Pioneers 7-0 with 14-9 victory at Notre Dame

Notre Dame players run onto the field before the game against East Ridge Friday, October 2, 2015 at Notre Dame High School.
Notre Dame players run onto the field before the game against East Ridge Friday, October 2, 2015 at Notre Dame High School.

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Scores and Photos of Friday night high school football - Oct. 2

In East Ridge's football season opener at Polk County, Traneil Moore got just two carries, causing Pioneers coach Tracy Malone later to scratch his head and question his own sanity.

It's been a different story since. Moore has become the Pioneers' showpiece, and he put them on his shoulders and carried them to win No. 7 on Friday, 14-9 at Notre Dame.

He carried the ball 30 times for 217 yards behind an overpowering offensive line and in the second half lead blocker Lorenzo Stewart.

"He's a war daddy, man. He's a tough running back," Malone said of Moore. "The thing that's impressed us is his ball security. Traniel has gotten so much better, but that really stands out for us."

Even when he was getting tackled, Moore was pushing the pile and falling forward.

"We know he can get the tough yards. Our O-line has done a good job and then we had the wildcat package - something we've been saving - for him," Malone said.

"I was very tired, but I had to keep my motor going," Moore said. "The key for me is following the blocks, look for open space and try to get the touchdown. But it's a team effort. Those guys block for me, and I try to make sure their blocks aren't wasted."

The team effort allowed Moore to top the 1,000-yard mark, giving him 1,037 with three games remaining in the regular season.

Malone praised Stewart as well.

"He's a good football player, just a sophomore, and if Traneil hadn't come on he would've been our primary running back," Malone said.

Too, the Pioneers defense clamped down on Notre Dame quarterback Alex Darras and running back Ricky Ballard. Darras, victimized by overthrows and drops, threw for just 47 yards - almost half of that on the Irish's final possession and completed just five of 19 attempts. Ballard managed another 100-yard game - 106 on 20 carries - but he got 42 on his third carry of the game, which resulted in the favored Irish's only score of the night.

Notre Dame, which had more than 400 yards last week in a road victory at Calhoun City, Miss., was limited to 163 yards - just 23 more than their 140 negative yards on 14 penalties.

"We felt like both teams had pretty good defenses," Malone said, "but I'm proud of our kids. I'm proud of our coaches for getting them ready, but when the chips were down our kids came to play."

East Ridge (7-0, 3-0 in 3-3A) scored on its first possession with Moore getting the first of his two TDs on a 13-yard run.

Notre Dame (4-3, 2-1) countered immediately with Ballard going 42 yards to tie the game less than three minutes into the first period. The Irish then took a short-lived 9-7 lead on a safety, but 66 seconds into the second period East Ridge regained the lead on a 7-yard run from Moore.

What looked like might be a shootout fizzled with both defenses answering the challenge. It was the fewest points scored for either team this season, and it surprised Malone.

"I never thought 14 would win it," he said.

Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.

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