St. Joseph-Metuchen hosts St. Thomas Aquinas on October 19, 2024. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
24. That’s the benchmark.
That’s the magic number St. Joseph-Metuchen head coach Bill Tracy wants for his football team, and he isn’t really that concerned with how they get there.
But he had to be happy Friday night, as the Falcons went up to Basking Ridge to face his old school, Ridge, and came out with a 24-7 win in which they scored in all three phases of the game: two offensive touchdowns, one defensive, and one on special teams, with a field goal.
In fact, St. Joe’s scored all 24 points before Ridge could even get on the board with a 33-yard touchdown run by Nick Pfennig in the third quarter.
And all that scoring came in the first half. In the opening quarter, Reggie Bropleh caught an 18-yard touchdown pass from Justin Scaramuzzo. Then, it was the defense’s turn, as Jason Gross scooped up a fumble and took it 36-yards to paydirt.
In the second quarter, Scaramuzzo scampered 14 yards for a score, and Austin Loreti kicked a 42-yard field goal. He almost had a second, which he just missed wide.
Scaramuzzo finished 9-of-16 passing for 102 yards and a score, while running for 91 on 16 carries with another touchdown.
St. Joseph improves to 1-0 with the win, and will face Union (0-2) on the road next week, the second of two away from Metuchen to open the season. Ridge falls to 0-1 and will play its next two games on the road, with a trip to Hillsborough (1-1) next Friday night, before visiting Phillipsburg the following week.
Click below fro postgame reaction from St. Joseph-Metuchen head coach Bill Tracy with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:
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