By Tim Parry

If there’s anything Ridgefield head coach hates, it’s orange jerseys. But a few hours before his team kicked off to Staples last night, he had a box of them for his team.

Now Callahan said his team was focused on Staples this week, but just maybe the new threads gave Ridgefield the final bit of motivation it needed to beat Staples for the first time in his coaching career.

Ridgefield didn’t just defeat the Wreckers. Ridgefield dominated the Wreckers 37-6.

“We walk into the equipment room two hours before the game and Coach Callahan pulls out a surprise,” Ridgefield quarterback Matt White said. “And we figure we better get a win with these new jerseys.”

Heck, Ridgefield stormed out of the gate. Ridgefield got a safety, and then a 65-yard touchdown on the ensuing free kick by Drew Arcoleo. Arcoleo then scored on a 40-yard touchdown run on Ridgefield’s first offensive play, giving the Tigers a 16-0 lead just four minutes into the game.

“You can’t spot a team like that a 16-0 lead like that four minutes into the game,” Staples head coach Marce Petroccio said. “You have to give Ridgefield all the credit in the world, but we just made every mistake you can possibly make on both sides of the ball.”

White, for the record, completed just three of nine passes for 31 yards. But with Ridgefield getting the big lead and Arcoleo getting off to the strong start, White said he was fine with keeping the ball on the ground.

“He’s getting the job done, you’ve got to keep feeding him,” White said.

Arcoleo finished with 69 yards on 12 carries, and fullback Michael McKnight had 105 on 13.

The Ridgefield defense did most of the damage. They forced five Staples turnovers, including two fumbles that were recovered by Jimmy O’Dea.

Now it wasn’t all Ridgefield in this one. Brandon Pacilio hit Brendan Rankowitz on a 47-yard bomb. And Pacilio was able to find wide-open receivers downfield. Midway through the second quarter, Staples could have pulled within a touchdown, but a wide-open Matt Kelly couldn’t hang on to a Pacilio pass in the end zone.

Rankowitz finished with five catched for 93 yards.

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