Glen Ridge HS football team has title hopes with new coach

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GLEN RIDGE, NJ — Glen Ridge High School first-year head football coach Manj Singh hit the ground running.

After serving as a varsity defensive line coach and head junior varsity coach at powerhouse St. Joseph Regional of Montvale for the past four seasons, Singh came to Glen Ridge with the goal of getting his players prepared as soon as possible.

He instituted organized team activities that began in late June. It was believed to be the first time that the program had ever run organized team activities.

The Ridgers, who went a solid 7-2 last season, have embraced Singh and the coaching staff’s new system.

“I love their enthusiasm,” said Singh, who is replacing Steve Trivino, the head coach for the past four seasons. “These guys are willing to work. They understand what we are doing, the process. They get it. They want to win. They want to win in any type of way. They are just coachable and tough. Everyday we bring something out of them.”

The captains are senior middle linebacker, tight end and wide receiver Matteo Pavan; senior offensive guard and defensive tackle Anwell Meng; senior offensive tackle and defensive tackle Jake Russell; and junior quarterback Dylan O’Neil.

“The leadership is tremendous from all four captains,” said Singh, who was a freshman defensive coordinator and junior varsity defensive coordinator at perennial state powerhouse Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey for six seasons prior to coaching at St. Joseph. “They all bring something different to the table, which helps in the development of our team, being a young team, but we’re a stack full of juniors with some sophomores and freshmen.”

O’Neil is a returning starting quarterback. Pavan, who is 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, will anchor the defense. Russell has outstanding size for a lineman at 6-3, 275. Meng also will be a force on both sides of the ball.

Singh, a 1996 Montclair High School graduate, mentioned other players who will be key contributors. They are senior running back and outside linebacker Colin Monteleone; senior offensive and defensive lineman Sean Tierney; senior 6-4, 250-pound offensive and defensive lineman Joshua Schumann; junior wide receiver and running back Frankie Renois; junior running back and defensive back David Kelly; junior brothers Will Horan and Morgan Moran, both wide receivers and outside linebackers; sophomore wide receiver and defensive back Brad Foster; sophomore wide receiver and defensive back Connor Sutton; and freshman offensive guard and nose tackle Thomas Barton.

Singh takes over a program that needs just a bit of refining.

“Trivino basically just left me a car that has great bones, great body. From a 7-2 record coming, basically all it needs is a different type of engine in it and now we’re running, so he left me something good. It wasn’t like he left me something that I had to rebuild,” Singh said. “I just had to give it a jump of life and that’s it. It was running well. I just gave it something different.”

The Ridgers want to take a one-game-a-time approach that will help them reach their goal of winning their first state sectional title since 1982 and then getting to the Group 1 state championship. For the first time since the current playoff format was instituted in 1974, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association will add an extra round and play down to group state public champions this season.

“The goal for the season is to take it one game at a time,” Singh said. “But the main goal is to get to MetLife (Stadium). That’s the main goal. I believe we are going to be very, very competitive. I think if we stay healthy, I think we can go a long way.”

Russell is excited for the season. “We’re pumped up; we’re ready to go,” he said. “We got a good group of guys.”

Meng concurred. “I really like this group of guys that we got,” he said. “We’ve all been playing together since we were like 8 or 9 and third grade. It’s a very tight group of guys.”

Make no mistake, the team has one goal. “State champs,” said Meng.

Added Paven, “We’re really excited to put it all together. I think we’re going to have a very successful season.”

The assistant coaches for the team are offensive coordinator and assistant head coach Chris Ferrera, offensive line and defensive line coach Robert Rollo, special teams coach Carl Houser III, and quality control and personnel coach Tim Aumack.

Singh is also happy to report that the Glen Ridge Athletic Association Red Dogs youth football program is up to 40 players, which is the most in 12 years.

The Ridgers, who will open the season at Cedar Grove on Friday, Sept. 2, have moved up to the Super Football Conference National Red Division after being an SFC Ivy White Division for the past two seasons. The Ivy divisions, created in 2019, consist of struggling teams that are ineligible for the state sectional playoffs. GRHS made the state sectional playoffs in 2017 before winning only one game in 2018.

2022 Glen Ridge football schedule