East Ridge's Traneil Moore somersaults into the end zone for the Pioneers' first touchdown against Notre Dame Friday evening at the Irish's Jim Eberle Field. East Ridge, ranked #8, upset the #6 Irish 14-9 to remain undefeated at 7-0 in this key Region 3-3A contest.
photo by Dennis Norwood
Tracy Malone is feeling a little bit like Rodney Dangerfield.
He just wants a little respect for his East Ridge football team.
Maybe he'll get it after his team remained unbeaten following Friday's 14-9 victory over Notre Dame in a battle for first place in Region 3-AAA.
"We knew it would be ugly, but I think we showed just what we're made of tonight," said an obviously-happy Malone once the final horn had sounded.
"That was a huge win for our team, but we just seem to keep finding ways to get the job done. We'll enjoy our week off, but this feels so good.
"I never thought that 14 points would win it, but we felt like if we could shut down their running game, we might be able to put some pressure on their quarterback. We were able to do just that, but we came in here with a lot of confidence. These kids believed all week that we could win this game. When you believe like that, good things normally happen," he continued.
East Ridge has been proving people wrong all season long as they've waltzed to seven straight wins.
None have been any bigger than the one at Jim Eberle Field on Friday.
As you might imagine, it was a muddy quagmire from the opening whistle, but the good news is that not a single raindrop fell during the game.
It looked like the makings of an old-fashioned track meet as both teams scored on their first possession.
A safety late in the first quarter gave Notre Dame its only lead at 9-7. Moore was tackled in the end zone following a bad exchange with 3:36 left in the first quarter.
The Irish had a chance to increase that lead following the Pioneer free kick that was returned 55 yards from the 40 to the 5 by Cameron Wynn, but the East Ridge defense stood tall and regained possession following a blocked field goal attempt by Jeremiah McKibben.
The Pioneers then drove 86 yards in six plays to score what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown on a seven-yard run by Traneil Moore at the 10:54 mark of the second quarter.
Two of the biggest plays for the Pioneers in that drive were passes, the first of 31 yards from Dominique Millener to Jesse Jones across the middle on an option throw. The second one covered 25 yards and went from quarterback Eric Bennett to Millener on a swing pass to the left.
By that time, the field was starting to get really soft and that's when the defensive units from both teams took charge.
Moore also scored the first touchdown on a 13-yard run at the start of the game as he zipped into the end zone on the fourth play with only 1:26 elapsed.
Moore is now getting close to the 1,000-yard mark after finishing with 143 yards on 32 carries, including 115 yards on 19 trips in the first half.
Notre Dame counterpart Ricky Ballard also had a good game as he finished with 119 yards on 18 carries, including the only TD for the Irish on a 42-yard run early in the first quarter.
The East Ridge defense got stronger and stronger as the game progressed as Notre Dame was limited to just 75 yards in the final half, including just 47 yards on the ground and 28 through the air.
Senior quarter Alex Darras had a miserable evening as he only completed one of eight passes in the first half and five of 21 for the game.
And once the Pioneers dialed in on Ballard's number, the options for Notre Dame got fewer and fewer.
While Notre Dame's offense wasn't clicking like it normally does, the Irish were their own worst enemy as they were flagged 15 times for 135 yards. Every time the offense gained positive yards, a penalty erased it.
Notre Dame coach Charles Fant knew long before the kickoff that Friday's game would be a real challenge for his team.
He was right.
"East Ridge always gives us a tough game, but they played a great game and were very opportunistic. We had a tough time moving the ball and every time we did, it would get called back by a penalty. You can't make those kind of mental mistakes in a game like this.
"We felt like we could run the ball, but once they stopped that, we were limited as to what we could do. We had a chance to take control after we got the safety, but we weren't able to score a touchdown and the field goal got blocked.
"That may have been the turning point of the game," Fant said while standing alone on the field later.
East Ridge finished with 236 total yards while Notre Dame was limited to just 164.
While Moore was the rushing leader with his 143 yards, Millener had three receptions for 67 yards.
Jake Backer was the leading receiver for Notre Dame with 27 yards on three catches.
East Ridge is now 7-0 and off next week before going to Howard on Oct. 16. Notre Dame is now 4-3 overall and will travel to Signal Mountain on Oct. 16 after and open week this Friday.
EAST RIDGE 7 7 0 0 -- 14
NOTRE DAME 9 0 0 0 -- 9
ER -- Traneil Moore 13 run (C.J. Bond kick), 10:34 left in first;
ND -- Ricky Ballard 42 run (Alex Darras kick), 9:39 left in first;
ND -- Safety when Moore was tackled in end zone, 3:36 left in first;
ER -- Moore 13 run (Bond kick), 10:54 left in second.
(email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)
Notre Dame's Ricky Ballard (5) goes airborne as he hits the line of scrimmage.
photo by Dennis Norwood