NORTON — Heading into Friday night’s Mountain 7 District battle between Ridgeview and Wise Central, the jury was still out on whether these football teams would be defined by their offenses, their defenses — or potentially both.
The Warriors were coming off two blowout wins, 49-0 and 42-7, and the Wolfpack had a 41-6 victory to their credit.
In the end Friday, the verdict was in: Ridgeview produced a shutout and used a couple of long second-half touchdowns to secure a 12-0 win.
FIRST-HALF DEFENSIVE BATTLE
The offenses found little traction in the first half against standout defenses, and neither team could find its way onto the scoreboard in the first 24 minutes.
Central had decent drives, moving into Ridgeview territory on all three of its possessions, but came up empty after turning over the ball on downs each time. The Warriors’ best chance came late in the first half when they reached the Ridgeview 6-yard line but were stopped for no gain on fourth-and-1.
Wolfpack defender Austin Cook made a big play on the stop.
“Going into this, we knew this was going to be a defensive battle,” Ridgeview coach Todd Tiller said. “Central is always pretty physical, so we knew we had to come up big on that front.”
OPPORTUNITIES FOR RIDGEVIEW
The Wolfpack’s opportunistic big-play offense was the difference in the game.
Late in the third quarter, quarterback Ryan O’Quinn escaped a heavy Central pass rush and found a wide-open Koda Counts for a 40-yard scoring strike that broke the stalemate. The kick failed, leaving the score 6-0.
Then midway through the fourth, following a quick Wise three-and-out, Ridgeview needed only one play. Brandon Beavers took off and weaved in and out of tackles for a back-breaking 66-yard touchdown run. The 2-point conversion attempt failed, but that didn’t matter because the ’Pack turned to their dominant defense to preserve the shutout.
BY THE NUMBERS
Ridgeview had 224 total yards, 105 through the air and 119 on the ground.
Central accumulated 202 total yards, 53 through the air and 149 on the ground. Matthew Boggs had 70 of those rushing yards on 16 carries.
“Offensively between the 20s, we moved the football pretty well,” Warriors coach Luke Owens said. “Hats off to Ridgeview — they knew how to make the most out of their runs and they knew how to stop us. We just have to come out next week, work harder, and be the best team we can be.”
Logan Mullins had a big pass break-up after the Wolfpack had reached Warriors territory on the game’s opening drive, helping Central force a turnover on downs. Tyson Tester had a second-quarter interception and Ethan Mullins snagged a fourth-quarter pick for the Warriors.
UP NEXT
Ridgeview takes on Grundy and Central plays Virginia High in a pair of nondistrict games.
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