Bingnear’s interception seals a must-win for Ridley

RIDLEY TWP. >> The best way for Radnor to keep quarterback Pat McDermott against Ridley’s stout defensive line was to get him on the move early and often.

Only a handful of McDermott’s 24 pass attempts featured him standing stationary in the pocket, so when Radnor faced fourth-and-11 down a touchdown to Ridley with less than three minutes to go, Sean Bingnear knew what to expect.

Bingnear knew McDermott would be on the move and he knew there’d be a good chance the throw would be headed to Justin DiCarlo. From there, the Green Raiders’ senior free safety went to work.

“(DiCarlo) came out and did the flood (concept) like they’d been doing all game,” Bingnear said. “We were in Cover 2 and I just stepped in front of the pass.”

Bingnear hauled in the pass, essentially cementing a 28-21 Ridley win at Phil Marion Field that ended the Green Raiders’ two-game losing skid. It took some doing, though, to put away a pesky Radnor squad missing several key players. Do-it-all athlete Jack Wilson and All-Delco linebacker Dario Falcone were the latest additions to the injury list. It didn’t hurt Ridley’s chances, though, that Malik Young went off on the ground.

Young brought the game’s opening kickoff back to the Radnor 29, then took the next two carries to put Ridley up 7-0 less than a minute into the game. That got him going, and his four carries for 43 yards on the Green Raiders’ game-icing drive put the finishing touches on a 31-carry, 201-yard, three-touchdown outburst.

“I got on my horse (early) and got good movement,” Young said. “My legs felt great. It just clicked. Running like that is all on my line because if my line’s not there, I’m running into all defensive players. Hat’s off to my line.”

The Green Raiders (3-2, 1-2 Central League) had early success attacking the perimeter of Radnor’s defense before moving things back inside. Young did get an earful on a 28-yard carry that more or less iced the game for Ridley when he went out of bounds instead of staying inbounds to keep the clock running.

“They didn’t really show us anything that we weren’t really expecting,” Young added. “Our line did an awesome job

blocking, the receivers were blocking downfield. Everybody just clicked on the offensive side. I really wasn’t sure on that run. I was thinking to slide, but I had three big guys running after me, so I was just saving myself and went out of bounds.”

That was one of Young’s few mistakes on the night. Radnor, though, was in no mood to roll over and hand Ridley the game. The Raiders (3-2, 1-2) wasted no time in tying the game as Jack Horvath emerged from a pile of bodies and sprinted 73 yards to the end zone. Ridley threatened to pull away when Young scored from six yards out and Gene Gibbons (three catches, 106 yards) had a tremendous 63-yard catch-and-run on a crossing route from quarterback Cade Stratton (9-for-15, 167 yards), but Radnor saved some of its big plays for right before halftime.

On fourth-and-14, McDermott escaped the pocket and fired a prayer into what looked liked triple coverage around DiCarlo. It didn’t matter, though, as DiCarlo somehow snared the pass at the Ridley 2. Raiders coach Tom Ryan decided to go for it on the last play of the half, a move that paid off in spades when Naa’ir Williams barreled in off right tackle to end the half.

Radnor looked to be in business, too, after DiCarlo picked off a Stratton pass on Ridley’s first offensive play of the second half. Tucker Ballbach, Wilson’s replacement at cornerback and one of the country’s best uncommitted junior lacrosse goalies, tracked Stratton’s deep ball and tipped it into DiCarlo’s waiting hands to give the Raiders some life.

“What I saw was two fly routes and I just kept dropping,” Ballbach said. “We were in Cover 3 and then I saw Stratton throw it to the middle guy. I just kind of jumped the route and was able to get a hand on it and Justin finished it off.”

Radnor’s next drive stalled, though, and it looked like Ridley’s would, too. Christian Dunn (one catch, seven yards) had a highlight-reel cutback run across the field for a touchdown that was called back for a holding call. Undeterred, Young promptly scored on a 22-yard dash on the next play.

Alex Hino’s 10-yard touchdown reception slashed Ridley’s lead to seven, but that’s as close as the Raiders were able to get. While Radnor coach Tom Ryan admitted to his team that he’s not a believer in moral victories, there’s little doubt that Radnor can build off of this game as it looks to finally qualify for a playoff berth.

“It definitely gives us confidence, especially with all the injuries that we’ve had,” Ballbach said. “We know we can hang with anybody. Going forward, we’re just looking forward for that magic number to get in the playoffs. It’d be the first time that Radnor’s ever been in the playoffs, so we definitely have a lot of confidence moving forward.”