by Andrew Garda
garda@montclairlocal.news
Van Brunt Field—The Montclair Kimberely Academy football team took on Glen Ridge Saturday afternoon, but were overpowered by a relentless Ridgers team, losing 55-19. The Cougars’ record falls to 1-2 on the season, while Glen Ridge continues to be undefeated with a record of 3-0.
Despite the final score, the Cougars were very competitive for much of the game.
The Ridgers took a 14-0 lead just a few moments into the second quarter, but MKA struck back three plays later on a John Sweetwood 50-yard run. The Cougars missed the extra point, but seemed to have some momentum.
However, Glen Ridge scored 19 straight points and entered halftime up 33-7.
Glen Ridge scored early in the second half, and managed a two-point conversion, to go up 41-6. MKA wouldn’t go away though, and scored again on a Harrison Walker 3-yard touchdown.
That would be the only time the Cougars scored in the third, though, and the Ridgers immediately responded with a long touchdown run to go up 55-13.
Overall the Cougars played tough, but struggled to bring down the Glen Ridge ballcarriers. More than once, MKA had a Glen Ridge player trapped in the backfield, only to have that player slip free from the grip of a defender to add more positive yards.
Defensively, the Cougars also had a few near misses which could have been momentum-shifting turnovers. On back to back plays, the Cougars secondary nearly picked off Glen Ridge, and either of those could have really given MKA something to build on, while also sapping some of the energy the Ridgers had.
Offensively, Sweetwood was somewhat erratic, and consistently under pressure. The offensive line had some protection problems, which hampered both the passing game and the ground attack.
The Cougars next take on Riverdale Day at home on Thursday at 3:30 in the afternoon.
For more detail on the Montclair Kimberley Academy game, including quotes from the coach, check out Thursday’s edition of the Montclair Local.