BASKING RIDGE – The Ridge Red Devils (2-2) upset the Bridgewater-Raritan Panthers (4-1) 33-14 on Friday. A dominant offensive showing from the Red Devils helped them secure their first home victory of the season.
Coming into Friday’s contest, Bridgewater-Raritan entered in arguably their best form to start a season since 2016. Starting 4-0 for the first time since 2016, the Panthers looked to get revenge on a Red Devils squad that defeated them 47-10 in 2024.
That would not be the case, however, as the Red Devils proved to be the better team on the night. With senior quarterback Sawyer Paul earning the start for Ridge, the offense started to click immediately.
On their first drive of the night, Ridge commenced the scoring as junior running back, Stephen Coffey, found the endzone on an 11-yard carry. That score would put the Red Devils up 7-0 with 5:19 left in the first quarter.
Even after allowing an explosive touchdown reception from Bridgewater receiver Mikey Bratus in the first quarter, the Ridge offense was blazing hot in the second frame.
First, senior running back Lenny Paolillo burst to the endzone on a 25-yard run to hand Ridge the lead back with 10:10 remaining in the second quarter. Paolillo would then be the recipient of a Paul passing touchdown with 58 seconds to go in the quarter.
Prior to Paolillo’s receiving touchdown, junior running back C.J. Griffith became another option for the Red Devils on the ground. With 5:35 left in the second quarter, Griffith gave Ridge their third touchdown of the night, making it 21-7 following the PAT.
Overall on the night, accustomed to their rich history of running the ball, Ridge was able to outwork their foe mightily. With 216 total rushing yards and three scores on the ground, Ridge showed why an incredible run game is effective vs a great squad like the Panthers.
After the game Friday, first year head coach for Ridge, Jeff Sutherland, praised his squad’s ability to move the ball well.
“It starts with the boys up front,” Sutherland said. “It starts with the offensive line, communication, understanding your assignments and then from there, yeah the backfield did a great job. We had a lot of people that are getting the ball and we’re distributing the ball around and that’s what you want, you want to be balanced in the backfield.”
While the second half was not as high scoring as the first half, Ridge still found ways to make big plays. Early in the third quarter, Paul struck again in the passing game, this time finding junior tight end, Greg Brown, for a 39-yard score. Brown’s touchdown reception would add to Ridge’s impressive scoreline, making it 33-14 with 8:44 to go in the quarter.
It was also a big night on the defensive side for Ridge as the Red Devils shutout an outstanding Bridgewater offense in the second half. Notably, senior defensive lineman, Nate Engdahl, notched two sacks, two tackles for loss and eight tackles on the night. Running back and linebacker, Nick Pfennig, was also terrific as he was making fantastic plays on both sides of the ball.
“In our house, at Ridge, we’re looking at the process over the outcome, what’s going to lead to better wins, how are we going to improve our team. We’re looking at us and what we can do to improve and get better.”
With a great win behind them, the Red Devils will use their well-earned confidence to take down a winless Union squad on the road next Saturday.
“It kind of sets the tone for them understanding that you can play against good teams and we can win against those good teams… we got a great win, but we can’t be going up and down, we gotta get ready for Union next.”
