On a chilly November afternoon at Franklin Township High School it would be a hard-fought Group 2 state semifinal matchup between two outstanding teams that would wind up combining to finish 24-1 in 2022.
In a triumph that was never easy Caldwell prevailed, 13-7, over Westwood, and proceeded to capture the overall Group 2 state title with a victory over Rumson-Fair Haven at Rutgers to finish a perfect 13-0 campaign.
Westwood would then go 13-0 last fall in capturing the overall state crown which brings us to a rematch between the last two Group 2 champions, 7 p.m., Friday, in Westwood, featuring a pair of teams that are each reloading with some younger talent after heavy graduation losses.
The Chiefs, who had a 9-1 record last fall when they saw an impressive 37-game winning streak come to an end in a state playoff loss to Lakeland, are 0-2 out of the gates this season following last Friday night’s heartbreaking 20-14 overtime setback at neighborhood rival West Essex (2-1).
Westwood is 2-1 with its loss coming to a very promising Pascack Valley squad (21-7, Sept. 7). The Cardinals graduated prolific offensive players from last season’s state champs, including star quarterback Robbie Carcich (2,274 yards passing and 24 touchdowns) along with superb wide receivers such as Joe Klein and Tommy Bussanick.
Caldwell absorbed its own significant graduations last June, highlighted by all-state linebacker Julian Casale moving on to Monmouth University following a highly-productive high school career.
Despite its 0-2 start, the Chiefs are coming off a superb effort at West Essex in a rivalry game that certainly could have gone either way and saw the visitors play markedly better following a disappointing opening night when they were decked by Passaic Valley, 34-7.
“The improvement from week 1 to week 2 for us was significant,” said Caldwell head coach Todd Romano. “After having a terrible game against PV our kids stepped up and played much better against a well-coached and always tough Wet Essex team, although we definitely are not happy with the loss.
“Westwood is another very well coached program which presents different problems with the way they align their sets and perhaps they are somewhat a mirror of where we were last year when we had to replace key players from our 13-0 team.
“We know that it will be another big challenge for us, but our kids are excited to play them. We’ll look to continue to play better football while aiming to earn our first victory of the season.”
Caldwell has some solid weapons to turn to in its improving offense, led by workhorse junior running back Nick Mignone who had 27 carries for 143 yards and a TD at West Essex. His older brother, senior Mike Mignone, is a wide receiver to watch along with being one of the better middle linebackers in the Super Football Conference.
Mike Mignone had 9 tackles, including 3 for a loss vs. West Essex, while junior defensive back Nick Moyano contributed 6 tackles and a sack and senior linebacker Jake Simone had two sacks. |
