Football Preview: Ridgewood Rebels vs. Elmwood Park Tigers
The Ridgewood Rebels will head out to take on the Elmwood Park Tigers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both have had a bumpy ride up to this point with five consecutive losses for Ridgewood and eight for Elmwood Park.
Ridgewood fought the good fight in their overtime contest against Fenton on Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They and the Bison were almost perfectly matched up, but they suffered a 28-27 loss. While the Rebels didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Bison 7-0 in the first quarter.
Ridgewood might have lost, but man, Luke Melendez was a machine: he picked up 127 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Melendez's longest reception was for an incredible 79 yards. Angelo Vitale was in the mix as well, providing Ridgewood with two touchdowns.
Ridgewood didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. Melendez picked up that interception and then proceeded to rub salt in the wound by taking it back the other way for a touchdown. He also posted 127 receiving yards, which is notable because Ridgewood is 2-1 when he posts at least 80 receiving yards, but 1-4 otherwise. Ridgewood got some further help from Marko Jonic: he made 13 total tackles and defended a pass.
Meanwhile, Elmwood Park lost to Streamwood on the road by a 40-21 margin on Friday.
Ridgewood's defeat dropped their record down to 3-5. As for Elmwood Park, their loss dropped their record down to 0-8.
Everything came up roses for Ridgewood against Elmwood Park in their previous meeting back in October of 2023, as the squad secured a 54-3 win. In that matchup, Ridgewood amassed a halftime lead of 33-3, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
