UNION COUNTY, NJ — Cranford High School and Elizabeth High School–Frank J. Cicarell Academy came so close to advancing, while New Providence High School held on and was able to reach a sectional state championship game for the first time in 14 years.
Cranford and Elizabeth both scored in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t quite good enough to get past their sectional semifinal foes. New Providence gave up two touchdowns in the final 12 minutes, but was able to hang on.
In sectional semifinal-round football on Friday night, Nov. 8, it was fourth-seeded Cranford falling at top-seeded Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan, 22-14, in North 2, Group 3; second-seeded Elizabeth losing at home to third-seeded Passaic County Technical Institute, 36-26, in North 2, Group 5 and second-seeded New Providence hanging on to oust third-seeded Hasbrouck Heights Middle/High School, 21-14, in North 2, Group 1.
Cranford finished 7-3, while Elizabeth closed at 6-5, its first winning season since 2018. New Providence won its fourth straight to improve to 9-2. The Pioneers are in their first sectional final since winning North 2, Group 1 in 2010 during the first season of the new Giants Stadium. It was a 21-8 win against Lincoln High School of Jersey City in legendary head coach Frank Bottone’s final game at the helm of the Pioneers.
New Providence is now preparing for the game on Friday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m., at top-seeded and 11-0 Cedar Grove High School. The winner captures the section title and advances to the Group 1 semifinals.
Scoring touchdowns for Cranford, both in the fourth quarter, were seniors Amari Petgrave on a six-yard run and Brandon DiPaolo on a 44-yard fumble recovery.
Sophomore quarterback Arique Fleming scored touchdowns on runs of one and two yards and completed a 27-yard touchdown pass to Antoine Blount. Nahjae Smith scored Elizabeth’s last touchdown and also the game’s final points on a nine-yard run in the fourth quarter. Fleming completed 14-of-27 passes for 211 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
New Providence was sparked by senior quarterback T.J. Munn, who rushed for 132 yards on 15 carries and scored touchdowns on runs of 16 and 11 yards in the second quarter and two yards in the third.
Cranford just produced its 14th winning season in the last 15 and qualified for the playoffs for the 13th straight time.
Cranford head coach Erik Rosenmeier, in his 20th season at the helm of the Cougars, said he was proud of the way his team improved performance in the final 24 minutes.
“Old Tappan scored with 43 seconds to go in the first half to go up 15-0 and that was big for them,” Rosenmeier said. “It was a 7-0 game at that point. Penalties and turnovers hurt us.
“We played much harder in the second half. Unfortunately for us, we let up another score after a turnover.”
Senior all-purpose player Dylan Jones had a big game for Cranford, rushing for 112 yards on 19 carries and on defense was in on 11 tackles.
“He’s our toughest kid and the best leader among many good ones we have,” Rosenmeier said. “He’s been that way for us since his sophomore year.
“He punts for us, returns kicks, plays safety on defense and is our second-leading tackler. In our scheme on offense, he takes his carries when he gets them. He’s the guy that we rely on. It will be difficult, if not impossible, to replace him.”
Next for Jones will be his final wrestling season, most likely at 165 pounds.
“He’s a tough kid that cares about Cranford, one of those football players-wrestlers,” Rosenmeier said.
After losing to West Essex High School in the first round of the North 2, Group 3 playoffs the past two seasons, 14-7 at home two years ago and 13-0 at West Essex last year, this year’s squad bounced back to have a fine season.
After 13 straight winning seasons from 2010-2022, last year’s 2023 team lost its last three games to finish at less than .500 for the first time since 2009, closing at 4-5.
After a 2-2 start, this year’s unit won four straight to make the playoffs at 6-2 and then beat a solid 5-3 Summit High School team, 27-22, at home in the first round. Cranford’s only regular season losses were at home to Somerville High School, 32-14, in the season-opener and then at Summit, 21-7. Somerville is 11-0 and playing for a sectional state championship this weekend, while Summit finished 5-4 after Cranford got even in the playoffs. Old Tappan, which will host West Essex in this weekend’s North 2, Group 3 final, is 9-1.
“I’m grateful to the kids for their effort, it was a good year,” Rosenmeier said. “The loss to Old Tappan stings a bit. I felt like there was not that much difference between us and them.
“I’m proud of this team. We pushed them really hard this year because we felt they could win. They endured tough practices and tried as hard as they could.
“We beat Summit in the playoffs and went up against some really good teams this year, including Somerville and Old Tappan. There were no slouches.
“I will miss this group. It was a good group.”
Union County Football in NJSIAA Sectional Final
Friday, Nov. 15, 7 p.m.
North 2, Group 1
2-New Providence (9-2) at 1-Cedar Grove (11-0)
Photos by JR Parachini