Football: After routing McMahon, RHS faces key game with Trumbull

Written by Eric Silverstadt
Thursday, 05 November 2009 14:24

The smile plastered on Ridgefield High football coach Kevin Callahan’s face as he greeted the parents of his graduating seniors before kickoff last Friday disappeared immediately when his team took the field against Brien McMahon.

But the stoic coach certainly was smiling inside while watching his Tigers methodically dismantle the visitors by a score of 42-6 in front of a surprisingly sparse crowd at Tiger Hollow.

Ridgefield scored on three of its first five possessions to open a 21-0 halftime lead en route to the easy win. The Tigers rushed for 274 yards, while holding the Senators to fewer than 100 yards of total offense.

“We just overpowered them,” said Callahan, whose team improved to 6-1 with its fourth straight win. “We kept it simple and they couldn’t stop our running game.”

After both teams went three and out to open the contest, the Tigers scored first on a 38-yard touchdown run by Drew Arcoleo. the first of six Sean Cobelli extra points made it 7-0.

The Ridgefield defense, stingy as ever, clamped down on McMahon, forcing another punt. Griff McCarty, in his third start at quarterback, calmly led a sustained drive downfield, again culminating with another touchdown run by the reliable Arcoleo (his ninth of the season) from 20 yards out.

DeVaghn Millington recovered a fumble to stop a McMahon drive in the second quarter and was rewarded when the offensive line blew open a hole for Millington to scamper for a 34-yard touchdown, giving the Tigers a 21-0 halftime lead.

The first half was marked by crisp, explosive play from the Ridgefield offensive linemen, a sense of confident focus as they pushed their opponents around. This contrasted with their previous week’s effort, also a 42-6 victory (against Norwalk), that was marred by 12 penalties.

Ridgefield dominated the first-half statistics, amassing more than 220 total yards of total offense, while limiting the Senators (2-5) to 43. The only blip was a minor leg injury to Arcoelo that ended the senior co-captain’s night early. A bit of irony here, as the squad, according to trainer Scott Gluckenhaus, began the game fully healthy for the first time all year.

With Arcoleo on the bench, Kevin Walters stepped in as he has done all year and the Tigers continued their polished effort as Callahan allowed McCarty to work on his passing game. Millington, lined up at wing or in the backfield, added two long runs.

Ridgefield increased its lead to 28-0 on McCarty’s eight-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

Walters opened the fourth-quarter scoring on a 10-yard run before McMahon got its only points on Chris Jerome’s three-yard touchdown run.

The Tigers then completed the scoring as reserve quarterback Jack Heller connected with Chris O’Dea for a 62-yard touchdown strike.

Notes: Despite the win, Ridgefield slipped a spot to ninth in the Class LL state playoff point standings. The top four teams at the end of the regular season advance to the state playoffs.

The Tigers travel to Trumbull on Friday for a showdown with the 5-2 Golden Eagles. “If we have any post-season aspirations we have to get it done against Trumbull,” said Callahan.

Fullback Charlie Gravitte led Ridgefield with 93 yards rushing on 13 carries. Arcoleo had 78 yards on eight carries and Millington finished with 75 yards on just three carries. Walters added 39 yards on six rushes.

McCarty completed one-of-nine passes for 11 yards. Heller was two-for-two for 86 yards, including the touchdown to O’Dea.

John Turner and Stephen Courtney paced the RHS defense with six tackles apiece. Alex Howard, Nick Pambianchi and Courtney all had one sack.