Paramus Catholic makes late push to edge Cleveland Heights. Here's how the Paladins did it
CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio – Greg Russo wanted to hug every Paramus Catholic hero. It took him a while.
Boosted by a gutsy onside kick call, the Paladins scored three touchdowns in a three-minute span of the fourth quarter, then made two big defensive stands to come back and beat Cleveland Heights, 43-41, Saturday afternoon on the road.
“For a first game, if you could script it for a good year, this would be it,” Russo said. “The fact that they came back and roared back into the game, a lot of kids on this type of trip will hang their heads. They rallied back hard. The kids that make mistakes earlier made huge plays to win the game.”
Making his first start under center, junior transfer Crew Colon threw for 311 yards and two scores, but he also threw a pick six to John Gordon Jr. of Cleveland Heights who ran it back 92 yards to make the score 35-22 for the Tigers early in the fourth quarter.
“Massey ran the wrong route,” Russo said with a little smile.
Kenyon Massey made up for it in a big way, hauling in a 55-yard TD pass from Colon two plays later to make it 35-29.
“I misheard the play,” said the Paladins junior wideout sheepishly. “But we made up for it and we didn’t let it bring us down.”
Then Russo and special teams coach Blake Costanzo called for an onside kick by Laszlo Horog that bounced off several players before being cradled by Paladins linebacker Macai Moore. Colon then found Achylles DuPont on a short pass and he went 46 yards to the end zone. It was two touchdowns in 18 seconds and changed the game.
“The onside kick just got everyone going,” said Massey. “It gave us the momentum we needed to finish the game.”
DuPont would score again on a 42-yard run on the Paladins next drive, and Adrian Laing would grab an interception with 2:30 left to seal it.
“In Year One it's hard with games like this, you take a lot of punches and it's hard to respond,” said Russo, in his second year at the helm. “When you’ve won a bunch and take some punches, you’re confident in your coaches and that you can counter. Our kids feel like we can counter.”
What It Means
Let’s not jump on the Paladins bandwagon just yet, even though it is the first time the football team has had a winning record since they started 3-0 in 2019. The defense was both good and bad, but Russo’s point about being a long way from home facing adversity and overcoming it is a good start.
Cleveland Heights (1-1) was good, but it remains to be seen if the Paladins can compete against their Big Six rivals just yet.
Statbook
DuPont had a monster game with 20 carries for 194 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. He also caught two passes for 66 yards and a score.
Massey led all receivers with eight catches for 193 yards and a touchdown.
Cleveland Heights star running back Marquise Davis had 201 yards on 15 carries.
Between the pick six and the onside kick, Cleveland Heights only ran 15 offensive plays in the second half.
They Said It
“We fought through adversity, we are here to let the Big North know we are back for sure,” Massey said.
Next Up
Paramus Catholic hosts Hudson Catholic in their home opener Friday, Sept. 1. Cleveland Heights is at Hudson (Ohio) on Friday.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ football: Paramus Catholic edges Cleveland Heights
