Tony Ruff Gashes Camden for 400+ Yards
Tony Ruff hits the hole at Camden Friday. (Photo/DeAnna Robinson)
CAMDEN (Nov. 5, 2016) – Devin Beckley shredded the Fairfield Central secondary for 336 yards and seven touchdowns Friday night at Zemp Stadium, but it wasn’t enough to compensate for Tony Ruff and Rodriguez Edmonds.
Ruff destroyed the Camden defense, rushing for 403 yards and three TDs, while Edmonds broke loose for 324 yards and three scores to lead the Griffins to a 70-55 win and the undisputed 3A Region IV title – Fairfield Central’s fifth consecutive region crown.
“I thought we’d be able to play a little better on defense, but we won,” Griffins head coach Demetrius Davis said. “I told our guys at halftime, whether we won by one point or not, we need to win.”
At halftime, the game was knotted at 35 apiece as the Griffins and Dogs exchanged blows through the first 24 minutes of the night.
The Bulldogs went up 35-28 in the final minute of the second quarter after Beckley hit Jorien Watson with a 10-yard TD strike. But the Griffins needed just 36 ticks to tie things back up.
On first-and-10 from the Fairfield 27, quarterback Stanley McManus launched a 60-yarder to Ah’Quil Ross, putting the Griffins in the Camden red zone at the 13. McManus finished the drive with an 18-yard TD pass to J.R. Edmonds, and the kick by Monterius Seabrooks sent the game into the break all even.
The third quarter would be the turning point as the Griffins came up with a key stop and a turnover to slow the Camden assault.
“We had to come out and get a stop,” Davis said. “We figured they couldn’t stop us, but we couldn’t stop them either. So we knew we had to get a stop, then we were able to get things going.”
The Griffins took a 41-35 lead on the opening drive of the third, with Ruff and Edmonds carrying the team 80 yards in less than 5 minutes. On third-and-goal, McManus punched it in from 6 yards out. The 2-point conversion pass fell incomplete, but the Griffins finally had the edge.
The Bulldogs, whose running game had kept the Griffins at bay all evening, came out slinging, but all three Beckley attempts were no good, forcing the second – and last – punt of the game.
Taking over at their own 30, the Griffins drained 4 minutes off the clock as Edmonds and Ruff punished the Bulldog defense. With 2:39 to go in the quarter, Ruff blasted his way through the Camden line and raced 31 yards into the end zone. McManus tagged on the 2-point run, and the Griffins had some separation, up 49-35.
Camden threatened on their next drive, with running back Jericho Murphy leading the Dogs to the Fairfield 22. But Lance McCray lost the handle crossing into the Griffins red zone and Fairfield Central recovered on their own 20 with 2:29 left in the third.
The Griffins’ ground attack had shoved the ball all the way to the Camden 1-yard line when the quarter ended, and the Bulldogs stiffened in the fourth. But on fourth-and-goal, Edmonds finished the deal from 4 yards out. The PAT kick was wide, but with 11:21 left the Griffins had a little breathing room at 55-35.
“We got a look that we liked and we just kept running it,” Davis said of the Griffins’ running game. “No need to change it. Coach (Ryan) Sharpe did a good job, he kept putting us in a good place.”
But the Camden offensive juggernaut can strike quickly. Two rapid-fire completion by Beckley took the Dogs from their own 35 to the Griffin 1 in the twinkling of an eye. Beckley shoved it in from there, and with 10:51 to go in the game, Camden had drawn to within two scores, 55-42.
“We’ve got some guys hurt. We’ve got ninth-graders back there (in the secondary),” Davis said. “We’ve got to get some guys healthy. We’ll mess around and get a passing team in the playoffs; we might be in trouble. We’ve got to get some guys healthy, get some guys ready to go.”
Camden’s onside kick attempt rolled out of bounds at the Griffin 45. On the first play from scrimmage, Ruff banged off right tackle, hit the sideline and made it to the Camden 15 before being brought down. Edmonds mashed the ball to the Bulldog 6, and once again McManus capped the drive with a 6-yard TD run. Edmonds added the 2-point conversion run to make it 63-42 with 9:04 remaining.
The Dogs once more quickly closed the gap as Beckley found Watson from 25 yards out to make it 63-48 with 6:51 to play, after the PAT kick by Will Warnock was blocked.
Camden’s second onside try gave the Griffins first-and-10 at their own 48. A penalty against the Griffins pushed them back to their own 33 before they could get the drive started.
Apparently, that just gave Ruff more room to work with.
On the first snap of the drive, Ruff broke free for a 77-yard scoring run. The PAT by Seabrooks put the Griffins up 70-48 with 6:38 left in the game.
Beckley hit Watson for the final score of the night – a 14-yarder with 5:01 to go. The Griffins were able to put together three first downs on their final drive and run all the digits off the clock.
With makeup games still to be played in the Lowcountry, the Griffins (4-0/8-2) will have to wait a week before the official playoff brackets emerge. It is likely, however, that the Griffins will be hosting Woodruff (3-2/6-4) when postseason play begins on Nov. 18.
FC: 14-21-14-21 – 70
C: 14-21-0-20 – 55
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
C – Jorien Watson 8 pass from Devin Beckley (Will Warnock kick). 8:58.
FC – Tony Ruff 55 run (kick failed). 8:19.
C – J. Watson 59 pass from D. Beckley (Warnock kick). 6:49.
FC – T. Ruff 52 run (Stanley McManus run). 6:01.
Second Quarter
FC – Rodriguez Edmonds 1 run (S. McManus kick). 11:58.
C – J. Watson 54 pass from D. Beckley (Warnock kick). 10:26.
FC – S. McManus 1 run (Monterius Seabrooks kick). 6:08.
C – Avery Barnes 20 pass from D. Beckley (Warnock kick). 4:08.
C – J. Watson 10 pass from D. Beckley (Warnock kick). 0:58.
FC – J.R. Edmonds 18 pass from S. McManus (M. Seabrooks kick). 0:16.
Third Quarter
FC – S. McManus 6 run (pass failed). 7:03.
FC – T. Ruff 31 run (S. McManus run). 2:39.
Fourth Quarter
FC – R. Edmonds 4 run (kick failed). 11:21.
C – D. Beckley 1 run (Warnock kick). 10:51.
FC – S. McManus 6 run (R. Edmonds run). 9:04.
C – J. Watson 25 pass from D. Beckley (kick failed). 6:51.
FC – T. Ruff 77 run (M. Seabrooks kick). 6:38.
C – J. Watson 14 pass from D. Beckley (Warnock kick). 5:01.
TEAM STATS
FC CHS
First Downs 23 16
Rushes-Yards 66-826 29-198
Passing Yards 78 336
C-A-I 2-4-0 15-25-0
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 1-1
Penalties-Yards 10-97 4-30
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing: FC – Stanley McManus 17-99, Tony Ruff 23-403, Rodriguez Edmonds 26-324. C – Jericho Murphy 22-118, Lance McCray 10-56, Devin Beckley 6-21, Jorien Watson 1-3.
Receiving: FC – Ah’Quil Ross 1-60, J.R. Edmonds 1-18. C – Jorien Watson 12-232, Avery Barnes 2-48, Cameron Jefferson 1-56.
Passing: FC – Stanley McManus 2-4, 78 yards, TD. C – Devin Beckley 15-25, 336 yards, 7 TDs.
