Ridgway Holds off Brookville Comeback Attempt to Secure Second Straight D9 League Large School Title


JOHNSONBURG, Pa. (D9Sports) – Ridgway secured its second consecutive D9 League Large School Division title with a 28-14 win over visiting Brookville at Johnsonburg’s Memorial Stadium Friday night.

(Photo by Jared Bakaysa of JB Graphics. See more of Bakaysa’s work here)

“We’re large school champs,” Ridgway head coach Mark Heindel said. “Everyone counted us out after the Kane game, but I’m proud of our kids and proud of how they responded.”

The Elkers (8-1), as they have been doing for quite some time, leaned on their defense to take home the crown.

Ridgway built a 28-0 lead at halftime only to see Brookville on its first two possessions coming out of the half to cut the lead in half. But the Elkers defense made two crucial fourth-down stops and Jack Cowan got an interception to seal the game.

“Our defense was tested big time this second half,” Heindel said. “To seal the deal by Jack Cowan getting the interception was huge.

The Elkers stopped a fourth-and-1 run attempt by Robert Keth and a fourth-and-10 pass that went two yards with the Raiders at the Elkers 15.

“Our defense, they bend but won’t break,” Ridgway quarterback Paul Gresco said. “They came up with some huge stops and that really helped with momentum swings.”

Offensively, Gresco had a nice day going 7-of-13 for 131y ards and a touchdown pass. His favorite target was Matt Dush, who had four receptions for 65 yards.

The Elkers run game was led by Gabe Watts, who carried the ball nine times of 88 yards and two scores. Tyler Watts added 48 yards on six carries and Matt Dush rushed 45 yards on five carries.

Watts opened up the scoring midway through the first quarter with a 53-yard touchdown run to put the Elkers up 7-0.

Ridgway extended their lead to 14-0 in the first quarter when Watts added his second score of the game with a seven-yard touchdown run.

“He’s electric,” Gresco said of Watts. “Anytime he’s got the ball in his hands he can do something special.”

An Austin Green interception set up another Elker touchdown.

This time, Gresco found Jake Wickett in the endzone for a 23-yard touchdown pass and a 21-0 Elker lead with 8:17 left in the second.

“Austin Green not only tipped it up in the air, but he tipped it to himself,” Heindel said. “Then to be able to score. That was huge.”

Ridgway added one more score before the half on a two-yard run by Wickett that capped off an 11-play, 56-yard drive.

Brookville started the second half with the ball going on an eight-play, 72-yard drive that cut the deficit to 28-7 with a two-yard touchdown run by Keth.

Keth found the end zone again four minutes later to cut the lead in half (28-14). This time it was Jack Krug who got him the ball for a 37-yard touchdown pass.

Keth was the leading receiver for the Raiders with eight receptions for 136 yards while Kyle Macbeth added four receptions for 108 yards.

Krug finished the game going 22-of-40 for 320 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.

“Credit a lot to Brookville,” Heindel said. “They stole the momentum from us. The time of possession and the amount of offensive plays that they had in the second half definitely made up for what we did in the first half.”

Gresco said the division title was one of the team goals to start the year.

“It’s the first goal of the season that we can check off the list,” Gresco said. “We have to get back to work. Enjoy this while we can and get ready for next week.”

Watch Gresco’s full postgame interview.


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