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WINSTON-SALEM — After taking the lead in the second quarter, Ragsdale looked to be in control Friday night when it got the ball to start the second half against Mount Tabor.

But the momentum quickly shifted to the Spartans. The Spartans forced a three-and-out on the Tigers’ first possession of the second half and then scored on its next two possessions to come from behind in the third quarter and eliminate the Tigers in the second round of the playoffs with a 26-23 win.

“We kind of had bad field position all the third quarter,” Ragsdale coach Tommy Norwood said. “They made some big plays and scored and we just couldn’t answer.”

On Mount Tabor’s first possession of the third quarter, Mike Eldridge threw a 45-yard bomb to Charlie Dixon to set the Spartans (11-1) up in scoring position. Two plays later, Eldridge ran left for a 6-yard touchdown, cutting the lead to 16-14.

The Tigers (9-3) went three-and-out again on their next possession and the Spartans marched the other way using another big play. A 32-yard pass to Dixon set up a 17-yard touchdown toss to Dixon and the Spartans had the lead at 20-16.

“They got momentum when they made some big plays and we went three-and-out,” Norwood said. “We let them really control the game. I think we got one first down in the third quarter. The fourth quarter was really about even. Tonight, Mount Tabor won, but there’s not much difference between us and them.”

In the fourth quarter, Ragsdale quarterback Garrison Herndon was intercepted and the Spartans quickly converted that into more points.

On the first play after the turnover, Juawan Ferguson ran through the heart of the Ragsdale defense to give the Spartans a 26-16 lead.

“We never really got out of our game,” Ragsdale senior linebacker Trey Grimes said. “We got back into it, but we needed some more plays than we did.” 

MT—Jaquez Bonner 73 pass from Mike Eldridge (Neal Callahan kick)

R—Safety R—Garrison Herndon 1 run (Brad Davis kick)

R—Marquez Eleazer 19 run (Davis kick)

MT—Eldridge 6 run (Callahan kick)

MT—Charlie Dixon 17 pass from Eldridge (run fails)

MT—Juawan Ferguson 19 run (kick fails)

R—Eleazer 1 run (Davis kick)