Ringgold Middle School Tigers roar to NGAC championship
Panthers
Funny things have been known to happen when rivals meet on the field and funny things have been known to happen in championship games.
However, the Ringgold Middle School Tigers made sure there would be no funny business this past Thursday afternoon.
Behind a devastating rushing attack that rolled up 475 of the team’s 512 total yards, the Blue-and-White put an exclamation point on a perfect 8-0 season with a 52-22 win over Heritage at Don Patterson Field. It was the Tigers’ second NGAC championship in the past three seasons.
It was the second 30-point victory for the Tigers over the Generals this season as Ringgold won the regular season meeting, 38-8, back on Sept. 7. For the year, the Tigers outscored its opponents by a combined tally of 354-48.
“This is probably the most dominant team that’s come through (Ringgold) in recent history,” head coach Barrett Blankenship said afterward. “We had four shutouts in a row, including the playoffs, and excluding this game, our first team defense gave up just one touchdown all year long. If it’s not the best team we’ve had, it’s definitely one of the best.”
Kori Dumas plowed his way for 217 yards on just 12 carries, four of which went for touchdowns, while quarterback Kyle White - later named the game’s Most Valuable Player - had 18 carries for 145 yards and a pair of scores, while adding 37 yards in the air on 1-of-2 passing.
Ringgold scored on its first five possessions of the first half with 13 of its 21 rushing plays in those five possessions going for 10 or more yards as the Tigers built a 36-14 halftime lead.
The Tigers caught a big-time break on the second play from scrimmage. Mason Parker carried the ball for 15 yards, but lost the ball at midfield. However, the pigskin bounced right into the waiting hands of Dumas, who high-tailed it the final 50 yards to give the
Down two sets to one in the last scheduled home match of the season early Saturday evening, Georgia Northwestern volleyball coach Amber Weaver challenged her team during the break to take things one point at a time. They did. The Lady Bobcats never looked ahead and never trailed again as they ended up scoring a five-set victory over Andrew (Ga.) College, 25-23, 14-25, 16-25, 25-17 and 15-4. It was the first five-setter of the season for the Navy-and-Silver, who salvaged a split of the day’s tri-match.
Georgia Northwestern opened the day with a 25-16, 25-10, 25-11 loss to Pensacola (Fla.) Christian College, who also handled Andrew College in three sets during the afternoon’s second match.
“We talked about how this was possibly going to be the last home match in this gym with this one group of girls,” said Weaver, recalling her pep talk prior to the fourth set. “I knew they were tired, but I told them that they needed to yards on the next drive, scoring from three yards out to make it 21-0 with 2:36 left in the opening period.
The Panthers got back on the board again with 4:02 left in the half as Shelton deleted a Dragon defender with a big-time stiff-arm inside the 10 before completing a 41-yard TD run.
After gaining just 14 total yards on its first six possession, Pickens (4-4, 2-2) got a nice cutback from tailback Robert Davis on a 51yard scamper and two plays later, quarterback Jacob Brumby lofted up do something and needed to do it right then.
“They came back out, got off to a good start, got in some serves and rode the momentum. They finished. They fought hard, never gave up and did their jobs.”
Georgia Northwestern jumped out to a 9-1 lead in the fourth set and led by 10 on two separate occasions, the last time at 19-9, before the Fighting Tigers made a run.
The visitors from Cuthbert would slice the gap down to five points, 20-15, with a 6-1 run. However, big block by Mia Clark reestablished control for the Lady Bobcats, who used a final 5-2 run to send the game to a fifth-set tiebreaker.
Catching a second wind, Georgia Northwestern led 8-4 at the change-over and reeled off the final seven points in style behind the serving of Shanna Burk, who capped the victory with an ace.
“We had the serve at the start of the fourth set and our goal was to score first, get a side out and go on a run,” Weaver explained. “We were just playing it point by point. (Andrew) got it back a pass to receiver Zach Goss, who outjumped a Ridgeland defensive back for a 26-yard score.
But after giving Ridgeland a short field on a squibbed kickoff, McDonald took a handoff on a jet sweep to the left and outraced the Dragons on a 62yard burst to give the Panthers a 34-7 halftime advantage.
The two offenses would trade the first four scores of the second half. Davis had a 25-yard run for Pickens, which was answered just over a minute later by a 76-yard jet sweep from Montgomery. Goss hauled in another highlight-worthy TD pass with 2:14 left in the third, this one going for 31 yards, but Blackwell and I reminded the girls that we were only playing that particular point and not worrying about the next one. We ended up getting a side out, went on the run and were able to keep the momentum.”
Anna Schorle had a teamhigh 12 kills in the match to go with a pair of aces. Kayleigh Goff collected seven kills, two aces and 25 digs. Jamese Miller added five kills and two blocks, while Tori Hall had eight kills and 10 digs.
On the defensive side, Morgen Simmons had 27 digs, followed by Jesse Owens with 17 and Burk with 14. Burk also added eight assists. Kaylin Graham had five digs and two assists, while Clark picked up seven assists and a kill.
In the day’s opening contest, Schorle had five kills and Hall had four to go with an ace. Miller recorded three kills and Clark had four blocks and two assists.
Simmons, the libero, finished with 18 digs, followed by Goff with eight and Owens with five.
The event also served as the Lady Bobcats’ annual Pink Games to promote breast ripped off a 30-yard TD run on the opening play of the fourth quarter.
A Chris Bivins fumble recovery gave Ridgeland the ball back at its own 44 three plays later and Shelton went 39 yards on the second offensive play of the drive before Montgomery’s 17-yard TD run and Conner Middleton’s seventh extra point capped the scoring. Middleton, who had several touchbacks on kickoffs, was 7-of8 on PAT’s with one blocked.
Pickens, who had just 109 yards in the opening half - 65 coming on their initial scoring drive - racked up 260 yards in the second half to finish with 369 for the game, the most allowed cancer awareness and to raise money for charities. Donations and money raised during the event are going to benefit the Mary Ellen Locher Cancer Center of Chattanooga.
Lady Bobcats fall to Cleveland State
Georgia Northwestern dropped a road match to the Lady Cougars this past Thursday night, 25-7, 25-21 and 25-18.
Schorle led the team with seven kills and added two aces. Goff had 13 digs, four kills and an ace, while Hall had five kills and six digs.
Simmons collected 20 digs and an ace. Owens had seven digs and an ace and Burk finished up with five assists and six digs.
Georgia Northwestern (216) had been scheduled to play on Monday at Hiwassee College, but that match had to be cancelled by Hiwassee on Sunday afternoon. There has been no decision on if the match will be made up.
The Lady Bobcats are slated to close out the regular season this Friday at Toccoa Falls College (6:30 p.m.). by the Panthers this season.
Brumby was 11-of26 for 170 yards. Goss had 87 yards on three catches, while Josh Cain picked up 68 yards on four catches. Davis finished with 94 rushing yards on 14 attempts.
“We need to be a little more efficient in the passing game, because it wasn’t as good tonight as it has been,” explained Tankersley, whose team completed just 3-of-12 passes for 27 yards. “We also need to make sure we keep up our intensity no matter what. Once we got up (tonight), our intensity kind of waned a little bit. That’s something we need to work on because you never know, especially in the playoffs, because you may get up on someone there and they just might be good enough to come back on you.
“But (Pickens) has a good offensive football team too. They pose some problems with their sets. They have a quarterback that can throw it, a really good receiver and a really good running back too.”
Now 8-0 for the first time in school history, the Panthers will try to make it nine in a row this Friday night as they will travel to Ellijay to face winless Gilmer.
Ridgeland will conclude the regular season at home on Nov. 3 against Southeast Whitfield on Senior Night. Tigers the lead just 11 seconds into the contest.
They wouldn’t need any more luck the rest of the day.
White scored from seven yards out to cap a five-play, 55-yard drive after forcing Heritage to punt and, following a second Heritage punt, Dumas sprinted 31 yards to end a fiveplay, 69-yard march, increasing the lead on the first play of the second quarter.
An interception by Malachi Hill set up shop for the Tigers at their own 41 and Ringgold covered the 59 yards in just three plays, the final 52 on Dumas’ third TD run of the half, giving the home team a commanding 28-0 lead with 5:06 left in the half.
Heritage (5-3), held to just three yards of offense to that point, struck on the first play of their ensuing possession. Marcus Fortson took a quick pass in the flat from quarterback Kaden Swope and outran the Ringgold defense for a 70-yard score.
The Tigers immediately responded with a 54-yard drive, overcoming four holding penalties along the way. A 20-yard run by Aaron Elswick moved the ball across midfield and Hill hauled in a 37-yard pass down to the Generals’ 1-yard line before Elswick finished the drive.
Heritage would get a 75-yard kick return by Fortson to cut into the Ringgold lead and the Generals defense would hold inside its own 5-yard line at the end of the half.
But receiving the second half kickoff, the Generals were unable to keep the momentum going. Ashton Clark and Jackson Lyons teamed up for a third down sack at midfield and Heritage was forced to punt it away. Ringgold then delivered the dagger as White broke free on a 40-yard run to help set up Dumas’ final touchdown of the night from two yards out with 2:38 left in the third period.
Both teams would tack on one final score in the fourth. Jacob Lozano scored on a 37-yard TD pass from Swope on the first play of the quarter for Heritage, while White bulled his way into the endzone from four yards out with 3:34 remaining. Landon Eaker capped the game for the Tigers by intercepting a pass from Swope near the goal line in the closing seconds.
Elswick added 75 yards on eight attempts for Ringgold, while the Tigers defense gave up 140 yards of offense for the game with just 19 coming on the ground.
Swope was 5-of12 in the air for 120 yards. Fortson had 142 all-purpose yards, including 71 receiving. Lozano had two catches for 41 yards.
“It wasn’t as clean a football game as we wanted to play, but our guys have fought all year long,” Blankenship added. “They’ve put in the time in the weight room, played hard and I just couldn’t be more proud of this eighth grade bunch. An undefeated season, the Superintendent’s Trophy and winning by 30 in the championship game...it says a lot about them and how they never gave up.”