The Ridge View defense wrestles Kenny Benton (4) to the turf. (Photo/Kristy Kimball Massey)
BLYTHEWOOD (Aug. 29, 2016) – The Blythewood Bengals (1-1) came into week two Friday night with a 12-game winning streak against rivals Ridge View (2-0). But the Bengals gave up 16 unanswered points in the fourth quarter including the game-winning field goal to fall to the Blazers 23-21.
“Our guys played tremendous tonight, even though we had a shortened week due to our Saturday game,” Bengals head coach Dan Morgan said following the game. “We had a few guys battle back to the field this week and give a 100 percent, despite the outcome of the game.”
Blythewood struggled their first couple of offensive possessions but used defense to score the game’s first points. A high snap by the Ridge View Blazers special teams led to a 16 yard fumble recovery touchdown by Blythewood’s Cole Brown midway through the first quarter. Despite missing the extra point the Bengals held a 6-0 lead.
Junior quarterback Jordyn Adams extend that lead in the second quarter, scoring the Bengals’ next two offensive touchdowns. An electrifying 41-yard touchdown run with 5:39 left in the quarter by Adams extended the Bengals lead 12-0. The Bengals defense, which had been stingy for the majority of the first half, gave the Bengals an opportunity to close out the half with another score. Adams hit Kameron Riley for an 11 yard touchdown pass giving Blythewood an 18-0 lead into halftime.
“I felt our defense gave us the chance to close out this game after halftime, but penalties and fatigue took over the second half for us,” Morgan said.
The Bengals would be penalized 18 times for 197 yards which would prove costly later in the game. Blythewood’s momentum after halftime stifled for a bit when the Blazers opened the second half with a scoring drive. Blazers running back Ali Kelly scored on a 17-yard touchdown run, cutting the Bengals lead to 18-7 in the third.
Despite the opening third quarter touchdown, the Bengals defense, led by the combined 17 tackles from Micah Byrd and Sekwan Jenkins, continued to shut down the potent Blazer offense. A 25-yard field goal by Ben Kline extended their lead 21-7 after the third.
“I felt going into the fourth we had all the opportunities to close out the game and extend the streak, but hats off to Ridge View for not quitting and using their conditioning to help them tonight,” Morgan said describing the crazy fourth quarter.
The Blazers offense finally caught fire late into the final quarter as Jalen Smith scored on a 5-yard touchdown run, cutting the Bengals’ lead to 21-14 with 2:28 left in the game.
The Blazer defense shut down Adams and the Bengal offense to get the ball back with less than 2 minutes left in the game. Smith then hit wide receiver Tre’ High for a 46-yard touchdown pass. Blazers head coach Perry Parks gambled, going for the 2-point conversion, but was shut down by the Jenkins. Blythewood clung to a 21-20 lead with less than a minute left in the game.
With no timeouts remaining for the Blazers, Blythewood prepared for victory formation. But Ridge View defensive lineman Dejuan Warren stripped Adams as he prepared to kneel down and the Blazers recovered with 58 seconds left in the game.
The Blazers offense quickly drove 38 yards down field to set up a game winning field goal attempt. A 15-yard personal foul against the Bengals moved the Blazers closer, and with time expiring, Nick Lawyer nailed a 26-yard chip shot to give the Blazers the 23-21 victory over the Bengals.
Despite the crushing defeat, Morgan was confident in his team to prepare for their next game.
“One game does not define us,” Morgan said. “We will take this loss on the chin but prepare to face a good Fairfield Central team because we know that our goal is to still make it to the State Championship Game.”
Blythewood travels to Winnsboro Friday to face the Griffins at 7:30 p.m.
BHS: 6-12-3-0 – 21
RV: 0-0-7-16 – 23
Scoring
First Quarter
B – Cole Brown 16 fumble recovery (kick failed). 9:08.
Second Quarter
B – Jordyn Adams 41 run (kick failed). 5:39.
B – Kameron Riley 11 pass from J. Adams (run failed). 2:55.
Third Quarter
RV – A. Kelley 17 run (N. Lawyer kick). 10:34.
B – Ben Kline 25 FG. 5:53.
Fourth Quarter
RV – J. Smith 5 run (N. Lawyer kick). 2:28.
RV – T. High 46 pass from J. Smith (run failed). 1:41.
RV – N. Lawyer 26 FG. 0:00.
TEAM STATS
BHS RV
First Downs 8 15
Rushes-Yards 32-112 44-137
Passing Yards 131 217
C-A-I 8-13-1 16-28-1
Fumbles-Lost 3-2 1-1
Penalties-Yards 18-197 10-98
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING: B – Jaylon Boyd 9-78, Jordy Adams 16-38, Kenny Benton 1-4, Will Wallace 2-4, J. Watkins 3-(-10), TEAM 1-(-3). RV – J. Smith 20-56, R. Brown 6-51, A. Kelley 9-41, Rogers-Anderson 7-21, W. Napper 1-0, TEAM 1-(-32).
RECEIVING: B – Kameron Riley 5-94, Kenny Benton 1-25, Jaylon Boyd 1-10, Jerrod Harmon 1-2. RV – C. Butler 6-60, C. Napper 3-66, T. High 3-62, J. McCrae 3-17, R. Brown 1-12.
PASSING: B – Jordyn Adams 7-12, 121 yards, TD, INT; Q. Singleton 1-1, 10 yards. RV – J. Smith 16-26, 217 yards, TD, INT.
