With the 13th-seeded Ridgewood football team on its way to a 62-7 loss to fifth-seeded Morris in a Class 4A second-round playoff game in Norridge, Rebels coach Don Gelsomino took out his seniors one by one in the fourth quarter so the crowd could applaud each of them individually.
Many of the seniors had been part of the varsity for the last three seasons as Ridgewood won three straight conference titles and made three straight playoff appearances. Just a week earlier, the Rebels (7-4) defeated Sullivan to earn the program’s first postseason win since 1987.
Ridgewood senior wide receiver/outside linebacker Jason Kenny has been an integral part of the Rebels’ success as a two-year, two-way starter. He also was one of the few bright spots against Morris (9-2) on Saturday.
Kenny had eight receptions for 42 yards. He caught mostly short passes from senior quarterback James Chalabi, who was trying to get rid of the ball quickly to avoid the rush from Morris defensive ends Tyler Spiezio (6-foot-5, 210 pounds) and Kyle Little (6-5, 259).
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“Their D-line was big, so we knew our short passes had to be quick. We did what we could, tried our best,” said Kenny, who lives in Norridge.
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Morris had tremendous size advantages all over the field: The Morris offensive line outweighed the Ridgewood defensive line by an average of 74 pounds per person.
Kenny’s performance completed a fine season in which he caught 54 passes for 724 yards and 10 touchdowns. With fellow senior receiver Marco Vitale (62 catches, 914 yards, 14 touchdowns) increasingly targeted by opposing defenses, Kenny became an important option for Chalabi.
“Most teams focus on Marco because he’s great,” said Kenny, adding, “Marco would have two guys on him and I’d be open in man coverage, and Chalabi got me the ball.”
On defense, the 6-1, 190-pound Kenny had two interceptions in 2017, one of which he returned for a touchdown, and three fumble recoveries, one of them for a score. He also was one of the team’s four captains along with Vitale, Chalabi and senior defensive tackle/guard Bernardo Trevino.
“(Kenny) is the perfect leader, in the weight room, on the field, during practice. He tells us to get to practice and not be late. He gets everyone to show up and show out,” said Ridgewood junior running back Noah Rodriguez, who lives in Norridge.
Rodriguez continued: “On the field, Kenny shows how to become better during drills. He steps up in drills and in sprints is the first one down and the first one back. Just a great leader.”
Though Kenny will graduate, his brother Ronan Kenny, a junior starting linebacker, will be among the players Ridgewood will likely build around next season. That group also includes Rodriguez, junior safety/wide receiver Johnny Camillo and junior cornerback/running back Joey Krasinski.
“We’ll probably have five or six guys back on each side of the ball,” Gelsomino said. “We’ll have to replace some skills guys, but we do that every year. We’re looking forward to it.”
Gelsomino said the bar has been raised during the recent run of success.
“Playoffs isn’t a goal, it’s an expectation. It’s no longer that we’re happy to be there,” Gelsomino said. “That’s where we’re expected to be every year. (The players) know that. The program knows it. We should be in the playoffs; we should be competing.”
The Rebels hung with Morris early in the game. After the visitors went ahead 6-0 on their first possession, Ridgewood drove down and took a brief 7-6 lead thanks to a 5-yard touchdown catch by Vitale and an extra point by sophomore kicker Enzo DeCeglie.
But Morris took control from there, building a 48-7 halftime advantage thanks to 257 first-half rushing yards.
Dan Shalin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press