FRANKLIN LAKES − Colin Burns and Ridgewood were challenged at halftime to look within themselves for the answers rather than at their coaches.
Burns ran for three touchdowns in the second half and the Maroons' defense scored in the final minute to seal Friday's 29-17 victory over Ramapo in the Super Football Conference.
“We came out pretty slow, but that talk in the locker room really turned us around,” Burns said. “And that really hit my heart.”
“There weren’t a ton of adjustments made, other than a check on our kids’ character,” Ridgewood coach Torre Watson said. “We had a great game plan on both sides of the ball, and we just weren’t executing in the first half. They were playing harder than us, and they were playing faster.”
Burns, a senior, scored on runs of 10, 67 and 62 yards to give Ridgewood (3-0) a 22-10 lead entering the fourth quarter of this SFC Liberty Red Division showdown.
Maroons senior defensive lineman Max Caruso sealed the win, and comeback from a 10-0 halftime deficit, by returning a fumble 27 yards for a TD in the final seconds.
Ramapo, retooling after reaching last year's Group 4 state final, scored on its first two possessions for the 10-0 lead. Senior Charlie Wingfield kicked a 21-yard field goal, and junior Liam Hayward capped a 10-play, 60-yard drive with a 2-yard TD run.
“We tackled great in the first half. The second half the tackling wasn’t there,” said Nick Guttuso, in his first season as Ramapo coach after a long stint as a Green Raiders’ assistant and the previous two seasons leading Demarest. “So we have to focus back on that, and we’ve got to execute the offense.”
What it means
Ridgewood should break into the New Jersey Super 25 rankings after receiving votes last week following shutout wins over Clifton and Montclair.
The Maroons are No. 5 in the North Jersey Public Top 20, one spot ahead of Ramapo, and should do no worse than hold that spot.
“We started slow, down 10-0, and when we went into the locker room, there weren’t a lot of adjustments,” Caruso said. “There was finding out who we are, and we kind of unlocked that. And now we know we’re in this to compete.”
By the numbers
Ridgewood amassed 256 total yards, with 189 coming in the second half, and one first-possession turnover. Burns’ three TDs all came on runs to the right, and he carried 14 times for 164 yards, featuring nine second-half rushes for 151 yards.
“I love the quote, ‘Tough people get out of tough situations,’” Burns said. “We had our back against the wall, and our offense did exactly what we can do all season.”
Ramapo had 278 total yards, including 160 in the first half, and two turnovers. The Green Raiders did not break any big plays, with the longest a 16-yard pass from junior Casey Grusser to junior receiver Sal Livoti on a fourth-and-9 to help set up Hayward's fourth-quarter TD.
They said it
“Obviously disappointed with the outcome, but give all the credit to Ridgewood,” Guttuso said. “They played a great game, and we just have to get better.”
“Our guys just didn’t quit, they didn’t quit on themselves,” Watson said. “The first half we were not playing up to our potential at all. We were fortunate enough to be close, and the challenge to them at halftime was to play your brand of football, and do what we’re capable of doing.”
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Ridgewood football turns it on in second half for big win over Ramapo
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