Clifton NJ Football takes a new approach in 2024
This fall will show how well the Clifton football team’s offseason renovation project went.
Although the Mustangs made their eighth consecutive playoff appearance in 2023, they finished with a losing record for the first time since 2015.
“It showed how quickly it can happen when you’re not consistent in everything you do,” Clifton coach Ralph Cinque said. “Last year, we were inconsistent as a program in the weight room.”
This was partly because the gymnasium adjacent to Clifton Stadium was being renovated, requiring the Mustangs to use the high school’s weight room (which is not adjacent to the athletic field).
“It took about 14 to 15 months to get everything done, but it’s state-of-the-art,” Cinque said of the remodeled facility. “Everything is brand new. I don’t know if there’s a better one at any public school in the state of New Jersey.”
With that project now complete, the Mustangs begin the season ranked 11th in the North Jersey Public Top 20. Their focus now turns to improving on the field.
“We have a very inexperienced group coming back and we have a lot of work to do,” Cinque said. “So we didn’t play 7-on-7 games this summer, none of that. We just practiced every day to get better.”
The tradition
Toughness is a long tradition at Clifton, and the coach is well versed in it. Cinque earned The record Athlete of the Week in 1992 when he was a senior fullback/linebacker for the Mustangs.
The last three times Clifton has reached a sectional final, it has allowed 16 points or fewer per game on defense. That includes the 2006 championship season in North 1, Group 4 (15.6) and a trip to the 2019 final in North 2, Group 5 (14.7).
However, to return to the form they achieved in their 2021 Group 5, North 2 title win – when they outscored their opponents 28-16 on average – the Mustangs will need to show more production on offense.
MORE: Insights into the high school football teams in Bergen and Passaic counties
The challenge
The offense needs a new leader after two-year starter Romelo Tables joined Shabazz in Newark.
Both sides of the ball strive to get better at execution.
“Our younger kids definitely learned from some of the mistakes the older kids made last year,” Cinque said. “A little bit about leadership, a little bit about selfishness. And I think we’re becoming a better team because of it.”
To ensure that the Mustangs can maintain their lead, the schedule, including in the preseason, is always packed with elite opponents.
“Our practice games are against West Essex and Wayne Valley,” Cinque said. “We’re starting with Ridgewood – again, there’s a lot of resistance from the start for this young group. And with our approach and the leadership that has emerged, I think we’ll be able to handle it just fine.”
Expectations
Most of Clifton’s returning talent is on the offensive side of the ball. Seniors Isaac Cazismoski (C/NG), Justin Gaviria (OG/DT) and his brother Jassin Gaviria (FB/LB) bring the experience needed to develop new talent.
“We have very young, talented players, and that’s what you get away with in a year where we have some pretty strong offensive players,” Cinque said. “So we’re going to learn from mistakes, and that’s OK.”
“Do I think we’ll win more than three games? Yes, probably. If I sit here on August 1st and say, ‘We’re not a playoff team,’ that would be crazy because I believe we are a playoff team. I believe our guys have the strength up front.”
schedule
30 August: vs. Ridgewood, 2 p.m. in Paramus
6 September: against Eastside, 7 p.m.
13 September: vs. Passaic, 7 p.m.
20 September: in Morristown
27 September: against East Side (Newark), 7 p.m.
October 4: against Bayonne, 7pm
October 18: at Passaic Tech, 6 p.m.
October 26: at East Orange Campus, 1 p.m. at Robeson Stadium
