Clifton football avenges controversial title game loss with dominant win over East Orange
CLIFTON − Clifton gained a huge measure of satisfaction, even if it came in a season opener rather than a season finale for a championship.
The Mustangs opened a new chapter with a 21-0 victory Thursday night over the East Orange Campus team it lost to last year in a controversial finish in the North Group 5 final.
“For nine months, all we think about is that,” Clifton coach Ralph Cinque said of a 30-24 triple-overtime loss at Rutgers that ended on a disputed 100-yard fumble return. “’The Game,’ or, ‘The Robbery on the Raritan,’ whatever you want to call it. My boys stood up tonight and they went to war, and I couldn’t be more proud of these guys.”
Sophomore quarterback Romelo Tables threw one touchdown pass in each half, and in between, senior Marcos Betances returned a blocked punt nine yards for a score.
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Tables threw a 4-yard TD pass to junior Abel Chong in the second quarter for a 7-0 lead. Tables threw a 15-yard score to junior Devon Stroble in the third for the 21-0 lead.
The Mustangs gained control early in the third, when junior lineman Trumain Lawson blocked a punt and Betances returned it 9 yards for the 14-0 lead.
Clifton's defense was especially stellar in the red zone, stopping East Orange once in each half inside the 20-yard line.
“We were really heartbroken after that loss,” Stroble said of last December’s title game. “We should have won. But we came out here and did what we had to do. We told everyone we were going to do it, and we did it.”
What it means
Clifton was ranked No. 20 in the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey preseason Top 25, and East Orange was No. 11, so the Mustangs will climb past their Essex County rival when the next rankings are released Wednesday. Last year’s loss left Clifton at No. 25, while East Orange finished 13-0 and climbed to No. 8.
“Last year, we got cheated, or whatever, but I’m not going to talk about that,” Lawson said. “But the fact that we could put the football down, and settle the score, it feels good.”
Key play
Lawson’s blocked punt, and Betances’ ensuing return for a score, was a huge momentum shifter for Clifton. It came on the first possession of the third quarter, on a fourth-and-18 at the 22-yard line, and Lawson came through almost untouched to block a punt that came after a good snap.
“There’s a reason that he has seven [college] offers right now as a 15-year-old junior,” said Cinque, who also got a fumble recovery from Lawson in the second half. “Because he is that good.”
By the numbers
Stroble was an absolute workhorse running back for Clifton, carrying 27 times for 110 yards. Everyone on and off the field knew he was going to be the Mustangs’ between-the-tackles centerpiece, and he was the focus of the East Orange defense. He didn't mind sustaining all the hits.
“Stroble is really tough, and he’s only going to get better,” Cinque said. “He’s a first-year starter, he’s only a junior, so we’ve got two more seasons with him getting better.”
Clifton stopped East Orange in the red zone in the first quarter, thanks to a Lawson sack on a fourth-and-11. The Mustangs halted a Jaguars’ 13-play drive in the fourth that began on the 28-yard line by forcing three incompletions and a run for no gain after a first-and-goal at the 8-yard line.
They said it
“It’s who we are,” Cinque said of his team. “It’s what we do. It’s our MO [modus operandi]. We run the clock, we run the ball – we threw for two touchdowns tonight – but we run the ball, we play great defense, we play great special teams, and that’s what Clifton’s style means.”
Up next
Clifton, No. 1 in the North Jersey preseason Public Top 20 rankings, hosts No. 3 Ridgewood on Sept. 9.
In their last meeting, in 2019, the Mustangs defeated the Maroons, 13-0.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Clifton football avenges title game loss, beats East Orange
