A second half surge catapulted the East Ridge Pioneers to their first win of the year. Although the 35-14 score might indicate that the contest was a more-so one-sided affair, that could not have been further from the truth.
All the momentum in this game was on the side of East Ridge as the final minute of the first half ticked away. The Pioneers were up 14-0 and were in striking distance of extending their lead to three scores with the ball lined up inside the ten of Chattanooga Prep territory.
Hard fought plays and penalties from both sides eventually resulted in a fourth and one scenario for East Ridge. And with no budge from the kicking unit on the sideline, all indications pointed to the Pioneers going for it. The play call was a run, and the opposing Sentinels sniffed this call out right away. A group of Sentinels stone walled the run attempt resulting in a turnover. A huge stop that would help Chatt Prep go into halftime just down by two scores. However, with just a little over 40 seconds left in the half, head coach Joe Banks had other plans.
Sentinels' quarterback Austin Jones stepped back in the pocket from his own three-yard line and delivered a dime to his receiver, Romel Koon, who would race 97 yards down the field for a touchdown. This pass injected life back into Chattanooga Prep., as the game before this play looked to be firmly in the hands of the Pioneers.
Th Sentinels would come out in the second half, pick off a pass, score and tie the game. All momentum shifted to the sSentinels and Pioneers' head coach Chad Barger, had to change some things up.
“The big thing was we needed to just line up and get some plays made. Our quarterback pounded on them; I mean “Jay” is a running back playing quarterback. He’s got that mentality; he’s going to lower his shoulder and he’s gonna run. He’s a very strong kid in the weight room, and I knew I didn’t feel like they could tackle him one on one,” said Barger.
The change to a more run heavy attack with quarterback Jermaine Blackstock paid huge dividends for the Pioneers. Blackstock would rush for 87 yards in the second half alone. He would also punch in a two-yard run into the end zone, with his teammates, Marquell Sails and Justin Ellis, also scoring touchdowns of their own.
East Ridge ran for 195 yards rushing on 22 carries in the second half.
“It was a beautiful thing to see. It was like old-school football, we just lined up and started running the football at them,” said Barger.
This brand of football played by the Pioneers would help them outscore the Sentinels 21-0 in the second half, helping them on their way to their first "W" of the season.
The Pioneers' defense was a crucial part of their win on Friday night, as well, as they held opposing Chattanooga Prep to just 61 yards of total offense in the second half.
The East Ridge Pioneers will try to carry the momentum they caught from their big second half surge into their matchup next week as they travel to face district-opponent Signal Mountain.
SUMMARY
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CHATT PREP
|
0
|
7
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7
|
0
|
-- 14
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|
EAST RIDGE
|
14
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0
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0
|
21
|
-- 35
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ER Tyreke Wise-Bridges 20 run (Jerry Hernandez kick) (6:24, 1st)
ER Wise-Bridges 53 pass from Jermaine Blackstock (Hernandez kick) (2:42, 1st)
CP Romel Koon 97 pass from Austin Jones (pass fail) (0:32, 2nd)
CP Jayden Parker 10 run (Parker run) (10:32, 3rd)
ER Blackstock 2 run (Hernandez kick) (5:15, 3rd)
ER Marquell Sails 17 run (Blackstock run) (3:18, 4th)
ER Justin Ellis 10 run (kick fail) (2:45, 4th)
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STATS
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CP
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ER
|
|
First Downs
|
8
|
23
|
|
Rushes-Yards
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1-22
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38-280
|
|
Passing Yards
|
180
|
119
|
|
Total yards
|
202
|
399
|
|
Passing (Comp-Att-Int)
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11-26-1
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5-14-2
|
|
Penalties-Yards
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10-63
|
10-78
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|
Punts-Average
|
4-24.8
|
0-0
|
|
Fumbles-Lost
|
1-1
|
2-1
|
Individual Stats
Rushing: Marquis Gardner 6-12; Austin Jones 3-5; Jayden Parker 2-5;Eli Graf 2-3; (CP); Jermain Blackstock 14-106; Marquell Sails 8-81; Tyreke Wise-Bridges 9-47; Marquell Sails 7-46 (ER).
Passing: Zach Lunsford 9-22-1 for 161 yards, 1 TD; Jayden Parker 0-1 for 0 yards; Camper Coulter 1-2 for 21 yards: (CP); Jermaine Blackstock 5-14-2 for 119 yards, 1TD (ER).
Receiving: Romel Koon 5-151; Jayden Parker 1-21; Lon’Deon Kellogg 3-19; Marquis Gardner 2-(-11) (CP); Tyreke Wise-Bridges 2-55; Hasani Jackson 2-37; Casino Harris 1-17 (ER).
Records: Chattanooga Prep 2-4 (1-1 Region 3-A); East Ridge 1-5 (0-2 Region 3-4A)
Next up: East Ridge travels to Signal Mountain; Chatt Prep travels to Hixson on Oct. 6
(Contact Gray Deyo at sports@chattanoogan.com)