By Thomas Grant Jr.
The “family squabble” was once again won by the “big brother”.
Ridge View left a rain-drenched Westwood High School with a 46 victory. It was the Blazers’ 10th straight win over their Northeast and Richland School District Two rival.
Ryan Williams rushed for three touchdowns and Spencer Bobain accounted for 201 yards on the ground and two touchdowns. The duo’s success was enabled by the upfront domination of the offensive line.
From the opening snap, the group of Joe and Joseph Braveboy, Jordan Senior, John Ross and Savion Taylor-Sanders overwhelmed the Redhawks. They used their size advantage to open holes and push back the defenders to produce 320 rushing yards.
“They’re good,” Westwood coach Stephen Burris said. “They’re well-coached. (Assistant coach) Adam Gamble does a great job with their guys. You can see it on film. They’re communicating, they’re stepping in the right direction. They’re doing all the little things to make their offensive line a top tier unit.
“(Head Coach Derek) Howard, Coach Gamble and his knowledge and the rest of those guys on the staff who do a great job with those kids and they just got after us for four quarters. Just relentless.”
This made for a quiet evening for quarterback Ashton Chapman. He did put Ridge View on the board with a touchdown pass to Carter Coleman.
The senior wideout was selected to play at the Touchstone Energy Bowl Dec. 13 at Doug Shaw Stadium in Myrtle Beach. Teammate and defensive back Jordyn Best, who was inactive due to injury, was named to the Shrine Bowl set for Dec. 20 at Spartanburg High School.
The defense forced two turnovers and held Westwood to just two first downs in the first half. The Redhawks’ lone score took place with 12.6 left in the second quarter on a short touchdown pass by Carrington Carter to Miles Grant.
Running back Jovan Howard set up the score with a 74-yard run. He was chased down and tackled at the one-yard line by free safety Quency Grant.
The senior pulled a similar feat at last year’s Chapin Kickoff Classic against the host team. It’s a play which has come to personify his level of effort.
“Quency has so much heart and he plays the game with so much passion,” Ridge View coach Derek Howard said. “He’s the type of kid that you want to have on your team and you hate to have to play him if you see him on the other team. I think he plays ways beyond his size. He’s got a big heart and a load of talent.”
Both teams will play another Richland School District Two and Northeast area rival, Spring Valley, the next two weeks. Spring Valley (2-4, 0-2) travels to Ridge View (3-2, 1-0) Friday, then play host to Redhawks who will be coming off a bye week.
Bengals blank Vikings
It was another lopsided Region 5-5A matchup between Richland School District Two and Northeast area rivals.
Quarterback James Veasey overcame three interceptions with three touchdowns in the Bengals’ 46-0 shutout out Spring Valley. He completed 12-22 passes for 217 yards, including a 93-yard touchdown pass to Chase Johnson, and rushed for two scores.
Running back Landyn Strong had one rushing touchdown.
The number ‘3’ was magical on defense for Blythewood (3-3, 1-1). It accounted for three interceptions and three sacks, in all instances by three different players.
The Bengals embark on a 3-game homestand starting Friday against Lugoff-Elgin.
Cardinals get 1st win
Cardinal Newman took a halftime lead and held off Augusta Christian 14-9 for its first win of the season.
The Cardinals (1-5, 1-2) travel to Northwood Academy this Friday.
Cavaliers fall in OT
Richland Northeast remained winless on the season following a 21-14 overtime loss to Lancaster.
The Cavaliers held a 14-6 lead in the fourth quarter when the Bruins tied the game to force overtime. Lancaster won the toss, scored and prevented Richland Northeast from tying the game.
Up next for the Cavaliers (0-6, 0-2) is a home region game against Dreher. On a positive note, defensive back Jarell Turner was the third Northeast area player selected to participate at the Touchstone Energy Bowl.
(Photo by Thomas Grant Jr.)
