Ridge senior QB/S Ryan Olivo (No. 7) is the Bellamy & Son Paving Player of the Week for Week 5 in the Big Central Conference. (Source: @ryanolivo21 on Twitter)
Wilson Brady caught a touchdown pass. Rooke Donohoe caught one, too. Ryan Turner caught two.
Ridge senior quarterback Ryan Olivo is the one that got them the ball, with a mix of long and short passes.
He also ran for a touchdown himself, and then on defense – at safety – logged four tackles and a pass breakup.
All that not only got his team a 41-13 win in Flemington last Friday night against previously 4-0 Hunterdon Central, but it has earned him Bellamy & Son Paving Player of the Week honors for Week Four.
Olivo didn’t play quarterback last year, but he’s doing a fine job after the graduation of Jack Berisha, who threw for 1,315 yards and ten touchdowns last year. Already, through just four games, Olivo has slung the ball for 582 yards and six touchdowns.
Which, by the way, are not all that easy to come by when you have a great back like Will Deady, who has four rushing TD’s and 357 yards on the ground.
Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko’s interview with Week Four Bellamy & Son Paving Player of the Week Ryan Olivo of Ridge:
The Bellamy & Son Paving Player of the Week is chosen from nominees by Big Central coaches. At the end of the season, one player will be chosen to receive a $500 scholarship courtesy of Bellamy & Son Paving. As we did last year, we will recognize a few “Honorable Mentions,” and include all other all nominees in our weekly story.
Honorable Mentions:
- Samaad Hicks, North Brunswick: The two-way senior had a huge role in keeping the No. 2 Raiaders from getting upset by No. 7 Sayreville in a key divisional game at the Rumble on the Raritan at Rutgers on Sunday. Hicks had 19 carries for 68 yards and a touchdown, also grabbing four passes for 121 yards. On defense, he logged six tackles, a pass deflection, and had an interception in the fourth quarter of a thrilling 21-20 win.
- David Brothers, Bernards: Head coach Jon Simoneau says it’s a modern day (since 2003) record. Brothers logged four sacks Friday night in their “Mountain Valley Bowl” game against Delaware Valley. A senior, Brothers has committed to play lacrosse at Wagner, but Simoneau feels he could start getting attention for his gridiron work. Incidentally, the old record was 3 1/2 sacks by Marc Burns in 2007; he was at Friday night’s game to see his record get toppled.
- Jeylon Billups, South Brunswick: The runningback was a workhorse Friday in a 20-7 win at Piscataway. He took the ball on 33 of his team’s 51 runs, totaling 237 yards and three touchdowns, and also had a 40-yard touchdown run called back on a penalty.
- Ja’Kir Thomas, Carteret: At runningback, he carried 21 times for 171 yards and three touchdowns. Just a junior, Thomas already has surpassed 2,000 career rushing yards. At cornerback, he also tallied five tackles, a tackle for loss, and forced a North Plainfield fumble in a 34-0 win over the Canucks.
Other Nominations:
(in alphabetical order, by school)
- Luke Tipton, Belvidere: The junior linebacker had nine tackles and a 72-yard forced fumble that turned into a scoop and score that turned out to be critical in a 19-7 win at Metuchen Friday. It came with his team down 7-6 in the fourth quarter and gave his team a 12-7 lead, swinging momentum in the game. It was also the County Seaters’ first win in 13 games dating back to early November, 2021.
- Ah’mer Gibbs, Edison: In an 18-7 win at Franklin on Friday, the junior linebacker recorded 13 tackles, and had 1 1/2 sacks.
- Josue Cordona, Plainfield: The senior was lights out on defense in a 35-0 whitewash of North Hunterdon. On a night when the defense had seven sacks, he had four of them, along with 10 total tackles, seven solo, and three more tackles for loss. Coach James Williams says he was “dominant… controlling the line of scrimmage and dictating where the ball went.”
- Anthony Venettone, South Hunterdon: The senior quarterback did it mostly on the ground in a 44-3 win over Manville Friday. He carried 11 times for 223 yards and three rushing touchdowns. He also threw a 49-yard touchdown pass.
- Patrick Smith, South Plainfield: In a 47-19 win over JP Stevens Friday, Smith carried 12 times for 155 yards and three touchdowns, his longest from 44 yards away. He also made an impact on special teams, with 58 yards on two kick returns, and a punt return for another ten yards.
- Trey Lazar, Spotswood: In a muddy Saturday morning (9 am kickoff) win at South River, the senior rushed for two touchdowns and threw for another. Despite constant rain throughout the 30-0 win, Laxar managed to throw for 101 yards. he also carried eleven times for 53 yards.
- Coke Sabol, Summit: Just a sophomore, Sabol made an impact in a 41-7 win at Rahway Friday night. The quarterback only tried seven passes, but completed five of them – with three going for touchdowns – for 170 yards.
- Bryan Anderson, Woodbridge: The junior safety was all over it on defense in a 42-7 home win over in-town rival Colonia Friday night. Anderson had three solo tackles, six solo, two tackles for loss, and a 45-yard pick-six which sealed the game and got the running clock going for the Barrons.
And this week, two offensive lines were nominated by their coaches:
- Voorhees: Head coach Ricky Kurtz says his )-line recorded four pancake blocks, and paved the way for a massive ground game in a 48-0 win against Bound Brook. The Vikings ran the ball 25 times for 325 yards and five touchdowns. On 28 offensive plays, they had seven touchdowns.
- St. Joseph-Metuchen: In a 21-19 win over Elizabeth Friday, the Falcon front five paved the way for a 251-yard rushing night on 39 carries, and closed the game with a 22-play drive that sealed the game, eating up the final 14 minutes of the game. That drive also saw St. Joe’s convert not once, not twice, but thrice on fourth down.