Ridge Hires New Boys Basketball Coach

The Ridge High School boys basketball team has a new head coach for next year, after the Board of Education approved the hire of Middlesex High School 's Brian Feath on Monday night to replace coach Mark Taylor, who resigned last month.

Feath will be Ridge’s 10th coach in its history. 

“(Brian) has an extremely high basketball IQ,” Ridge assistant coach Rocco Matrisciano said of Feath’s hire. “The kids, parents and staff are all excited.”

The school board hired Feath for an annual stipend of $10,351 as one of several personnel appointments made on Monday night.

leading the Red Devils to the 2010 Somerset County Championship. This past season, Ridge went 15-12.

Taylor left last month to take over as basketball coach at St. Benedict’s Prep School in Newark.

Feath, 37, has been the coach at his high school alma mater for the past six seasons. Middlesex went 10-11 last year, but finished 19-7 and 17-8 the previous two seasons. Feath has an overall career record of 83-60. 

Feath is a 1993 graduate of Middlesex High School, and is the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,322 points. He played at Wingate College in North Carolina.

“Not all good players become good coaches because some of them are only good because of their size or athleticism or speed,” Matrisciano said. “But Feath was good because he was smarter than almost anybody he played against and has all the intangibles you look for in a coach.”

Feath’s father, Gary, was the longtime Franklin boys basketball coach and guided the team to the 2003 Group III title and back-to-back Somerset County Tournament crowns. He retired in 2005.

Ridge lost four players from this past year’s team—Conor Skea, J.B .Kole, Taylor Bliss and Tom Gambino. But the team returns with talented players Jack and Dylan Kerwin, guard Dillon Mahon, Brett Matzen, J.D. Moore and promising youngsters Matt Gerrity, Hugh Morris, Eric Klacik and Kevin Doolan. 

Linda Sadlouskos  contributed to this story.