Cedar Grove then answered with a long drive of their own. They put together a 13-play, 92-yard drive that took over eight minutes. Led by the passing of Loftus and the running of Catanzarite, the Panthers moved into Caldwell territory at the start of the fourth quarter. A 36-yard pass to Velonas moved the ball to the Chiefs 25. Facing a 3rd-and-10 from the 11, Loftus found Catanzarite in the endzone, and the senior outfought a Caldwell defender for the ball resulting in a touchdown to make it 21-14 with 8:15 left.

Caldwell then used a pair of big plays to set up the tying score. Passes of 37 yards from Sepe to Capaldo and 20 yards to Placenti gave the Chiefs a first-and-goal at the 4, and Sepe then sauntered in on a bootleg to tie the score at 21 with 5:47 left, with Catanzarite’s heroics about to stun the home crowd.

As a team, Cedar Grove rushed 32 times for 280 yards, which is a departure from their noted passing game. Three players took snaps in the spread and the Panthers used a variety of sweeps and reverses.

“It was designed to get our guys different touches” said Panthers coach Rob Gogerty. “Just to put them in different spots. I wanted to come right at them and match up with them.

“ I thought we wore them down in the fourth quarter. We were pushing them on both sides of the ball. “

Gogerty on Jake Catanzarite’s game:

“Jackson Morrice had a performance two years ago on this field, but that might’ve topped it,” said the veteran Panthers coach. “In that fourth quarter I was just gonna’ ride him. One of the best performances we’ve had by a single player.”

Both teams will be high seeds in their respective group. In North, Group 1, Cedar Grove is a certain No. 1 seed. Newton, Butler and Boonton are among the other top teams to keep an eye on, while in Group 2 Caldwell could now line up as a No. 2 seed in North 2, Group 2 with Hoboken a likely No. 1 seed. Other top North, Group 2 teams to watch include NJIC champion Waldwick/Midland Park, Westwood and Rutherford.

More numbers: Cedar Grove used the Wildcat, with three players taking snaps. Loftus was 4-5 for 105 yards and 2 TDs and Velonas was 4-4 for 29 yards. Velonas also caught 3 passes for 83 yards. Loftus added 30 yards on 4 carries and Miller chipped in with 4 rushes for 27 yards and 2 TDs. Caldwell’s Sepe was 9-of-15 for 155 yards and 2 INT and rushed 11 times for 64 yards and 1 TD.

Cedar Grove (7-1)       7          7           0          13          27
Caldwell (7-1)              6          0           8            7          21
C – Nicco Capaldo 80 run (kick failed)
CG – Chris Miller 13 run (Julian Cruz kick)
CG – Miller 21 run (Cruz kick)
C – Capaldo 3 run (Dante Placenti pass from Adam Sepe)
CG – Jake Catanzarite 11 pass from Andrew Loftus (Cruz kick)
C – Sepe 4 run (Matt Murtagh kick)
CG – Catanzarite 59 run (kick failed)           

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