The Westwood Cardinals (1-1) rebounded from an opening loss to Manasquan by defeating the River Dell Golden Hawks (1-1) in the 46th annual Bird Bowl and retained the bird cage trophy for a fifth consecutive year.

Westwood starting quarterback Bruno Vega put on a stellar performance, completing 8 of 16 passes for 156 yards and throwing four touchdown passes and a two-point conversion pass. Vega displayed his dual-threat style, rushing for 70 yards.

The Cardinals defense set the tone early with linebacker Patrick Stark registering a sack. On the next play, senior defensive back Ed Rasmussen stepped in front of a pass from River Dell quarterback Brooks Esler and raced down the left side to the Golden Hawks' 37-yard line.

“Pat is the hardest worker on the team, and we have a lot of praise for him,” Ed Rasmussen explained. “The coaches and players know how hard of a worker he is and it’s just showing on the field.” “Last year he led the team in sacks and probably going to lead the team again.”

“I saw the quarterback eyes, read it and picked off and came off the sideline and the crowd was electric behind me.”

Westwood moved the ball into the red zone but could not advance past the 10-yard line as River Dell’s defense plugged the running lanes. On fourth down, Golden Hawks linebacker Luke Van Damn tackled Bruno Vega short of the first-down marker, forcing a turnover on downs.

The Cardinals answered with a quick three-and-out on River Dell’s next possession and a solid punt return by Nick Klein to the Golden Hawks' 42-yard line.

On first down, Westwood wasted no time finding the end zone as Bruno Vega hurled a 42-yard touchdown down the middle to Nick Klein in stride for the score with less than five minutes left.

River Dell answered with an outstanding kickoff return by Eric Raimondi to the Cardinals' 47-yard line. The Golden Hawks moved the ball methodically into Westwood territory, ending with quarterback Brooks Esler tossing a 15-yard touchdown pass to Iain Rossig to tie the game at 7-7 with 1:24 remaining.

Westwood quickly took advantage of excellent field position on its next series, with a personal foul against the River Dell defense moving the ball into the Golden Hawks' end of the field.

Seven seconds into the second quarter at the River Dell 34-yard line, Westwood scored as Bruno Vega took the snap in shotgun formation and delivered a precision pass to wide receiver Tyler Hanson.

“You can see the difference in Bruno from last year and he’s improved so much and everyone has so much confidence in him,” Tyler Hanson described. “I didn’t have much to do on the play because he stepped up in the pocket and delivered a perfect pass to me and just fell into my hands.”

River Dell responded on its ensuing possession with another spectacular kickoff return. Jackson Lee returned the ball to the Cardinals' 47-yard line.

River Dell played smashmouth football, running the ball seven straight times before Iain Rossig finished the drive in style on a jet sweep and powered to the goal line for a ten-yard touchdown that put the Golden Hawks up 14-13 with eight and a half minutes to go.

Westwood answered with a pound-and-ground approach, steadily moving the ball into the Golden Hawks' territory. Facing a fourth down at the 27-yard line, River Dell linebacker Luke Van Dam wreaked havoc again, sacking Bruno Vega, which resulted in a turnover on downs.

The Golden Hawks switched up the game plan as quarterback Brooks Esler found a rhythm in the passing area, completing back-to-back passes to move the ball into Cardinals territory.

River Dell kept advancing with the run game, but on second down at the Westwood 27-yard line, Brooks Esler tried to squeeze a pass into tight coverage, and Nick Klein came away with the interception as the ball popped into the air.

With a minute and a half remaining, the Cardinals took possession and moved the ball after a pass interference call against the Golden Hawks.

Bruno Vega connected on a pair of passes to Tyler Hanson that moved the ball into River Dell’s end of the field. On third down at the 42-yard line, Vega found Hanson again with a laser in stride as he streaked into the end zone with 12 seconds left.

“That was actually the biggest play of the game and just looking back it now, it could have been a completing who different game if we didn’t score going into halftime,” Tyler Hanson noted.

Westwood elected for the two-point conversion, and Bruno Vega lobbed a pass into the left corner of the end zone where Tyler Hanson hauled in the catch to make it 21-14.

“That’s just one of those plays we work in practice and when Bruno rolls out right we all go right and then all of a sudden we just leak out to the left and it just really worked out,” Tyler Hanson mentioned.

The Cardinals received the second-half kickoff and put together an impressive 14-play drive that chewed up more than seven minutes, capped by Bruno Vega throwing a 12-yard pass to Ed Rasmussen in the right corner of the end zone to extend the Westwood lead to 28-14.

“It was third down and a great play call and one of our more common plays,” Ed Rasmussen said. “I just kind of shook the safety off a little bit, and I’m going to fit in that tight spot in the back of the end zone.”

“Bruno’s the leader, he’s number one and he didn’t play as sophomore last year but a lot more experienced than people might think and he’s just very smart.” “Where he’s had the most growth and experience is recognizing the defense and calling his own stuff and when we’re in the huddle, he understands the game a lot.”

The Golden Hawks attempted to right the ship on their first offensive series of the third quarter and started with fantastic starting field position at their own 43-yard line.

River Dell kept the drive alive with a key fourth-down conversion at the Cardinals' 45-yard line. The Golden Hawks faced another crucial fourth down, but the drive stalled on an incomplete pass with 41 seconds remaining.

In the fourth quarter, River Dell refused to go away quietly, capitalizing on a Westwood punt deep in its own end that ended with a high snap and the ball rolling into the end zone for a safety with eight minutes left.

The Golden Hawks had another chance at the Cardinals' 39-yard line and drove to the five, but an incomplete pass on fourth down ended any hopes of cutting the deficit.

River Dell’s defense forced a quick three-and-out, and another poor snap sent the ball over the punter’s head and into the end zone, slicing the margin to 28-18 with two and a half minutes remaining.

The Golden Hawks' special team’s unit gave a burst of momentum as Jaedin Raguindin, utilizing his speed and agility, returned the ball on the safety kick to the Cardinals' 35-yard line.

River Dell looked primed to punch the ball into the end zone, but the Westwood defense rose to the occasion after the Golden Hawks reached the 18-yard line and forced four straight incomplete passes.

“It was awesome to see, and we were all exhausted late in the game, but everyone stepped up,” Tyler Hanson remarked.

Once the final buzzer went off and the handshake lines concluded, the Westwood players rushed over to the trophy and raised the Bird Bowl Cage Trophy in unison with their coaches to celebrate the victory.

“It means a lot and we’ve worked really hard and it’s a game we circle every year,” Ed Rasmussen stated. “We talk about the captains, Pat(Stark), me, Tyler(Hanson) and Nick(Klein) and keeping the tradition of Westwood football and been the past five years and we just let our pads do the talking.”

Tyler Hanson on the win, “We were just really dialed in practice and knew River Dell was going to come in and show us their best as they always do and we just had to do the same.”

“We returned most of our guys and just had the full confidence and a small town in Westwood we’ve all been friends and playing ball for so long and trust each other so much.” “It feels amazing to get that win and make the community and coaches proud and everyone from 15 to 50 years old comes out and supports us every single week.”