Behind Calvetti, Ridgewood rolls to playoff win over Clifton by Jim McConville special to The Record
CLIFTON – Paul Calvetti has had a hard season. The senior linebacker/running back never leaves the field on defense and is also playing the vast majority of snaps on offense. It has taken its toll.
This is the playoffs, however, which is that time of the season when you can rest up for the whole winter. Now, it’s about maximum effort, and Calvetti sure picked the perfect time to put together a career game.
He was the spotlight back on a night where the extremely cold weather and windy conditions meant the Maroon Wing-T offense was going to have to be at its best. Calvetti won’t get that rest, but he’s certainly not complaining.
With a career-best 189 rushing yards on a career-high 20 carries, Calvetti was the catalyst for a 31-20 Ridgewood victory over Clifton in the North 1 Group 5 quarterfinals. He scored two touchdowns, but he put a victorious stamp on the game during a fourth quarter drive that showed his grit and toughness.
Clifton, playing its first home playoff game since 1983, had just blocked a punt and scored on an Amari Brinson 8-yard run with 11:16 left in the game to close within 24-13. The Mustangs, who had come from further behind to win over Kennedy a few weeks ago, were feeling some déjà vu.
When the kickoff went by the returner and he was downed at the 7, Ridgewood turned to Calvetti.
“He’s just been so tired,” Ridgewood coach Chuck Johnson said of Calvetti. “He plays so hard on every play, but I told him at the beginning of (last week) that he was going to get the rock. He was feeling it and we kept feeding him.”
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They put it in his hands six times on that drive, and he lugged it 55 yards. The signature carry was a fourth and 1 from the Clifton 39 with 3:27 left. He went off right tackle, was hit at the line and all but carried multiple Mustangs 21 yards to the 18 before three defenders finally got him down.
Ridgewood would score with 1:55 left on a 1-yard run by Parker Scott, completing a 17-play drive of 93 yards and 9:21.
“Just a championship drive,” Johnson said. “What makes it even better is that it came in a big game with a lot of pressure against a good team. Not only Paul, but give (quarterback) Jack Barclay credit, too. He made some big runs as well.”
Ridgewood’s defense forced three straight three-and-outs by Clifton to open the game, and they scored on their own first three to take a 17-0 lead. James Hogan kicked a 28-yard field goal to open the scoring before Calvetii scored on a 13-yard run and Barclay ran an option left for 35 yards with a minute left in the first quarter.
Calvetti made it 24-0 in the second quarter on a neat 55-yard run that saw him cut back at the Mustang 38 and find the open lane to the end zone. Brinson scored from 2 yards out to make it 24-7 at halftime and had Clifton at the Ridgewood 16 in the third quarter only to see the Maroon defense makes its ninth red zone stop of the season.
What it means: Ridgewood moves on to the semifinals next weekend against the Montclair-Livingston winner after moving to 8-2 on the season. Clifton is 6-3 and will play its final game of the year on Thanksgiving against Passaic. The Mustangs were denied their first postseason win since 2006.
Turning point: On a night where the weather was the second opponent for both teams, it was the coin toss. Ridgewood won and deferred, then sent the kickoff through the end zone to establish field position. Clifton had to punt three times in the first quarter against the wind for only 9, 21 and 12 yards. Ridgewood started its first three drives and the Mustang 31, midfield and the Clifton 20.