Waldwick/Midland Park football has breakout second half in shutout win over Glen Rock
GLEN ROCK − Alex Caserta began throwing the ball down the field in the second half and Waldwick/Midland Park broke open a scoreless season opener.
The junior quarterback threw touchdown passes of 30 and 65 yards in the third quarter and the Warriors pulled away to a 26-0 victory Thursday night over Glen Rock in NJIC football.
“Opener, we’re on the road, nerves, whatever, and we took care of what we had to do in the second half, cleaned up some stuff," Waldwick/Midland Park coach Greg Gruzdis said.
Caserta threw a 30-yard TD pass to senior Charles Schierloh for a 6-0 lead, and it came one play after Waldwick/Midland Park gambled and turned a fake punt into a completion and first down.
Caserta tossed a 65-yard TD pass to junior Ryan Fleming to extend the lead to 19-0 at 3:01 of the third. It was the longest play of the game.
“It was an amazing ball from my quarterback, and I was just glad to be put in a position to where I could make a play for my team,” Fleming said.
Caserta scored on a 1-yard run for a 12-0 lead, and it came one play after his 43-yard completion to Fleming. Senior Bryce Hamilton closed the scoring on a 63-yard run in the fourth.
Waldwick/Midland Park's defense was excellent. In the second half, Hamilton had an end-zone interception, while Schierloh had a key tackle for no gain on a fourth-and-2 at the 7-yard line.
“Our defense is always great,” Hamilton said. “If we don’t shut them out in the first half, who knows the way the game goes. Defense wins championships.”
What it means
Waldwick/Midland Park is a run-first team, with Glen Rock stuffing that run in the first half, and Caserta showed the passing game can provide a dangerous alternative. The Warriors’ might have the balance to make a run in North Group 1.
“My line did great in the second half. They stepped it up,” Caserta said. “We were having trouble in the first half, but they had my back, and my receiver had my back, and we just made plays. We have a good connection.”
If teams are going to load up the box to stop the run, we’ve got to be able to throw, and that’s what broke it open for us,” Gruzdis said.
Key play
Waldwick/Midland Park’s decision to call for a fake punt on a fourth-and-5 from its 42-yard line on its first possession of the second half was a game-changer and set up the first score.
Hamilton, the punter, threw a 28-yard completion to sophomore Brian Rock for a first down at the 30-yard line, and Caserta’s 30-yard TD pass to Schierloh came one play later for the 6-0 lead at 9:07 of the third.
“It’s great to be able to make plays that turn the game around like that, and I’m glad that the coaches trust me to make them,” Hamilton said.
By the numbers
Waldwick/Midland Park had 290 of its 357 total yards in the second half. Caserta was 9-for-13 for 196 yards, two TDs and one interception.
Glen Rock had 201 yards, with junior quarterback Nick Atme’s scrambling keeping alive several drives.
They said it
“The defense was phenomenal,” Gruzdis said. “Going in, we knew they were going to run the ball with [Atme], so that was the game plan, stop [Atme]. And I think we really did a good job with that.”
“They’re a good team, and we made too many mistakes, but you tip your hat to a team like that,” Glen Rock coach Jim Kurz said. “They played hard, and we have a lot that we can learn from, though, and that’s a positive.”
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Waldwick/Midland Park NJ football tops Glen Rock with big second half
