Ridgefield’s defense upends No. 5 Newtown
NEWTOWN — The last time the Ridgefield and Newtown football teams met, they combined for 68 points in the 2013 CIAC Class LL quarterfinals.
Friday in Newtown, the defenses for both teams would ensure there was no shootout but the lack of scoring certainly did not diminish the drama.
Ridgefield won the defensive battle, holding on for a 10-7 win in the Alliance game over No. 5 Newtown.
“The ball went back and forth tonight and it was a classic bend but don’t break game. It was just two good teams getting after it,” Ridgefield coach Kevin Callahan said. “We got banged up early, we lost two starting receivers and one of them is our punter. Things are not bright at that point. There is just something there with these guys. We figured it out at halftime against Greenwich and we have been putting it together.”
Ridgefield’s defense was called upon time and again, answering the bell each round.
After Newtown scored with 10:29 to play on a 24yard pass from Dylan Magazu to Cam Ward, Ridgefield was forced to punt and Newtown began marching down the field again.
Magazu broke free for a 50-yard touchdown run but a holding penalty called it back with 7:38 to go.
Newtown would punt on that drive but got the ball back again with 2:26 to play.
The Nighthawks again seemed destined for the end zone but a wide-open touchdown pass was dropped on the 10-yard line and on the next play Ridgefield’s Chris Reinhardt sealed the win with an interception.
“That’s the way it goes sometimes. I have been around long enough that a lot of those have gone against me,” Callahan said. “(Reinhardt) is a young man who has been out because he had a positive then a negative (COVID-19) test. He didn’t play last week against Xavier and he just came back today.”
On the night, Newtown had two long touchdowns called back on penalties.
“We ended up on the short end right there,” Newtown coach Bobby Pattison said. “We had some opportunities and only scored seven points. We should have scored more. Our defense played great. They got the ball back for us at the end. At the end of the game, we had opportunities but we didn’t finish.”
With both defenses locked in, Ridgefield got on the board as time expired in the first half with Ignacio Brina kicking 35-yard field goal.
The Tigers would add to their lead in the third quarter with Justin Keller hitting Kyle Colsey down the sideline for a 47-yard touchdown.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Matthew Shepard, Ridgefield, Sr. DB: Shepard was matched up on the outside all night and made big play after big play, including knocking down a pass in the end zone on a 4th-and-goal in the second quarter.
QUOTABLE
“I just tried to stay home and kept looking my man’s hips. Not trying to look at the quarterback because that’s when they run a double-route,” Shepard said. “They had nothing on us in the pass game. They kept running the ball outside with the QB, who is fast, and the running back who is really fast, we just tried to contain them and get them back inside.”
Sericson @stamfordadvocate.com; @EricsonSports