PHOTOS: Peppers, Paladins Run Over Ridgewood in 42-10 Victory

The Ridgewood Maroons couldn't handle all-everything junior running back Jabrill Peppers Friday night, falling to Paramus Catholic 42-10. The loss drops the Maroons to 2-2 on the season after the Maroons put on offensive clinics in its first two games of the season.

Ridgewood started well out of the gate against the balanced offensive attack of the Paladins (4-0), holding their opponent to a single touchdown in the first quarter. 

Kicker Young Hoe Koo then got Ridgewood on the board with a 31-yard field goal in the second quarter, closing the gap. Minutes later, Ridgewood tight end Connor Van Caugherty caught a 17-yard strike from quarterback Jamal Locke. It would be Ridgewood's only touchdown all night.

Paramus Catholic fought back with a steady dose of Peppers, a Don Bosco transfer and one of the nation's most highly recruited cornerbacks. He took the ball in for a 2-yard touchdown run and followed it up with a diving touchdown catch between defenders with just seconds left before halftime.

At 21-10, the Paladins never looked back.

The Paladins would dump another 21 points on the Maroons with passing strikes from quarterback Steve Shanley to Najee Clayton and James Colacci. Ridgewood's offense sputtered to get going after halftime, struggling for yards against one of North Jersey's top-ranked teams.

Ridgewood looks to rebound after two consecutive losses against Passaic next Friday in a home game.

–James Kleimann