Glen Rock football advances in playoffs with impressive win over Ridgefield Park
GLEN ROCK – Twenty-seven years later, Glen Rock got a measure of revenge.
Glen Rock quarterback Andrew Knight ran for 104 yards and a score as the Panthers survived a late challenge from Ridgefield Park to win, 13-7, and advance to the semifinals of the North 2, Group 2 football playoffs.
It was the Panthers' first playoff win since 2015. They dominated play in the first half, but had to overcome multiple mistakes in the second half and survive a Hail Mary pass by Scarlets star quarterback Brevin Cooney on the final play.
“Good teams are going to do that to you,” Glen Rock coach Jim Kurz said. “We definitely tip our hats to Ridgefield Park. Anytime you can get a win in the playoffs, you’ll take it, but we didn’t make it easy.”
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What it means
The Panthers accomplished multiple things with their win. Glen Rock, a member of the small school North Jersey Interscholastic Conference, beat a foe from the bigger Super Football Conference, which doesn’t happen often.
It also removes a bad memory for Kurz, who was a first-team All-League receiver on the 1995 Glen Rock team that owned a 13-0 lead on Ridgefield Park in the semifinals at halftime (ironically the same score as Friday), only to lose 16-13. That 1995 meeting was the only one between the two schools before Friday night.
Panthers assistant coach Jeff Kresch presented Kurz with the game ball, saying he could finally put that memory to bed. Kurz was also greeted by former Ridgefield Park coach Tony Gonzalez, who was on the Scarlets' sidelines.
“It stuck with me,” Kurz said. “But this is not about 1995. This is all about 2022.”
The turning point
This was a turning point that actually went in favor of the team that lost. Glen Rock dominated the line of scrimmage behind talented sophomore tackle Peter Lagemann and scored on their first two possessions to go up 13-0.
On its third drive, Glen Rock marched down to the Scarlets 1-yard line, but was stopped on fourth down as Knight couldn’t get in on a sneak. After halftime, the Scarlets came out revived and energized, boosted by the goal line stand.
Ridgefield Park had multiple opportunities to score in the second half, but didn’t break through until a Cooney run with 4:50 left to make it 13-7.
Cooney watch
Kurz said the defensive game plan was to key on Cooney and try to keep him from making big plays. Glen Rock was successful for the most part, intercepting Cooney twice in the second half, including a key interception by Sean Stephenson with 1:30 left.
“All week, we talked about trapping him and keeping him bottled up,” Kurz said. “Our guys did a hell of a job containing him. He still had a good game. He still scored and still had a chance to win the game at the end.”
On deck
The Panthers (8-1) advance to face second-seeded Newton in the second round.
“We have been there twice,” Kurz said about Newton. “We went for a consolation game in 2012. It’s a beautiful place to play. We played them in 2019 and lost 28-27.”
Ridgefield Park finishes the season 4-5, losing its final four games.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Glen Rock NJ football advances with win over Ridgefield Park
