Dean Beckford (6) slips a tackle.
Blythewood quarterback Kylin Binn (4) looks down field.
With playoff seeding and a share of the region IV-4A championship on the line, the Blythewood Bengals (9-2, 4-1) came up with a 36-17 win over the Blazers of Ridge View (6-5, 3-2) Friday night. Before the game Ridge View head coach Raymond Jennings talked about the district rivalry.
“We’re 7 miles apart,” Jennings said. “There are no surprises. We are very familiar with each other and have similar styles of play.”
Similar indeed. Each team came into the game with just one region loss; moreover, Blythewood and Ridge View’s offenses are number one and two in the region, averaging 34.5 and 31.3 points per game respectively.
Blythewood scored on their first offensive possession when Greg Huegel hit a 38-yard field goal to cap an eight-play drive. However, the lead was short lived because on Ridge View’s first offensive play Gary Bradshaw broke free for a 66-yard touchdown. The extra point went wide right and after one quarter of play Ridge View led 6-3.
With four minutes gone by in the second quarter, Blythewood was in the middle of six-play drive when tailback Dean Beckford fumbled at the Ridge View 45-yard line. On the ensuing play, Bradshaw would strike again when he stretched a run down the right sideline to go in untouched for a 55-yard touchdown. Ridge View wide receiver Tre’van Howell caught a pass to nail the 2-point conversion making the score 14-3 in favor of the Blazers.
Facing their biggest deficit of the game, down by 11, the Bengals offense responded just a minute later when they drove down the field 73 yards in five plays to score off a Devin Albert 27-yard touchdown run. The 2-point conversion failed and halfway through the second quarter Blythewood trailed 14-9.
With three minutes to play in the first half, Bengals defensive back Erik Holliday picked off a pass, his first of the year, to give Blythewood the ball at the Ridge View 19-yard line. After three straight rushing plays it would be Kylin Binn who scored on a quarterback keeper from 8 yards out. On the 2-point conversion attempt Albert was stopped short and Blythewood took a 15-14 lead at the break.
To start the third quarter, the Blazers offense was faced with a fourth-and-1 at the Blythewood 45-yard line. On a fullback dive, Bengals defensive end Terrell Vaughn came up with a huge stop to force the turnover on downs.
On Blythewood’s ensuing possession, they were faced with their own fourth down decision, which ended much differently. On fourth-and-5 from Ridge View’s 35-yard line, wide receiver Javon Smith hauled in an over-the-shoulder catch in the end zone for his second receiving touchdown of the year. After the extra point by Huegel, Blythewood extended their lead to 22-14.
With four minutes to play in the third quarter Ridge View would score their only points of the second half on a 39-yard field goal, making the score 22-17 in favor of the Bengals.
The fourth quarter was all Blythewood as they scored 14 unanswered points. With three minutes to play in regulation, on a third-and-goal from the Ridge View 20-yard line, Ben Ruiz bounced outside for a touchdown that capped a seven-play 50-yard drive. Huegel added the extra point to make the score Blythewood 29 and Ridge View 17.
But the final nail in the coffin came with 1:12 to play when Bengals defensive back Earl Wilson nabbed an interception and bolted up the sideline for a 63-yard defensive touchdown.
Blythewood outscored Ridge View 21-3 in the second half and went on for a 36-17 win to earn a share of the region IV-4A championship with Irmo. After the game Blythewood head coach Reggie Kennedy felt good about his team’s performance.
“I’m really proud of our players and the way they fought tonight,” Kennedy said. “We knew it was going to be a war and I’m just happy with the way our team responded.”
Despite losing, Ridge View made the 4A state playoffs for the first time since 2008 as a 14th seed.
“I’m happy for this team to be at the end of their season and still playing for something besides pride,” Jennings said.
Ridge View will play at Irmo (three seed) on Friday.
Blythewood earned a seventh seed and will host the 10th seed, Boiling Springs (6-5) out of region II-4A on Friday at District Stadium. It’s the first time Blythewood has hosted a playoff game since 2006 and the first time ever as a member of 4A. Kennedy is happy his Bengals made the playoffs and he is excited to start their post season run.
“At this part of the year everybody is pretty tough,” Kennedy said. “We’re looking forward to the challenge.”
To listen to the live broadcast visit www.facebook.com/bhathletics pregame coverage starts at 7:15 p.m. followed by a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
BHS- 3-12-7-14 36
RV- 6-8-3-0 17
First Quarter
BHS- G. Huegel 38 field goal. (9:11)
RV- G. Bradshaw 66 run. Kick failed. (8:54)
Second Quarter
RV- G. Bradshaw 55 run. T. Howell 2 pass from N. Randolph. (7:51)
BHS- D. Albert 27 run. Pass failed. (6:44)
BHS- K. Binn 8 run. D. Run failed. (1:35)
Third Quarter
BHS- J. Smith 35 pass from K. Binn. G. Huegel kick. (7:55)
RV- K. Blue 39 field goal. (4:07)
Fourth Quarter
BHS- B. Ruiz 20 run. G. Huegel kick. (2:48)
BHS- E. Wilson 63 interception return. G. Huegel kick. (1:12)
Team Stats
BHS RV
First Downs 19 13
Rushes/Yards 42-237 35-215
Comp/Att/Int 15-24-1 9-29-2
Passing Yards 136 139
Fumbles/Lost 1-1 1-1
Penalties/Yards 9-100 10-102
Individual Stats
RUSHING—BHS: D. Albert 10-64. B. Ruiz 8-64. K. Binn 12-64. L. Jamison 7-30. RV: G. Bradshaw 13-151. W. Napper 6-39.N. Randolph12-22. T. Adams 2-2.
PASSING—BHS: K. Binn 15-24. 136 yards. 1 INT. 1 TD. RV:N. Randolph9-29. 139 yards. 2 INT. 0 TD.
RECEIVING—BHS: J. Smith 4-60. D. Beckford 4-11. B. Ruiz 2-12. L. Jamison 1-19. RV: T. Howell 7-126. R. Goodwin 1-13. T. Robinson 1-0.
