WEST CALDWELL, N.J. -- As comebacks go, this was a pretty good one.
Trailing, 28-13, at halftime, Caldwell University sprint football staged a rally over the next 30 minutes, shutting down the potent University offense and putting together three time-consuming drives, each ending in a touchdown run by junior quarterback
Josh Smith (Parsippany, N.J.) to produce a thrilling, 34-28 CSFL triumph at Bonnel Field on Saturday night.
The fireworks for Caldwell (2-4, 1-1 CACC South) started early, a 95-yard touchdown pass on third and five to sophomore wideout
Joey Ciccotelli (Denville, N.J.) with 2:49 left in the first quarter following a five-yard scoring connection between the two four minutes earlier, providing the hosts a 13-7 edge.
CU's first TD was set up by a 68-yard interception return by junior linebacker
Dean Fiore (Woodbridge, Va.) down to the Penn five. Three plays later, Caldwell was on the board with the tying score.
But Pennsylvania (2-4, 1-2 CACC South) countered with three scores of its own in the second quarter for the seemingly commanding edge at the intermission.
That's when Smith took over, guiding the offense that posted drives of 16, 12 and seven plays, all ending in short runs by the signal caller, eating up 20 minutes of second-half action by themselves.Â
The defense rose to the occasion, chalking up takeaways on the Quakers' final four possessions, plus a special teams fumble recovery for five straight Penn giveaways that helped seal the game.
Two of those were interceptions by sophomore defensive back
Zha'Vian Diaz (Millville, N.J.), who stepped in front of a John Franchini pass with 4:06 left and CU ahead by six, allowing the offense to drain away 2:23 minutes, affording the guests 1:43 for their final drive. Diaz put a stop to that one with a game-ending pick in the end zone on Franchini's last-gasp throw from the 23 yard line as time expired.
Smith finshed with 293 yards passing and two touchdowns, adding 81 yards rushing and the three plunges into paydirt. Ciccotelli was the beneficiary of seven of Smith's tosses, for a career-high 164 yards, one more than his previous best, set last week. Senior WR
Darius Harrison (Plainfield, N.J.) was everywhere for the Cougars, sure-handing nine grabs for 56 yards, while senior receiver
Emanuel Laluz (Lyndhurst, N.J.) registered four grabs and soph
Ky Decartaret (Elizabeth, N.J.) and senior
Arjun Petgrave (Cranford, N.J.) took in three apiece.
Aside from the interceptions, Caldwell's defense was paced by sophomore LB
Hector Lopez III (East Hanover, N.J.) with 12 tackles and senior DB
JJ Hinnant (Avenel, N.J.), who made a key special teams play as well when he recovered a muffed kickoff immediately after CU had pulled to within a point at 28-27 five minutes into the fourth quarter.
Caldwell next hosts Molloy on Saturday, Nov. 7, at Bonnel field, then visits STAC on Nov. 14 to conclude the season. The STAC game is also senior day, so fans are encouraged to arrive early for the pre-game celebration honoring several CU senior standouts.
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