By JR Parachini
For sidelinechatter.com

First we have mischief night on Friday.

Then we have Halloween on Saturday.

So which teams will be mischievous Friday and which will be trick or treating on Saturday?

One thing is for sure, if there ever was a Game of the Week in Union County this year – and I realize that all of the games are big, which they really are – it would be Westfield at Linden this Friday night at 7 at Cooper Field in Linden.

Both teams are 4-2 and fighting for their lives in order to gain a playoff berth in North 2, Group 4.

Westfield has won two straight and has qualified in the section the last two years, beating Linden along the way to get there. After this weekend, the Blue Devils will face a Union team on the road that should be 7-0.

Linden has lost two straight and has not qualified in the section the last two seasons. After this weekend, the Tigers will face an Immaculata team on the road that should be 7-1 and on a six-game winning streak.

So, the winner of Friday night’s game will still be alive in terms of trying to obtain one of the eight playoff berths in N2, G4, while the team that does not win should still be alive, but will then need to beat a very tough opponent on the road next weekend to have a chance of obtaining enough power points to make it.

That makes the Westfield-Linden contest a do-or-die game in a way, a regular season Super Bowl if you will between Mid-State 39 Conference-Watchung Division squads.

Both teams will be putting it all on the line Friday night – playing their hearts out - in order to capture a very important fifth victory of the season.

Linden was 4-0 and then had a week off before falling at North Hunterdon 21-14 on the road two weekends ago and to a 6-0 Hunterdon Central squad 12-7 at home last Friday night.

 

Linden and North Hunterdon were even at 14-14 before the home team Lions scored the game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter.

“Big, bad” Hunterdon Central, which everyone figured would crush Linden because Linden was now “overrated” after losing to a 1-3 North Hunterdon team, trailed the Tigers 8-7 midway through the fourth quarter until an 83-yard run by Ian Gaines set up a three-yard touchdown run by Brandon Brocklehurst for what turned out to be the winning score.

“We’re still working on playing a complete game at this point,” said Linden second-year head coach Deon Candia. “We almost put it together against Hunterdon Central.”

Linden was holding on to a 7-6 lead in the fourth quarter as the result of the extra point Yardley Batelus kicked following a three-yard touchdown run by William Ingram in the second quarter.

Linden led 7-0 at the half.

“Even though we gave up just that one big play (Gaines’ run), we were not able to put together a complete game,” Candia said. “That’s our goal as a team.”

Hunterdon Central got on the scoreboard for the first time in the third quarter on a three-yard touchdown reception by Brocklehurst from Chris Ibrahim. However, the extra point kick failed.

“Our focus is always about us,” Candia said. “We know that we haven’t played up to our capabilities yet. If we do, we will be unbeatable.”

Not many predicted that Linden would give Hunterdon Central the game it did last week. The road to qualifying in North 2, Group 4 continues to be a very big challenge for the Tigers this weekend and next.

“Looking at our team, it’s still a young team and doing a lot of things based on talent,” Candia said. “Our kids are still learning the game, learning situations and certain elements.

“We need to be able to execute for four quarters instead of picking and choosing.

“We’ve learned a lot from the two losses we have. Except for a couple of plays, we showed a lot of growth in the Hunterdon Central game.”

Westfield has won three straight following a 1-2 start that included consecutive setbacks at Watchung Hills 21-7 and at home to Bridgewater-Raritan 23-14.

“The kids are really looking forward to playing Westfield and the challenge that it will be,” Candia said. “We went up against teams with different styles than we’re used to in Union County, which was a difference for our kids and we learned from it.

“There is no pressure, but we’re all anxious to put together a full game. Westfield is on the upswing and we were impressed with how they shut down North Hunterdon.

“They are solid defensively, are playing well and their kids are disciplined on defense. We’ve seen a couple of things we will try to exploit. Their defense will be a challenge for us.

“Our kids know that our backs are against the wall, but also understand that we put ourselves there, so we have to come out swinging.

“It’s been a great week so far and our kids are not down at all. Once we lost to Hunterdon Central we left it on the field and went right back to work.

“The kids did a great job of bouncing back for a young group. The coaching staff has some good ideas and changed some things around in order to step up as well for getting the kids ready for Friday night.”

Westfield ’s starting defense has not allowed a single point in three consecutive games now, including a 3-0 win at North Hunterdon, a 30-6 triumph at Scotch Plains and a 38-0 home victory over Montgomery.

“We’ve been playing well, with our front four doing a nice job of controlling the line of scrimmage and our linebackers and defensive backs showing a lot of ability,” said Westfield fourth-year head coach Jim DeSarno. “We just play very good team defense. We’ve been very physical and our pass defense has been great.”

Westfield owns a two-game winning streak over Linden, winning 46-19 at home last year and 27-13 at Linden in the season-opener for both in 2007.

Linden’s last win over Westfield was a 20-14 victory on Sept. 9, 2006 in Westfield. That was also a season-opening game for both.

The last time Linden defeated Westfield at home was on Oct. 7, 2005, which was a 28-7 Tiger triumph.

Westfield ’s linemen include junior Garrett Pryor, senior Willie Johnson, senior Brandon Dietz and junior Nick Matthews. At linebacker are junior AJ Murray, senior Aiden Scanlon, senior Joe Ondi and senior Chris Fantini. The defensive backs are senior Hugo Nolasco, senior Brian Henry and senior Pat Gray.

“This is the best defense we’ve had since I’ve been here,” DeSarno said. “Three of our linemen are experienced, with Pryor a new starter. Most of our linebackers got a little playing time last year, which helps us up front.

“Pat Gray and Hugo played a little bit last year. Hugo was hurt with an ankle injury. Brian played just on special teams last year, but that helped him a lot for this year.

“All three backs have done a tremendous job of defending the pass. We’re also getting hits on the quarterback. We bent a little bit in the run game last week, but didn’t break. We toughed it out as they got closer.”

This will be the third straight year that Westfield defensive players will be chasing down Linden senior southpaw quarterback Trell Myers.

“They are explosive on offense, with the fullback and tailback (Ingram, a junior and Ruhann Peele, a sophomore) lightning fast,” DeSarno said. “Myers has a strong arm, is a veteran kid and has presence. He does a nice job of running the team.

“They’re talented offensively and pose a lot of problems. They have athletes all over the field.

“They will also attack the line of scrimmage and if you are not ready for it they will knock you down.”

Despite losing two straight, Linden is not that far away from being undefeated at the moment.

“We’re both playing for the same thing, so the game will be tough no matter what,” DeSarno said. “You can make the argument that they could be 6-0, so we know what we have in front of us.

“We feel that they are the best team we are going to play to date.”