News - Sports

Saturday, Oct. 11, 2008

Rock Hill 22, Ridge View 7

Rock Hill’s Xavier McFadden could smell the football Friday night at District Three Stadium, and the odor it gave off was touchdown.

Early in the second quarter, McFadden picked off a Ridge View pass and sped 19 yards to the end zone, giving Rock Hill its first lead of the night. The Bearcats never trailed again after spotting the Blazers a TD on their first possession in a 22-7 win in the Region 4-AAAA opener for both teams.

“I read the quarterback’s eyes, was watching him all the way,” said McFadden, who had two of the Bearcats’ four picks. “I was playing behind No. 6 (Greg Adams) in the flat. When Ridge View’s quarterback cocked his arm, I ran in front of No. 6 and made the interception. Nobody was between me and the end zone.

“But our defense made big plays all night. Our offense didn’t get moving until the final quarter, so we had to make some plays to keep us in the lead.”

Rock Hill, No. 7 in Class AAAA this week, moved to 6-1 overall. But the Bearcats had no answer for Ridge View tailback Bucky Kennedy in the first quarter, as he ran for 41 yards. He finished with 94 yards on 22 carries.

The Blazers’ touchdown came on their second snap, a 53-yard pass from Jalen Perry to Maurice McMahan.

The Bearcats squandered a couple of scoring opportunities in the first half, and another old nemesis reappeared. Kicker Brandon Berger, who had appeared to snapped out of his slump the last few games, missed a pair of extra points and sailed a 25-yard field-goal attempt wide to the left. It wasn’t all bad for the Bearcats, thanks to their defense. Rock Hill intercepted three passes in the half and recovered a fumble. McFadden had another pick early in the game. Terrance Bingham had one in the second quarter.

Rock Hill’s second possession was a three-and-out. Their third produced the Bearcats’ first touchdown on one play. Quarterback Jatavious Stewart made a perfect fake to tailback Jamal Tyler and kept up the middle.

With Ridge View’s defense leaning to the right, Stewart took off up the middle and had one man to beat after clearing line of scrimmage. It didn’t matter, because Stewart raced 58 yards and pulled his team within one, 7-6.

“I really thought he was going to tackle me,” Stewart said. “But after the fake, I got good blocking and was able to get into the open field.” McFadden’s interception return put the Bearcats up 12-7, and that’s how the half ended.

“It was a region win, so I’ll take it,” Bearcats coach Joe Montgomery said. “We missed a pair of field goals down close. We missed two extra points. We missed blocks.

“Defensively, we had a couple of guys make some plays. Other than that, we didn’t look good at all until we decided to play football in the fourth quarter.”

Berger got the Bearcats on the board in the third quarter with a 42-yard field goal, but he later missed another chip shot — for him — from 25 yards away.

The Bearcats probably knocked some time off the extra running they are sure to do Monday at practice because of their final possession. They executed an impressive 57-yard drive, ending it with Jamal Tyler’s 20-yard touchdown run. Junior varsity kicker Fernando Gonzalez nailed the PAT, ending the scoring at 22-7.

Tyler led all rushers with 17 carries for 134 yards.

Barry Byers • 329-4099

ROCK HILL 22, RIDGE VIEW 7

Ridge View....7.....0.....0....0.....—.....7

Rock Hill.....6.....6.....3.....7.....—.....22

SCORING SUMMARY

RV — Jalen Perry 53 pass to Maurice McMahan (Jon Stori kick)

RH — Jatavious Stewart 58 run (kick failed)

RH — Xavier McFadden 19 interception return (kick failed)

RH — Brandon Berger 42 field goal

RH — Jamal Tyler 20 run (Fernando Gonzalez kick)

TEAM STATISTICS

.....RHHS.....RVHS

First downs.....8.....8

Rushes-yards.....34-198.....40-65

Comp-Att-Int .....6-12-0.....1-12-4

Passing yards.....22.....53

Fumbles-lost.....3-1.....6-2

Penalties-yards.....6-50.....3-35

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Ridge View: Bucky Kennedy 22-94; Perry 7 (-25); Naquan Fleming 3 (-8); Jeremy Davis 2-4. Rock Hill: Tyler 17-134; Stewart 10-63; Jerante Hood 6-11; Randall Dixon 1 (-10).

PASSING — Ridge View: Perry 1-12-53-4. Rock Hill: Stewart 6-11-22-0, Dixon 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING — Ridge View: McMahan 1-53. Rock Hill: Asa Watson 1-9, Tyler 2-1, John Key 1-2, Jerante Hood 2-10.

RECORDS — Rock Hill 6-1, 1-0 Region 4-AAAA; Ridge View 3-4, 0-1