Ridgefield Football Rolls Over Stamford In Season Opener

Led by the strong overall play of senior quarterback Griffin McCarty, Ridgefield routed Stamford, 35-7, Wednesday night in the season opener for both teams.

McCarty accounted for three touchdowns, rushing for two scores and passing for another, and  also recorded an interception on defense.

The signal-caller threw for nearly 100 yards and rushed for 30 in the first half, helping the Tigers jump out to a 21-0 lead at the intermission. McCarty ran for TD of 20 and 2 yards and tossed a 4-yard scoring strike to Stephen Gherardi.

"I thought McCarty's seasoning last year and in the preseason has made him more confident," Ridgefield coach Kevin Callahan said.  "He made really good decisions."

Ridgefield's defense was led by tackle Tommy Jordan and linebacker John Turner, who returned an interception 16 yards for a score in the second half. The Tigers ' defensive unit did not allow a first down until late in the first half, when it came up with three interceptions.

In the second half,  Ridgefield started finding large holesin Stamford's otherwise solid defense.

Sophomore running back Bryan Jimenez carried for gains of 23 and 19 yards on consecutive plays. His second run resulted in his first varsity touchdown and gave Ridgefield  a 28-0 cushion.

"Early on,  we ran away from Tommy Jordan because they were putting two and three guys in front of him," Callahan said. 

"I told Jimenez to hang in there because even though he wasn't getting a lot of yards at first, if he finds a crease he becomes very dangerous, and that is what happened on those two plays."

Turner's return late in the third capped the scoring, completing an impressive opener for the Tigers, who entered the season with high hopes after a 9-1 record last year.

Turner also had a 50-yard touchdown run called back because of a penalty.

"We knew we needed to take care of business early," Callahan said.  "Stamford has a new head coach (Bryan Hocter),  but has some very talented kids and we had to be ready to play.

"We are a young team,  too, starting five sophomores, and you just never know. There were some mistakes, but (it was) drastically better than I expected.  I really liked the way they played as a unit."

With the outcome no longer in doubt, sophomore Connor Rowe took over for McCarty late in the third quarter and finished the game.

Stamford scored its only touchdown late in the fourth period on a sustained drive after Callahan pulled his starters.

Ridgefield kicker Chris 'O'Dea missed two field goals, but four of his five kickoffs sailed into the end zone for touchbacks.

Ridgefield freshman cheerleader Sarah Heinzmann sang the National Anthem.