Sunday,
September 22, 2013
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
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Sean Coffey's 15-yard touchdown run gave Cresskill a 17-point lead and it went on to a 17-9 victory that handed Pompton Lakes its first loss since October 14, 2011. |
POMPTON LAKES – Over the past two years, no team in North Jersey has been as successful on the gridiron as Pompton Lakes has been. With two consecutive North 1, Group 1 state sectional titles and a 20-game winning streak to their credit, the Cardinals earned the aura of invincibility about them, especially on their home field. The only blemish on Pompton Lakes’ ledger in the past two seasons came at the hands of Cresskill. So when the Cresskill came back to Pompton Lakes on Saturday afternoon, there was no intimidation factor. The Cougars were there to make a statement and they did so in every phase of the game.
Sean Coffey scored a pair of touchdowns to pace the offense. Joe Peluso, Matt Ferrara, and Austin Cardo all made huge defensive plays in the fourth quarter as Cresskill snapped North Jersey’s longest winning streak with a 17-9 victory at Hershfield Park.
“This was a total team effort and you need that to beat a team like Pompton Lakes,” said Cresskill head coach Bob Valli. “I thought we were exceptional on defense and special teams, and we came up with important yards on offense when we needed them. We just played an outstanding game overall and we executed in every aspect of the game. I couldn’t be more proud of these kids.”
After forcing a three-and-out to start the game, the Cougars got the ball at midfield. Senior quarterback Troy Henderson hit tight end Harrison Farber on a quick slant for 17 yards on a third-and-7. Two plays later, Coffey bulled his way in from a yard out with Ferrara adding the PAT for a 7-0 lead.
On the ensuing possession, Cresskill’s Christian Van Cleft picked off a pass by Adam Rayford and returned it 15 yards to the Pompton Lakes’ 18. The Cardinals held their ground defensively, but Ferrara drilled a 31-yard field goal with plenty of room to spare to make it 10-0.
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Tony Capobianco scored Pompton's lone TD on an 85-yard run. |
“I knew I had to make that kick because they would have to score twice to tie or go ahead,” said Ferrara, a junior. “I want to be kicker in college and you have to make those kind of kicks to do that. It gave us momentum when we scored first and I just wanted to keep that momentum going.”
Turnovers and penalties killed Pompton Lakes all game long. It especially did so in a matter of five plays during the second quarter that gave the Cougars even more breathing room. After the Cardinals fumbled a punt, they kept a Cougar drive alive with a defensive holding penalty on a fourth-down pass that fell incomplete. On the very next play, Coffey ran over a would-be tackler, tiptoed along the sideline, and ran it in from 15 yards out for a 17-0 lead that they took to the locker room for halftime.
“We made too many mistakes and the turnovers put us in several bad situations with field position,” said Pompton Lakes’ head coach Scott Mahoney. “Because of the penalties mainly and Cresskill’s play along the line of scrimmage, we never really got into a rhythm offensively. We will try to shore up what went wrong today and look to be a better team next week.”
The lone bright spot for the Cardinals came late in the third quarter when Tony Capobianco busted through a big hole then cut back against the grain on his way for an 85-yard TD run to slice the lead to 17-6.
Inside the final five minutes, the Cardinals had the ball twice deep in territory but the Cougars refused to let them get in the end zone. Peluso intercepted a ball at the 10-yard line to seemingly put the game away before Cresskill made its only major gaffe of the game. A bad snap on a punt gave the Cardinals the ball inside the Cresskill one-yard line. On first down, linebackers Peluso and AJ Gentile broke through to stuff a run up the middle. Then on second down, Ferrara chased down Capobianco on a sweep for an open-field tackle and a four-yard loss. Cardo then broke up a pass on a fade route on third down, which forced Capobianco to boot a 20-yard field goal with 1:24 remaining.
“That goal-line stand showed the kind of heart we have,” added Valli. “If they score, they have some momentum back and anything could have happened on the onside kick.”
With the Cardinals out of timeouts, they had to attempt an onside kick to keep the game alive. Capobianco lofted it high but Cresskill’s Sean Kelly leaped up and absorbed a big hit to hold onto the ball and ice the upset for the Cougars.
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Cresskill QB Troy Henderson had 103 yards of total offense. |
Peluso had a great game defensively for Cresskill (2-0), finishing with eight tackles, two sacks, and interception, and a blocked field goal while Henderson finished with 103 yards of total offense.
Capobianco accounted for all of the points and had 101 yards rushing for Pompton Lakes (1-1). Corey Flynn caught five balls for 68 yards. The Cardinals uncharacteristically had nine penalties for 84 yards and four turnovers. The Cardinals will try to start a new winning streak at home next week against Harrison (1-1).
With the important road win, Cresskill has immediately become a major contender to dethrone the Cardinals’ two-year run as section champs. However, that is a long ways away. Their only job right now is to savor this win the rest of the weekend and turn their attention to Lyndhurst next Friday night.
“We’ve circled this game on our calendar from day one and it feels great to play as well as we did against them,” said Ferrara, a 6-1, 180-pound junior. “We played as hard we could and we played loose, which was just as important. This is a great win and we’ll remember this one for a long time. But we have to keep in mind that it’s only week two. If we have this win and then go and lose next week, it means nothing and we’ll be back to square one. It’s a great win, but now we have to go out and play even better next week.”
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