Passaic Valley 34 Caldwell 7
Passaic Valley jumped out to a 27-0 lead in the first half, aided by two defensive touchdowns, and beat Caldwell, 34-7 in the opener for both teams. This game was covered at home watching Big State Sports on YouTube.
First Quarter: On the opening drive, Caldwell faced a fourth-and-1 on its 40-yard line and elected to go for the first down. But a Nick Mignone run was stopped for no gain and Passaic Valley took over in good field position. The Hornets opened with a 25-yard run to the 15 by Nicky Huliev, but they were also faced with a fourth down from the 6-yard line. A’Miere Simpson’s run was stopped for no gain and Caldwell took over. A Caldwell punt gave Passaic Valley the ball on their 47 and a Ralphie Cintron pass on third-and-5 was completed for 36 yards to Dante Benvenuti to the 6-yard line and it was first-and-goal. Two plays later, Cintron connected with Vinnie Berardi just over the goal line for a 4-yard score to make it 7-0 with 3:35 left in the quarter. With two minutes left in the quarter, PV started on their 17. Cintron found Berardi again, this time for 20 yards to the 38 and a reverse by Benvenuti went 35 yards to the 27, as the quarter ran out.
Second Quarter: Two plays later, Berardi caught another pass for 8 yards and a facemask penalty on Caldwell brought it to the 8. Simpson ran in from the 1-yard line for the touchdown and a 13-0 lead. Caldwell’s next possession was halted by an interception from Ayden Mulroony on Caldwell’s 46 on the sideline, keeping himself in bounds. The Hornets turned it over on downs. Caldwell moved the ball methodically down the field until Christian Meletta intercepted and returned 85 yards for the touchdown and a 20-0 lead with 1:35 left in the half. Disaster struck on Caldwell’s next possession when Mulroony knocked the ball out of Nick Moyano’s hands and Kenny Van Winkle returned it 27 yards for the touchdown with 1:18 remaining. Caldwell moved the ball downfield in five plays, the last being a touchdown pass from Jake Matanin to Mike Mignone with 27 seconds left.
Third Quarter: After a Passaic Valley punt, Caldwell had a chance to cut the lead, but a fourth down pass on the 15 sailed over the head of Mike Mignone, giving the ball to the Hornets. The teams traded punts to close out the quarter.
Fourth Quarter: Caldwell had good field position to open their drive, but their first play was a pass that was intercepted by Mulroony on the Hornet 42 and returned 48 yards to the 10. Simpson went 9 yards to the 1 and scored on the following play for a 34-7 lead with nine minutes left. Caldwell drove down the field, reaching the 7, before turning it over on downs with four minutes remaining. The Hornets ran out the clock at that point.
Comments: It was a good win for Passaic Valley. They jumped out to a 13-0 lead and Cintron was 8-10-81 yards and one score in the first half. At that point, the defense came through with two interceptions, one for a touchdown, and a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown to build a 27-0 halftime lead. Cintron was replaced at quarterback by Anthony Bagnuolo in the second half. When I contacted head coach Max Wassel, he said Cintron was cramping and they wanted him fresh for defense. Their defense was led by Mulroony, who had two interceptions and one forced fumble; the fumble was returned for a touchdown and one interception set up a score. Back to offense, Huliev rushed for 82 yards with runs of 25 and 47.
Caldwell was hurt by turnovers and opportunities they didn’t capitalize on. Former New York Islander color commentator Ed Westfall would have said “Opportunities, Jiggs, Caldwell is not taking advantage of the opportunities.” They did show signs of becoming a good football team come playoff time. They have a tougher schedule, playing West Essex and Westwood in the next two weeks, which will help prepare them. They have a sophomore quarterback in Matanin who started his first game, had some nice completions, and showed the ability to run. Nick Mignone rushed 88 yards for offensive balance. Once they minimize mistakes, they will be a tough out.