WEST CALDWELL, N.J.- The Caldwell University sprint football team forced five turnovers on defense in their 2021 season opener as the Cougars outlasted St. Thomas Aquinas 35-32 in a Collegiate Sprint Football League North Division contest.
 
The Cougars open their season at 1-0 and 1-0 in the CSFL North Division, while the Spartans fall to 0-2 overall and 0-1 in division play.
 
Caldwell recovered a fumble deep in Spartan territory to set up their opening score. Junior Frank DeMaio (Nutley, N.J.) capped the drive with a 14-yard scoring strike to senior Carl Watson (Newark, N.J.) for a 7-0 Caldwell lead.
 
St. Thomas Aquinas closed the gap with a touchdown drive late in the opening quarter but failed on the point after attempt to cut the score to 7-6. The Spartans took the lead early in the second quarter following their second touchdown of the day but again failed on the conversion to take a 12-7 lead.
 
Caldwell answered on their ensuing possession as DeMaio connected with sophomore Connor Underwood (Brick, N.J.) for a key 27-yard connection. The Cougars capped the 7-play, 71 yard drive as freshman Justin Schmidt (Budd Lake, N.J.) rushed into the end zone from 27 yard out to put the Cougars up 14-12.
 
The Cougars added a score late in the first half as they used an 8-play, 69-yard drive. Watson started the drive with a 40-yard run to get the Cougars deep into Spartan territory. DeMaio connected with freshman Gennaro Longobardi (Nutley, N.J.) for an 18-yard pass play to get the Cougars inside the 10-yard-line. Watson capped the drive with a three-yard run to help Caldwell build a 21-12 lead at halftime.
 
St. Thomas Aquinas scored on their opening possession of the second half to close the gap to 21-19. Caldwell added a score midway through the quarter as DeMaio scrambled into the end zone from 10-yard out to extend their lead to 28-19. The Spartans answered later in the third quarter with a touchdown strike to cut the score to 28-25.
 
Freshman Patrick Sinegra (Wharton, N.J.) recorded his second interception of the game at the Spartan 30-yard-line to setup Caldwell's final scoring drive of the game. DeMaio connected with Watson on a clutch 10-yard pass play on 4th-and-6 to push the Cougars offense inside the 10-yard-line. DeMaio capped the drive with a 10-yard touchdown play to junior Jeremy Colon (Union City, N.J.) to push their lead to 35-25.
 
St. Thomas Aquinas scored on their next offensive possession to trim the score down to 35-32 with 5:13 left in the game. The Cougar offense stalled in the red zone on their ensuing possession, giving the Spartans one final opportunity.
 
Freshman Kyle Readus (Paterson, N.J.) ended the threat with a key interception with under a minute to play to seal the season opening victory for the Cougars.
 
DeMaio tossed for 99 yard in the air and two scores, while rushing 13 times for 84 yards and one touchdown. Watson finished with 23 carries for 84 yards and on score, while hauled in two passes for 24 yards and a touchdown. Schmidt added 33 yards in the ground on eight carries.
 
Defensively the Cougars were led by freshman Amajuwan Murray (Rahway, N.J.) who recorded six tackles, one interception and one pass breakup. Freshman Andrew Conklin (Long Branch, N.J.) added four tackles, while Sinegra totaled three tackles and two interceptions.
 
The Cougars return to action as they travel to Cornell University for a CSFL North Division clash on Friday, October 1 at 7 pm.