from Mike Ellis at the Jamestown News and Womack Newspapers and you can read all about Jamestown when you CLICK HERE…..
Ragsdale blows big lead, falls to Northwest on last-play touchdown
by Mike Ellis
Special to the News
Although football games are four quarters long, last Friday’s Ragsdale-Northwest Guilford game seemed more like a three-act play. As the curtain rose, Northwest was the star of the opening act, dominating the first eight and a half minutes of the game and marching 75 yards to take a 7-0 lead. The second act was essentially all Ragsdale as the Tigers scored three first-half touchdowns to take a 21-10 lead into the half. The second act continued into the second half as the Tigers continued to control the action. It took them only two minutes to find the end zone and extend the lead to 28-10 as the curtain came down on the second act. The third act was all Northwest as they took over the last 22 minutes of the game. Ragsdale never threatened again as the Vikings took advantage of three Tiger turnovers to score 21 consecutive points. The last score came on fourth and goal from the 2 yard line with 12 seconds left as the curtain came down on the Tigers and the Vikings celebrated a 31-28 victory.
It was definitely a game of momentum. Northwest took the opening kickoff and it appeared the Tigers defense had gotten off to a good start, forcing a fourth and 15 from the Northwest 20 yard line as the Vikings sent Andrew Ritz into punt formation. The Ragsdale punt return team dropped back quickly to set up a return and Ritz took advantage of their failure to put any pressure on and went around right end for 19 yards and a first down. Given new life, the Viking offense, aided by a 15-yard personal foul penalty on Ragsdale, methodically marched down the field. They ran the ball 11 consecutive times, covering 44 yards for the game’s first touchdown. Reid Baxter went around right end from five yards out for the score.
Ragsdale wasted little time in responding. Facing a third and nine from the Northwest 49, quarterback Garrison Herndon hooked up with Anthony Stewart and he walked the tightrope up the left sidelines, barely staying in bounds for the touchdown. Brad Davis converted the point-after and the score was knotted at 7.
Northwest came right back as quarterback Matt Pawlowski found Kyle Kristy for a 38-yard gain to the Ragsdale 16 yard line. Three plays later, the Vikings had a first and goal at the Tiger 5. It was at that point that the Tiger defense stiffened, forcing coach Joe Woodruff to send in Garrett Stuart who booted a 27 yard field goal to give the Vikings a 10-7 lead.
The last nine minutes of the half was all Ragsdale as they scored touchdowns on two straight possessions. The first score came as Marquez Eleazer went off left tackle and broke to the outside for a 24-yard TD run. The second score came after the defense forced a Viking fumble after a pass completion and the offense marched 62 yards. This time Eleazer found the end zone from five yards out. Davis was perfect on both extra points as Ragsdale extended the lead to 21-10.
The Tigers kept the momentum on their side to start the second half as they needed only two minutes to march 60 yards for their fourth touchdown of the night. They moved into Viking territory on a 42-yard pass from Herndon to Stewart. With a first and 10 at the Viking 21, Xavier Jones went off left tackle and into the end zone for the score.
Ragsdale would not threaten again, turning the ball over three times, picking up one more first down, not moving into Viking territory again and only being able to watch as Northwest roared back from the 18-point deficit. “Old momentum” jumped over to the Viking sideline and they rode it for the rest of the game.
After the Jones touchdown, Ragsdale still appeared to be in control as the defense forced the Vikings to punt. When the Viking punter got off a bad kick that only traveled 11 yards it looked like the Tigers were going to get excellent field position, but it was not to be. A Tiger touched the ball at the 41 and Northwest fell on the ball giving them possession. What looked like a break for Ragsdale on a poor punt turned into a turnover that Northwest converted into a touchdown. After the huge break, the Vikings went 59 yards in 11 plays. Facing a fourth and five from the 16, Pawlowski threw a strike to Ethan Tingler over the middle for the score. The two-point attempt failed and Ragsdale still maintained a lead at 28-16.
Things continued to go wrong for the Tigers. After picking up a first down, Herndon threw a pass to Stewart on the left side and the ball went off his fingertips and was picked off by the Vikings Andrew Ritz. After the Tiger defense forced a punt, the offense could not move the ball and went three and out on their next possession. Again, the Vikings moved the ball, this time a nine-play, 56-yard scoring drive that ended when Pawlowski connected with Ryan Overcash for the eight-yard touchdown pass. Stuart kicked the extra point and Northwest trailed 28-23 with just under five minutes left in the game.
The final nail was when Northwest’s Dalton Dillon intercepted a pass and returned it to the Tiger 15 yard line with 3:08 left in the game. With all three timeouts left, Northwest systematically moved the ball and ate up the clock. A Dillon run set up a first and goal at the 4 yard line. Three running plays netted two yards and with the game on the line, Pawlowski handed off to Baxter off right tackle and he dove into the end zone with 12 seconds left. The Vikings converted the two-point attempt on a pass from Pawlowski to Baxter as Northwest completed the comeback as they went ahead 31-28.
Statistics don’t always tell the story, but in this case they are a pretty accurate indication of what happened. After taking a 28-10 lead, Ragsdale ran 11 more plays in the game while Northwest ran 40. Over that last 22 minutes the Tigers had 15 yards in total offense while the Vikings had 128 yards, and Northwest controlled the ball for 16 minutes during that time.
It was a great comeback for Northwest as they are now in the driver’s seat for the Piedmont Triad conference title with a 4-0 record. Ragsdale fell to 3-1 in conference and both have two games remaining.
Ragsdale picked up 124 yards on the ground on 23 carries, led by Marquez Eleazer who had 60 yards on 15 carries and scored two touchdowns. Garrison Herndon was 6 for 10 for 124 yards and a touchdown but had two interceptions in the second half. Anthony Stewart was the leading receiver with four catches for 108 yards and a touchdown.
Northwest came into the game primarily relying on the run, averaging 262 yards a game on the ground. The Tigers held them to less than half of that as Northwest picked up 131 yards on 43 carries. Reid Baxter gained 61 yards on 10 carries for the Vikings and had two touchdowns. With the running game not getting the big yardage expected, the Vikings went to the air and quarterback Matt Pawlowski made the Tigers pay. Averaging less than 100 yards a game coming in, Pawlowski went 16 for 26 for 209 yards. Northwest totally dominated the time of possession, 31:33 to 16:37.
Ragsdale has a bye week this week before returning to action on October 21 at home against the Glenn Bobcats. Northwest hosts Parkland this Friday night.
NW Guilford 7 3 6 15 31
Ragsdale 7 14 7 0 28
First Downs 9-R 20-NWG
Rushing Yardage 124-R 131-NWG
Rushes 23-R 46-NWG
Passing Yardage 124-R 209-NWG
Pass Comp/ Att/ Int 6-10-2-R 16-26-0-NWG
Punts/Avg Yds 1-34-R 2-27.5-NWG
Fumbles/Lost 2-2-R 1-1-NWG
Penalties/Yds 5-50-R 10-63-NWG
Time of Poss. 16:27-R 31:33-NWG
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
NW – Reid Baxter 5 yard run (Garrett Stuart kick) (3:23)
R – Anthony Stewart 49 yard pass from Garrison Herndon (Brad Davis kick) (1:35)
Second Quarter
NW – Garrett Stuart 27 yard field goal (9:21)
R – Marquez Eleazer 24 yard run (Davis kick) (6:03)
R – Eleazer 2 yard run (Davis kick) (0:49)
Third Quarter
R – Xavier Jones 21 yard run (Davis kick) (10:00)
NW – Ethan Tingler 16 yard pass from Matt Pawlowski (2 point attempt failed) (3:33)
Fourth Quarter
NW – Ryan Overcash 12 yard pass from Pawlowski (Stuart kick) (4:40)
NW – Baxter 2 yard run (Baxter pass from Pawlowski 2 points) (0:12)
It was one of the best HS Football games I’ve ever seen!
^^ +1
Absolutely the biggest gift since the Red Sox gave Babe Ruth to the Yankees or the Indians sold Manhattan for nothing. Most inferior team i have ever seen Ragsdale lose a game.