Glen Ridge HS football team gears up for the state sectional playoffs

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

GLEN RIDGE, NJ — The Glen Ridge High School football team was on a mission this season.

The Ridgers wanted to qualify for the state sectional playoffs.

Thanks to a mid-season turnaround, the Ridgers achieved that goal.

Glen Ridge, with a 5-4 overall record, earned the No. 7 seed in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s North Jersey, Section 2, Group 1 state playoffs. The Ridgers will visit No. 2 seed Waldwick/Midland Park in the quarterfinals at Waldwick on Friday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m. Waldwick/Midland Park is 6-2.

If Glen Ridge wins, they will play the winner between No. 6 seed Shabazz and No. 3 seed Cedar Grove in the semifinals.

The Ridgers had a tough start to the season, going 1-3. But they regrouped with a four-game winning streak that proved pivotal in earning their first playoff berth since 2017.

In his first season as the head coach of the Ridgers last year, Manj Singh brought enthusiasm to the program. Though they missed out on the playoffs, the Ridgers went on to win the North, Group 1 state regional tournament championship by beating Hawthorne in the final at Hurrell Field to finish the season on a three-game winning streak and end with a 5-5 overall record.

Singh and the Ridgers are looking forward to this year’s state sectional playoffs.

“I think we have a really good chance,” Singh said.

This season the Ridgers returned several key players, including senior starting quarterback Dylan O’Neil, who became the program’s all-time leader in passing yards, eclipsing the mark during the team’s 8-7 home win over Verona on Saturday, Oct. 14. That win was the team’s fourth in a row. The win streak ended with a 52-7 loss to Shabazz on Friday, Oct. 20, at Shabazz Stadium.

Singh and the Ridgers analyzed the film from the loss to Shabazz on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 21-22. Shabazz jumped out to a strong start in the first quarter. But in the second half, the Ridgers played better, despite the lopsided final score.

Singh was proud of his team for reaching its playoff goal.

“To come out, in Year 2, and get into the playoffs and not the regional tournament, is a blessing, definitely,” Singh said. “There’s no quit in this team. These guys want to go out and play for each other. They are a team that loves each other and wants to hang in there at every moment. They don’t want to quit, or go away. I think the strength of the program was that they became a family. We became a family and we won’t let each other down.”

In 2017, the Ridgers lost to Roselle Park, 27-21, in the North 2, Group 1 quarterfinals at Hurrell Field to finish 6-4. It turned out to be the final game for Duke Mendez, who stepped down as the Ridgers head coach. Mendez served a total of 26 seasons as the Ridgers head coach in two stints, 1985-1995 and 2003-2017.