Ridge View named State’s Team of Week after Blythewood win

After a 2-0 start, Ridge View coach Perry Parks is making sure his team isn’t complacent.

Parks put the Blazers through a spirited full-pads workout Monday, including a lengthy bit of conditioning at the end for mistakes made in practice, and to keep them focused for this week’s matchup against Ninety Six.

“So much going on coming off a big win, you want these guys coming off hopping and popping, but sometimes they come out a little slow,” Parks said. “We’ve got to stay hungry. These kids haven’t been in the position where they have been 2-0. As coaches, we can sit here and allow them to be average and mediocre in practice, or we can demand excellence. We are going to demand excellence, and if they don’t like it we will give them some extracurricular and get them where their minds need to be for Ninety Six.”

The Blazers have won their first two games for the first time since 2011, and were named The State’s Team of the Week following their dramatic 23-21 win over Blythewood. The Blazers trailed 18-0 at halftime and were down 21-7 in the fourth quarter before kicker Nick Lawyer hit the game-winning field goal as time expired. The victory snapped a 12-game losing streak to the Bengals.

On Sunday, Parks rewarded his team by buying it a PS4 console to use in the locker room. But Monday, there was no playing the new Madden ’17. It was back to work.

“He makes sure he keeps the fun in it, but he makes sure we work hard,” Ridge View quarterback Jalen Smith said. “You’ve got to block out all the distractions and got to keep pushing and don’t be complacent.”

Smith knows what it’s like to play for a winning program, and hopes to pass along that experience to his new teammates. He spent the past two years at Westwood before transferring to Ridge View for his senior season.

Smith had 311 yards of offense and two TDs in last week’s win. Defensively, Damani Staley leads the Midlands with six sacks and the Blazers’ defense has given up just three points combined in the second half.

The Blazers started strong last season and notched wins over Dutch Fork and Goose Creek, but lost three of their last four and missed the postseason. Parks preached all offseason about being more consistent and doing a better job with handling success.

Now, he’s hammering that point home.

“It is important to keep these guys level-headed. They start looking in the newspapers and seeing themselves doing well,” Parks said. “We are just an above-average football team. We want to be great team, so don’t rest on their laurels and be average on the field.”

This story was originally published August 30, 2016 at 8:05 PM.