McCaffery: McNicholas’ grandson able to preserve Ridley mystique
LOWER GWYNEDD — One by one, the losses were accumulating, four to start the season, a couple by unspeakably lopsided margins. More than anyone, though, John Bakey knew it would turn around. More than anyone, he knew Ridley football would be Ridley football again.
“I just wanted to go out there and play for my brothers,” Bakey said. “I wanted to go out and play for the people before me, great coaches, great players, great teams. And I just wanted to carry on that Ridley tradition.”
His grandfather would not allow him to think otherwise.
His grandfather would not allow him to allow another chip to be chiseled off the Green Mystique.
His grandfather is Joe McNicholas, who once coached Ridley to 226 victories and such dominance in Delaware County and beyond that never, ever would the Green Raiders enter a game not expecting to win.
So it was Friday, when the 16th-seeded Green Raiders would face top-seed and unbeaten North Penn. Given Ridley’s 0-4 start and in-the-pack Central League season, it was widely figured to be bombarded. Instead, there were the Green Raiders on a six-game winning streak, and midway through the third quarter they were near midfield and driving with a chance to take the lead. That there was a turnover, a momentum swing and ultimately elimination from the District 1 Class 6A tournament, the game would not end until North Penn chose to take a deliberate safety with no time left to settle for a 26-16 victory.
By November, then, Ridley was what Ridley was built to be multiple generations before its quarterback was born: Competitive with them all.
“At Ridley, there are always high expectations,” Bakey said. “So there are always pressures of privilege. You always have to work hard. They expect you to win. You’ve got to win.”
Few know that better than McNicholas, an unquestioned legend, but a coach who’d dared not be behind by three points at halftime of any home game if he didn’t want to be heckled by the crowd. So when Ridley lost to Father Judge, then by 34 to Garnet Valley, then to Springfield and Radnor, he would be as good as he was at coaching in another, more important role: Grandfather.
“He would always help give me advice,” Bakey said. “Whenever something would go wrong, he would cheer me up. Or he would tell me to stick to it and that we were going to grind through it and turn our season around.”
The season did turn, with coach Dave Wood making some lineup changes and providing the right in-house tone. For that, the North Penn game was a one-night reflection of the Ridley season. It was a bit of a struggle, but it would not end without a fight. And it was Bakey who scored on a seven-yard keeper with 1:59 left to draw the Raiders just close enough to convince the assembled fans at Wissahickon High to endure at least a few more minutes of being soaked by rain.
“Our kids fought all the way until the end, and I have to give them a lot of credit,” said Wood, who is trying to build on the Ridley tradition. “We were a no-win football team. Most teams could have baled and packed it up and it would have been a tough year. But these kids kept on fighting.”
Even after the Knights scored first Friday, the Raiders had an instant response, Elijah Yakpasuo racing the ensuing kickoff 77 yards the other way for a touchdown. Twice in the first half, the Raiders forced four-and-outs, including one from the 1-yard line, Bryce Regan providing the jolting stop.
“I give credit to our seniors,” Wood said. “We made some changes on both sides of the ball. But our kids really bought in. And we had two bad losses in there and that motivated us to turn it around.”
By Friday, when a stream of fan buses rolled into the Wissahickon parking lot and Ridley chants were spilling from the open windows, there was even a scent of that old mystique. And long after the game, as he was the last to leave the field, Bakey was greeted by about a dozen former Ridley players near the goal post, smiling, patting him on the back, thanking him for not allowing the season to end the way it started.
Also nearby: The man they called McNick, the curator of the mystique from 1973 through 1996.
“Those kids, they will always have that,” McNicholas said. “That will never go away. They were 0-4, but they did a great job.”
In a way, it was in their blood. In at least one case, literally.
“He’s a good kid,” McNicholas said of Bakey. “He works hard. Fundamentally, he is pretty sound. And his arm is good. He’s got a good arm. He runs. He has more speed than I had. He’s a good-looking prospect. I like him.”
The Raiders are at 6-5, they had a taste of the postseason, and they were competitive with the top-rated team in the district. For that, they can comfortably fit somewhere in Ridley history.
“I know all about the history of Ridley football,” Bakey said, in a conversation about his grandfather. “He was a great coach. And I am just trying to carry on the Ridley legacy.”
The Green Raiders will prepare for Interboro, and Bakey’s final game. That’s always a special challenge. But whatever happens, they will have had a mandatory achievement: They will have made Ridley football Ridley football again.
