Ruden Sports News

The defending champion Ridgefield 6th Grade Tiger football showcased its determination, speed and athleticism on Saturday at Tiger Hollow en route to its first win of the season under new coach Casey Gaughran, 12-6 over Fairfield Silver.

The Tigers got two scores by running back Chris Colsey and the defense showed its toughness and ability to perform under pressure. Luke Salimbene got the offense going with a first down and Colsey broke tackles to rocket down the left sideline for the game’s first score. 

The Ridgefield defense was led by Quinn Casey, Sonny Barrella, Salimbene, Colsey, Hunter Morton and Brodie Block. AJ Accurso had a sack while the entire Tiger defense played well.

Dylan Myers played well and moved the ball for the Tigers to eat up the clock. After Ian Choi’s clutch punt trapped the opposition deep in its own territory, the defense held steady to go into halftime, up 6-0.

Fairfield’s Morrison scored to even the game at 6-6, but Colsey had a second long run to put the Tigers up 12-6 after three quarters. After a key tackle for a loss by Dean Gaughran, Ridgefield pushed the ball down the field. With the game on the line, quarterback Dylan Schorpp dropped back and threw a dart on fourth down to wideout Marcus Speiser, who caught the ball in traffic, holding onto the ball despite getting hit by a host of Fairfield defenders. 

Gaughran had another tackle for loss. With Shane Morton streaking in, backed by Barrella, Accurso made an interception to ice the game.

Ridgefield plays Fairfield Black Saturday at Fairfield. 

5th Grade

Fairfield defeated Ridgefield, 14-0, with a pair of first-half scores. Ridgefield’s Anders Gerosa broke up the two-point conversion attempt. Ridgefield hit a big play when quarterback Ryan Carney hit Nate Giovanniello in the flat for a 40 yard gain. However, Fairfield was able to hold Ridgefield from scoring.

In the second quarter Ridgefield’s defense had a number of tackles for losses, led by Alexander Wohl, Carter Robson, Luke Galligan, Luke Anderson, Joseph Sisca, Arlo Rohricht and Troy Kieran.

Ridgefield kept driving but was unable to score in the third quarter, despite attempts by Giovanniello who ran for 30 yards. Giovanniello also made a number of solid tackles after Fairfield retook possession of the ball. 

Ridgefield’s offensive line worked well, led by David Maroney, Ari Sarup and Mark Crowley.

8th Grade

Ridgefield Black defeated Fairfield Black, 19-0. The Ridgefield defense set the tone, highlighted by multiple sacks, resulting in the Tigers’ second shutout game of the season. Ridgefield scored one in the first half and twice in the second half.