NEW PORT RICHEY – The Royal Knights and their defense proved to be royal-pain for the explosive Ridgewood Offense as they shutout the Rams en route to a 45-0 demolition on Monday Night. River Ridge (5-0, 3-0) moved to the top of District 5A-8 along with Zephyrhills in anticipation of their gigantic match-up with the Bulldogs in two weeks. The Royal Knights have outscored their opponents 106-15 in their first three games of district play, but it’s their 29 points allowed through the first five games of the season in total that’s put the rest of the district on notice.
The Royal Knights held a 28:06 to 18:05 time of possession controlling the game from its beginning. Following Ridgewood’s opening possession, Chris Schwarz broke through the Rams’ line and scampered 45 yards for a touchdown just 43-seconds into their first series. Ridgewood tried to get positive yardage on their second series of the game, but another penalty to start the drive–similar to their first possession–put the Rams behind schedule and they were forced to punt.
River Ridge went back to the well-of-Schwarz handing the ball to #40 six times on the eight-play drive, then executing a perfect play-action pass to Brandon Lempfert from Trevor Hawks for 31 yards to make the score 14-0 nearing the end of the first quarter. The Rams put together an eight-play drive of their own following the River Ridge touchdown, but a sack on second down put Ridgewood in a 3rd-and-23 passing situation–which allowed DB Alex Kostogiannes to pick off the Javon Wright pass downfield, which he returned for 33 yards.
Setup with a short field, the Knights went on a seven-play drive following the punt and once again it was Schwarz carrying the weight before adding a 10-yard touchdown run to put the score at 21-0 following Tyler Grimes’ extra-point with seven minutes to play in the first half.
Ridgewood began the following possession in River Ridge territory, setup by Glass Wilson V’s kickoff return that was then aided by a late-hit, but a personal foul called on the first play brought the action back to their side of the field which ended in yet another punt for the Rams. The Knights were forced to punt for the only time on the evening on the ensuing series. Just eleven seconds into their following possession, Jake Berg recovered the Javon Wright fumble that ultimately ended in a Schwarz 19-yd touchdown run and a 28-0 lead with just over a minute to play in the half.
It was Berg forcing the fumble on Ridgewood’s following series that was recovered by Michael Galante that ended in a Tyler Grimes 30-yd FG to put the Knights up 31-0 heading into the break. River Ridge opened the second half with a 12-play, 62 yard drive that took over seven minutes off the clock to send the action into a running clock. Ridgewood had the chance to break the shutout when Wright hit a streaking Jordan Skerret down the sidelines for an 80-yd play, but Dylan Spaeth’s hustle brought the WR down just outside the 10-yard line, which enabled the Royal Knights to make one last stand on the evening.
Ridgewood (4-2, 2-1) now must regroup following the Monday affair and prepare for Zephyrhills in a crucial 5A-8 matchup this week at Ridgewood. The game was postponed due to a scheduling error with the officiating. River Ridge (5-0, 3-0) hosts Gulf this Friday.
River Ridge Head Coach, Ryan Benjamin following the game:
On stopping the versatile Glass Wilson V-
“We practiced very, VERY hard–longest practices all year (in preparation for Wilson V) we did not take this game lightly–we knew he would be huge factor and that we knew we had to shut him down because he’s a big part of what they do. We came out and stuck to the game plan and it worked”.
On the waiting a extra few days, then having to prepare on a short week-
“One thing we say about River Ridge Football is we might not always be the biggest-strongest-fastest, but we have hustle and heart–our boys are smart and that takes us a long way. Our work ethic, our intelligence and that toughness defines who we are as a program. We know who we are, and I think the kids know that we’re going to have to outwork everybody. We can’t take a single game–or even a single snap off.”
Takeaways from last night’s action:
-River Ridge held a 15:47-7:12 advantage in the second half–(more than double Ridgewood’s TOP)
-Trevor Grimes (K/P) six-for-six on XP’s + 30yd FG.
-RRHS conducted a 12-play, 62 yard and 7:40 drive to open the second half
-Glass Wilson V, averaging 188 yards-per-game rushing, last night–11c-45yds
-Ridgewood was averaging 45 points per game before last night
-River Ridge has given up 29 total points this season (through six games)
-The Royal Knights ran 50 plays on offense
-Third consecutive game that RRHS has thrown a TD (Trevor Hawks to Brandon Lempfert specifically)
-Alex Kostogiannes with another interception–his 6th in five games for River Ridge setting a school-record
-Chris Schwarz: 27c-183yds-4TD’s (Schwarz has 999 yards rushing this season
-Jake Berg with 10 tackles (7 solo), sack, forced fumble, fumble recovery
-Brandon Lempfert with six tackles to go with his touchdown reception
-Patrick Cook with 6 tackles and a sack
-Anthony Spinelli with 8 tackles
-Time of Possession: River Ridge – 28:06//Ridgewood – 18:05