JAMESTOWN — The Ragsdale Tigers got a favorable draw, even if their coach did not think of it that way.
Two weeks after suffering a 21-point loss to the Glenn Bobcats, Ragsdale got revenge in the first round of the playoffs with a 49-21 thumping of their conference foe.
“Naturally, it was easy to focus our kids in on it because of how bad they beat us,” Tigers coach Tommy Norwood said, “but still I would have rather played someone else.”
Justin Briley scored three times for Ragsdale (10-2), while Luke Heavner completed all five of his passes, two for touchdowns.
The Tigers opened with a 13-play drive, capped by a 1-yard run by Barry Brown.
The defense then responded with just as impressive of an outing, as a fumble recovery gave Ragsdale the ball in great field position.
Three plays later Pete Romer slipped past the defense and Heavner found him for a 23-yard touchdown pass and a 14-0 lead.
The Tigers scored the next two times they got the ball, both on 5-yard runs by Briley.
“We knew they were going to hit us in the mouth early, we just didn’t know it was going to be 28 points,” Glenn coach Aldine Payne said. “After that, I thought we played a little better.”
The Bobcats (3-9) did score before halftime on a long catch-and-run reception by Tyler Lee. But any momentum the visitors had quickly disappeared when two plays into the second half Grant Desjardins picked up a fumble and ran it back for a touchdown.
During the regular season game, Glenn had 321 yards rushing, including 167 by tailback Josh Hawkins. But Ragsdale shut down Hawkins in the rematch, limiting him to 6 yards on six carries.
“He’s a focus no matter what because he’s one of the best players in the area,” Norwood said of Hawkins. “You’ve got to stop him and make the others beat you.”
Payne knew his squad was in for a rough night as soon as he saw the playoff seedings.
“We were in trouble,” Payne said. “You don’t beat Coach Norwood twice in the same year unless you’re a great football team. I think we developed into a good football team, but to come to their place is tough.”
Ragsdale is now 6-0 at home this season and has outscored opponents 250-81 in those six contests.
| Glenn | 0 | 7 | 14 | 0 | — | 21 |
| Ragsdale | 14 | 14 | 14 | 7 | — | 49 |
H – Barry Brown 1-yard run (Brad Davis kick)
H – Luke Heavner 23-yard pass to Pete Romer (Davis kick)
H – Justin Briley 5-yard run (Davis kick)
H – Briley 5-yard run (Davis kick)
V – Cameron Campbell 79-yard pass to Tyler Lee (Mitchell Tomlinson kick)
H – Grant Desjardins 19-yard fumble recovery (Davis kick)
V – Paris Harris 18-yard pass to Lee (Tomlinson kick)
H – Briley 59-yard run (Davis kick)
V – Campbell 26-yard pass to Aaron Richardson (Tomlinson kick)
H – Heavner 5-yard pass to Deshawn Shouse (Davis kick)
| Glenn | Ragsdale | |
| First downs | 4 | 13 |
| Rushes-yards | 28-50 | 50-246 |
| Passing yards | 139 | 124 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 5-13-0 | 5-5-0 |
| Punts-average | 4-34.0 | 3-10.8 |
| Fumbles-lost | 5-3 | 1-0 |
| Penalties-yards | 4-40 | 3-25 |
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