CEDAR GROVE—At the end of a difficult three-game stretch to open their 2024 season, Cedar Grove head coach Rob Gogerty likes the progress his team is making from week to week, but he still sees plenty of room for improvement.
That’s a scary thought for the other Group I contenders in New Jersey.
Gogerty’s unbeaten Panthers turned in a dominant effort in all three phases Friday night, blanking archrival Verona 41-0 in front of a boisterous home crowd on a picture-perfect early fall evening.
Standout senior WR/DB Jackson Morrice (5 receptions for 103 yards) led the way for the Panthers (3-0, 1-0 SFC-National Red), catching 2 touchdown passes and running for a third while giving his team excellent field position with some key punt returns.
Senior quarterback Stephen Paradiso completed 18 of 29 passes for 233 yards, the bulk of which went to Morrice and big senior wideout Nicholas Russo (9 catches, 64 yards, TD).
The physical Cedar Grove defense limited Verona (2-1, 0-1) to just 93 yards of total offense in the first half. It also forced two turnovers, both playing a key role in the Panthers’ frantic 17-point binge in the final 3:19 of the first half, which turned the game from a scrappy, competitive rivalry game into a rout.
On special teams, too, the Panthers were dominant, with impressive junior kicker Sebastian Kovacs connecting on field goals of 42 and 38 yards, and regularly booming kickoffs into the end zone to force the Hillbilly offense to go the length of the field.
But despite his team opening its season with dominating wins over three proud programs (Schalick, Weequahic, Verona) by a combined margin of 109-10, Gogerty believes there’s still another level to reach.
“Honestly, I’m not real happy with the performance tonight,” the Panthers’ ninth-year head coach said. “I think we were a little too excited, you know, with Verona being a big rivalry for us, and being a game that our kids are really tuned up for. So, there was a little bit of sloppiness, some plays we left out there, we had a lot of penalties. There were just some things I didn’t like. But obviously I liked our physicality, the way our defense played. It’s just about being a little bit crisper in certain things, and pushing ourselves to be better every week.”
The Panthers showed flashes of that crispness Friday, especially at the start and the end of the first half Friday night. Verona took the opening kickoff and went three-and-out on its first possession, and a tipped punt gave Cedar Grove the ball in great field position. On the Panthers’ first offensive snap, Morrice took a handoff off left tackle and went 45 yards untouched for the opening score just 1:14 in.
“I just saw a hole and tried to get there as fast as I could,” Morrice said. “Our offensive line was outstanding all night tonight, and that time they just gave me the opportunity to make a play.”
Another three-and-out on Verona’s next possession led to Morrice winding through defenders on a 24-yard punt return to set the Panthers up in the red zone. This time, they cashed in with Kovacs’ first field goal, the 42-yarder, at the 8:28 mark.
On the next CGHS drive, Paradiso converted a 4th-down with a quarterback sneak. That was followed, two plays later, by a perfectly thrown deep ball up the seam to Morrice for a 34-yard score, extending the advantage to 17-0 with 4:05 left in the first.
From there, a young Verona squad under first-year head coach Manj Singh hung with the powerful Panthers for most of the rest of the half. A solid run game led by juniors Bodie Maisano (13 carries, 43 yards) and Jayden Nigro (5 for 14) controlled the clock, though it could not convert that control into points. But two turnovers in the final 6:00 of the first half led to the Panthers putting their rivals away.
The first, a fumble jarred loose by Russo, gave the Panthers great field position and led to Kovacs’ second field goal, a 38-yarder, for a 20-0 lead with 3:19 left in the second quarter.
After a Verona punt – and another solid return by Morrice – put Cedar Grove in scoring position again, Paradiso found his rhythm and completed balls to Morrice and Russo to move the Panthers inside the Hillbilly 10-yard-line. Senior RB Connor Kerney made his only carry of the first half count, barreling across the goal line from 5 yards out with 1:01 to play in the half for a 27-0 lead.
Verona fumbled again two plays into its next drive, and it was recovered by CG’s Pierce Asfalg. Paradiso and Russo made the ‘Billies pay, connecting on three consecutive passes, including a perfectly-placed 8-yard toss in the near right corner of the end zone with :06 remaining.
A largely uneventful second half saw only one additional score, Paradiso connecting on a slant to Morrice for a 33-yard touchdown a minute into the fourth quarter. VHS senior Tristen Newman put together a strong half, carrying 14 times for 65 yards to lead all rushers for the game.
For Singh, who opened his Verona head coaching tenure with back-to-back wins over Jefferson and Kinnelon – equaling the Hillbillies’ win total from the entire 2023 season – Friday night’s result provided a well-timed reality check.
“Maybe tonight was just a time for us to be humbled a little bit,” Singh said. “The two wins we got, they were exciting. But this season as a 12-round fight for us, where the 12th round is a sectional final. You’re going to lose a round here or there. What’s important is what you learn, and how you adjust to your mistakes.
“All the credit to coach Gogerty, they’ve got a great team. We can’t make many mistakes if we want to beat a team like this.”
Verona will look to bounce back when it returns home to face National Red Division rival Newark Collegiate next Friday night, Sept. 20. Meanwhile, Cedar Grove will look to maintain its perfect record when it travels to Madison next Saturday, Sept. 21.
NEWS & NOTES
Verona vs. Cedar Grove has been historically one of New Jersey’s great small-school rivalries, neighboring schools sharing decades worth of championship-caliber teams, legendary coaches, and memorable moments. Lately, however, it’s been all Cedar Grove. The Panthers have now won four in a row in the series by a combined margin of 164-14. The Hillbillies’ last rivalry win came in 2019, when Kevin Batty coached Verona to a perfect 12-0 state championship season … Cedar Grove improved to 63-25 under Gogerty, who has helmed the CGHS program since replacing Ed Sadloch in 2016. … Verona ran the football 38 times for 140 yards, while the spread-out, pass-heavy Panthers ran just 15 times for 70, including the 45-yarder by Morrice on their first offensive play … Kovacs’ booming leg resulted in 6 touchbacks on 8 kickoffs … Verona senior quarterback Connor DeMasi was harried by the Panthers’ front seven throughout the night, completing just 7 of 19 balls for 49 yards. Jesse Wagner caught 2 passes for 24, while junior Dean Algieri caught 2 for 10.
VERONA (2-1, 0-1) 0 0 0 0 - 0
CEDAR GROVE (3-0, 1-0) 17 17 0 7 - 41
FIRST QUARTER
CG--Jackson Morrice 45 run (Sebastian Kovacs kick), 10:46
CG--Kovacs 42 field goal, 8:28
CG--Morrice 34 pass from Stephen Paradiso (Kovacs kick), 4:05
SECOND QUARTER
CG--Kovacs 38 field goal, 3:19
CG--Connor Kerney 5 run (Kovacs kick), 1:01
CG--Nicholas Russo 8 pass from Paradiso (Kovacs kick), 0:06
THIRD QUARTER
No scoring
FOURTH QUARTER
CG--Morrice 33 pass from Paradiso (Kovacs kick), 10:44
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