersey’s underdog mentality.

That same bring-it-on mindset remains in 2019 and still defines New Jersey nationally, according to Jeff Fisher, owner and editor-in-chief of High School Football America, a well-regarded website known for its rankings and national coverage.

“This may be a little bit of my Northeast roots coming through, but I feel like the physicality that teams from that area bring can even the playing field,” said Fisher, an Easton, Pa. native on Wednesday during an interview NJ Advance Media. “I’m not saying St. Thomas doesn’t play physical football, but the Northeast still has that we’re-going-to-punch-you-in-the-face attitude.'"

In 2009, Don Bosco punched De La Salle in the mouth and did it again a week later against Alabama’s Prattville High to open the year, knowing Passaic, Clifton, Paterson Kennedy and Passaic Tech were not capable of throwing the same haymakers in return.

That season, Don Bosco overpowered its four public school opponents, 212-15.

Now, Don Bosco still plays the nation’s top teams but returns to a face a conference schedule, where every game is a challenge.

Then it’s onto the playoffs, where the same teams square off for the Non-Public, Group 4 title.

It all adds up to one of the biggest reasons why running the table in 2019 is significantly more difficult now than it was a decade ago.

"It’s funny, I heard a lot that New Jersey was down last year or struggled to compete nationally two years ago,” said St. Joseph (Mont.) coach Augie Hoffmann during a media day session last week in Montvale. “We're not down. Our league is as good as it’s ever been.

"You might lose here, win one there – it doesn’t mean the league is down, it’s as strong as ever. The talent is spread out, more kids are coming in from out of Bergen County than ever before. They want to be a part of something special, and it’s our job to put the pieces together to make it work.”

Those pieces are in place for it all to come together this year for Hoffmann’s team.

The Green Knights, the reigning Non-Public Group 4 state champions and No. 1 team in the state, are ranked No. 6 in High School Football America’s national rankings. They return seven of New Jersey’s top 30 recruits and, on paper, might be the most talented team in St. Joseph’s rich history.

There are whispers that running the table may be possible for the first time since Don Bosco did it in 2011, which would undoubtedly put the Green Knights in the national title conversation, at minimum.

For the second time in three years, St. Joseph will open its season in California in the Honor Bowl, where it will take on on JSerra Catholic from the famed Trinity League -- the same league that includes Don Bosco Prep’s opponent Friday, St. John Bosco, and Mater Dei, which disposed of Bergen Catholic, 62-14, two years ago.

JSerra will enter the game ranked No. 34 nationally by High School Football America, but perhaps St. Joseph’s biggest out-of-state challenge in 2019 will be in late September when St. Frances of Maryland comes to Montvale. The national power is currently ranked No. 8 nationally.

For now, though, the focus is out west. For now, players said, the goal is to go 1-0 every week. That quest begins Saturday.

Time will tell if Don Bosco can keep up with its sister school this weekend and land yet another monumental victory, but it’s St. Joseph (Mont.) which has all the incentive it needs to fly home with a win.

“Whether it's in our algorithm poll or an opinion poll (like USA Today or MaxPreps), you like to see somebody sitting on the top with a zero in the loss column,” Fisher said. “That’s what makes this weekend so important. The bottom line is: St. Joseph is in a position to win a national title.”

Doing so will be easier said than done but thanks to a phone call that happened in 2008, anything is possible.