Archbishop Hannan’s Hawks struggled early in another ballgame Friday night, losing its homecoming game to the Ridgewood Golden Eagles, 32-15 in the game played at Hammond High School.

Hannan (0-3) fell behind 14-0 in the second quarter. Ridgewood running back Reuben Foster opened the Golden Eagles’ scoring on a one yard run with Jacob Wolf kicking the extra point. Foster tallied his second score, coming on a four-yarder. Wolf again split the uprights to make it 14-0.

Hannan’s Adam Lewis electrified the homecoming crowd returning the ensuing kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown to breathe life back into the Hawks. Michael Tiziani booted the point after to cut the margin to 14-7.

Archbishop Hannan senior Gino Gioe picks up yardage in Friday night'€™s Homecoming game against Ridgewood played in Hammond. (Photo Courtesy of Joey Sedtal)

Hannan second-year coach George Templet then decided to try and surprise Ridgewood with an onside kick.

Templet said Lewis recovered the kick in the air being down at the Ridgewood 48. Templet said however the officials ruled that Ridgewood would take over possession at that spot because the ball did not hit the ground first prior to Lewis making the recovery.

Templet called a timeout to get a clarification on the ruling. “They blew the call. I wanted to get their interpretation of why they gave Ridgewood possession after we had recovered. The official told me it was because the ball had not hit the ground first before being recovered,” Templet said.

Templet said he referred to the rulebook after the game, and couldn’t find anything, which talked specifically about the ball having to hit the ground before a recovery could be made.

The official’s call took a big potential momentum swing away from the Hawks at a crucial juncture with Hannan back in the game, trailing 14-7.

With possession, Ridgewood took advantage as quarterback Joe DiMarco later connected with Foster on a 63-yard scoring strike to push the lead to 20-7. It was Ridgewood’s only completion in three attempts. The extra point try was missed. Ridgewood took the 20-7 lead into halftime.

The Hawks turned the ball over twice in the game, losing two fumbles.

Templet said his players are having a tough time early in ballgames. “We are struggling on offense. We had some opportunities, but we weren’t able to cash in on them,” Templet said.

He praised the effort of Lewis, his senior tailback. “Adam continues to give us an outstanding effort. He’s doing all that he can do,” Templet said.

Hannan was limited to 55 yards rushing on 18 attempts, while junior quarterback Andrew Arceneaux completed just 4-of-15 passes for 93 yards. The Hawks picked up just nine first downs compared to 19 for the Golden Eagles. Ridgewood pounded the ball on the ground, rushing for 358 yards on 58 carries.

Templet said Ridgewood did a great job protecting the ball.

Hannan was penalized nine times for 100 yards, while Ridgewood was flagged 11 times for 163 yards. Templet said his game plan was to throw the ball more than he had in the previous two games. “Andrew (Arceneaux) is coming along. He is getting more comfortable with running the offense.”

Hannan travels to Grambling Friday to square off with the Kittens.