Westfield was down 14-9 heading into the fourth quarter of the game. They needed a touchdown. Senior quarterback Max Cho takes the snap, drops back, and goes through his progressions looking to move the ball upfield on third down. Airing the ball deep down the field, it fell into the hands of an in-stride Enzo Ferrero who breezed past the Ridge secondary for the touchdown. Westfield took a 15-14 lead, following a failed two-point conversion. Unfortunately, this would be the last of the celebrations for the Blue Devils against the Red Devils.
After a thrilling finish to last week’s win against Somerville, the Blue Devils came into their Senior Day looking to prove themselves against Ridge after a 31-3 loss last year. The ground game was in the playbook for both sides through the first half as a moderate rain would eliminate the passing game from becoming a factor.
From the opening kickoff, Ridge held control with a touchdown rush on the opening drive of the game. Westfield looked to respond quickly, as they moved the ball inside the Ridge 10-yard line with senior Josh Caramagno attempting to push through the defensive line. “My performance was good, but unfortunately it wasn’t the outcome we wanted,” Caramagno said. Westfield’s first attempt with the ball would falter as a pass by Cho to the end zone fell incomplete on fourth down.
The Blue Devil defense came up in a big way on the Ridge’s next drive, forcing a three-and-out. When the Red Devil’s special teams unit came onto the field for the punt inside their own 20-yard line, the long snap sailed right over the leaping Ridge punter. He had to dive on the ball in his own end zone, giving Westfield their first two points of the game from a safety.
The next two drives ended in punts with Westfield looking to put a touchdown on the board before halftime. With possession at their own 11-yard line, it was bound to be a difficult task. The Blue Devils could not prevail. The opening play was marked with a fumbled snap but a Westfield recovery, leaving a second-and-14 hurdle for the Blue Devils. Caramagno rushed for a 3-yard gain, and Westfield looked to throw for a first down on third and 11. However, a flubbed pass through the middle fell right into the hands of a Ridge defensive back who waltzed into the end zone for a pick six, giving Ridge a 14-2 lead heading into halftime.
Luckily, the Blue Devils had a chance to redeem themselves as they received the kickoff at the start of the second half. Westfield moved the ball slowly up the field, and Caramagno had what looked to be a 30-yard touchdown, but it was called back due to holding on the offense. A screen pass to Caramagno led to a 4-yard loss, and it set the Blue Devils up for a nearly impossible fourth-and-24 play. Cho stepped back to throw, and he launched the ball downfield to sophomore Luke Spaide. Spaide lept high into the air, competing against double coverage, but the Red Devils secondary could not prevent his spectacular grab for Westfield’s first touchdown of the game. “Every time we play them it takes time to adjust, they always get a drive on us no matter what. We finally figured something out, and we got back in the game,” said head coach Jim DeSarno.
After forcing a punt for Ridge, the Blue Devils took the lead with Ferrero’s touchdown. However, as the rain cleared to nothing more than a light drizzle, the game turned on its head, and Ridge took the reins. A 50-yard rush took Ridge to the Westfield 20-yard line, and a 19-yard pass set up a close touchdown run. The two-point conversion, however, was sniffed out by the defense. With eight minutes remaining, the Blue Devils needed a response from the kickoff to stay in the game. But, the Ridge kickoff unit gained momentum, and they recovered their squib kick to keep possession.
The Ridge offense was on the edge of field goal range on a third-and-19 play. The proceeding pass was just out of the reach of a Ridge receiver, and the Westfield defense successfully garnered a much needed stop. However, flags were thrown as there was a pass interference call on the Blue Devils. An angry Westfield crowd and bench argued to the officials that the ball was unreachable for the receiver to catch which would not warrant a penalty on the defense. Nevertheless, Ridge could not get the first down on the next play, so they had to settle for a field goal attempt. The kick was good, but flags yet again were thrown. This time, the defensive line was said to be roughing the center on the kick which gave Ridge 5-yards and a first down. Two plays later, the ball was in the end zone, giving the Red Devils a hefty 28-15 lead after a successful two-point conversion.
Westfield’s following drive resulted in four straight incompletions. Ridge got the ball back and with momentum on their side, they had yet another rushing touchdown. With a blocked point after the touchdown from Westfield, the scoreboard read its final score, 34-15.
“Our problem is what it has been all year, just finishing. [We] just got to figure that out, but I love our effort, and the kids played hard,” DeSarno said.
“Defensively, maybe make an adjustment here or there, not anything major on defense needs to be changed [for next week],” said senior captain Max Romano. The Blue Devils will take on Hillsborough away on Friday at 7 p.m., hoping to secure a win under the lights.
