Momentum was always in Westfield’s favor during their 36-0 victory over Clifton in the quarterfinal round of the North 2, Group 5 sectional tournament. The energized stadium was filled with cheering fans and chanting cheerleaders, interspersed with the announcer’s play-by-play.
“Touchdown Westfield! Luke Jordan from 52 yards!”
Receiving the handoff, senior captain Luke Jordan began his rush three yards behind the line of scrimmage. He dashed through Clifton’s defense, up their sideline and into the left corner of the endzone. “I just looked behind Max [Romano] and Julian [Montez], the two biggest guys on the field, and waited for a hole to open up. And once that hole opened up, it was full steam ahead,” said Jordan.
Last week against Hillsborough, the Blue Devils’ star running back senior Josh Caramagno was injured and ruled out for the first round of the sectional tournament. Caramagno had been a key piece to Westfield’s offense all season, and someone needed to step up in his stead. This someone came in the form of Jordan. As comfortable as he seemed in the backfield, this was his first ever game at running back, which is a large jump from his usual position at defensive back. And yet, Jordan was able to rack up considerable yards as well as a 52-yard touchdown rush.
Jordan’s touchdown was Westfield’s fourth of the game, which increased their lead to 36-0 late in the fourth quarter. Being the sole rushing touchdown, the three others were products of Westfield’s relentless first-half air assault, led by senior captain Max Cho. Three receiving touchdowns, each from a different receiver. “I hit [Colin] Coyle, Enzo [Ferrero], and Sebby [Magherini] for a touchdown. I feel confident in every receiver pretty much, they’re great,” said Cho.
Cho’s stellar performance as field general came during his first playoff game in a starting role. “Well, as starting quarterback in a playoff game for the first time, there’s going to be some nerves, but a second-play touchdown on offense helps a lot,” said Cho. Clifton had received the initial kickoff, but left Westfield at midfield after a quick three-and-out, allowing a quick two-play scoring drive. “After that the nerves went away,” said Cho. “It was just full-on confidence from there.”
Head coach Jim DeSarno commented on Cho’s performance, saying, “Max was on point, he was locked in right from the start. It didn’t matter what play we called, he had really great command today. His understanding of what was going on really impressed me.”
Confidence was a main theme of this game, with great performances from the Blue Devils’ offense, defense and special teams. “I was really pleased with the way we came out and had a great first quarter offensively, and made those stops defensively. Our special teams was awesome. Our special teams was on point today,” said DeSarno.
The Blue Devils shined today on both sides of the ball, with the defense giving up zero points and getting the ball back to the offense extremely efficiently. The first half of the game was spattered by Clifton punts and turnovers, highlighted by an interception from Nick Russo. “Our defense played great today. A shutout, nothing better than that,” Russo said.
The Blue Devils take on Phillipsburg in the semifinal round on Nov. 3 at 7:30 p.m., on the road.
