By: Greg Tartaglia / NorthJersey.com
PARK RIDGE − Rutherford plus rain is a winning formula in the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference football final.
The Bulldogs defeated host Park Ridge, 26-7, Friday night at Doc Lewis Field for their third consecutive NJIC championship.
Two years ago, they topped the Owls in a misty drizzle at their home field.
This time, Rutherford (8-0) played through steady rainfall that reached downpour status in the first half, relying on its ground game to secure the crown.
Check out the photo gallery, then continue reading.
“We love the rain,” said Matt Scheibe, one of the soaked-yet-beaming Rutherford seniors.
Scheibe is one of six Bulldogs to start the 2021 title game as sophomores and play in every game of the “three-peat”. Classmate Cole Goumas scored three touchdowns, including a 39-yarder to ice the win with 6:24 remaining.
“Just a lot of chemistry, a lot of experience,” Goumas said, “and we just push ourselves and work hard.”
What it means
The NJIC trophy remains with a South Bergen school for the eighth year in a row. This was only the second final played on a “North” team’s home field – Hasbrouck Heights won the inaugural title at Pompton Lakes in 2016.
Rutherford has won half of the tournaments contested, while Park Ridge (6-2) fell to 0-3 all-time in the final.
Key plays
The Bulldogs led 13-0 near the end of the first quarter when freshman QB Myles Balchan found Scheibe for a 62-yard gain as time expired. Goumas then scored from 10 yards out on the first play of the second quarter.
Park Ridge cut the lead to 20-7 with 4.6 seconds left in the half, as Cole Hughes threw a 5-yard TD pass to Jacob Shannon (6 catches, 53 yards). At the time, it seemed to give the Owls an emotional lift.
“That got us all fired up, and it got us all locked in during halftime,” Scheibe said afterward. “We didn’t have a locker room, we were waiting outside in the pouring rain… after that, we just wanted it bad.”
Ryan Ward recovered a fumble on Park Ridge’s opening drive of the second half, and Nick Lora’s fourth-down interception in the end zone with 2:21 to go clinched it.
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Game balls
► Goumas carried 25 times for 171 yards as part of a Bulldog attack that featured 31 runs and only 6 passes.
► Ward had three 1-yard runs, one of which went for a TD an another on fourth down to set up Goumas’ final score.
► Scheibe caught three passes for 75 yards and made 7 tackles for a defense that held Hughes to 20 yards on 14 rushes – which forced the Owls to go to the air, where they completed 11-of-27 for 126 yards.
They said it
“Myles is a freshman, everyone looks down on him, but at the same time, we push him in practice. We tell him to work hard, we teach him things he never knew, and to be honest, I think the team has more trust in him now.” —Goumas on Balchan’s performance
“Anytime you get a weather game like this, ball security is imperative, and I thought we did a good job of holding onto the football and letting our guys make plays. At the end of the day, in that kind of weather, you’re not going to be able to throw the ball, so I thought up front we controlled the game, which kind of won it for us.” —Rutherford coach Steve Dunn
