Calhoun back at it Friday at Ridgeland

The Calhoun High School football team will be back on the field Friday night in Rossville when they take on the Ridgeland Panthers.

The contest comes after the Yellow Jackets had an unexpected off week last Friday when their opponent Cedartown had to cancel the game due to Covid-19.

“We’re very excited about getting to play this week,” Calhoun head football coach Clay Stephenson said. “I know we were all deeply disappointed we didn’t get to play last week. We tried every way we know to find an opponent but it just didn’t work out. But we tried to turn the negative into a positive and I feel like we had a good week of work and now we’re going to have another good week of preparation for our game this Friday night. But I know our kids and the coaches are excited about getting an opportunity to get back on the field this week.”

He said besides not playing, the taste of losing the last their last game, a 38-20 setback to Tennessee state champion Chattanooga McCallie, is still in their mouths.

“It’s been a long two weeks because we didn’t get the opportunity to get back on the field after losing the last game we played,” Stephenson said. “So to able to have the opportunity to play again and put that behind us, if we play well enough, is something we’re definitely looking forward to. When you lose and don’t get to play again for two weeks, it’s no fun. “

Ridgeland, which resides in 4-A Region 6, comes in at 1-2 but it has been a rough couple of weeks for the Panthers who lost to Dalton, 49-0, a week after the Catamounts lost to Calhoun. Then they fell, 44-0, to Ringgold last Friday night.

The Panthers began the year with a 19-0 win over East Forsyth meaning they have been outscored 93-0 over the past two weeks.

Still, Stephenson said he thinks the Panthers will come out Friday night looking to prove they’re better than that.

“I think they’re a very good football team,” Stephenson said. “I know they’ve had a rough couple of weeks, but I know they have good size and a couple of guys with outstanding speed and so I expect them to come ready to play. Which means we’ve got to be ready to play.”

Ridgeland is a very run-oriented team, operating out of the Wing-T offense.

In fact, their commitment to always wanting to establish the ground game was never more evident than in their loss to Dalton. The Catamounts scored all 49 of their points in the first half while on six consecutive possessions, the Panthers did not attempt a pass and had to punt each time.

They ran the ball nearly 30 straight plays before trying a rollout pass for their first throw of the night with about a minute to play in the third quarter. The pass was incomplete.

And Dalton turned the game into a route quickly.

Ridgeland had the ball to begin the game. They ran the football three times and then shanked a punt, giving Dalton the ball at the Ridgeland 34-yard line. On the first offensive play of the game, Dalton ran 34 yards for the touchdown and it was 7-0.

Ridgeland took its next possession at the 25 and again, ran the ball three times and then punted. This time the Cats took