Football Preview: Ridgewood welcomes host of new faces
September 5, 2014 Last updated: Friday, September 5, 2014, 12:31 AM
By JIM MCCONVILLE
CORRESPONDENT
RIDGEWOOD – What a difference a year makes.
Last season, the Ridgewood High School football team was built for the now, with 31 seniors and expectations of reaching the North 1, Group 5 championship game, which it did.
This season, the Maroons are building toward an uncertain future.
Not only did the bulk of their starters graduate, but four assistant coaches elected not to return, including the offensive and defensive coordinators and the line coach. In their place are a couple of old returning faces in Jim Stroker and Mark Aramburu, plus a group of younger coaches.
“We are green as the grass,” RHS head coach Chuck Johnson said. “There are a lot of unknowns, but it has really been fun so far, and I’m excited to see where this goes.”
The first Maroon victory this season will be the 200th of Johnson’s 31-year career at Ridgewood (he has 35 more wins from his six seasons at Bogota from 1978-83), but milestones are taking a back seat to player development.
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Beating the snot out of JFK and Eastside doesn’t mean much….call me when they beat Montclair in the playoffs.
Looking forward to the 200th win for Chuck… will bring back lots of memories for this old timer.
Wish them all for a great and safe year.
How come the 4 assistant coaches “elected not to return”? Seems odd to lose so many coaches in one season.
Best of luck to all the student athletes at Ridgewood HS who put in countless hours of practice in an attempt to be the best they can be. They should all be comended.
Why are there so few seniors? It is a no cut team?
Maybe not worth a potential concussion for students who will not be pursuing football in college.