Richardson, Ridley run past Harriton to end slide

LOWER MERION >> ​After three straight tight games in which his Green Raiders came up short, Ridley coach Dave Wood stressed the importance of minding the details to his team — “dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s,” as he put it.

The Green Raiders’ defense handled the i’s and t’s. Senior running back Kamal Richardson provided the exclamation point.

Richardson ran for 225 yards and two touchdowns, while the defense allowed only 140 total yards as Ridley downed Harriton, 28-0, Saturday.

Richardson came out swinging, ripping off a 50-yard run on the Green Raiders’ first play from scrimmage. Ociele Miller’s first of two TD carries got Ridley (2-3, 1-3 Central) off to a fast start.

“We worked hard this week and we made mistakes that we had to overcome,” Richard said. “But we were able to (overcome the mistakes), and we needed this win.”

The mistakes were on both sides in the first half, as Ridley’s Elijah Yakpasuo intercepted a Harriton pass at the Rams’ 43-yard line after Miller’s initial score. Early in the second quarter, the Green Raiders recovered a fumble inside the Harriton 30. But the Green Raiders were unable to cash in on either opportunity due to untimely penalties and a fumble.

“In every game this season, we’ve been right there, and we’re just committing too many penalties and turnovers,” Wood said. “On offense, we move the ball, but one mistake kills our momentum. Defensively, we make a bunch of great plays, but then we’ll give up one big one. When you’re playing in big games, you look to your leaders to make those plays. We’re still learning, but we’ll keep working on execution.”

It wasn’t until almost halftime that the Green Raiders started to execute consistently, starting with a 40-yard pass from senior quarterback Nick Layden to Miller. Miller would finish that drive on a two-yard plunge to make the halftime margin 14-0.

It was the first drive of the second half where the Green Raiders looked like the Ridley of old. A 15-play, 74-yard march (featuring only one pass) took almost eight minutes off the clock and culminated in a Richardson touchdown from five yards out.

Harriton (1-4, 0-4) was able to force the Green Raiders to drive the length of the field repeatedly, thanks to fine special teams play and punting from Nate Nagvajara (six punts for an average of 41 yards)​.

After the long drive in the third quarter, Richardson broke off left tackle and took the Green Raiders 63 yards to pay dirt, putting the game away and boosting himself over 200 yards in the process. He added an 18-yard reception to make it 243 total yards.

“We made some adjustments at halftime, but we didn’t get away from our philosophy,” Richardson said. “We kept pounding.”

For the Rams, it was a tough day offensively until the fourth quarter, when quarterback Jack Rosenfeld found Stan Patton for a 71-yard gain to inside the Ridley 10. But the Green Raiders defense stiffened, forcing another Rams’ turnover and ending the day with the shutout.

“We kept competing, which is all we ever ask our guys to do,” Harriton coach Justin Mellor said. “When we get to halftime at a 14-0 score against a traditional powerhouse like Ridley, that shows we’re doing just that. No matter who we’re playing, we’re gonna fight to the final whistle.”

For the Green Raiders, there’s not much time to celebrate, as they prepare to visit undefeated Springfield Thursday in the latest in a series of Central League slugfests.

“When you look at the best teams in the Central League, everybody has guys playing both sides of the ball,” Wood said. “If we can run and control the ball like we did in the second half, that plays in our favor because it allows us to wear down the defense. That’s gonna be key for us not only against Springfield, but throughout the season if we want to play championship ball.”