Caldwell head football coach Ken Trimmer looks at his team's number one seeding this way: He knows that his Chiefs will be home at least for two games in the state playoffs–that is if Caldwell defeats eighth-seeded Chatham on Saturday in West Caldwell.
"It gives us home field advantage and that's it," said Trimmer, who does not downplay playing at home. "We've got great fans and as long as I have been around we've had a great home field advantage ... We're looking at taking it a game at a time."
Starting Saturday, Caldwell is looking to win the second title in the last three seasons. The Chiefs defeated Governor Livingston, 22-7, in 2008 for the Group 2, North 2 state sectional championship.
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For Trimmer and the Chiefs, the state playoffs are nothing new. In his 17 seasons as head coach, Caldwell has been in the playoffs, 15 of the 17 years.
For 2010, Caldwell finished with a 7-1 record with the lone loss coming in the first week of the season to (34-14). The Chiefs come into Saturday's game with a seven-game winning streak. Chatham is 5-4, but has won three games in a row. One of the , 10-0, on Sept. 25.
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Trimmer said that the coaching staff and team has not and will not even look at that game.
"They do some different things now so we are concentrating on studying their last three games," said Trimmer earlier in the week.
For Trimmer and his staff, even before this week, most of the preparation has been completed for a nice state playoff run.
"There is nothing left to do, it is all planned out," said Trimmer. "If we win, we move on against Orange or Summit. If we lose, we get ready for Verona on Thanksgiving Day. It's as simple as that."
Caldwell success will go as far as their three senior captains, quarterback Chris Lawshe and running backs Chris Zaorski and Darnel Thomas, will take them.
Zaorski was big in last week's quality . The senior fullback ran for 115 yards along with three touchdowns. Thomas collected 93 yards on the ground and a touchdown. While Lawshe did not have a touchdown pass against the Tornadoes, he can easily ramp up the passing game and throw several strikes in a game
On Sept. 25, Zaorski had the big game with 89 yards on the ground and the lone touchdown. For the Chiefs, they also have a weapon with kicker John Gallagher, who kicked a long field goal in the win.
Thomas, Lawshe and Jerry Napoleon anchor a defensive line that is sure to give the Cougars fits. Also, Tyler Condit has been instrumental at linebacker to help give the Chiefs the number one seed.
Thomas and Lawshe will concentrate on stopping Chatham quarterback Nick Guida. "Their quarterback is their best offensive threat and we have to stop him," said Trimmer.
If Caldwell wins on Saturday, the Chiefs could get another dose of Orange in the semi-finals. If Orange, the fifth seed, upsets fourth-seeded Summit (the defending Group 2, North 2 state champions), it would set up another rematch with its Super Essex Conference Colonial division rival, Orange, in the semi-finals next weekend.
