Ruddy Interception Caps Chatham's Football Scrimmage vs. Randolph as Cougars Hold Their Own in Physical Matchup vs. Rams

RANDOLPH, NJ -- The Chatham football team started out its scrimmage vs. Randolph on Friday by moving the ball into the end zone on its first possession and capped it with a defensive stop on Kyle Ruddy's interception.

In between, the Cougars showed they could hold their own in the physical skirmish with the Rams, taking a positive step toward the 2024 season opener vs. Morris Hills at home on Sept. 7.

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"I thought it was a really good workout here," Evan Picariello , Chatham coach, said. "I thought it was a physical scrimmage on both sides. Offensively, I thought we were able to move the ball. We're trying to run our whole offense here and see what kind of identity we have on both sides of the ball. I thought defensively, again our pad level (was off) and we're missing tackles because of that."

Chatham got off to a fast start in the scrimmage when it opened with the ball. Senior running back Alex McWilliams took the handoff from quarterback Will Allen on the first play and juked his way past the Rams for a 25-yard gain (see below).

Allen followed by completing a pass to Ryan Carey and connecting with tight end Tommy Douglas three times to key the 80-yard drive that was culminated by Allen's 13-yard touchdown pass to Michael MacAniff (see below).

On Randolph's first stint with the football, the Rams drove to the Chatham 10-yard line before Carey made a tackle for a six-yard loss that helped stop the drive short of the end zone (see below).

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During a situational series near the end of the scrimmage, Chatham received a big catch from Douglas, who leaped to grab the pass from Allen for a 25-yard gain to key the drive (see below).

The 25-yard reception by Douglas advanced the ball to the Randolph 15 and preceded a 33-yard field goal that McWilliams drilled through the uprights (see below) with Allen making the hold.

Randolph's offense then moved to the Chatham 15 before Ruddy came up with his pick of the sideline pass on the final play of the scrimmage (see below).

"We got into a little bit of situational football there and we came away with three points and we dug in our heels in the red zone and got an interception," Picariello said. "This is just like another part of camp for us. We're trending in the right direction, there is no doubt about it. We have to stay hungry. It's never as good as it looks and it's never as bad as it seems."

Chatham will play a game scrimmage at Cougar Field vs. Summit on Thursday at 4 p.m. in its final live action before it opens the 2024 season at home vs. Morris Hills with a 1 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, Sept. 7.

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