Clifton overwhelmed Ridgewood last night, 13-0, in a game that should have been at least 27-0. Clifton’s defense held Ridgewood without a first down until four minutes into the fourth quarter. Clifton had a huge time-of-possession advantage, lost two fumbles well into Ridgewood territory, and had a long touchdown run called back for holding.
Ridgewood was without their coach, Chuck Johnson, who was hospitalized with what reportedly is a staph infection.
Clifton had their touchdown called back in the first quarter and a drive of theirs was cut short when John Kearney had a diving interception for Ridgewood on a pass that bounced off the Clifton receiver’s hands. The Mustangs got on the board with one minute left in the half when Christian Bonaparte had an 8-yard touchdown run, but the extra point failed, giving them a 6-0 lead.
Clifton had a drive of over six minutes in the third quarter, but fumbled with Ridgewood recovering on the their 25. Clifton extended their lead when Kyle Vellis found Luke Ceneri for a 3-yard touchdown three minutes into the fourth quarter.
Clifton looked like a good, solid football team and they wanted the game more than their opponent. They controlled the clock and I wouldn’t be surprised if they had well over 30 minutes of possession.The Mustang line of Mohammad Abedrabo, Robert Urban, Omar Alshujaieh, Malik Allan, and Yaheya Ghaleb controlled the game.
Their defense was very aggressive the entire game and left Ridgewood little room to run. They were all over the ball and played a physical brand of defense.
Ridgewood will have to regroup and they looked like a low-energy football team. Most of all, lets hope Chuck Johnson gets well.