Rutherford 28 Park Ridge 7
October 21,2023
Rutherford jumped out to a 20-0 lead against Park Ridge in a miserable, rainy first half and went on to win their third, consecutive NJIC championship, 26-7.
I left at halftime and watched the rest of the game on nj.com. More on that later.
First Quarter: Rutherford came out and marched down the field, consuming five minutes on nine plays, eight of them runs. They capped it off with a 1-yard run by Ryan Ward out of the wildcat for a 7-0 lead. Cole Goumas had the lion’s share of the carries and their lone pass was a 17-yard completion from Myles Balchan to Matt Scheibe. After a Park Ridge run, Rutherford had the ball on the 41 and a Park Ridge penalty moved the ball to the 36. Then the Bulldogs went five plays – all runs by Goumas, who scored from five yards out for a 13-0 lead. Park Ridge had another three-and-out, punted, and Rutherford had the ball on their 27. Balchan found Scheibe again, this time for 63 yards to the 10-yard line on the quarter’s final play.
Second Quarter: Goumas lined up in the wildcat on the first play of the quarter out of the wildcat and it was 20-0, Bulldogs. Park Ridge moved the ball on their next drive behind a 42-yard run by Luke Macfie, before being brought down by a pursuing Ward on the 18-yard line. After that, the Owls had two runs netting one yard and two incompletions, turning the ball over on downs. Park Ridge moved the ball again in the final two minutes and this time they capitalized. Cole Hughes found Macfie for 21 yards to the Rutherford 22. Hughes then connected with Mike Montgomery for 22 yards to the 5-yard line for a first-and-goal. Three plays later, Hughes found Jacob Shannon in the end zone for the touchdown in the final seconds of the half to put the Owls on the board.
Third Quarter: Park Ridge fumbled on the second play of the quarter, giving Rutherford the ball the Park Ridge 30. A 10-yard run by Goumas on their first play brought the ball to the 20. Park Ridge’s defense stiffened and a 37-yard field goal attempt by Drew Carney was no good. Hughes completed a 26-yard pass to Shannon on the following play – a tremendous over-the-shoulder catch. The Owls continued to move the ball, reaching Rutherford’s 27, but turned the ball over on downs with three minutes left.
Fourth Quarter: Rutherford’s first drive of the quarter featured a 17-yard run by Goumas, another first down, and a 39-yard touchdown run by Goumas to put the game away at 26-7 with 6:24 left. Park Ridge moved the ball again, but their fourth down pass was intercepted by Nick Lora in the end zone with 2;21 left.
Comments:.Rutherford came out strong and dominated in the first quarter. Goumas was the driving force and rushed for 182 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries. Their defense would bend at times, but didn’t break. With quarterback Chris Gioia out for the year with a broken collarbone, Balchan did a solid job stepping in as a freshman. Scheibe had a good game on both sides of the ball, catching two passes for 80 yards. Ward had a good game on defense and showed very good hustle when he chased down Macfie on the long run in the second quarter that probably would have been a touchdown and Park Ridge did not score on the drive. The Bulldogs won their third consecutive NJIC crown and Balchan got his feet wet before the playoffs begin next week.
Park Ridge got into a 20-0 hole they could not get out of. They moved the ball a few times, but there were no points, except for the drive just before the half. I just get the feeling Rutherford was going to find a way to win no matter what happened. They now have to get ready for the playoffs and have a good chance to advance – Rutherford was a heavy favorite to win the NJIC championship throughout the year. They have good players, such as Hughes, Macfie, Shannon, and two-way lineman Deron McLaughlin.
It was a tough night for yours truly. The game moved up from 7:00 to 6:00 during the day. I hurried after work, got my gear at home, and drove up to Park Ridge. The weather report had no rain between 5:00 and 8:00 with the rain picking up after that. When I arrived, I realized I forgot to bring my rain pants and I left my umbrella in the car. It wasn’t raining when I arrived twenty minutes before the game started. But the rain started just before the game and was steady throughout the first half. In fact, it was very heavy late in the second quarter. At that point, I decided to head home and watch the rest of it on nj.com. With the quarter-mile walk to my car and a drive home when I only stopped to buy beer, I got inside and discovered I missed the third quarter. Anyway, I watched most of the fourth quarter and rewatched this morning to do my report. It was not the most enjoyable night and if I knew it would rain like that, I would have stayed home and watched the game. I was very mad at myself for forgetting to bring my rain pants and for forgetting to bring my umbrella with me from the car. I had a few allow me to share an umbrella, but I still got myself wet.