Ridgewood 26, Fenton 21

Fenton successfully slowed Ridgewood's 230-pound fullback, Chris Wood, on Friday. It was Rebels quarterback Pat Czerwiec that haunted the Bison all night.

"I really believe that he is the best athlete in the conference," said Ridgewood football coach Chris Zack after Czerwiec broke runs of 49, 49, and 42 yards to key the Rebels' 26-21 Metro Suburban Conference win over the Bison in Bensenville.

"They had two or three really big plays that hurt us," Fenton coach Mark Farrell said. "And they almost had a few more. They had a couple drops as well.

"They played very well. I'll take my hat off to their kids. They played hard, and for our kids we didn't execute when we had to execute."

While showing flashes of solid play this season, the Bison (3-4, 2-2) have struggled all year to play consistent football.

"Sometimes we look like we're shooting on all cylinders. We look like an awesome team," Fenton senior Alex Mroz said. "Then other times…"

That inconsistency started with a missed tackle or two on Ridgewood's second play from scrimmage, a screen pass that went for a 56-yard touchdown.

Fenton answered two series later with an 88-yard scoring drive that featured a pair of 20-plus yard pass-plays between Ricky Prignano and Darek Potuszynski, and a 15-yard touchdown run by D.J. Anderson.

Ridgewood (4-3, 3-1) went up 14-7 on a 49-yard Czerwiec touchdown run, the second big play given up by Fenton in the first quarter. Of the 158 yards that Ridgewood compiled in the first half, 115 came on those two plays.

Fenton used another pair of passing plays to tie the game -- this time to Tommy Garza -- on a 57-yard drive capped by a 3-yard touchdown run from Casey Mohr.

"When you think about it, it would have been 14-0 without those big plays," Mroz said.

Ridgewood led 20-14 after three quarters, but Fenton drove 66 yards on the running of Mohr and a 19-yard pass to Anderson, setting up a 4-yard Prignano touchdown run that gave Fenton a fourth-quarter lead.

The Rebels scored again on their next offensive set, however, and Fenton couldn't make it happen on its final possession.

"We're not making the big plays and when you're not making the big plays you've got to do things better," Farrell said. "Right now, we're just not doing them well enough."