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King uses big plays to trip Ridgewood
Updated: September 10, 2011 12:24AM
King managed to pull off big plays when it needed them most as the Jaguars escaped with a 22-14 victory over Ridgewood Friday night in Norridge to remain unbeaten.
The Jaguars (3-0) faced third and very long three times in the second half, but converted them all into first downs and eventually scored important touchdowns on the drives against the winless Rebels (0-3), who held a 14-8 advantage late in the third quarter.
“People said they (Ridgewood) would be easy, but they are a good football team,” said King head coach Lonnie Williams, who saw his team outscore opponents 91-6 the first two weeks of the young season. “They came at us with a lot of things and they are well coached. We’re just glad to get out of here with a win tonight.”
The Jaguars got on the scoreboard first when after a three-and-out on its opening drive, senior running back DeVonte Rimmer (24 carries, 137 yards, TD) turned what looked to be a no-gainer on the first play of their second possession into a 69-yard touchdown romp as King went on top 8-0 with 1 minute, 51 seconds to go in the first.
Ridgewood scored with 3:30 left in the second period to draw within 8-6 on a 5-yard scoring strike from quarterback Joe Jacobsen to Adam Kutylowski and took the lead midway through the third quarter on a Jacobsen to P.J. O’Connor TD pass to make it 14-8 after a successful 2-point conversion.
That’s when King faced a third-and-nine from the Ridgewood 44-yard line with time running out in the third. Jaguars sophomore quarterback Nathaniel Powell (16 carries, 205 yards. 1-for-4 passing, 18 yards) sprinted for 18 yards to keep the drive alive, and two playes later senior Kahari Logan (8 carries, 52 yards, 2 TDs), who didn’t have a rush until the second half, ran it in from 3 yards out. The 2-point conversion gave King a lead it would not relinquish — but Ridgewood did not go down easily.
On the first play of the fourth quarter on the Rebels’ next possession, O’Connor took a handoff and streaked up the middle of the field past the King defense for what looked to be a 64-yard TD run. A holding penalty brought it back, however, and Ridgewood finally was forced to punt.
King came back with an 88-yard drive that was kept alive when Powell turned a third-and-21 into a fresh set of downs with a 38-yard scamper. On another third-and-19 on the same drive, senior Anthony Shell picked up 25 yards, leading to another Logan touchdown run of 15 yards to put King up 22-14. Powell also picked up 32 yards on a third-and-13 to keep another second-half drive afloat.
“Our kids didn’t play well in the first half, but our offensive line played better in the second half and we were fortunate to come out with a win helped out by some big runs,” Williams said. “But those kids played hard, they’re much better than people said they were and I’m glad we didn’t underestimate them.
“We knew they would come hard, and they did — maybe even harder than we thought the would. But our kids worked hard in the second half and we were able to get a few big stops and come up with some big plays that helped really helped us when we needed them.”
Ridgewood head coach Chris Zack was straightforward when he talked about his squad’s shortcomings.
“We’re not very good on defense. We can’t stop anyone,” he said. “We had the lead and twice we let them come down the field and score when we had them stopped. You can’t do that. When our offense scores, we’ve got to find a way to make a stop.
“And offensively, our quarterback’s statistics (15-for-28, 140 yards, 2 TDs) probably don’t look real good, but he had about eight dropped passes — four of which could have gone for touchdowns. We should have had at least three or four more scores and we probably left 300 yards of passing yardage on the field.”
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