Ridge Comm. Bolts at Kathleen Red Devils was suppose to be a slug fest. It was suppose to a nail biter. It was suppose to be one of those games that the fans talked about on the way out the gate. It was none of those. One team had something different in mind and the end result was very one sided.
After an emotional win vs Lake Gibson last week, Kathleen took their home field again slightly flat in pre-game. Once in the locker room, Head Coach Ervin Strickland woke them up. A quick, yet powerful message to his boys, set off the Red in the Devils.
The Defense was too much for the Ridge Community Bolts. The defensive line, anchored by Jevontae Denson and Justin Andrews feasted on Bolts QB Kareem Smith all night long. Smith was never comfortable in the pocket and the running backs rarely got past the original line of scrimmage. Defensive Player of the game would have gone to sophomore CB, Malcolm Lanier. He had 3 really good hits on various Bolt offensive players and punctuated his night with an interception for a touchdown just as Ridge was building momentum early in the third quarter.
Kathleen QB, Kevin Wilson played great. He was very efficient, completing the bulk of his passes. I really loved watching him work in the pocket. He felt the rush, scrambled when necessary and stood tall when the pocket stayed clean. He ended the game with a couple of touchdown passes officially, but two were called back because of yellow laundry (penalty flags).
The best player on the field was obvious. Red Devil WR, Javon Harrison was too much for the Bolt secondary. He had 100 yards and 2 touchdowns negated due to penalties, but proved to be as good as advertised. He started the game off with a boom, 60 yard screen for a TD, called back. Came back one series later and scored on a 60 yard deep ball from Wilson. Too big, too fast, too strong for the Bolt defenders.
Ridge scored early in the third quarter when QB Kareem Smith scrambled, pulling the corner up and tossed the ball to a wide open Tyrheik Trudell completing an 80 yards TD score. Midway through the forth quarter, senior ATH and Ignite Showcase WR MVP, Cody Pandolfo busted through the Red Devil defense for 78 yards, setting up a 2 yard score for the Bolts.
Kathleen 42
Ridge 13
