Turnovers, miscues haunt Ridge View football’s bid to make it to Class 4A title game
Ridge View had plenty of opportunities in its upper-state championship game at Wren Friday night, but five turnovers ended its chance to make it to a 4A state title.
The Blazers gave up three fumbles and two interceptions as Wren quarterback Joe Owens passed for 238 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a third in the Hurricanes’ 34-19 victory over Ridge View at Hurricanes Stadium.
“Too many turnovers, man, you can’t play for an upper state championship and turn the football over,” Ridge View (9-5) head coach Perry Parks said. “Hat’s off to Coach (Jeff) Tate and those guys, they did a great job, and good luck to those guys next week.”
Wren (12-2) heads to Williams-Brice Stadium next Saturday to play Myrtle Beach for the 4A state championship. Myrtle Beach outlasted Hartsville 28-21 to reach the final game.
All Wren needed in the second half was two 39-yard field goals from Wilson Garand early in the third quarter to seal the win. Two Ridge View fumbles set up those scores.
After those scores, the Blazers (9-5) punted twice, ended drives on interceptions twice, or turned the ball over on downs once.
Wren got off to an early lead with Owens’ 14-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Cherry and Cherry’s 8-yard TD run at the 6:36 mark of the first quarter.
“You just gotta keep playing, man, gotta keep playing,” Parks said about the deficit. “We didn’t come this far to lay down for anybody.”
Andre Washington finished the night passing 26-for-50 for 331 yards and two touchdowns, with two interceptions.
Cincere Scott had 12 catches for 120 yards and received both of Washington’s TD passes. Jordan Smith had 120 yards on six catches.
Ridge View took advantage of a Hurricanes fumble that set up the Blazers at the Wren 28-yard line. Three plays later, Washington found Scott from 15 yards out for the Blazers first score of the game on the first play of the second quarter.
Owens hit Noah Black for a 25-yard score at the 9:55 mark of the second to go up 21-7, but Washington connected with Jordan Smith for a 20-yard TD strike a minute later.
Wren went up 28-13 on Logan Simmons 3-yard TD run, but just 22 seconds later Washington sent up a bomb that landed in the hands of Scott, who finished the play in the end zone for an 81-yard touchdown completion.
Ridge View got another chance before the halftime gun, but Washington’s completion to Smith stopped three yards short of the goal line and time expired before the Blazers could line up for a 20-yard field goal attempt.
The Blazers opened the second half with fumbles, and while it was early, Wren provided no opportunities for Ridge View to make up for the miscues.
“There’s a lot of things in life you get to experience and one of those things as a coach is to get the kids to have that opportunity to represent their community,” Tate said. “I couldn’t be more proud of their effort tonight, especially our defense. I don’t know how many turnovers we got, but they were everywhere.”
Scoring summary
HOW THEY SCORED
Ridge View-7-12-0-0—19
Wren-14-14-6-0—34
1st Quarter
W – Tyler Cherry 14 pass from Joe Owens (Wilson Garand kick) 9:56
W – Cherry 8 run (Garand kick) 6:36
2nd Quarter
R – Cincere Scott 15 pass from Andre Washington (Justin Griffin kick)
W – Noah Black 25 pass from Owens (Garand kick) 9:55
R – Jordan Smith 20 pass from Washington (kick failed) 8:37
W – Logan Simmons 3 run (Garand kick) 2:31
R – Cherry 81 pass from Washington (run failed) 2:08
3rd Quarter
W – Garand 39 field goal 9:52
W – Garand 39 field goal 7:46
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: R – Adrain Ross 6-9, David Mitchell 8-54, Cincere Scott 1-(-6), Andre Washington 14-30. W – Tyler Cherry 5-5, Joe Owens 10-24, Logan Simmons 14-44
Passing: R – Andre Washington 26-50-2. W – Joe Owens 16-35-0, Tyler Cherry 1-2-0
Receiving: R – Cincere Scott 12-139, Caleb Rayner 6-56, Jordan Smith 6-120, Deiondre Patton 1-13, David Mitchell 1-3. W – Tyler Cherry 8-128, Eli Wilson 5-48, Noah Black 3-43, Logan Simmons 2-15, Hayden Willimon 1-4.