Ridgewood Runs to Victory in Season Opener

The Ridgewood football team kicked off their 2010 season in impressive fashion by dismantling Bergen tech 42-0. The two teams met in Hackensack on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, where the Maroons excelled behind a ball control, ground-and-pound offense that racked up almost 200 rushing yards and a whopping six touchdowns.

Ridgewood was led by a mutli-pronged attack out of the backfield, featuringa pair of key seniors in Kyle Gibson and Eddie Blair IV.

Gibson, a senior captain, set the tone early thanks to a four-yard fullback dive up the middle to put the Maroons ahead 7-0. The score was set up beautifully by a 24-yard punt return from Blair which left the Maroons deep in Bergen tech territory.

Gibson and Blair took turns gashing the Bergen Tech defense – it was the theme of the afternoon; their combination of speed and power proved to be too much for the Knights to handle.

Never was that more evident than on Ridgewood's very next drive. The Maroon offense marched right down the field, going 54 yards on eight smash mouth runs, capped off yet again by a Gibson run up the gut.

Then it was Blair's turn. The senior halfback gave Ridgewood a commanding 21-0 lead after scoring on a bruising 12-yard run in which he carried two Knight defenders in to the end zone.

The three touchdown advantage was more than enough for a rock-solid Ridgewood defense that totaled four sacks, two interceptions and a forced fumble. The Maroons ¾ alignment seemed to give the Bergen Tech spread offense problems all game; the Knights never mounted a substantial attack.

Bergen tech's lone scoring opportunity of the day came with just under two minutes remaining in the first half.  The knights were facing a 4^th and 10 on the Ridgewood 15 yard line, but instead of kicking a chip shot field goal, they decided to go for it. The decision backfired – Maroon Doug Licitra intercepted the pass in the end zone to give Ridgewood all the momentum heading in to the break.

In the third quarter, Ridgewood picked up right where they left off as the backfield by committee continued to pound the hapless Bergen Tech defense. Both Gibson and Blair would on to tack on another touchdown each as they ended the day with a combined 94 yards on 15 carries and 5 touchdowns.

Ridgewood's sixth and final score of the day was tallied by back-up running back John D'uva, who came in the fourth quarter to close things out. D'uva, a senior, did so in style with a 37-yard touchdown run in which he cut all the way across the field to avoid the would-be tacklers.

The win moved Ridgewood's record to 1-0 on the young season, but things figure to get tougher in a hurry. In the next two weeks, Ridgewood will square off with a couple of Bergen County powerhouses – they'll face Don Bosco Prep, ranked as the 2009 national champion by some publications, and perenial winners Ramapo in back-to-back games.