Tag: Mike Olivo

by Mike Pavlichko

Ridge senior Olivo talks baseball Team of the Year, then heads off for football

2021 brought a state sectional title to the Ridge baseball team, and 2022 a Somerset County Tournament Championship, it’s first in over a decade.

That was all an exciting time for Mike Olivo, a pitcher and starting centerfielder for the Red Devils, who were named this week the inaugural Bellamy & Son Paving Team of the Year, finishing No. 1 in the final rankings of the 2022 season.

And now, having graduated – following a challenging four years that saw COVID wipe out his sophomore baseball season – he’s off to Hartford, Connecticut, where he’ll play in the secondary for Trinity College. After all, he was an important leader on the football team for head coach Andy West the last couple of years.

Ridge QB Michael Olivo talks with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Dom Savino after the Red Devils defeated Hillsborough on November 6, 2020. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

His teams went a combined 13-5, while Olivo – a quarterback on offense – put up impressive career numbers in two varsity seasons: over 1,900 passing yards and 24 touchdowns, along with over 1,700 rushing yards. On defense, where he’ll play in college, he recorded five INTs in three seasons, and 70 total tackles.

Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko got a chance to talk with Olivo about the baseball team that brought two titles in two years home to Basking Ridge, his teammates, and moving on to play on the gridiron. Click below to listen:

by justinsontupe

Ridge dominates Woodbridge wire-to-wire on strong run game from Olivo, stout defense

Woodbridge might have known it was in trouble from the opening kick.

Sixth-seed Ridge, playing on the road in the opening round of the North 1, Group 4 playoffs, figured why not try an onside kick to start the game. And that was the beginning of the end for the third-seeded Barrons.

The Red Devils recovered the kick, and on the ensuing drive scored their first touchdown of the game in a 38-0 win over Woodbridge (7-3) to advance to the second round of the playoffs.

Ridge (7-2) got 164 rushing yards on 13 carries from quarterback Mike Olivo en route to the “upset,” if you want to call it that.

The Red Devils’ only two losses this year came to two of the best teams in the Big Central: Hillsborough and Phillipsburg.

Ridge was dominant on defense, picking off Barrons’ QB Matt Stanton three times. But they also excelled on offense, scoring on every posssesion except the ones that ended the first half and the game.

Ridge now moves on to play next Friday night at 7 pm up at 2nd-seed Ramapo, which beat 7th-seed Chatham 47-21 Friday night at home.

Click below to hear postgame reaction from Justin Sontupe down on the field after the Ridge win:

Ridge quarterback Mike Olivo
Head Coach Andy West
by Mike Pavlichko

Seven touchdown performance earns Ridge’s Olivo Week Four Bellamy & Son Paving Player of the Week Award

Ridge head coach Andy West says he doubts it ever happened before, and if he’s not right, he’s probably pretty close to it.

In the “Battle of the Red Devils,” Ridge quarterback Michael Olivo accounted for seven touchdowns Friday night in a 49-20 win over Hunterdon Central, in his team’s home opener.

Olivo was 8-of-13 passing for 190 yards and three touchdowns for No. 5 Ridge, while he ran for four more as part of a 14 carry, 270-yard night.

His TD passes went 19 yards to Tyler McCaffrey and 48 yards to Harry Hagerman in the opening quarter, and 21 yards to Christian Edwards in the third.

On the ground, he scored on TD jaunts of 67 and 18 yards, with a pair of 75 yard scores after halftime – one in the third quarter, and one in the fourth.

His efforts earned him the Week Four Bellamy & Son Paving Big Central Player of the Week award. At the end of the season, he’ll receive a custom football, and be eligible for a $500 scholarship from Bellamy & Son Paving, a founding sponsor of Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Click below to hear Mike Olivo talk with Mike Pavlichko about his seven touchdown night:

Honor Roll…

Returning one punt for a touchdown is impressive enough, but two is really special.

St. Joseph-Metuchen sophomore Jeremy Decaro doubled his pleasure, and doubled his fun with TD punt returns of 75 and 55 yards. Overall in the game, he returned four punts for 161 yards, an average of 40.3 per return.

Owen Haughney of No. 7 Old Bridge played a huge role in his team’s win over No. 10 Monroe, handing the Falcons their first loss of the season.

The senior QB went 8-for-13 passing for 172 yards, throwing two touchdowns, and no picks, while he rushed for another two touchdowns, finishing with 15 carries and 186 yards. That’s a 358=yard night from scrimmage. Kudos!

Finally, Linden’s Tequan Thomas – yet another QB – figured prominently in a 20-14 upset of No. 10 and previously unbeaten Westfield.

Just a sophomore, he was a perfect 4-for-4 passing for just 29 yards, but had 14 carries for 190 yards, including all three touchdowns scored by the Tigers: 65, 63, and 15 yard scoring trips.

Add in the importance of doing it against the resurgent Blue Devils, and that makes the feat all the more fantastic.