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Shabazz’s Faheem Ausbon didn’t get many touches in the opening parts of his team’s state semis tilt against Westwood, but once he did, he made the most of them to say the last.

Ausbon delivered on both offense and defense to score four touchdowns and help lead Shabazz in a complete team effort with a 36-6 win over Westwood in the semifinals of the 2025 NJSIAA/Xfinity Football State Championships Group 2 playoffs, in Washington Township.

“In the second half he came out on fire,” Bulldogs head coach Nasir Gaines said of Ausbon. “He looked like Adrian Peterson to me. That’s the guy. I’ve known him since he was a kid. He played in my youth program, and now he’s out here making his dreams happen here at Shabazz.”

After a mostly quiet opening half, Ausbon started the second half off with a bang by punching in an eight-yard touchdown rush on his first touch of the game, which made it a 14-0 Bulldogs (11-1) lead a minute into the third quarter. The junior reached the endzone again off a 49-yard rush with 2:11 left in the third to put his team up 23-0. Ausbon added to the lead by running back a pick-six for a 30-yard touchdown early in the fourth before rumbling in a 20-yard scoring rush to ice the game.

“It feels great to do it for the team and to do it for the community,” Ausbon said after the game. “The community, they’re counting on us. They’re looking at us for hope. So, you know, whatever we have to do, we’re going to do those things.”

Ausbon, who finished with 101 yards on the ground on six carries, attributed his play to the efforts of his linemen.

“I told them again in the huddle and before the game, you guys do your part, I do my part,” Ausbon said. “And we got out with a W. We just got to play team ball. We can’t be selfish. And we weren’t selfish at all tonight.”

The Bulldogs defense did their part as well. Heading into the game there was much chatter on how the Newark school’s defense would handle Westwood star running back Steve Klein. Klein, a Boston College commit, is one of the premier small school running backs in the stat with 1,458 yards to his name this season. The Bulldogs quieted the Westwood standout and the rest of the Cardinals offense by holding Klein to 31 rushing yards and the team to 59 yards on the ground.

Gaines said that Klein is a special kind of player. Going against Klein certainly seemed to be a source of motivation for his players as well.

“Going into the game, it was a lot of hype around Steve Klein and what he was going to do to us,” said Ausbon. “And you know, we kind of took that personally. So we came out here with a mindset that we’re going to show the state of New Jersey that we have one of the best defenses in the state.”

The Bulldogs recorded interceptions on four consecutive Westwood drives. Adekunbi Adetayo racked up three sacks, while Ausbon, Nasir Richardson, Wilbert Best and Rayquan Clark had the picks.

Gaines complimented the efforts of his defensive coordinator AJ. Dobson.

“He built that into those kids, man,” Gaines said. “And they just fire off of him, man. They just fly around making plays.”

Basiti Raimi added three points to the win with a 34-yard field goal, and quarterback Karriem Coston gave the Bulldogs their first points off a 42-yard scoring pass to Nosym Brown.

Westwood got on the board in the closing moments of the game, off a short passing touchdown to Klein from Anthony Caporale.

Westwood ends the year with an 11-2 record. The Cardinals earned their third sectional title in four years off its 32-6 win over Ramsey last week in the N1G2 finals.

“We had a lot of question marks going into the season,” said Westwood coach Bobby Guy. “We replaced nine guys on offense, eight guys on D. A lot of guys stepped up throughout the season and made some awesome plays. Even the younger guys too. Don’t want to lose the last one but I’m proud of our guys.”

“I love my guys, man,” Guy added. They’re the heart and soul of this program, the heart and soul of this town and they compete. Obviously tonight wasn’t what we wanted, but I love my guys."

The Group 2 final against Camden at Rutgers on Dec. 3 isn’t the only big game on the horizon for the Bulldogs. First, Shabazz will again take part in one of the great New Jersey Thanksgiving rivalries, with their annual Turkey Day game against Weequahic.

“That’s tradition, right there,” Gaines said of the Thanksgiving game. “That’s war. Great respect to those guys up the hill, Weequahic and (Weequahic coach Brian Logan), and all those guys. But it’s a new day. It’s the big body era.”

Ausbon added that closing out their last two games is a matter of not becoming complacent.

“We know what we have to do and we can’t let anything get in the way of that,” Ausbon said. “It’s going to start tomorrow. It’s going to start in the walkthrough and film the whole week. We got to be locked in, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

GROUP 2 SEMIFINALS

Shabazz 36, Westwood 6

First quarter

Second quarter

Shabazz: Karriem Coston 42 pass to Nosym Brown (Basiti Raimi kick), 3:28

Third quarter

Shabazz: Faheem Ausbon 8yd rush (Raimi kidk), 10:51

Shabazz: Raimi 24 FG, 6:18

Shabazz: Ausbon 49 run (2pt failed), 2:11

Fourth quarter

Shabazz: Ausbon 30 interception return (2pt failed), 11:27

Shabazz: Ausbon 20 run (Raimi kick), 8:03

Westwood: Anthony Caporale pass to Steve Klein

TEAM STATISTICS

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Westwood: Shabazz: Faheem Ausbon 101 yards on six carries; Karriem Coston 21 yards on three carries; Noah Foxworth 57 yards on six carries; Sharif Yahzeed 5 yards on five carries.

PASSING -- Westwood: Bruce Vega 1-7 for 1 yard; Anthony Caporale: 2-3 for 10 yards Shabazz: Karriem Coston 7-14 for 128 yards

RECEIVING -- Westwood: Klein 1 catch for 10 yards Shabazz: Nosyn Brown 3 catches for 50 yards Zaiden McDonald 2 catches for 16 yards; Nasir Richardson 2 catches for 45 yards;

Steve Klein and Westwood left no doubt.

On just the game’s second play from scrimmage, Klein a Boston College commit, took a handoff to the right side and broke several tackles on his way to a 55-yard touchdown

The play, which occured just 25 seconds into the contest, set the tone for top-seeded Westwood as it never looked back from that point as it rolled to a 32-6 victory over third-seeded Ramsey in the final of the NJSIAA/Xfinity North Jersey, Section 1, Group 2 tournament in Washington Township.

Klein finished with 101 rushing yards on just nine carries for Westwood (11-1), which claimed its third sectional championship in the last four years.

This senior class, led by Klein has gone 43-4 during its four years.

Westwood will now host Shabazz, the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 2 champ next Friday in the Group 2 semifinals. For Klein and the rest of the Cardinals, it will be a chance to avenge last year’s loss to the Newark school in the N1G2 semifinals.

Klein followed the TD by running in the ensuing two-point conversion to give Westwood an 8-0 lead.

The advantage doubled with 3:16 remaining in the first quarter when Conner Readie returned a fumble 41 yards for a TD.

Readie’s scoop and score was one of three turnovers forced by a Westwood defense, which has limited its opponent to eight points or less in six games this season.

Quarterback Bruno Vega added to the Westwood lead with two rushing touchdowns as the sophomore scored from 1 yard out in the second quarter, then scrambled for a 19-yard score on a 4th-and-14 in the third.

As a team, Westwood ran 220 rushing yards on the night as it won its eighth sectional title in program history.

Ramsey, which was looking to avenge a 34-7 loss to Westwood on Oct. 17, falls to 8-3. Since that regular season meeting, Ramsey had won three consecutive games, scoring 107 points during that streak.

Ramsey got on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter on Jonathan Davis’ 1-yard TD run.

Davis ran the ball 22 times for 139 yards for Ramsey, which was making its first finals appearance since 2010 and was seeking its first title since 2009.

First Quarter

Westwood -- Steve Klein, 55 run (Klein run), 11:35

Westwood -- Conner Readie, 41 fumble return (Ryan Sklavounos pass from Bruno Vega), 3:16

Second Quarter

Westwood -- Bruno Vega, 1 run (Bruno Vega run), 9:35

Third Quarter

Westwood -- Bruno Vega, 19 run (Ryan Sklavounos pass from Bruno Vega), 0:22

Fourth Quarter

Ramsey -- Jonathan Davis, 1 run (pass fail), 8:42

More N.J. High School Sports stories

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP − Steve Klein and his fellow seniors are part of something that no other class at Westwood has enjoyed: three sectional titles in four years.

Klein scored the first touchdown to send the Cardinals on their way to a 32-6 victory over Ramsey in the North 1, Group 2 sectional football final on Nov. 14.

The Boston College commit ran for a 55-yard score in the opening minute and rushed for 101 yards to lead Westwood (11-1).

“I think it’s a lot of credit to the older guys,” Klein said. “My freshman year, it was a great senior class, and my sophomore year, a great senior class. You figure out what the standard is, and when you’re a freshman, you want to do it yourself. And as we progressed, we got better and better every year, and now it’s our show, our senior year, and the fact that we were able to do it, and make history, it means so much to us.”

The Cardinals forced three turnovers and senior Connor Readie returned a fumble 41 yards for a score in the first quarter to help extend the lead to 16-0.

Check out the photo gallery, then continue reading.

Sophomore quarterback Bruno Vega ran for two TDs to stretch the lead to 32-0. He scored on a 1-yard run in the second quarter and a 19-yard run late in the third.

Ramsey (8-3) moved the ball on the ground and junior running back Jonathan Davis capped an eight-play, 68-yard drive by scoring on a 1-yard run in the fourth.

“We lost to a very good football team,” Ramsey coach Adam Baeira said. “They run to the ball, play hard, and their defense is excellent.”

What it means

Westwood has won eight sectional titles, including in 2023 when the team punctuated a 13-0 season by capturing the Group 2 state title in overtime. This year's group has overachieved, and its 24-8 sectional semifinal win over Caldwell avenged its lone regular-season loss.

“It’s just a representation of how hard they worked in the offseason, how hard they work in season, and they do such a great job day in and day out with their approach to every game,” Westwood coach Bobby Guy said.

Westwood will host Shabazz (10-1) in a Group 2 state semifinal on Nov. 21. Shabazz defeated Madison, 26-16, in the North 2, Group 2 sectional final.

“It’s awesome, a great feeling,” Westwood senior Ryan Sklavounos said of winning the sectional title. “This year, we worked our hardest, and to get to the point, it feels great. And I know going into the state semifinals, and the championship, we want it. We want this, and the next game for that state championship, we’ll play our hardest.”

Play of the game

Readie’s fumble return for a TD was a momentum shifter. On a second-and-2, Readie scooped up the fumble near the line of scrimmage and raced 41 yards for a score and 16-0 lead at 3:16 of the first quarter.

“I saw the ball, and I was out,” Readie said. “I saw the end zone, I was gone.”

By the numbers

Westwood had 246 total yards, featuring 220 rushing. Klein carried nine times for 101 yards, and his 55-yard score came at 11:35 and on the Cardinals’ second play from scrimmage. Klein followed his TD with a a 2-point conversion run, and the Cardinals had a quartet of 2-point conversions.

Ramsey had 224 total yards, including 131 rushing. Davis carried 22 times for 139 yards, with most of it coming in the second half.

They said it

“Defense showed up, balled out,” Klein said. “Offense, we got it going early, put us up 24-0, it gave us a really good cushion, and the scoreboard speaks for itself.”

“We came out pretty fired up from the get-go,” Guy said. "Steve Klein had a huge run on that first series, and we did a great job of getting them to turn the ball over in the first half. I really think all facets of the game, offense, defense, special teams - we got a little stagnant a couple times with some penalties – but a great team effort.”

Entering the NJSIAA/Xfinity football playoffs, only one team had gotten the better of top-seeded Westwood over the course of the regular season. A Week 3 defeat at the hands of fourth-seeded Caldwell was the lone blemish on Westwood’s resume entering the North Jersey, Section 1, Group 2 Tournament, and the Cardinals earned an opportunity for redemption with a sectional semifinal rematch against the Chiefs.

Led by the quarterback-wide receiver connection of Bruno Vega and Tyler Hanson on offense and a stifling defense that forced two turnovers and did not cede a first down until the third quarter, Westwood avenged its regular season defeat with a 24-8 victory at Westwood Regional High School in Washington Township on Friday.

Westwood will host third-seeded Ramsey, which cruised past second-seeded Glen Rock by a 41-7 margin, as it looks to secure its third sectional title in four years.

The message was clear from players and coaches alike that the loss to Caldwell, a 17-14 overtime road defeat on Sept. 19, served as a gut check moment for Westwood.

Hanson caught four passes for 60 yards and two touchdowns from Vega on offense and recorded an interception on defense in the rematch, and he stressed the importance of the work his team put in since the prior matchup to avoid another slip up.

“We practiced so hard all week and the last time we played (Caldwell) we played like complete garbage, myself included,” Hanson said.

“We knew we had to bring our “A” game every snap or we would lose again and we brought our “A” game. We’ve came together through the weeks and we’ve got something really special as a team now. The coaches believe in us, if the ball keeps coming my way I’m gonna keep making plays."

Catching touchdowns of 36 and 11 yards as well as a two-point conversion, Hanson made plays at every opportunity Vega was able to get him the ball. Hanson’s playmaking has been an added dimension to his game in 2025 after only playing defense for Westwood in prior seasons.

After falling in last season’s sectional semifinals to eventual Group 2 finalist Shabazz, the Cardinals were in need of a spark to return to the form that saw them capture the Group 2 crown in 2023 and a sectional title in 2022. In addition to the added wrinkle of Hanson’s presence in the offense, Vega’s ascension to Westwood’s starting signal caller in his sophomore season have provided those sparks for the Cardinals.

Even without seeing Vega in game action in 2024, Westwood head coach Bobby Guy was expecting big things from Vega coming into 2025, and his faith has been rewarded with the Cardinals on the cusp of another sectional title with Vega at the helm.

“We knew we had something special with Bruno last year, his off-season was amazing,” Guy said.

Seeing Westwood’s prior success from afar before arriving in high school, Vegas has relished his opportunity to keep the success going for one of Group 2’s top programs.

“It’s been awesome, I grew up watching them win and you want to be there one day and now I’m here going to the sectional finals,” Vega said.

Hanson echoed a similar sentiment to Vega, though slightly different through the lens of a player one year older. Having been in the building as a freshman for Westwood’s perfect season that culminated in a state title in two years ago, Hanson had a close-up look at what it takes to reach the pinnacle of Garden State football. After earning varsity playing time as a sophomore and now contributing as a two-way player, the junior is ready to help get Westwood back to the top.

“My freshman year I saw how amazing the team culture was, I didn’t get on the field but I was on the sidelines cheering everybody on. I started playing defense last year and I realized how good we were and the bonds we shared as a team,” Hanson said.

The Vega-Hanson aerial connection is complemented by the downhill running of Boston College commit Steve Klein, who eclipsed the 3,000 career rushing yard mark with a 97-yard performance on Friday, and both facets of Westwood’s offense came together for its most important win of the season thus far.

“Tyler’s just a special talent, he played at safety last year on defense and this year as a receiver he’s completely stepped up. The catches he made on the touchdown and two point conversion were both incredible and that’s the type of athlete he is,” Guy said.

Incredible plays by incredible athletes was a necessary part of the formula for Westwood to prevail in its battle against a Caldwell program with similar championship pedigree.

A 37-game winning steak spanning parts of four seasons from 2020-23 saw Caldwell end Westwood’s 2021 and 2022 campaigns with sectional semifinal and group semifinal defeats respectively. Guy was prepared for as tough a matchup as any top seed can face in a semifinal round,

“Caldwell’s a heck of a program, they do a lot of great things on defense,” Guy said.

“I think we stuck to our gameplan this time around. When we lost the first game we watched the film and were disappointed with everything about that game, offense, defense and special teams. We were able to run the ball more effectively and that really helped us tonight.”

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Editor's note: Results will be added as soon as they are available after polls close at 8 p.m.

BERGEN COUNTY — The following are unofficial Nov. 4, 2025, Election Day results. They include early in-person voting results and day of election results.

The results will be finalized following a canvassing and certification of votes, where officials verify that the votes were counted correctly and reconcile mail-in ballots, as well as those from overseas military personnel, provisional, challenged and rejected ones. The process in New Jersey must be finalized by Nov. 30.

NorthJersey.com will add results as they are released by election officials and will be updated throughout the evening on Nov. 4.

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