Ridge View bounces back against Richland Northeast
Jalen Smith threw for 218 yards, two touchdowns and had a big completion late in the fourth quarter to help Ridge View defeat Richland Northeast, 28-14, on Friday.
The victory assured the Blazers (6-1, 1-1) of their first winning season since 2008.
Ridge View led 14-0 at halftime and took advantage of a RNE turnover on the first possession of the second half. Smith hit Tre’ High on a 14-yard pass to make it 21-0 with 9:51 left in third quarter.
But Richland Northeast answered on its next drive as backup quarterback Charles Simons hit Jaquain Hills on a 19-yard pass to get the Cavs within 21-7. Simons played the second half after starting QB Aloysius Jackson left the game with an ankle injury.
Tyquandre Davis cut Ridge View’s lead to 21-14 on a 10-yard run with 2:05 left in the third.
RNE (4-3, 0-2), had a couple chances to tie but Dinichie Ashe picked off Simons with 2:12 left. The Cavs were hoping to get the ball back but Smith hit High on a 50-yard pass on 3rd-and 13. Two plays later Ronald Brown took it in on a 23-yard run.
TURNING POINT
Richland Northeast trailed 21-14 in the fourth quarter and was driving in Ridge View territory. But after a bad snap backed them up, two plays later Ashe picked off Simons to end the drive.
KEY PERFORMERS
Tyquandre Davis: RNE running back returned after missing the last few games with an injury, and rushed for 137 yards.
Damani Staley: South Carolina commit had one sack and put pressure on both RNE quarterbacks
Tre’ High: Ridge View all-purpose threat caught five passes for 100 yards and a TD.
KEY NUMBERS
2: Number of Ridge View completions that went for more than 50 yards.
THEY SAID IT
“We have too many weapons to sit here and play conservative football. If we play conservative, we don’t play very well.” – Ridge View coach Perry Parks on deciding to pass on third down late in the game
“I knew we needed a big play in order to seal the game and we made it happen.” – Ridge View quarterback Jalen Smith
“We’ve got to quit beating ourselves. We had crucial penalties and turnovers and all of them came at key times. I’m proud of the way we came back and gave ourselves a chance at the end.” – RNE coach Jay Frye
HOW THEY SCORED
1st Quarter
RV – Kelley 45 run (Lawyer kick), 7:23
2nd Quarter
RV – Porter 51 pass from Smith (Lawyer kick), 9:48
3rd Quarter
RV – High 14 pass from Smith (Lawyer kick), 9:51
RNE – Hills 19 pass from Simons (Maxfield kick), 5:19
RNE – Davis 10 run (Maxfield kick), 2:05
4th Quarter
RV – Brown 23 run (Lawyer kick), 0:52
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: RNE: Davis 23-137, Jackson 7-22, Simons 8-35. RV: Smith 16-26, Kelley 3-50, Rogers-Anderson 13-22, Brown 2-22
Passing: RNE: Jackson 2-4-0 2, Simon 2-5-1 23. RV: Smith 12-20-0 211
Receiving: RNE: Hills 3-19. RV: Rogers-Anderson 1-14, High 5-100, Porter 4-81, McCrae, 1-10, Kelley 1-13.
This story was originally published October 14, 2016 at 11:58 PM.