FOXBOROUGH — When Stevan Ridley was growing up in Mississippi, his father loved the Silver and Black of the Raiders.
Leon Ridley remained a Raiders fan until the day in 2011 the Patriots made his son a third-round draft pick. From that moment on, he’s been a Patriots fan. And Leon and Carolyn Ridley, Stevan’s mother, are turning the Raiders’ first visit to Foxborough since 2005 into a family reunion of sorts.
“It’s going to be awesome, man,” Ridley said on Wednesday of the Patriots’ home opener. “Personally, my dad’s old favorite team was the Raiders, until of course I became a Patriot, so we’ve got about 14 people coming up this weekend. My mom’s very excited about it and family’s going to be here, and it’s going to be an exciting atmosphere to come back to Foxborough and get in the home stadium. We’re looking forward to it and the team’s excited about not being on the road and just coming back to New England and playing some Patriot football.”
The running back, who is in the final year of his rookie contract, said his father knows what jersey to wear, and it won’t have an eye-patch-wearing marauder on it.
“Absolutely not — he’ll be in the 2-2 [Ridley’s number] all the way. No black and silver for him. But it will be fun for him, to have him here and have the family together,” Ridley said.
Against the Vikings last Sunday, Ridley had his first 100-yard rushing game of the season, matching the number he had during his beleaguered 2013 campaign, when his four lost fumbles became a hot-button topic and led to him being inactive for the Week 13 game in Houston.
Made to take the trip to Texas, he spent the afternoon on the sideline in street clothes, cradling a ball the entire time.
He fumbled again during the preseason, though it’s arguable whether he was down by contact before the ball came out, and the mistake brought the issue up anew.
But in 25 carries in Minnesota, Ridley held onto the ball, helping the Patriots to their first win of the season.
“It was good that they stuck with me late in the game, but really that’s the coaches’ call. However I get them, I just go out there and run hard, so over the course of the game, maybe get them to wear down, and that defense was tired,” he said. “The offensive line was working on them, and that’s why we have all the big boys up front that we have, is to see if they can sustain our offensive line over four quarters. We felt good about how we were attacking them toward the end, and that’s how we kept moving the ball.
“Some days it’s going to be through the air, some days it’s going to be on the ground, but that’s the defense’s job, is to try to figure us out. As an offense we have to do what we do, and like I said, rely on each other and as a unit we’re going to keep marching the ball down the field game in and game out — or that’s the goal at least.”
Ridley acknowledged that it took some time before he got going against the Vikings (his first six carries went for 14 yards, though he did have a touchdown), but that sometimes getting the 3 yards that are there is better than trying for more and having it backfire.
“No doubt, no doubt. That’s the smart play,” he said. “Every back wants to go out there and take it the distance, but there’s going to be times that it’s going to be 2 yards, 3 yards, and you just have to keep plugging and you have to stay disciplined as a runner, just keep your legs pumping and keep it moving and always falling forward.
“That’s what you have to do is take the tough yardage, eventually they’re going to break and you’ll get some big runs, and that’s what we all want. But until then, just be consistent, just be a smart player and keep the ball, and the offense will keep moving and the chains will keep rolling.”
Ridley will be looking to keep things going against an Oakland team that has given up 400 rushing yards in two games and knows that he can be dangerous.
“I think he plays really well,” Raiders coach Dennis Allen said. “I think they’ve got a good stable of backs there. Ridley is a strong, powerful runner that can really cut and move with power, and then Shane Vereen is very explosive coming out of the backfield, so they present some real challenges with the backs that they have because they both bring a little bit something different to the table.”
Shalise Manza Young can be reached at syoung@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @shalisemyoung.