GLEN RIDGE, NJ — The Glen Ridge High School football team will get to play in front of its home fans for the postseason.
Under first-year head coach Chris Strumolo, the fourth-seeded Ridgers will host fifth-seeded Pompton Lakes in the quarterfinals of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s North Jersey, Section 1, Group 1 state playoffs on Saturday, Nov. 2, at Hurrell Field at noon.
The winner of Glen Ridge and Pompton Lakes will face the winner of top-seeded Butler and No. 8 seed Weehawken.
Last season, the No. 7 seed Ridgers upset No. 2 seed Waldwick/Midland Park 33-26 in the quarterfinals before losing to Shabazz 58-14 in the semifinals of the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 1 state playoffs.
The Ridgers lost a wild 54-42 decision to Dwight Morrow on Saturday, Oct. 26, to move to a 4-4 record on the season.
Glen Ridge senior quarterback Brad Foster completed nine of 16 passes for 216 yards, including touchdown passes of 44 yards to junior John Leone and 5 yards to junior Zach Konetzni. Foster also had three rushing TDs of 5 yards, 7 yards and 1 yard, and finished with 86 rushing yards on 13 carries. Knotezni had 14 carries for 49 yards. Senior Luke Olczak had five carries for 26 yards, including a 1-yard TD run, and he also had three catches for 59 yards. Leone finished with two catches for 69 yards and freshman Aiden Kelly had two catches for 63 yards. Junior Myles Adams had one catch for 20 yards. Sophomore lineman Paul Wiley posted nine tackles, defensive back Olczak had eight tackles and lineman Leone had seven tackles to lead the Ridgers defense.
Despite the heartbreaking loss to Dwight Morrow, Strumolo will use the experience to make corrections in time for the playoff game against Pompton Lakes.
“Crazy game on Saturday where we made some plays on offense, but could not get off the field on defense, especially on third down,” said Strumolo in an email to The Glen Ridge Paper. “Although it was a tough loss, it is a game that will help us make some corrections to be ready for Pompton Lakes. We are excited to be in the playoffs and get our seniors one more game at home as the fourth seed. My goal this year was to compete and be tough and see where we were after eight weeks and I am proud of our boys for putting in the work to qualify us in the playoffs.”
Several Ridgers shared their thoughts abuot the playoffs in email messages to The Glen Ridge Paper.
Kelly said, “From the start, no one expected us to be where we are, but we’ve shown up every day, put in the work and proven that we belong, refusing to back down from anyone. Coach Strum’s leadership has given us the direction and confidence we need, and as a team, we trust him to guide us on the right path. Now, with the playoffs ahead of us, we’re ready to take everything we’ve built, leave it all on the field and fight for every opportunity to keep this season alive.”
Freshman two-way lineman Tyler Kamil said, “Coming into this season, our goal was to qualify for the playoffs. As a team, we’ve come in and worked hard every week, giving 110% effort, no matter what we have faced, reminding ourself who we were doing it for. Through our setbacks, we’ve been told ‘bend, but don’t break’ and we have embodied this saying as a team. So even after our week 8 loss to Dwight Morrow, we will continue the hard work that has led us to qualifying for the playoffs, and come into this week stronger, and more focused, in an opportunity to keep our season alive. We have a great group of guys, great seniors and we’ve really just bonded together as a team and we’re really excited for the game on Saturday.”
John Leone said, “It feels great to get a playoff game at home. We had some ups and downs this season, but continued to battle and get better. We showed this season we can compete with the best, as we battled Cedar Grove to 21-21 at the half and that showed we can compete with the best.”
NJSIAA’s North Jersey, Section 1, Group 1 state playoffs
Quarterfinals
- No. 8 seed Weehawken (4-4 record) at No. 1 seed Butler (8-0)
- No. 5 seed Pompton Lakes (3-5) at No. 4 seed Glen Ridge (4-4)
- No. 6 seed Lenape Valley (4-5) t No. 3 seed Mountain Lakes (4-4)
- No. 7 seed Park Ridge (4-3-1) at No. 2 seed New Milford (6-2)
2024 Glen Ridge results
- Sept. 6: win, at Whippany Park, 21-9
- Sept. 14: loss, at Newark Central (Shabazz Stadium), 36-13
- Sept. 21: loss, vs. Hanover Park, 21-12
- Sept. 28: win, vs. Hoboken, 17-6
- Oct. 5: win, at Newark Collegiate Academy, 18-8
- Oct. 10: loss, at Cedar Grove, 49-28
- Oct. 19: win, vs. Verona, 21-14
- Oct. 26: loss, vs. Dwight Morrow, 54-4
Photo Courtesy of John K. Horsky
Glen Ridge HS football team gears up for state sectional playoffs, hosts Pompton Lakes added by Joe Ragozzino on
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