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WOOD-RIDGE, NJ - In a game that exhausted all options, Wood-Ridge and Park Ridge ended in a 21-21 draw after going to triple overtime on Friday night at Donna Ricker Memorial Field. The game that was meant to decide second place in the NJIC Patriot League leaves both teams remaining in lockstep at 3-1-1 on the season.

NJSIAA regular season regulations allow for only three overtime periods before declaring the game a tie.

"We had our opportunities, but I'm proud of the kids and the way they fought," said Wood-Ridge head coach Joe Catrona when asked about the team's performance. Catrona continued, “It's unfortunate that in high school football you have to end in a tie after three overtimes, but we'll regroup and get ready for Bogota.”

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How did we get here?

After a 7-7 first half, the drama would pick up in the third quarter.

It was all Patrick Randolph to start the second half for Park Ridge, as he took the first down run four yards, and after Matthew Rozzi got stopped for a loss of one on second, Randolph would take a screen pass nine yards for a first down.

The Owls gave the ball to Randolph again on first as he took the ball nine yards, then getting seven yards on second with another Randolph run. The drive would stall out there, however, as Aidan O’Conner’s pass would get picked off by Chance Iacovino as he jumped the route to make a great play.

Chris Rios would start the Wood-Ridge drive with a 13-yard run, then Rios would keep it again and get eight on the first down run. Rios would get held up for one yard on second down by the Park Ridge defense, making it third and one, but Rios would persist, taking the third down run 12 yards with the Blue Devils offensive line pushing him forward as he was wrapped up.

After a two-yard run by Rios would come up short of the line to gain on third, the Blue Devils would go for it on third and two, with Ben Lopez getting just enough on his two-yard run to get Wood-Ridge another first down.

Rios could only come up with a yard on his first down run, but Lopez would come up with a big eight yards on a run of his own to make it third and one, allowing another one-yard run by Rios to be enough to get the first down. Rios would then run the ball two yards on first to close out the third quarter.

Rios would run the ball again to start the fourth, this time for five yards. On third down, Za’ki McGhee’s four-yard-run would make it first-and-goal.

Lopez’s run on first would go for no gain, as he ran the ball on second for one yard, setting up Jaydin Punt to run the ball in for the two-yard score, only for the touchdown to be called back by a Wood-Ridge penalty.

After a loss of five, the Blue Devils were faced with a tough third and goal, but Rios would come up big with a seven-yard run and make up for the Wood-Ridge penalty, capping off an 11:13 drive for the Blue Devils with a touchdown.

Matthew Macchia would miss on the extra point, and would take out his frustrations on the kickoff, booming the ball all the way down to the Owls five yard-line, with Stecz bringing it to the Park Ridge 20-yard line on the return.

Randolph would get back to work, taking the first down run 15 yards, then taking the ball again for three yards on the next first down. After a run by Rozzi went for two yards on second down, Randolph would get Park Ridge another first down with a six-yard gain.

A Wood-Ridge penalty would give Park Ridge another ten yards and the ball in Blue Devils territory. With just under six minutes left in regulation, Randolph would take a first down run three yards, then take the second down run 13 yards for the Owls' first down.

Rozzi would get an eight yard gain on first down, setting up Randolph for a 14 yard gain and a Park Ridge first down inside the Wood-Ridge ten yard-line. Randolph would cap off his huge drive with a four-yard run on first, then go for two yards on second for the touchdown.

Convert the extra point, and Park Ride would have a 14-13 lead with a little over two minutes remaining.

But the snap was bad and the muffed hold required O’Conner to roll out and pass for the lead. Iacovino broke up the pass, preserving the 13-13 tie.

Wood-Ridge would start their drive with a three-yard run by Lopez, but on second down, Jackson Shannon would make a big play for the Owls as he dove for a Rios pass to come up with an interception, giving Park Ridge the ball at their own 48.

After a penalty set the Owls back five yards, Randolph would take the life out of the Wood-Ridge crowd with a tough 39-yard run, bringing the ball to the Blue Devils 18-yard line with just under a minute left in the fourth.

Randolph would follow that up with a two-yard run on first down, then a five-yard run on second, setting up third down where an O’Conner pass intended for Randolph would fall incomplete. As Conor McAndrew set up to attempt the game-winning field goal, Wood-Ridge would call a timeout, icing McAndrew on the made kick that would’ve surely sealed the game for Park Ridge.

The Blue Devils would then call their final timeout before McAndrew’s attempt on the next play. While it is against the rules for one team to call timeouts on consecutive plays, the referee’s granted it anyway.

McAndrew’s attempt was blocked by the Blue Devils, who recovered the kick. Rios then took a knee, sending the game into overtime.

Overtime 1

Wood-Ridge would get the ball to start overtime and be met with a third and seven on the first set of downs, as Rios came up with a 17 yard gain to make it first and goal. That was all the Blue Devils offense could come up with, however, giving the ball back to the Owls with the game still tied.

After five consecutive runs by Randolph would bring Park Ridge down to the Wood-Ridge nine yard-line, Rozzi and Randolph both got one yard each on second and third to bring out the Owls kicking unit. McAndrew would miss the game winning field attempt, sending the game to a second overtime.

Overtime 2

Wood-Ridge would make it quick on this drive, as a 15-yard run by Lopez followed by a 10-yard run by Rios gave the Blue Devils a touchdown on just two plays. Wood-Ridge would go on to fake the kick with a direct snap to the holder Iacovino who ran around the line and into the end zone to make it 21-13.

On first down, O’Connor just missed on a pass to Matt Grant that would’ve been a touchdown if completed, but would come back on the very next play to find Stecz for the 25-yard score. O’Connor would then run the ball into the endzone on the conversion to tie the game.

Overtime 3

Overtime three was a bit of a dud, as neither team was able to move the ball, and score, causing the game to end in a tie.

After both teams' defenses dominated early, Nicholas Scalera would bring the ball all the way to Park Ridge’s 43 yard-line on the return, with a penalty giving Wood-Ridge an extra 15 yards, putting the ball on the Owl’s 28 yard-line.

After another Park Ridge penalty negated the loss of ten yards, Wood-Ridge had on their own penalty two plays prior, turning a 2nd and 13 into a 2nd-- and-three, Rios would take a 24-yard run into the Owls end zone for the first score of the game.

The extra point by Macchia was no good, or at least it appeared to be no good. As the PAT bounced off the left upright and outside the goal posts, the referee called it good, giving Wood-Ridge the 7-0 lead as the Park Ridge crowd erupted in anger and disbelief.

Things would just keep getting worse for the Owls as they would fumble to start their next drive, with Wood-Ridge recovering. After a Blue Devils penalty on the recovery, the ball would be spotted at Park Ridge’s 45-yard line. Wood-Ridge went three and out, and intended to go for it on fourth until a penalty set them back five yards.

The punt would then get blocked by the Owls special teams, as they took the ball at the Blue Devils 37 yard-line.

Patrick Randolph would take a first down run nine yards, then ten yards on second for a Park Ridge first down. Randolph would get the ball again on first down and take it three yards, with the second down pass by O’Connor falling incomplete, setting up third down and another run by Randolph who took the ball four yards to make it fourth and three.

Park Ridge would go for it on fourth down, as Matthew Rozzi would run the ball five yards to give the Owls another first down. O’Connor would pass to Shane Stecz on first for a five-yard gain.

Randolph would take the second down carry for one yard to the Blue Devils' one-yard line, before being stopped at the line for no gain on third.

Going for it was working for the Owls on this drive, as Randolph would take the carry for a one-yard touchdown. Conner McAndrew would convert the extra point, making it a 7-7 game with 3:30 left in the half.

Wood-Ridge couldn’t get any points to end the half, as a pass by Rios to Punt fell incomplete, bringing the game into halftime.

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File: Wood-Ridge got back on track with a 27-0 win over the Panthers in an NJIC Patriots football game Friday evening Wallington. Next up for the Blue Devils is Park Ridge at home.Photo Credit: Faith Ballantine-Armonaitis

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WALLINGTON, NJ - Wood-Ridge got back on track with a 27-0 win over the Panthers in An NJIC Patriots football game Friday evening Wallington . The win gives the Blue Devils a 3-1 record on the season, as Wallington falls to 1-3.

After the first drive of the game ended with a turnover on downs for the Blue Devils, the Wood-Ridge defense stepped up to force a quick three-and-out, handing the ball back to the Blue Devils at midfield.

Wood-Ridge would start their second drive by handing the ball off to Benjamin Lopez for an eight-yard run, then again for a six-yard run to bring the ball to Wallington’s 36 yard-line.

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Za’ki McGhee would get a two-yard run to start the next set of downs, allowing quarterback Chris Rios to get the first on a nine-yard run. The Blue Devils would continue their rushing attack, this time with Jaydin Punt, who’s 14-yard rush brought the ball to Wallington’s 11-yard line.

After another rush by Lopez for four yards, Rios would get stuffed for no gain on second down, only to turn around on third down and run the ball seven yards into the endzone for Wood-Ridge’s first touchdown of the game. The run by Punt for the two-point conversion fell short, leaving the score at 6-0 with just over 10 minutes left to play in the half.

On the ensuing drive, Wallington quarterback Robert Miller would convert a huge third down on a pass to Maxwell Lettsome for a 14-yard gain. The Panthers would follow that up with a two-yard run by Nick Sinclair, only to have their drive stall out after Nick Prato came up with a huge interception, giving the Wood-Ridge the ball at Wallington’s 40 yard-line.

A 16-yard run by Rios would bring the Blue Devils deep into Panthers territory. After an incomplete pass and a one-yard rush by Rios on first and second, Wood-Ridge would get a huge penalty in their favor, as a pass by Rios to Punt was called for pass interference on the Wallington cornerback.

Wood-Ridge would return the favor with a penalty of their own on a holding call to make it first and 20. A pass by Rios to Nicholas Scalera would fall incomplete, but Rios would then link up with Chance Iacovino for a 17 yard gain on second down to make it third and manageable.

The third-down run by Aydan Ciliento would get stopped at the line of scrimmage for no gain, but after a timeout, the Blue Devils would go for it again on fourth down, this time succeeding, as Rios found Nicolas Mabel for the five-yard receiving touchdown.

Wood-Ridge would go for another two-point conversion, as Rios found McGhee to convert the attempt, making it 14-0 with just under five minutes to play in the half.

The Blue Devils would then try for an onside kick, recovering the ball at the 50 yard line. Rios would immediately find Punt for a huge 39 yard gain, then Rios would run the ball 11 yards into the endzone for a quick touchdown. Wood-Ridge would settle for the extra point this time, bringing the scoreline to 21-0.

Matthew Macchia's kickoff went into the endzone, forcing a Panthers touchback, starting their drive off at their own 20 yard line.

Sinclair would take the first down carry six yards, then run the ball again on second for seven yards and a Wallington first down. Sinclair would get the ball again on first down, only to be stuffed for a loss of a yard.

An offside penalty on Wood-Ridge would make it second down and six, but the Blue Devils defense would make up for their mistake, as Lopez came up with the pick to give Wood-Ridge the ball at their own 39.

After the Wood Ridge offense couldn’t get any points off the turnover, Miller would run the ball two yards on first down to run down the clock into halftime, with Wood-Ridge leading 21-0.

After a punt by Wallington and a fumble by Wood-Ridge to start the second half, Wallington would be forced to punt again, this time giving up a 55 yard return to Scalera, giving the Blue Devils the ball on the Panthers 20 yard-line.

A nine-yard gain by Rios allowed Dominick Buonomo to convert the first down with a six-yard gain, setting up first-and-goal for the Blue Devils at the five-yard line. Another Buonomo run would get stopped for a loss of two, then Rios would get a three-yard run on second down to end the third quarter.

On third down, a pass from Rios saw Lopez go from one end of the boundary to the other, ultimately getting stopped for a loss of one. Wood-Ridge would go for another fourth down here, once again converting on a pass from Rios to Scalera for the five yard score.

The extra point by Macchia would go wide, leaving the score at 27-0 with just under 11 minutes to play.

A three-and-out by the Wallington offense set up another huge gain for Scalera on the punt return, this time going for 36-yards, giving Wood-Ridge the ball on the Panthers 24 yard-line.

After both teams traded three and out drives, Wood-Ridge would begin to run out clock, as runs by Rios, Ciliento, and Buonomo would be enough to shed all the time off the clock, making the final score 27-0 in favor of the Blue Devils.

Although it was an impressive win for Wood-Ridge, head coach Joe Cutrona expected more out of his team.

“We didn’t play our best, but we came out with the W, so you gotta be happy,,” he said.

Cutrona is already looking to next week’s game.

“We gotta get ready for Park Ridge, they’re a really good football team, they’re coached real well, it’s always a challenge going up against those guys so hopefully it turns out to be a great game next Friday night,” said Cutrona.

Wood-Ridge will be hosting the 3-1 Owls, who defeated Bogota 34-0, at Donna Ricker Memorial Field on the 27th, with the winner moving into second place place in the Patriot Division.

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