The Chiefs then went for the onside kick, and Teagan McOmish recovered it for Caldwell at the Shabazz 44. On first down, a 15-yard pass interference penalty moved the ball back to the Chiefs 41. A 12-yard pass to Sozio and an 8-yard burst by Capaldo moved the ball to the Shabazz 39, but on 3rd-and-5 Aidan Reid sacked Sepe for a 3-yard loss, and the fourth down pass was picked off by Faheen Ausbon to end the threat with 3:21 left.

Shabazz then ran out the clock, escaping Caldwell with the hard-fought victory, leaving Caldwell as arguably the best 2-4 team in the state, with late-second losses to Passaic Valley and West Essex, and a shutout loss to Wayne Hills.

One number that Shabazz will want to improve on is penalties. The Bulldogs were flagged eight times for 70 yards. One such infraction nullified a touchdown return on an interception in the second quarter.

“We’re just trying to play our best football” added Dobson. “We know in these last few games we want to perfect this stuff, get the penalties out of the way and work the kinks out cause we know that we’re gonna’ have a test in front of us in the postseason and we can’t beat ourselves.”  

Shabazz will host Kinnelon next Friday, while Caldwell has a Thursday night encounter in Millburn.

Shabazz (5-1)       14       0         7        6        - 27
Caldwell (2-4)        7        0         7        7       - 21
S – Kariem Coston 16 run (Basit Rami kick)
C – Dante Placenti 95 interception return (Matt Murtagh kick)
S – Nosym Brown 46 pass from Coston (Rami kick)
S – Nyree Bailey 86 kickoff return (Rami kick)
C – Placenti 12 pass from Adam Sepe (Murtagh kick)
S – Brown 43 pass from Coston (pass failed)
C – Nicco Capaldo 5 run (Murtagh kick)