A week ago, Bridgewater-Raritan was celebrating a sectional title, holding the North 2 Group 5 trophy high after a 21-14 win over Bayonne that gave the Panthers their first-ever state title.
They’ll be celebrating that for a while in Bridgewater, but the run came to an end Friday night back at Basilone Field, following a 23-14 loss to North 1, Group 5 champion Passaic Tech in the state Group 5 semifinals.
The loss ends the Panthers’ season at 9-4, while the Bulldogs will go on to the Group 5 final against Central 5 champion Winslow Township, with beat South 5 champ Kingsway, 35-27, in an epic, see-saw battle down in South Jersey Friday night.
Bridgewater won the opening toss and proceeded to march down the field on their first possession as Declan Kurdyla scored on a three-yard run at the 8:38 mark of the first quarter. The score was was set-up by his 57-yard pass to Jack Cifuentes down the middle of the field.
But, the visiting Bulldogs would waste little time mixing the run and pass with their talented quarterback Gabriel Miles and senior running back Kadir Younge, who would tie the game at 7-7 on a one-yard run with 2:29 remaining in the first quarter.
The Panthers would get poor field position at their 10-yard line following a kickoff that would bounce over the the returner’s head, forcing him to scramble to secure possession. Bridgewater would get a first down with Evan Woodring – in for a banged-up Declan Kurdyla – running the offense and handing off to halfback Jahmier Black. The first quarter would come to a close with both teams deadlocked at 7-7.
It quickly became apparent that Kurdyla would not be able to return to play, as he separated his left shoulder on his touchdown run in Bridgewater’s opening drive.
The Panthers defense would force the Bulldogs to punt on their next series, while back-up quarterback Woodring and the Panthers would move the ball to the 34-yard line of the Bulldogs and take a timeout at 1:25 before halftime with a fourth down and six coming up. They would turn the ball over on downs.
On the very next play, Younge would score his second touchdown of the night, on a 66-yard trap play over the center at 1:11 mark of the second quarter, making the score 14-7.
The Panthers would let the first half clock run out as they would go to the locker room only down a score and without their starting senior quarterback.
Passaic County Tech would receive the second half kickoff and methodically mix it up with the passing game and running attack. Younge would bust a 60-yard score cutting upfield off his pulling guard at 8:53 in the third quarter and a 21-7 lead.
The Panthers defense would continue to play hard as Nick Crovelli intercepted a pass and the offense would make plays. Woodring found Mikey Bratus on a 52-yard touchdown pass down the middle of the field closing the gap to 21-14 with 11:52 remaining in the game.
Bridgewater would stop the Bulldogs on 4th and goal at the one with 4:33 remaining in the contest. But Denzel Amoafo would be tackled in the end zone for a safety, giving the Bulldogs a 23-14 lead.
The Panthers had last chance, but Tyson Watkins would intercept a tipped ball with 2:04 left in the contest, allowing the Bulldogs to run out the clock for a hard-fought 23-14 victory.
Click below for postgame reaction from Marcus Borden with Passaic Tech head coach Matt Demarest, senior runningback Kadir Younge, and Bridgewater-Raritan head coach D.J. Catalano, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:
