FOOTBALL: BRHS Homecoming Court Honored, but Ridge Defeats Panthers, 47-10

BRIDGEWATER, NJ – After four games on the road to begin 2024, it was Homecoming night and a massive home opener for the Bridgewater-Raritan High School football team against rival Ridge High School: ranked No. 19 in New Jersey.

Prior to kickoff, Bridgewater-Raritan’s Austin Guzman and Lucas Ovando were named 2024 Panther Homecoming Royalty and were crowned by 2023 Panther Homecoming Royalty: Haley Clark and Robert Mihalov. Also honored as members of Bridgewater-Raritan’s 2024 Homecoming Court were the following pairs of students, as shared pregame in the 2024-25 debut of longtime Bridgewater-Raritan football and basketball announcer Jim Gano:

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• Siyonna Naidu & Gianna Spalazzi
• Bryan Wilkinson & Nicholas St. John
• Darsh Srivastava & Advika Joshi
• Emery Gayeski & Sammy Pavlik
• Divyansha Nashine & Rebecca Puszkin
• Harrison Fromberg & Breelyn Myers
• Carolina Tamboer & Casey Walsh
• Matthew DiEduardo & Jillian Burns
• Jacqueline Shimko & Michael Barbiero

Although the Panthers then struck first on the game’s opening drive, Ridge senior Ryan Turner had other ideas for the visitors, who came into Bridgewater fresh off of an upset over Phillipsburg High School one week earlier.

With the Red Devils trailing by a field goal early, Turner exploded for a career-high six total touchdowns on 275 total yards from scrimmage alone for Ridge (3-1, 3-0), which piled on 460 yards of offense in a 47-10 victory at Bridgewater-Raritan (2-3, 1-1) Friday, September 27, at John Basilone Memorial Field in Bridgewater.

Junior Joe Squicciarini booted a 39-yard field goal for the Panthers to end the game’s first drive with 10:06 left in the first quarter, but senior Aiden Stieglitz (11 RUSH, 93 YDS, TD) put Ridge ahead for good with 5:41 left in the opening period after a one-yard touchdown run. Ridge senior quarterback Connor McLachlan (5/6, 191 YDS, 4 TDS) flicked a 31-yard pass to classmate David Hamilton on this drive to put the Red Devils into the red zone before Stieglitz punched it in at the goal line.

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Turner’s first touchdown of the night then came on a 64-yard run to the house with 3:20 left in the first quarter on Ridge’s next drive, and this extended the Red Devils’ lead to 14-3 heading into the second period.

Four of McLachlan’s five remaining passes were not only completions, but touchdown throws to Turner of 50 and 45 yards in the second quarter to put Ridge up 27-3 at halftime, 14 yards in the third quarter, and then 51 yards in the fourth quarter.

Turner’s sixth and final score came on a 16-yard rush with 1:38 remaining to put an exclamation point on his career night and Ridge’s big victory. He finished with eight carries for 115 rushing yards and two touchdowns while adding four touchdowns in as many receptions for 160 receiving yards.

Ridge senior Sean Davis converted four out of his six extra-point attempts to round out the scoring for the Red Devils, who allowed 251 total yards in their victory, including just 65 on the ground.

To round out the scoring for the Panthers, Bridgewater-Raritan senior Nick DiEsso (7 REC, 112 YDS, TD) caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Declan Kurdyla (13/29, 186 YDS, TD) early in the third quarter, and Squicciarini successfully kicked the corresponding extra point.

Through five games, Kurdyla has 969 total passing yards and 11 touchdowns in the air along with 199 rushing yards and one more touchdown on the ground as the Panthers’ first-year starting quarterback. DiEsso leads Bridgewater-Raritan with 19 catches for 319 yards and three receiving touchdowns, while junior Denzel Amoafo has averaged just over five-and-a-half yards per carry en route to a team-high 378 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns.

Bridgewater-Raritan (2-3) will try to bounce back next at Elizabeth High School (2-3) next at 6 p.m. Friday, October 4, at Williams Field in Elizabeth, while Ridge (3-1) will try to pick up right where it left off against Union High School (0-5) next at 7:30 p.m. on this date at Lee Field in Basking Ridge.

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