Caldwell's Formidable Schedule
Will Continue With 4-1 Shabazz

The schedule has been as formidable as any Group 2 program has faced, but despite a couple of narrow early-season defeats Caldwell (2-3) is in solid shape as far as firmly positioning itself in the upcoming North, Group 2 playoff field.

Despite tough losses in the final seconds to both Passaic Valley and rival West Essex the Chiefs also own significant triumphs over both Westwood (5-1) and Cedar Grove (4-2) with the latter victory being this past Friday night’s stunning 29-14 road win vs. a Panthers team which is considered a solid threat to compete for another Group 1 sectional state title this fall.

The victory in The Grove was a tremendous turnaround for Caldwell which had been shut out by a decisive 35-0 score at Wayne Hills (5-1) the prior Friday night.

The going continues to be tough for the Chiefs, who will now host a very talented Shabazz (4-1) squad, which is another stronghold along with Westwood in the North, Group 2 field where the Bulldogs are currently second behind the No. 1 seeded Bergen County school, with Caldwell at No. 7 in the 16-team which would qualify if the playoffs started now instead of the Oct. 31-Nov. 1 weekend, according to the latest calculations provided by gridironnewjersey.com.

“Our wins over both Westwood and Cedar Grove are really high-quality wins,” said Caldwell coach Todd Romano. “Even though we’re 2-3, we’ve been very competitive for the most part, and we could even be 4-1 if a couple of things had gone differently against PV and West Essex.

“But, we also know there is no breather for us with the schedule we have and you simply can’t look back. Every time we are done on Friday night, even after a very good win at Cedar Grove, we can’t take a breath and just have to get ready to face another monster of a challenge waiting for us.

“Shabazz is a different brand of football with the talent they have with both speed and great size so we know that we have a big challenge ahead of us Friday night.

“On the positive side of it all, our players continue to grow each week, are getting better and showed what they are capable of against a really good Cedar Grove team.”

Caldwell had solid offensive performances vs. the Panthers from its superb sophomore quarterback Adam Sepe (13-of-25 for 193 yards and 3 touchdowns) and his array of talented receivers, including senior Kaelen Harper (4 receptions for 92 yards, including a 58-yard TD) and juniors Santino Russo (4-55), Dante Placenti and Nico Sozio (TD catch).

“The big post pattern to Kaelen for a 58-yard TD was huge because it helped us take a 17-point lead,” said Romano. “Our passing game remains a huge part of what we can do offensively, and our running game is improving as well.”

Junior Nico Capaldo had a big effort at Cedar Grove with 13 carries for 114 yards to help complement the Chiefs’ always-potent aerial attack.

“Nico has turned himself into a really good football player from his sophomore year and his growth in making more and more of each of his carries is great to see,” said Romano. “We know that we’re going to have to continue to be able to run the ball in order to be effective as we want to be offensively, and our rushing attack (169 total yards at Cedar Grove) is going to continue to be an important part of that.”

Defensively, while Cedar Grove still had 217 rushing yards, the Chiefs held their own in big spots in last Friday night’s showdown.

“Cedar Grove has a really good offense, but we had lots of buttons that we were able to push to try and play in a specific way to take some things away and get stops when we had to,” continued Romano. “Our defense did the job when it mattered most.”

Senior end Teagan McOmish (7 tackles), junior linebackers Matt Murtagh (11 tackles) and Capaldo (9 tackles) and DB Russo (9 tackles) were among the key defenders for the Chiefs.

“Teagan has a great motor and was phenomenal at defensive end for us,” added Romano. “He was highly active and generated some real good pressure on a very good offensive team.

“All our guys came to playa and we have to continue to play with that type of intensity this Friday night against a very dangerous Shabazz offense.”    

GRID NOTES- Former West Essex coach Chris Benacquista is finding immediate success in his first season at Wayne Valley and the Indians (5-1) had a very important victory last Friday night as they earned a pulsating 34-31 triumph over archrival Wayne Hills (5-1) before 5,000 fans at Valley. Ty Cummings of Wayne Valley blocked a potential game-tying Wayne Hills field goal attempt as time expired. Benacquista was head man at Wessex for 14 seasons and has his former Knights mentor, Dave Drozjock, on his Wayne Valley coaching staff…West Orange (4-2) had a strong performance at state-ranked Phillipsburg before being edged, 24-20, also last Friday night. P-Burg needed a big fourth-quarter (16-play, 68-yard) drive capped by Shane Moore’s 2-yard TD run with 6:19 to withstand the impressive challenge by the Mountaineers. It was the first time the State Liners had trailed beyond the first quarter this season….It is Homecoming Day at Van Brunt Field Saturday as Montclair Kimberley Academy hosts Rye County Day (N.Y.) in a 1:30 p.m. kickoff. The Cougars will also be honoring the memory of former player Todd Morici (Class of 2013) who was on the football team from 2009-2012 and passed away this past Spring.

This Week’s Sideline Chatter Essex County Top 10:
1-East Orange Campus (5-0)- Jaguars allowed first TD of season
2-Shabazz (4-1)- Bulldogs could face a formidable task at Bonnel Field
3-West Orange (4-2)- Mountaineers entertain winless Montclair
4-West Essex (4-2)- Knights have won four in a row to earn a bye week
5-Caldwell (2-3)- Chiefs have faced one strenuous stretch of opponents
6-Cedar Grove (4-2)- Panthers look to bounce back at Glen Ridge
7-Seton Hall Prep (1-4)- New QB Jaylin Bullock had debut vs. St. Peter’s
8-Weequahic (4-2)- Indians ran into strong Westwood last weekend
9-Nutley (4-2)- Raiders continue to eye North, Group 4 playoff berth
10-Bloomfield (4-2)- Bengals look to bounce back from loss at EOC

This Week’s Schedule Involving Essex Teams. Pick To Win In Boldface:
Friday night, Oct. 10:
Irvington at Passaic Tech, 6:30
Nutley at West Milford, 6:30
Shabazz at Caldwell. 7
Verona at New Providence, 7
Roselle at Newark Collegiate (Schools Stadium), 7
 Montclair at West Orange, 7
 Barringer at West Side (Untermann Field), 7
 Livingston at Columbia (Underhill Field), 7
Orange at Union City, 7
Memorial at Belleville, 7
Bloomfield at Paterson Kennedy (Buerle Field), 7
Hoboken at Central (Shabazz), 7

Saturday, Oct. 11:
Cedar Grove at Glen Ridge, 12
 Seton Hall Prep at Pope John, 12
 Paterson Eastside at East Orange Campus (Robeson Stadium), 1
Rye Country Day (N.Y.) at MKA, 1:30
Off: West Essex and Weequahic
Record on picks last week: 13-4; for the season: 74-20