Hudson Catholic football outlasts Paramus Catholic, spoiling Greg Russo's debut as Paladins head coach

JERSEY CITY — New coach Greg Russo has brought back exciting football to Paramus Catholic.

Winning football still must wait for another day.

Hudson Catholic running back Jacob Rodriguez gained 277 yards in total offense and scored four touchdowns, leading his team to a 35-28 win over the Paladins on Saturday at Caven Point.

Paramus Catholic (0-1) absorbed its 17th consecutive loss dating back to 2019, despite leading 21-19 at halftime and 28-27 with 4:53 to go.

The Paladins drove to the Hudson Catholic 31 in the final minute, but three straight incompletions ended their shot at victory.

“We didn’t play well enough to win, and that’s the expectation,” said Russo, a 1998 PC graduate. “I just told them the truth: If we had won the game on the last drive, went for two and won the game, we’d be celebrating – the message is the same… we’ve got to improve a bunch of things.”

Russo did say that had the Paladins found a way to the end zone, they “100 percent” would have attempted a two-point conversion for the lead. “I called the play already.”

What it means

Hudson Catholic (1-0), which finished 8-2 last season, gained a leg up in the all-Non-Public SFC United White Division after moving over from the Freedom White.

“This was a big ‘character’ win for us,” Hawks coach Lou Zampella said. “This is a senior [led] team that has been in a bunch of close games and big games against very good teams.”

Paramus Catholic moved down to the division after six years in the more challenging United Red and showed that it can make the title chase interesting.

Check out the photo gallery from the game, then keep reading.

Key sequence

Paramus Catholic took its final lead on Xavier Williams’ 1-yard touchdown run and Michael Sorrentino’s PAT kick.

Hawks senior Nisere Bell returned the ensuing kickoff 70 yards before the Paladins tracked him down, poked the ball free and recovered at their own 5-yard line.

After a Hudson Catholic offside penalty, Jayden Beauchamp carried on the next play and fought for extra yards after gaining 10. The ball came out an instant before he was down, and Jordan Glover jumped on the ball for the Hawks, setting up a short drive to the go-ahead score.

“It’s Week 1, stuff like that happens all the time,” Russo said. “I’ll live with that mistake, because the kid was fighting for yards… he did what he had to do, and we didn’t make enough plays.”

Game balls

► Rodriguez, a senior who lives in Kearny, ran 22 times for 221 yards (with 174 in the first half) – and was credited with four rushing TDs since one came on a backward pass. He added seven official receptions for 56 yards

► Beauchamp carried 14 times for 62 yards and two TDs to complement Williams, who caught four passes for 51 yards from QB Kievon Harper (10-of-20, 128 yards, TD).

► Junior DB Adrian Lang had four tackles and two interceptions for the Paladins, while senior linebacker Jacob Robinson made seven tackles.

Up next

► Paramus Catholic heads up to Sparta to face another SFC United White foe, Pope John XXIII, next Saturday, Sept. 10.

► Hudson Catholic visits Montclair to play Immaculate Conception next Saturday.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ football: Hudson Catholic defeats Paramus Catholic