Ridge Football Faces Montgomery Thursday Night

The Ridge High School football team is moving on after last Friday's 21-14 loss to Immaculata, with a Thursday night contest against Montgomery High School at Lee Field at 7 p.m.

The Red Devils (0-1) again will look to team captain Anthony Milito for strong leadership against the Cougars. That team has had a good program over the last couple of years, including playoff runs the last three seasons.

For Ridge head coach Bill Tracy, Thursday's game will provide an opportunity to build upon the strengths his team displayed in the season-opener against Immaculata, a longtime rivalry that drew an to Ridge High School. The game was televised live in on Cablevision's MSG Varsity as the opener for its new Friday night football series.

During a night that saw the score tied for a good part of the game, Milito was a continuous force for Ridge. He scores both of the team's touchdowns, and made a bid for a third before being stripped of the ball on fourth-and-goal from the goaline. He, along with Rob Mullaney, were dominant on the defensive side of the ball, and that will have to continue all season.

A week before the Red Devils opened the season, Ridge played a scrimmage where Tracy said he found a lot of flaws in his team's play.

Even though the Devils lost in the fourth quarter last Friday, many of those wrongs were corrected and there were good plays displayed all game long, he observed.

"The guys improved a great deal from the scrimmage, particularly on offense," Tracy said.

Tracy pointed to fullback Milito's late touchdown in the second quarter to tie the game and a strong stop to start the third quarter.

"We worked hard to be tied at half at 14," he said. "We came out strong in the third quarter forcing them to a three-and-out."

Tracy spoke about key parts of the game where the Red Devils played well, but could have finished a little better.

"We drove all the way down to the 1-yard line but couldn't score. They [Immaculata] would then score on the ensuing position to make it 21-14. "

After falling down by seven late in the final quarter, the Red Devils made one final attempt to tie the game late.

"The game ended with us on their 30-yard line attempting a Hail Mary pass," Tracy said.

Brad Heshmaty was solid both as a receiver and defensive back. His most notable play was stopping Spartans quarterback Antonio Natale on fourth down late in the game, giving Ridge a final gasping chance.

Red Devils quarterback Jeff Helmes will need to be a key contributor as well in future games, and he provided strong glimpses on Friday as well.

Helmes will look to exploit a Cougars defense that has been known to struggle against teams with a good passing offense.