Win over Ridley long time coming for James Quici, Conestoga

RIDLEY TWP. — When James Quici was in fourth grade in 2015, Conestoga High’s football team defeated Ridley.

Each Pioneers team that took on Ridley since had ended up on the wrong end of the score until Friday night at Phil Marion Field.

“My brother was on the team that lost to Ridley in the last game of the (regular) season a couple years ago,” Quici said. “Then they played at Ridley in the playoffs the next week and lost again.”

Quici was reminiscing after his 20-yard scoring run on a double-reverse play on fourth down with 4:04 remaining in Friday’s Central League contest lifted Conestoga to a 27-21 decision over Ridley.

In addition to breaking an eight-game losing streak to the Green Raiders, the Pioneers gave eighth-year head coach Matt Diamond his first win over Ridley.

“I really don’t know what to say,” an elated Diamond offered after meeting with his team following the game. “I’ll let the kids do all the talking. This is really something for them as well as for all the others we’ve brought here who didn’t get a win.”

Ridley coach Dave Wood, whose team came back from a 14-7 halftime deficit to score twice in the third quarter, saw the Green Raiders give away a game they could have won.

“We fought back in the third quarter,” he said. “We did a nice job coming back out there after the half and taking the lead. But then we just didn’t make enough plays when we needed to after that. We had some players trying to do a little too much.

“It’s been a long time since a Ridley team had a start like this (1-4). We’ve got to do a better job at paying attention to all the little details.”

Ridley scored on the second play from scrimmage as quarterback Ryan Carroll and Khameen Powell teamed on a 71-yard pass play that had the Homecoming Day crowd on its feet less than one minute into the game.

Conestoga got even at the end of a 67-yard march that used up eight plays. Senior Tommy Costigan, who also was a force on defense from his linebacker position, ran four yards into the end zone on the fourth play of the second quarter.

After Ridley went three-and-out, ’Stoga took four minutes off the clock to go 74 yards in 10 plays, with Charlie Newhall banging over the goal line from less than a yard away.

Ridley then got as far as the Pioneers’ 18 but came up short on a field goal try as the half came to a close.

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Conestoga running back Tommy Costigan, seen two weeks earlier in a game against Upper Darby, ran for 115 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a win over Ridley Friday night. (Nate Heckenberger - For MediaNews Group)