Ringgold stung by Rockmart in season finale
The Ringgold Tigers fell behind 21-0 early in the second quarter and were never able to overcome the deficit as they dropped a 3512 decision to state-ranked Rockmart in the regular season finale for both teams Friday night at Don Patterson Field.
Rockmart quarterback Javin Whatley scored on runs on 7 and 3 yards and connected with Dennis Sims on a 42-yard scoring strike midway through the fourth quarter to account for the Jackets’ final TD of the night.
Whatley, ranked as one of the top athletes in the state, had 79 yards on 16 carries and went 5 of 10 in the air for 101 yards. Sims had four catches for 93 yards.
Ringgold (5-5, 4-4) broke the ice with 3:02 left in the first half as Mason Parker lofted a deep pass to Malachi Hill, who ran under it for a 35-yard touchdown, cutting the Jackets’ lead to 21-6 at the break.
However, Rockmart (9-1, 8-0) added another score with 3:59 left in the third quarter on Sims’ catch before tacking on one final TD with 7:51 remaining on a 1-yard run by fullback Brent Washington.
The final points for the Tigers came after a nineplay, 66-yard drive with Kori Dumas finding the endzone on a 8-yard run with 4:28 to go.
Keyshaun Mccollough added 73 yards on 10 carries, plus a 1-yard TD run, while Washington had 64 yards on seven carries to go with an interception and a pass break-up on defense.
Parker went 22 of 36 passing for 183 yards, but the Tigers were limited to just 55 yards rushing by a stout Rockmart run defense. Price Pennington had 50 yards on eight carries for Ringgold and Hill led the receiving corps with 89 yards on eight catches.
Coleton Carlock had a sack for the Tigers and Marcus Fortson recovered a fumble.
Ringgold’s loss, combined with Lafayette’s loss to North Murray, left the Tigers and Ramblers tied for fourth in the final Region 6-AAA standings.
However, the Ramblers’ 33-29 win over the Tigers on Oct. 23 gave them the head-to-head tiebreaker, meaning Lafayette will go the state playoffs this week as the region’s No. 4 seed.