It was a night of conference rivalries and a night of jockeying for final standings in the SPC Conference. In a very exciting offensive game the Ragin Bulls defeat conference rival JM Robinson 28-26. This victory by Hickory Ridge, and a victory by Concord against AL Brown, ends the regular season with a three way tie for second place in the SPC Conference. Playoff berths are to be announced sometime today at the NCHSAA website (the link to this website is under Media Coverage).
In the first quarter, Ragin Bull running back #32 Brian Baltimore would score twice on a 19 yard run and on a 91 yard sprint to the end zone. The Bulldogs would answer with a 43 yard TD run by Antonio Francis. In the second quarter, Brian Baltimore would strike again with a 16 yard TD run. The Bulldogs answered with a 2 yard TD run by Troy Parker and a two point conversion pass from Robert Cloninger to Jacob Allen. To end the half Blake Sides threw a pass that was deflected by the Bulldogs into the hands of Ragin Bull #19 John Martinez. The score at halftime was Ragin Bulls 27, Bulldogs 14.
In the third quarter, Robinson’s Antonio Francis broke loose for a 82 yard TD run. In the fourth quarter, Bulldog Robert Cloninger threw a 48 yard TD pass to Antonio Francis. The Bulldogs attempted a two point conversion to tie the game, but failed on a dropped pass. The final score was Ragin Bulls 28, Bulldogs 26.
HR had 18 first downs compared to 10. HR had 330 yards of rushing compared to 108. HR was 7-10 on the pass compared to 12-24. HR had 62 plays compared to 44. HR had 413 yards total offense compared to 236. HR had the ball 28 minutes compared to 19. HR was 4-13 on third conversion compared 2-11.
If you were at the game you know that Brian Baltimore had a fabulous game with 37 rushes for 354 yards and 3 TD’s. With these numbers you have to give credit to the offense line. Great job OL and offense! QB Nick Moelle was 5 for 5 passing for 43 yards. Awesome! Coye Still had 5 receptions for 71 yards with a long of 33 yards. Jacolby Thompson had a 25 yard kickoff return. And the play of the game was John Martinez’s TD reception off the Bulldog deflection to end the first half. Great concentration John! On the defense, if you throw out the one 82 yard run, the Ragin Bulls held the Bulldogs to only 26 yards rushing. Wow! The defense also allowed only 2 third conversions on 11 attempts by JMR. JMR was forced to punt the ball 8 times and only possessed the ball 19 minutes. Linebackers Eugene Antwi and Robbie Newell had great games. Dale Brown had 2 sacks. On special teams both Josh Freeman and Dillon Burdette had blocked field goals. With only a two point spread on the final score, those two blocked field goals turned out to be game winners. Great job to both the offense and defense.
With the victory the Hickory Ridge Ragin Bulls have their first winning football season at 6-5 overall, their first winning conference season at 6-2, their highest ranking within the conference at second place, and possibly their first ever playoff berth. These are great accomplishments for a football program that is only three years old. No matter what the outcome of the playoff berth is, the Ragin Bull football team has come a long way and has a lot to be proud of. They have had a wonderful season. Congratulations! Go Bulls!
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