Ridley rebounds (again) to eke out wild contest with Interboro

GLENOLDEN — There was a feeling in the fourth quarter Thursday at South Avenue Athletic Complex that Interboro was destined to win.

The Bucs scored the go-ahead touchdown with 8:49 left in regulation.

Rather than play conservatively, kicker Jordan Howe executed a perfect squib kick. The ball bounced high in the air around the Ridley 35-yard line. Ridley’s special-teams players were looking directly into the glare of the November sun and lost track of the ball’s flight. Interboro pounced on the loose pigskin, and its offense went back to work inside Ridley territory.

Ridley’s defense, rattled after allowing Interboro to score seconds earlier, managed to make a big stop on fourth down with 6:50 left.

What transpired was a wild finish to an amazing Turkey Bowl, the 50th edition in Delco’s most heated rivalry.

Ridley’s offense, led by senior quarterback Jack Bakey, required only three plays to regain the lead. Hassan Chandler sprinted 35 yards to the end zone. Interboro answered, thanks a to a four-yard scoring run by Evan Sorrentino.

With one more shot to and extend its Thanksgiving winning streak to five, Ridley capitalized. Elijah Yakpasuo lowered his shoulders and ran two yards up the middle and across the goal line, the difference in a 27-26 victory for Ridley.

“We know that, on every drive, we’ve got to play hard,” said Yakpasuo, who amassed 138 yards on 16 carries. He finished his senior year with 1,271 rushing yards. “This was a hard-fought game, both teams played really hard. We had to motivate the guys and tell them to get after it.

“I love competition. I love this type of game, I don’t like blowouts. I like it when (the game is) close. So, I had to tell the guys, ‘We’ve been through this before, so come on and let’s get after it.’”

Yakpasuo’s game-winning score came with 1:28 to play, which was enough time for Interboro’s offense to make it interesting. Jared Dellipriscoli threw an 11-yard pass to Tim Convery on third down to keep the Bucs’ hopes alive. Two plays later, Dellipriscoli rolled to his right and looked to throw downfield. He eluded the rush, changed directions a few times before setting his feet. He saw Andrew Grieb all alone in the end zone. Dellipriscoli unleashed a throw, but defensive back Jack Liberio recovered in time to disrupt the pass. Grieb juggled the ball as he was crashing to the ground and nearly made a circus catch.

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Ridley quarterback Jack Bakey gets a lift from his linemen to celebrate a first-half touchdown in Ridley’s 27-26 win over Interboro Thursday. (Pete Bannan/Digital First Media)