Dalton hangs on against Ringgold

A valiant effort by Ringgold in the first game played at the new Don Patterson Stadium fell short as Dalton defeated the Tigers 21-19 Friday night.

Ringgold head coach Robert Akins said he was disappointed with the loss, but saw few negatives in his team’s effort.

“We had chances to win and we knew turnovers would be crucial,” Akins said. “But our kids fought hard and Dalton’s kids fought hard, and it was a great high school football game. We hate to lose, but we know we’re going to improve each week. If we can play a Class AAAA school like Dalton the way we did tonight, we’ll do well down the road.”

Dalton head coach Matt Land said he was glad to escape with the win.

“Our defense stepped it up when they had to,” Land said. “You improve more from the first game to the second game than any other time, but we’ll look back on this.”

Ringgold quarterback Slade Dale said it was a tough loss to swallow.

He was the Tigers’ leading rusher with 127 yards on 17 carries. Dale completed 8-of-14 passes for 94 yards and two interceptions.

“It’s a heart breaker losing a game that close to a team we haven’t beaten in 30 years,” Dale said. “We’re just going to keep working and stay positive because we have Heritage this week. Dalton has a great team and we have mad respect for them. We just have to work on finishing ballgames.”

Ringgold’s Kile Sholl, who had 79 yards rushing on 14 attempts, said the Tigers’ game plan was to put away Dalton early.

“We were looking forward to this game coming in,” he said. “We really thought this year was our chance to beat them. They scored pretty early and we stayed with them. We fought hard, and I’m proud of our team…but gosh I just wish it would have ended a little different.”

It didn’t take the Dalton Catamounts but two plays to score the first touchdown of the season.

Sophomore Kelvis Rhodes got through the line and scampered 56yards for the score. Brandon Painter kicked the extra point and Dalton took a 7-0 lead.

Host Ringoold roared back with a 13-play, 83-yard drive that was highlighted by a 19-yard pass from Dale to Jarred Spivey. Austin Phelps recorded the first Tigers touchdown on a 9-yard run. The extra point was not good.

Dalton extended its lead to 14-6 when quarterback Cole Calfee connected with Brandon Dale on a 24-yard scoring pass. Painter kicked the extra point.

Dale set up the touchdown on a long punt return.

Ringgold answered with the Tigers’ Dale hooking up with Christian Plott on a 40-yard touchdown pass to complete a three-play, 80-yard drive.

The 2-point attempt was short and Dalton held on 21-12 with 10:55 remaining in the game.

The Tigers clawed back on the next possession when Plott made a big hit and Ringgold’s Dale fell on the fumble at the Dalton 44.

Dale hit Kile Sholl on a 10-yard scoring pass with 7:32 to play to cut the score to 21-19. The 2-pt-conversion run by Dale was short.

Ringgold had the ball in Dalton territory when the game ended, Rhodes finished with 170 yards on 22 carries for Dalton.

Ringgold will host Heritage on Friday.