Elizabeth Football Defeats Westfield for First Time Since 2008

All it took was one play – the kind of play that Westfield head football Coach Jim DeSarno lost sleep thinking about while preparing for Elizabeth – that turned Friday night’s game around.

With the score tied early in the third quarter, Westfield was faced with a second-and-11 on its own 25. Up until that point in the game, talented Elizabeth senior running back Elijah Hughes was limited to just 12 yards on seven carries by a swarming Westfield defense.

Hughes got the ball again. Westfield swarmed once more.

Unlike his previous carries, though, this time Hughes broke contain, escaping the clutches of Westfield defensive players. When he was first hit it appeared that he was going to be stopped for no gain.

However, after being pushed forward some five yards by Westfield defenders who attempted to tackle him too high, the 5-8, 178 pound Hughes stayed low to the ground and was still on his feet as he eventually broke free from the pack and raced down the right sideline for what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown.

His first of two TDs – the other coming on a reception – sparked Elizabeth to a convincing 28-13 triumph over Westfield at Elizabeth’s Williams Field.

Elizabeth improved to 4-0 overall and defeated Westfield for the first time since 2008 and for the first time at home since 2005.

Westfield, which received two first half field goals from senior placekicker Jonathan Gribbin and a late fourth quarter touchdown run from backup senior running back Brendan Dugan, fell to 3-1.

Elizabeth is now tied with defending champion Immaculata for first place in the East A Division, both teams 2-0. Immaculata, also 4-0 overall, defeated Watchung Hills 12-0 at home Friday night. Elizabeth will play at Immaculata on Oct. 28.

Westfield held Hughes to just seven yards on four carries in last year’s 30-20 home win over Elizabeth. The Minutemen defense was doing another fine job Friday night until Hughes produced, perhaps, his biggest play of the season so far.

“It all starts with the line,” Hughes said. “I just kept my arm down and tried to keep moving. After that I just saw green.”

“That was definitely the turning point,” DeSarno said. “Elizabeth has big-play potential and that play opened the floodgates. We need to do a better job of wrapping up people and bringing them down.”

Later in the third quarter Elizabeth junior quarterback Phillip Walker found Hughes wide open on the left side, with Hughes running down the sideline and stretching the ball past the pylon for what was eventually called a 49-yard touchdown pass.

Walker first darted left and then reversed field to his right for a get-out-of-my-way, 35-yard fourth quarter touchdown run, which was Elizabeth’s final score.

“I ran to my left and then I remembered from watching film that the defense flows to the left,” said Walker, who threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score. “Then I took a chance by running to the opposite side and there was a hole and I took off.”

Westfield escaped Elizabeth’s first big-play touchdown, which saw Walker completing a 42-yard touchdown pass to senor wide receiver Jermaine West on just the second play from scrimmage. West did well to jump up and catch a pass with both hands against single coverage.

Elizabeth’s first three touchdowns came on drives that were just two plays, two plays and three plays.

“That’s what we tried to prevent,” DeSarno said.

Elizabeth is averaging 30 points a game. Westfield came in having given up just seven points – one touchdown – in its first three games.

The Blue Devils had four field goal attempts in the first half – with Gribbin making two on kicks that were good from 28 and 27 yards out. However, it’s very difficult to beat an offensive-minded team like Elizabeth with a field goal attack.

Westfield had a touchdown called back because of a penalty on the drive that produced the second field goal.

“You can’t beat a team like Elizabeth with field goals,” DeSarno said. “We’ll learn from this.”

Elizabeth expects to score at will and has the skill players to do so. What the Minutemen are really focusing on is stopping people.

“Our tackling was poor last week against Linden, so we had to do a better job of that tonight and I think we did,” Hughes said.

“We usually play well in the first half, but tonight we came out strong in the second half and we were able to score,” Walker said. “We had better communication.”

Had Westfield’s second quarter touchdown not been called back, the Blue Devils would have been leading at the half. Westfield’s first second half drive reached Elizabeth territory before the game-changing play by Hughes.

Westfield also had more yards at the half, rushing for 49 yards on 21 carries and passing for 75, while Elizabeth was limited to 15 yards rushing on eight carries and 55 yards passing.

Walker completed three of nine passes for 55 yards, one touchdown and one interception in the first half, while Westfield senior quarterback Nate Mitchell completed eight of 13 passes for 75 yards.

Westfield sophomore wide receiver Donnell Wright led all pass catchers with four receptions in the first half, totaling 35 yards.

Westfield senior Peter Ondi’s 45-yard interception return gave the Blue Devils the ball on the Elizabeth 17 with seven minutes left in the second quarter. Westfield tied the game eight plays later on Gribbin’s 27-yard field goal. Three plays before that, Mitchell threw a five-yard touchdown pass to senior Joe Rinaldi, but it was called back because of holding.

Ondi left the game in the third quarter with bruised ribs. In the first half he caught three passes for 27 yards.

Gribbin was cleared to play earlier Friday after missing last week’s game against Watchung Hills with a concussion.

James O’Rourke ran the ball well in the first half for Westfield, with the senior running back leading all rushers with 55 yards on 18 carries.

Producing solo sacks for Elizabeth in the first half were junior linebacker Akram March-Williams and senior lineman Donnell Hubert.

Dugan rushed for 65 yards in the second half, including his 15-yard touchdown run up the middle with 39 seconds left.

MID-STATE 39 CONFERENCE-EAST A DIVISION CLASH

AT ELIZABETH’S WILLIAMS FIELD

WESTFIELD (3-1, 1-1)                         3         3         0         7 - 13

ELIZABETH (4-0, 2-0)                         6         0       14         8 - 28

FIRST QUARTER:

ELIZABETH – Jermaine West 42 pass from Phillip Walker, kick failed

(E 6-0) 2 plays, 42 yards, 1:10 used

WESTFIELD – FG Gribbin 28 (E 6-3)

8 plays, from Elizabeth 37 to Elizabeth 11, 2:58 used

SECOND QUARTER:

WESTFIELD – FG Gribbin 27 (6-6)

7 plays, from Elizabeth 17 to Elizabeth 20, 3:09 used

THIRD QUARTER:

ELIZABETH – Elijah Hughes 75 run, Phillip Walker run (E 14-6)

2 plays, 74 yards, :51 used

ELIZABETH – Elijah Hughes 49 pass from Phillip Walker, kick failed

(E 20-6) 3 plays, 63 yards, 1:12 used

FOURTH QUARTER:

ELIZABETH – Phillip Walker 35 run, Jihad Thomas pass from Phillip Walker (E 28-6)

WESTFIELD – Brendan Dugan 15 run, Jonathan Gribbin kick (E 28-13)