Defense propels Ridge View to road win over South Florence
Ridge View turned in its best defensive effort of the season and got another big game from running back Ali Kelley to defeat South Florence 29-14 on Thursday night.
With the win, the Blazers improved to 3-2 on the season and equaled their win total from last season. Ridge View hasn’t won more than four games in a season since 2007.
With starting quarterback Jaylen Nelson nursing a foot injury, Kelley carried the load on offense and rushed for 180 yards and two touchdowns.
The Blazers’ defense, which was giving up 34.2 points a game, held South Florence to its lowest point total since the Bruins scored 10 points since Aug. 22, 2014 against Fort Dorchester. Ridge View held South Florence quarterback Lindsey Robinson to just 80 yards through the air and sacked him four times. Robinson came into the game averaging 383 passing yards a game.
TURNING POINT
With Ridge View up 14-0, Kelley busted through the line for a 77-yard touchdown run to give the Blazers a 22-0 lead with 1:20 left in the second quarter.
KEY PERFORMERS
Ali Kelley: Ridge View running back rushed for 180 yards and two touchdowns.
Damani Staley: Defensive end had three sacks and now has nine for the season, tops in the Midlands.
THEY SAID IT
“My defensive staff accepted the challenge Last week, I told them everyone is getting evaluated, players and coaches. This is year one and we are here for the kids and we are going to make some changes if we need to. Tonight, we put the kids in the right position and showed what we are capable of. South Florence is a highly potent offensive team. I’m proud of their effort stopping a good offensive team.” – Ridge View coach Perry Parks
“Our offense has to do a better job executing. We can’t blame it on the rain or any excuses.” – South Florence coach David Prince
KEY NUMBERS
44: Number of total yards in the first half for South Florence.
1: South Florence’s number of successful fourth-down conversions on seven attempts against the Blazers.
@RidgeViewSports coach @CoachParks84 showing up his so-called dance skills after talking to team following the W pic.twitter.com/EOY1Fvx10Q
— Lou Bezjak (@LouatTheState) September 25, 2015HOW THEY SCORED
1st Quarter
RV – High 12 run (Lawyer kick), 8:01
RV – Kelley 16 run (Lawyer kick), 4:21
2nd Quarter
RV – Kelley 77 run (Harris pass from Nelson), 1:20
3rd Quarter
SF – Grimsley 15 run (Neal kick), 7:48
4th Quarter
RV – Green 14 pass from High (Lawyer kick), 10:05
SF – White 4 run (Neal kick), 5:24
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing – RV: Kelley 17-180, High 17-75, Brown 6-46, Hinson 5-15, Harris 1-17; SF: Grimsley 19-78, White 3-27
Passing: RV: High 4-7-0 41SF: Robinson 9-34-1 80
Receiving: RV: Butler 2-20, Kelley 1-2, Green 1-19; SF: Vereen 5-15, King 2-35, Quick 1-17, Johnson 1-16
This story was originally published September 24, 2015 at 10:47 PM with the headline "Defense propels Ridge View to road win over South Florence."