The boy’s basketball season has begun. The Varsity team, coached by Mike Troy, had its first game on Friday, December 15th. They traveled to Ramapo and played the Ramapo Raiders. The game was close, and the lead shifted many times. It came down to the final minute, but Ridgewood lost 48-45. Ben Geraghty and Michael Schretter led the team with 14 points a piece. For Ramapo, K.C Hunt led the team with 20 points. Ridgewood had 13 FGs while Ramapo had 16. For Ridgewood, four of those baskets were 3 pointers, whereas Ramapo hit two 3 pointers. Patrick Mannion, a sophomore at Ridgewood High School, explains how he saw the game, “It was a really close game, it came down to the final seconds, hopefully they can fix their mistakes and move on to the next game.” Ridgewood will have another shot at Ramapo later in the year, and they will be on their home court next time.
The Junior Varsity and Freshman teams also started their seasons on Friday the 15th. The JV team won in a close game, while the Freshman team lost by double digits. Both teams played against the Ramapo Raiders.
Ramapo is one of Ridgewood’s biggest rivals when it comes to basketball. This could be seen in the games, as they were chippy and tense. There were elbows thrown, and even some pushing. Thankfully, no punches were thrown. Caleb Walsh, a sophomore at Ridgewood High School explains the rivalry, “You could see how much the teams disliked each other, they both wanted not only win, but dominate the other team.” The rivalry between the teams is evident, and could be seen in the game on Friday.
With many games left in the season, there is plenty of time before the country tournament to clean up problems and learn from mistakes. After a deep run in the tournament last year, Ridgewood hopes to build from the momentum and make another strong run. This year, the team can also hope to make a run at a county championship. This would be an extraordinary accomplishment, as it is a feat that has not been accomplished in nearly a decade.
This year, the Varsity roster consists of 19 players, 3 of them are sophomores, 5 are juniors, and 11 are seniors. Nine of the players are returning varsity players. This helps them as a team because the players have had time on varsity, and know what to expect going into games. The team has a ton of talent, and that could be seen on Friday. Although they lost the game, they showed signs of great play and the potential for success. The team has experience, and should have many great games down the road.
Matt Gluckow
staff writer
Graphic: Pat Mannion