RIDGEFIELD — Ridgefield quarterback Owen Matthews threw for 3 touchdowns and 254 yards in 42-12 rout of Stamford on Friday night. Matthews had receivers open all evening and connected on three passes of 20 yards or more, and 15-of-23 overall.
Ridgefield coach Kevin Callahan worked several deep balls into the game plan to capitalize on his junior quarterback’s arm strength.
“That plays to his strength. He has a very strong arm,” Callahan said. “He’s got good touch and can make all the throws.”
After punts on the first two possessions, Ridgefield got the scoring started with a 2-yard touchdown run by Daniel Moroney. The Tigers offense turned up the heat on the next possession as well.
Matthews fired a pass down field to Brian Showstead, who made an impressive touchdown grab from 29-yards out.
Week 2 High School Football Schedule / Scoreboard
“Last week we really didn’t execute well so we wanted to play better,” Matthews said of a loss at Darien. “We focused on playing smart and getting the ball down the field.”
On their next possession, the Tigers marched down the field and put an exclamation point on the end of the drive with another long touchdown pass by Matthews, this time to Gianni Gorham from 24-yards out.
With a 21-0 lead at halftime, Ridgefield kept moving the ball down the field with ease after the break, adding a 37-yard touchdown pass from Matthews to Max Borstein. A junior, Borstein, made an excellent catch with a Stamford defender all over him.
On the other side of the ball, the Tigers defense was stuffing the Black Knights at the line of scrimmage and putting pressure on the quarterback with great frequency. On the next possession, senior DE Jackson Mitchell sacked and forced a fumble on Stamford QB Isaiah Johnson. Moroney snatched up the football and ran it to the house for a 20-yard score.
The Black Knights did not show any quit and received a solid performance from its defensive line, recording three sacks.
“We’re young. We have a lot of guys learning,” Stamford coach Jamar Greene said. “We’re going through some growing pains, but we will watch film and get better each week.”
Stamford added two late touchdowns to spoil the shutout for the home team. Next week Stamford will try to get in the win column when they face city rival Trinity Catholic. The Tigers will go on the road as well to take on Bridgeport Central.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Junior QB Owen Matthews earns the game ball with a strong performance. He tallied 15-23 for 254 yards and 3 TDs.
QUOTABLE
“We were pretty stout on the run game and we felt confident in the pass game,” said Callahan. “Our defense is definitely our better half, so it was nice to see the offense have a great game too.”
RIDGEFIELD 42, STAMFORD 12
STAMFORD 0 0 0 12 — 12
RIDGEFIEDLD 7 14 14 7 — 42
R — Daniel Moroney 2 run (Sebastian Gasparo kick)
R — Owen Matthews 29 pass to Brian Showstead, (Gasparo kick)
R — Matthews 24 pass to Gianni Gorham, (Gasparo kick)
R — Matthews 37 pass to Max Bornstein (Gasparo kick)
R — 20 fumble recovered by Moroney (Gasparo kick)
R — Ben Seward 8 ard run (Gasparo kick)
S — Terrance Mapp 16 run (kick failed)
S — Isaiah Johnson 12 pass to Mikey Riddle (kick failed)
