Rossville shuts down Ringgold, will host league championship game
The Bulldog bus is rolling and its next stop could be a North Georgia Athletic Conference championship.
Rossville Middle School will host the NGAC title game this Thursday after a 22-6 home win over Ringgold on Thursday afternoon.
After seeing their initial drive end on downs at the Tigers’ 21-yard line, Rossville’s defense stiffened and forced a punt. On the very next play from scrimmage, Chance Sharp took an end sweep 65 yards to give the Bulldogs a 6-0 lead.
Ringgold countered with a drive of their own, but once again Rossville’s defense would bow its backs to halt the march at the 25. The Bulldogs promptly marched the ball back downfield before quarterback Preston Homsombath hit Tyrese McKrosky for an 11-yard scoring pass. Tye Whaley added the conversion to stake Rossville to a 14-0 lead, which they would take into the break.
Rossville opened the second half with a quick 65-yard drive. Landon Ownby took care of the final 46 yards on one run and a conversion run by Sharp extended the Bulldogs’ advantage to 22-0.
The Tigers would finally get on the board with a 51-yard TD pass, but the conversion attempt failed as Gordon Casteel stuffed the play at the goal line.
Rossville’s defense would handle things from there. They stopped two final Tiger drives, one at the Bulldogs’ 21-yard line and a second just inside the Rossville 10. McKrosky, who tipped and recovered an option pitch on the Bulldogs’ first defensive series of the game, came up big with a final fourth down stop.
Whaley moved the ball to midfield on a 31-yard run and the Bulldogs were able to run out the clock.
“Ringgold is tough to defend with all the looks they give you,” Rossville head coach Steve Lewis said. “Our defense played great most of the night and our edge defenders (Whaley and McKrosky) had several big plays in Ringgold’s backfield. Coach (Ronnie) Massey worked with them this week and they really shined tonight.”
The Bulldogs will host Gordon Lee in the finals after the Trojans upset previouslyunbeaten Heritage, 38-33, in the other semifinal. Kickoff is set for 4:30 p.m.
Rossville and Gordon Lee met on Sept. 29 in Chickamauga. The Bulldogs jumped out to an 18-0 lead after one quarter, but had to hold on for an 18-14 win. Rossville sealed the victory by recovering a fumble at the goal line late in the game.