Being a was part of a group attending three games in one day, we decided to leave in the middle of the third quarter when Park Ridge was leading, 27-6, in order to make it to DePaul in time for the start of their 4:00 game. Nonetheless, this is enough to give a glimpse as to why Park Ridge won.
Park Ridge opened the game driving down the field, but lost the ball on a Vince Pinto fumble that Boonton recovered on the 21. The Bombers went to work, going on a methodical drive that led to a 6-0 lead when Joe Cannizzaro scored from the 1-yard line on fourth-and-goal. After a Park Ridge punt, Boonton had a nice drive that abruptly ended when Park Ridge recovered a Trey Calabar fumble with nine seconds left in the quarter.
The Owls’ fourth down attempt at midfield was stopped short when Cannizzaro gave Pinto a jarring, head-on hit short of the first down. The Bombers were forced to punt and this is when Park Ridge got going. Pinto connected on passes of 35 yards to Brendan Hughes, followed by another to Zachary Lewis pass that gave them first-and-goal on the 3. Pinto dove across the goal line on the following play to tie things at 6-6. The Owls forced a punt and moved down the field, setting up first-and-goal on the 2-yard line. Lewis scored on a counter run to the left on the following play to put Park Ridge ahead, 13-6.
After coming close on previous punt attempts, Park Ridge took advantage when a poor snap enabled Daniel Kim to block the punt and give the Owls possession on the 32. Pinto found Lewis for 23 yards to the 1-yard line and Pinto scored on the following play for a 20-6 lead with 25 seconds left in the half.
After a Boonton punt to begin the third quarter, Park Ridge drove down the field and Pinto capped it off with a 10-yard touchdown run.
This was enough to see why Park Ridge won this, 48-26.
The previous week, Boonton had at least five runs of 20 yards or more and there was only one run that amounted to anywhere near 20 yards. The Park Ridge defense did a good job of putting bodies near the ball, limiting the length of the Boonton runs. After the first two Boonton drives, the defense prevented them from moving the ball consistently. Boonton had only thrown 27 passes heading into this game and were put into positions where they had to throw, getting them out of their comfort zone. In addition, Park Ridge’s air game was very effective and produced several plays at least 20 yards.
The game turned into a high scoring affair, but Boonton was never able to cut into their deficit, significantly, and that is a big reason why they lost. The other big reason is they couldn’t stop the Park Ridge offense. Add the two up and that is why Park Ridge won.