The Ringgold Tigers remain undefeated after cruising past the Warriors of Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe 56-0 in the Battle of Catoosa County.
The “battle” was one-sided from the start. The Warriors attempted an onside kick on the opening kickoff, but the ball had too much English and sputtered out of bounds.
The Tigers struck gold on the first offensive drive when Ringgold quarterback Mason Parker connected with wide receiver Malachi Hill on a screen pass.
Hill would scamper 35 yards past the defense to score the first touchdown of the night.
Defensive back Jevon Coney set the tone early on defense with an interception on Lakeview’s first offensive drive. Coney’s return would set up an excellent field position for the offense. Running back Kori Dumas would punch in the touchdown and the Ringgold lead extended to 14-0 with seven minutes to go in the first quarter.
Building from Coney’s interception, two more first-quarter turnovers resulted in touchdowns. Defensive lineman Brady Gray would emerge from a slough of Warriors with the ball and rumble his way into the endzone. With 4:15 remaining in the first quarter, a hawking Ringgold defense would force a pick-six.
Ringgold was overwhelming Lakeview. At the end of the first quarter, the score totaled 28-0.
The game’s tempo slowed down in the second quarter as both teams were forced to punt. The Tigers were tackling everything, including the ref.
Mason Parker would lead a two-minute offense into the endzone with a pass to junior wide receiver Jacob Garnica. Garnica would create separation with his footwork, sprinting by two Lakeview defenders into the endzone with nine ticks left before the half.
Ringgold began to showcase its depth after halftime. Already ahead 35-0, Jevon Coney and Dre Morris would cap two drives with two more touchdowns in the third quarter.
To put a cherry on top of this defensive performance, defensive back Ty Gilbert was the recipient of another pick-six. Gilbert was able to tip-toe down the sideline for the score. By the end of the third quarter, the score was 56-0.
A scoreless fourth quarter would conclude the Ringgold’s shutout. Ringgold improves to 4-0 while Lakeview-FO falls to 0-3 on the season.
Coahulla Creek (2-2) will host Lakeview-FO next Friday night as the Warriors hope to break into the win column.
Levi Gunn, a leader in the trenches for Ringgold, was ecstatic with his team after their shutout.
“We’ve put the work in and it shows,” said Gunn. “The offensive line stays after practice every day to put in extra work.”
Gunn sounded off with a comment about one of the motivations for the defense.
“They have this thing going on where, if they put a zero on the scoreboard, then it’s wings and donuts day on Monday.”
Ringgold will face off against Murray County (1-3) as they seek to remain undefeated for the season and region play.
Looking forward to next week’s game, offensive lineman Clint Carlock plans to continue their dominant play.
“We hope the defense continues to stay consistent,” said Carlock. “We have to continue to win the trenches. That’s where it all starts."
LAKEVIEW 0 0 0 0 — 0
RINGGOLD 28 7 21 0 — 56
Scoring summary:
RG- Mason Parker 35-yard pass to Malachi Hill (Landon Eaker kick), 10:36 left in the first;
RG- Kori Dumas 3-yard run (Landon Eaker kick), 7:07 left in the first;
RG- Brady Gray fumble recovery (Landon Eaker kick), 6:57 left in the first;
RG- Jevon Coney interception (Landon Eaker kick), 4:15 left in the first;
RG- Mason Parker 29-yard pass to Jacob Garnica (Landon Eaker kick), 0:09 left in the second;
RG- Dre Morris 3-yard run (Landon Eaker kick), 7:45 left in the third;
RG- Jevon Coney 5-yard run (Landon Eaker kick), 5:15 left in the third;
RG- Ty Gilbert interception (Landon Eaker kick), 4:44 left in the third.
Team stats:
LFO Ringgold
First Downs 4 19
Penalties 7 (-45) 61-282
Passing Yards 14 153
Totals Yards 75 435
Turnovers 5 0
Notable individual stats:
Ringgold Rushing: Kori Dumas 15-84-1tds (2 for the game), Alijah Bradberry 8-69, Mason Parker 6-51
LFO Rushing: Will Carroll 13-30
Ringgold Passing: Mason Parker 14-15-2tds-1int
Ringgold Receiving: Malachi Hill 3-46-1td, Jacob Garnica 2-31-1td, Kyle White 4-33
(Email Jacob Robinson at jjacobrobinson2001@gmail.com)