Stieglitz Rushes for 3 TDs to lift Red Devils Past Indians
BASKING RIDGE, NJ – In one of only two NJSIAA State Playoff games on Friday night, where the two teams were both from the Big Central Conference, Ridge hosted Rahway at Lee Field. From the opening kickoff to the final minute of the contest, the 7th-seeded Indians gave the second-seeded Red Devils all it could handle.
However, Ridge found a way behind its rushing attack to come away with the victory. Senior RB Aidan Stieglitz rushed for three touchdowns and added a two-point conversion to lift the Red Devils past the Indians, 22-14 in the opening round of the 2024 NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1 Group 4 State Tournament.
Rahway running back, Andrew Avent turned in a superb performance in defeat for the underdog Indians. Avent rushed 28 times for 239 yards and a TD. One of Avent’s runs was a 61-yard gallop that put the Indians in scoring position early in the second quarter. Avent then scored several plays later to knot the game at 7-7. Avent also turned in a first down run on a fake punt that temporarily preserved a fourth-quarter Rahway drive.
Avent also stood out on defense with 15 total tackles. Kevin Taylor and Jason Louis also chipped in for the Indians on defense with 13 total tackles each. Ridge was able to counter with a team effort in its rushing game. Stieglitz rushed 20 times for 178 yards and 3 TDs. Stieglitz’s last scoring run was a 26-yard TD with 10:28 remaining. He then added a two-point conversion for the decisive eight-point lead.
Classmate and backfield partner, Ryan Turner added 10 carries for 95 yards as Ridge tallied 303 yards rushing, or an average of 8.2 yards per carry. Rahway finished with 279 yards rushing, or an average of 8.2 yards per rush as well. However, Avent accounted for 86 percent of Rahway’s rushing while the tandem of Stieglitz and Turner accounted for 90 percent of Ridge’s rushing yardage.
The first quarter ended just like it had begun with neither team scoring. Both teams exchanged turnovers, and Rahway stopped Ridge on downs on the Red Devils opening drive. Rahway managed to collect two turnovers during the game versus only one for Ridge. As the game went on, Ridge was able to wear the Indians down behind Stieglitz and Turner and survive the formidable challenge.
The Red Devils were able to get on the board first as its offense attacked the right side of Rahway’s defensive line with runs by Stieglitz and Turner. One of Stieglitz’s runs carried several Rahway defenders. It would be a feat that Stieglitz repeated later on during the game’s decisive drive. Stieglitz capped the drive by taking the ball up the middle and through the left side of Rahway’s line before lunging over the goal line. Sean Davis added the extra point for a 7-0 lead with 6:50 left in the second quarter.
Rahway responded immediately with a drive of its own. After taking the ensuing kickoff, Rahway just needed five plays to go about 70 yards to tie the score. The key play of the drive was the second play when Avent took the handoff from QB, Jaquan Robinson, and scampered up the Rahway sideline for over 60 yards to get inside the Ridge five-yard line.
Several plays later, Avent took a direct snap and barreled his way into the end zone from a yard out. Anthony Lopez tacked on the extra point to knot the game at 7-7 with 4:32 remaining in the first half. Ridge retaliated with its second scoring drive of the first half. The Red Devils needed 10 plays to go 78 yards in 3:43 before Stieglitz scored again from 7 yards out for a 14-7 lead with under a minute to play in the first half.
The key plays in the drives were passing plays. On the sixth play of the near 80-yard march, Ridge QB, Connor McLachlan pump-faked a pass over the middle and then threw a flare to his left to David Hamilton, who scrambled toward the Ridge sideline and was knocked out of bounds by a Rahway defender that drew a flag from the officials.
Several plays later, McLachlan found Joseph Dachnowicz for a 24-yard gain up the Rahway sideline. One play later, Stieglitz was in the end zone and the Red Devils were back in front by a touchdown. The score remained 14-7 in favor of Ridge as the two teams went to their respective locker rooms for the intermission.
The third quarter began with Rahway taking the second-half kickoff. The Indians then proceeded to churn out a first down run from Avent but then punted after five plays. Ridge took over and appeared to break off a huge gain courtesy of Turner several plays later. However, Louis managed to strip the ball from Turner and Jyvon Cooper recovered the ball for the Indians at Rahway’s 31-yard line.
With momentum back on its side, Rahway put together a 12-play, 69-yard drive. The key play of the Rahway march occurred with 6:55 to play in the third when Robinson ran 18 yards on a keeper to convert a 3rd and 9 into a first down at the Ridge 40-yard line. Avent shouldered the load for much of the next 8 plays before Robinson rushed into the end zone with 25 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Lopez added the extra point to tie the score again at 14-14.
Ridge responded with the final scoring drive of the game. The last scoring march commenced at the end of the third quarter and carried over into the early fourth. The Red Devils only needed four plays and 1:57 to go 65 yards and retake the lead for good. Stieglitz carried the load on this drive by rushing all four times. He had two first-down runs to end the quarter with Ridge at the Rahway 43.
Stieglitz then opened the fourth quarter with a powerful 17-yard jaunt that took 5 or 6 different Rahway players along for the ride to the Indians’ 26-yard line. On the next play, Stieglitz found a hole on the right side of Rahway’s defensive line and powered his way to the end zone for a 26-yard TD. Stieglitz then dove in from two yards out to convert the two-point play for a 22-14 lead with 10:28 remaining.
Rahway still had a chance on its only drive of the fourth quarter. Robinson threw a 50-yard bomb to Zaire Fields near midfield along the Rahway sideline. Several plays later, the Indians faked a punt on 4th down that Avent turned into a first down with a hard-charging 32-yard run to Ridge’s 18-yard line to keep the drive going. Rahway advanced the ball to Ridge’s 10-yard line but was hit with a penalty, and its 12-play, near 6-minute drive was halted as a pass to the end zone came up empty with 4:32 to play.
From there, Ridge was able to use Stieglitz and Turner to run the ball, move the chains, and run out the clock. With the victory, Ridge improved to 8-1 overall on the season. The Red Devils advanced to the North Jersey Section 1 Group 4 semifinals to host 3rd-seeded Ramapo next Friday night at Lee Field. Rahway concluded its season at 7-3.
The playoff contest between Ridge and Rahway marked the first meeting between the two schools in over 20 years. The Red Devils and Indians were members of the Mountain Valley Conference and played each other five times from 1999 to 2003. Rahway won the first meeting, but Ridge won the next four and now leads the series 5-1. Take a look at the brief rivalry below. In addition, the Red Devils also defeated Rahway head coach Brian Russo in the 2009 North Jersey Section 2 Group 4 semifinals when Russo was coaching at Woodbridge.
Rahway vs. Ridge – Rivalry at a Glance
| Year | Winner | Winning Score | Loser | Losing Score |
| 1999 | Rahway | 44 | Ridge | 7 |
| 2000 | Ridge | 45 | Rahway | 0 |
| 2001 | Ridge | 27 | Rahway | 12 |
| 2002 | Ridge | 40 | Rahway | 18 |
| 2003 | Ridge | 41 | Rahway | 22 |
| 2024 | Ridge | 22 | Rahway | 14 |
- Rivalry began in 1999.
- Ridge leads the series 5-1.
- Ridge has outscored Rahway by a margin of 182-110, or by an average of about 30-18 per game.
- Ridge and Rahway played for the first and only time in the state playoffs on Friday night.
- Rahway won the first meeting in 1999 when the Indians finished 10-2 and qualified for the playoffs.
- Ridge has won the last five meetings.
- Ridge has the only shutout in the series with a 45-0 victory over Rahway in 2000.
- Ridge scored at least 40 points in three of its five victories: 2000 (45-0), 2002 (40-18), and 2003 (41-22).
- The winning team has scored at least 40 points in four of the six meetings.
- Before Friday’s playoff game, Rahway and Ridge had not played each other in 21 years.
- The most points scored in a game was 45 by Ridge in 2000 (won 45-0).
- Rahway scored 44 points in its only win in the series in 1999.
- The largest margin of victory was 45 by Ridge in 2000 (won 45-0).
- Ridge’s playoff win (22-14) on Friday night was the closest margin of victory in the brief series, and the only game decided by 8 points or less.
