Ridgefield keeps shutout streak alive with 49-0 win over Mark Morris

RIDGEFIELD — The only suspense in Ridgefield’s 49-0 win over Mark Morris on Friday came in the final minute.

That’s when Ridgefield’s defense, with mostly junior varsity players on the field, held the Monarchs at the 3-yard line as time expired.

It preserved a big point of pride for the Spudders — They haven’t yet been scored on this season. Ridgefield has now outscored its first three opponents 139-0.

And with Friday being Senior Night at Ridgefield High School, the shutout streak punctuates how far the football program has come in four years.

“My freshman year we went 1-8,” said senior receiver Aidan Hundt. “It’s kind of cool to be on a team where we’re on the opposite side of blowouts.”

Hundt caught a touchdown pass and also had one of Ridgefield’s three interceptions. The Spudders held Mark Morris to 161 yards of offense and three times held firm after the Monarchs had driven inside the Ridgefield 20-yard line.

Ridgefield put the game away with a 32-point blitz in the second quarter, largely powered by the running game. Sam Everett, Tanner Roberts and Matt Vance combined for 160 yards on just 15 carries, thanks to massive holes being opened by the offensive line.

“It feels a lot better than it did the past two games,” said starting center Wyatt Bartroff, a sophomore. “The last two, the line hasn’t been great. It’s little errors here and there that stopped it. But what really helped us out was communicating, taking a second and knowing where to go.”

Friday’s win sets up a clash against Hockinson on March 13 that could decide the 2A Greater St. Helens League title.

Ridgefield and Hockinson weren’t scheduled to face each other in the five-game 2A GSHL campaign. But Ridgefield’s next scheduled opponent, R.A. Long, agreed to take on Hudson’s Bay, who was set to face Hockinson next week.

Ridgefield believes it’s ready to offer a stiff challenge to the Hawks, who won back-to-back state titles in 2017-18. The Spudders believe in setting lofty goals, which is why shutting out an opponent is a weekly target.

“It’s always going to be on our mind,” Hundt said. “As a team our goal is to go 5-0, but we also want to hang a zero on the opponents. We think we’re a good enough defense and a good enough team where we can do that. We expect nothing less.”

RIDGEFIELD 49, MARK MORRIS 0

Mark Morris 0 0 0 0—0

Ridgefield 8 32 0 9—49

First quarter

R — Sam Everett 1 run (Luke Price run)

Second quarter

R — Ty Snider 32 pass from Price (Tanner Roberts run)

R — Ryan Jenkins 12 pass from Price (Roberts run)

R — Aidan Hundt 8 pass from Price (Price run)

R — Matt Vance 4 run (Vance run)

Fourth quarter

R — Safety, punt snapped out of end zone

R — Dylan Workman 1 run (Snider kick)

Individual statistics

RUSHING — MM: George Mosier 7-7, Jared Noel 3-8, Owen Huhta 10-12, Jaden Anderson 3-20, Deacon Dietz 2-14. Ridgefield: Tanner Roberts 4-51, Matt Vance 4-35, Sam Everett 7-74, Luke Price 1-0, Damion Jiles 4-8, Dylan Workman 6-23, Dillon Kirksey 2-17.

PASSING — MM: Jared Noel 9-22-3-100. Ridgefield: Luke Price 10-16-2-168, Dylan Kirksey 3-5-0-25.

RECEIVING — MM: Deacon Dietz 3-39, Langston Bartell 3-42, George Mosier 2-9, Jamison Watson 1-10. Ridgefield: Ty Snider 5-91, Ryan Jenkins 2-41, Aidan Hundt 3-36, Trent Miller 1-2, Logan McCarthy 1-18, Jack Champine 1-5.