BASKING RIDGE, NJ–Week eleven brings our coverage the state tournament. This weekend there are only four games involving GMC teams with two of them having both teams from the conference. The site will be over at Ridge High School in Basking Ridge to see the fifth seeded Red Devils take on the eighth seeded Woodbridge Barrons in the North Jersey Section 2 Group IV State Tournament. It is the four time that we’ll be seeing a GMC team facing a non-conference opponent, but the first time we’ll be looking at a team from the Mid-State 39 Conference.
The winner of this game will move on to the Championship Game to face the winner of the game between third seeded Westfield and second seeded Phillipsburg. Woodbridge comes in with a record of 5-4 overall, but they’ve come a long way with five straight victories including wins over Piscataway and Union after losing their first four contest. Here are the particulars for this game:
Current Weather Conditions–South Plainfield, New Jersey
- Sky Conditions: Mostly Sunny
- Temperature: 55 degrees
- Humidity: 66 percent
- Dew Point: 44 degrees
- Barometer: Steady at 29.91 inches of Hg (Mercury)
- Winds: S at about 10 miles per hour
Weather Forecast–Basking Ridge at 7:00 PM EDT
According to the latest forecast from the National Weather Service Office in Mount Holly, New Jersey, we have much better weather to deal with tonight. The cold front that brought some instances of heavy downpours with some flashes of lightning and rumbles of thunder last night, has pushed out of our area. Conditions are going to improve during the day, and the forecast calls for sunny skies this afternoon with a high of about 60 degrees. Tonight, skies will be clear, and with the higher elevation and radiational cooling conditions prevailing (mostly clear conditions and light winds), temperatures are expected to fall into the mid to upper 30s. So make sure to dress warmly.
Directions to Ridge High School
Address: –Ridge High School, 268 South Finley Avenue, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920
Route 287 North – Mt. Airy Road – Liberty Corner Exit 26A
- At the bottom of the ramp, bear right onto Mt. Airy Road.
- Travel .2 miles and turn left onto Lake Road (second left).
- Follow Lake Road to the end
- At traffic light, school will be straight ahead.
Route 287 South – North Maple Avenue – Basking Ridge – Exit 30A
- Turn right onto North Maple Avenue.
- Pass AT&T on your left.
- Continue through the traffic light and at the ‘Y’ in the road bear right.
- At stop sign, turn left into the town.
- Travel straight and the road will bear around to the right. (A stone wall is on the left.)
- At end of the stone wall, the school will be on the left
Route 78 West – Exit 36 – Basking Ridge/Warrenville
- At the bottom of the ramp, turn right onto King George Road.
- Travel 1 mile to Valley Road (Millington Baptist Church is on the right.)
- Bear left at the traffic light.
- Continue straight (road becomes Stonehouse Road) until intersection (Stop & Shop/Lyons Mall will be straight ahead); bear right at light
- Travel under train trestle, and the road makes a sweeping curve to the left and becomes South Finley Avenue.
- Ridge High School is approximately .5miles on the right.
Route 78 East – Exit 36 – Basking Ridge/Warrenville
- At the bottom of the ramp, turn left onto King George Road.
- Travel 1 mile to Valley Road (Millington Baptist Church is on the right.)
- Bear left at the traffic light.
- Continue straight (road becomes Stonehouse Road) until intersection (Stop & Shop/Lyons Mall will be straight ahead); bear right at light
- Travel under train trestle, and the road makes a sweeping curve to the left and becomes South Finley Avenue.
- Ridge High School is approximately .5miles on the right.
Game Outlook
The Woodbridge Barrons have become quite a story this season. After starting out 0-4 including two blowout losses to East Brunswick (38-0) and Howell (37-7), the Barrons began to gradually improve in losses to Sayreville (23-8) and South Brunswick (14-7 OT). Then, the wins started coming. First, WHS went on the road to defeat Edison (21-6) and Old Bridge (20-9). With confidence now building, and stormy conditions prevailing at Priscoe Field, Woodbridge stunned then number two ranked Piscataway (10-3). After demolishing J.P. Stevens (42-6) to qualify for the playoffs, the Barrons went up to top seeded Union, and after tying at 14-14 going into halftime, they came up with the final nine points for a huge upset win, 23-14.
On the other hand, Ridge enters this contest with four straight comeback victories under its belt. The comebacks have garnered them with the reputation of being the cardiac kids. The latest win was a 14-13 victory over Bridgewater that was sealed by a blocked field goal late in the game. The Red Devils are 8-2 entering tonight’s contest, defeated Immaculata earlier in the season, and won the Mid-State 39 Raritan Division title. There’s definitely a lot to cheer about in Basking Ridge, the basketball team did very well last year gaining the top seed in the North Jersey Section 2 Group IV Tournament before falling to eventual champion, Plainfield in the semifinals. The Ridge cagers should be good again this year with the likes of Ishaq Pitt, Andrew Madlinger, and Nick Cefalo.
Speaking of Cefalo, he also stars on the football team, where he has caught 17 touchdown passes for the Devils. He’s the favorite target of quarterback Ben Edsall. Cefalo, who has caught 39 passes for 939 yards, has also run for another 659 yards. The Barrons have been led by running back Curtis Davison on offense and linebacker Dan Donahue on defense. Woodbridge’s quarterback, Kyle Anderson has improved week by week, and old school player, Johnny Mayi is the leader of the group. Keith Hughes and Anthony Nyers are targets for Anderson at receiver. Backing up Donahue on defense is the hard hitting C.J. Bruno along with Jose Egner and Max Issaka.
Both teams have played Union this year with Ridge losing to the Farmers on the road (30-28) while Woodbridge won at Union in the opening round last week. The Barrons have played a more formidable schedule that includes playoff teams such as East Brunswick, Howell, Sayreville, Piscataway, and Union. Ridge has played playoff teams such as Immaculata, Union, Warren Hills, Montgomery, and Bridgewater. However, while the Barrons have defeated inferior teams decisively, Ridge has only edged them. The Devils only defeated 2-8 Plainfield by three (23-20), 3-6 Franklin by four (34-30), and 2-7 Watchung Hills by a touchdown.
Nevertheless, Woodbridge will have to play 48 minutes of football to pull out a win here, and they are capable of that.
See our pick in the GMC Football Week Eleven Capsules for Friday night.