Milito's Two Touchdowns Lift Ridge to First Win

Fullback Anthony Milito scored two late touchdowns to help propel the Ridge High School football to a 21-9 win over Montgomery High School Thursday night at Lee Field.

With rain sprinkling the fans and players all night long, the game got underway with enthusiasm high for both teams, each hoping to add a mark in the win column in a season that is just getting off the ground.

Ridge coach Bill Tracy faced the challenge of improving his team's record after the previous Friday's  hard-fought 21-14 loss to Immaculata High School, a game televised on Cablevision's MSG Varsity.

During Thursday night's first quarter, it appeared as if Ridge was facing yet another tough challenge. The Cougars started the game by outgaining the Devils in total yards and managing five first downs to the Devils two. But as the Cougars slowly made their way to Ridge's goal line, the Devils' defense stiffened and denied the Cougars a score, ending the first quarter scoreless.

The second quarter opened with the Cougars continuing to drive downfield. Montgomery was further helped by a personal foul penalty that put the Cougars within field-goal range. With 5:37 remaining in the half, the Cougars booted a field goal to take a 3-0 lead.

But on the ensuing kickoff, the Devils' offense came alive. On the second play of the drive with 4:33 remaining in the half, Rob Mullaney managed to elude the Cougar defense and ran for 77 yards for a touchdown. With the extra point, the Devils took a 7- 3 lead and carried the advantage into halftime.

At halftime, the Ridge High School marching band entertained the crowd with a show that included musical themes from the movies "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" and "The Magnificent Seven."

The rain intensified as the players arrived on the field to begin the second half. The third quarter saw very little action as both defenses stiffened to keep their opponents from scoring.

With 8:35 left in the quarter, the Cougars managed to drive to the Ridge's 21-yard line but could not achieve a first down, forcing an attempt for a field goal. The kick fell short of the goal post and the score remained 7-3.

The Red Devils (1-1) scored twice in the final quarter. The first scoring play came from a drive that led to a Milito 5-yard touchdown run, stretching Ridge's lead to 14-3 with 9:53 left on the clock.

The second score of the quarter came when Jeff Helmes threw a long pass that was caught by J.D. Moore, who managed to reach the 6-yard line before being tackled. On the next set of downs, Milito took the ball in from 5 yards out for his second touchdown to extend the Red Devils' lead 20-3. The extra point by Graves brought the score to 21-3.

The Cougars (0-2) returned with a touchdown late in the fourth quarter, but mishandled the extra point kick and could only muster six points from the drive. Montgomery followed with an attempt at an on-sides kick, but Mullaney managed to scoop up the ball for the Devils.