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The eighth-seeded Tigers (9-2) will kick off against the Nighthawks at 6:30 p.m. in Newtown. The winner advances to the semifinals Saturday.
Since losing to Darien on Oct. 26, Ridgefield has posted impressive victories over Norwalk, McMahon, Wilton and Danbury. Ridgefield has averaged 37.25 points per game in that span, while allowing just an average of 6.5 points.
Ridgefield has been led by senior running back Will Bonaparte (1,524 yards, 16 touchdowns) and quarterback Ryan Dunn, who has thrown for 2,066 yards and 26 touchdowns. Bonaparte had 292 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Danbury. Bonaparte also broke the school record for most yards rushing in a season, eclipsing the mark 1,320 set by Tyler Kirchoff set in 2005.
Patrick Weston (6.5 sacks), Andrew Chuma and Lucas Goff are Ridgefield’s defensive leaders.
Ridgefield, which also lost to St. Joseph this year, will face a Newtown team that is ranked second in the latest state poll and has walloped nearly everybody on its schedule. The Nighthawks beat Masuk, 42-7, on Thanksgiving and won the South-West Conference championship by beating Brookfield, 28-7. Quarterback Andrew Tarantino (32 touchdown passes) and running back Cooper Gold (1,564 yards, 17 touchdowns) are Newtown’s top threats.
Ridgefield is one of four teams from the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference in the four-tiered state tournament. Darien, New Canaan and St. Joseph also play on Tuesday. Newtown qualified from its conference along with Joel Barlow, Brookfield and Bethel.
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