Student sections screeching, cowbells ringing, instruments blasting and cameras flashing were all sensations of Friday night’s game between Westfield and Ridge. The Blue Devils were marching into a hostile environment as the 12th-ranked Red Devils hosted their homecoming game.
After a promising third quarter, optimism was in the air for the Blue Devils to pull off the upset. However, after a few too many costly mistakes and an inability to stop Ridge’s dominant run game, the Blue Devils fell short 28-10 after putting up a valiant effort.
The game started with a commanding Ridge drive, scoring a touchdown in four minutes. The Red Devils offense is run almost completely on the ground, only completing one pass all game. Westfield, however, was not caught off guard, head coach Matthew Andzel said, “We knew that coming in, they score 40 points a game, if anything we slowed down what they’ve been doing.”
It took some adjusting, but after the first drive, Westfield’s defense was able to make multiple consecutive stops to set up their offense. After a huge connection from sophomore quarterback Jordan Walsh to senior Colin Coyle, the Blue Devils were able to score a field goal early in the second quarter.
Nevertheless, Westfield’s strong defensive streak came to an end after a fumble that set Ridge up to score right before the end of the half. At half-time, the Blue Devils had dug themselves into a small hole with Ridge leading 14-3.
After a long halftime spectacle to celebrate Ridges homecoming, it was time for both teams to take the field again. Both teams struggled to find the endzone for almost the entirety of the third quarter, with two Blue Devil interceptions. But that’s when it was time for some Westfield turnover magic of their own. Senior Owen Williams seemingly found himself with the ball after it popped into his arms in scuffle, and ran it nearly 50 yards for a Blue Devil touchdown.
The score was 14-10 heading into the fourth and the Blue Devils were hungry to make a name for themselves. However Ridge had other plans, and their resilient run attack began to tire Westfield out, and then scored to make it 21-10.
More costly turnovers kept the Blue Devils from closing the score gap and they found themselves down 21-10 with Ridge knocking on their endzone with only 45 seconds left. In controversial fashion, the Red Devils punched in one more touchdown instead of running out the clock, making the final 28-10.
The outcome was not what the Blue Devils were looking for, captain Jack Martin said, “We had too many mistakes on both sides of the ball, too many turnovers and just didn’t capitalize on as many opportunities as we should have.”
Next week the Blue Devils will play in their first game of the postseason. On Nov. 1 away, against Northern Highlands, they will be looking to bounce back and hopefully start a long and successful playoff run.
Senior Colin Coyle said, “We gotta leave this game in the past, and just put full attention on the next team we play.”
