Mistakes don’t slow Panthers’ roll to title
ROSENBERG — Ridge Point quarterback Bert Emanuel Jr. fumbled the first offensive snap.
Then he scooped up the ball and sprinted through Bush’s defense for a 67-yard touchdown on a play that epitomized the day.
Even when the Panthers weren’t perfect, they still were powerful enough.
With Emanuel throwing for 248 yard and four touchdowns and rushing for 118 yards and another score, area 6A No. 6 Ridge Point rolled to a 49-21 win over Bush on Saturday at Traylor Stadium to seize a share of the District 20-6A title.
“He’s a great player, and it was a fortuitous bounce, so he was able to hit it in stride,” Ridge Point coach Rick LaFavers said. “We had a play called and he knew what was going on, so he took the ball and went vertical.
“And he’s fast enough not to get caught.”
Ridge Point improved to 8-1 overall, 6-0 in district. It will try to clinch the 20-6A championship outright — and, more importantly, secure the No. 1 postseason seed in Division I — against Travis (6-3, 5-1) next week in the district finale.
“I’m not into being cochamps,” LaFavers said. “Bottom line, (if they win) they would be No. 1 seed, so we’ve got to go in and clean a lot of stuff up.”
Bush stumbled to 4-5, 4-2, putting its playoff hopes in jeopardy.
The Panthers lost two fumbles in the first half and still led 21-0 at halftime. Emanuel also had a completion tipped by running back Ezell Jolly into the arms of wide receiver Marvin Session for a 53-yard gain. But they ended up settling for kicker Holden Gray’s 42yard field goal attempt that was short into the wind.
None of those issues interrupted their agenda.
After the first turnover, Bush reached midfield before punting, and Dashaun Chachere blocked the punt and recovered the loose football in Bush territory. After the second lost fumble, Ridge Point forced a turnover on downs when linebacker James Walley sacked Bush quarterback Tyler Hilder for a 12-yard loss on fourth down.
Both of those plays set up scores for the Panthers.
Two plays after the blocked punt, Jolly atoned for his fumble with a 17-yard touchdown run up the middle. And Walley’s sack preceded a four-play drive capped by Emanuel’s 42yard scoring pass to Session.
Session’s scores gave Ridge Point a 21-0 lead with 1:25 left in the first half.
“Luck is when preparation meets opportunity, and we were definitely lucky on a couple things,” LaFavers said. “But when you play hard, good things happen. Guys are running to the ball, and giving us effort, and when that happens, you’re in the right place for those lucky things to happen.”
The two teams combined for four touchdowns in the first seven minutes of the third.
Emanuel tossed scoring passes of 20 and 48 yards to running back Mason Dossett and wide receiver Kerien Charlo, respectively, and Bush scored on a 2-yard run by Adrian Cormier and an 80-yard kickoff return from Dantonio Hackworth.
Those exchanges left Ridge Point leading 35-14.
Bush pulled with two scores once more on Cormier’s second 2-yard score. Then, the Panthers pulled away in the fourth.
Jolly’s second touchdown run, from 4 yards out, sealed the win with 8:44 remaining.
Ridge Point finished with 474 yards and 18 first downs. Jolly had 79 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries, and Session had two touchdowns and 135 yards on four catches. Bush amassed 183 yards and 10 first downs, led by Cormier (26 rushes, 146 yards).