Battle tested. At some point in the season, a team has to be battle tested to see who they really are, what they can do, and where to seal up the holes. And Friday night, the County Boys met their match with the Ripley Tigers.
And it was pretty much everything expect – physical, defensive, and tough. But a few critical errors cost the Chargers the lead and the game.
But one thing’s for sure: they left their mark on Ripley High School.
Head coach Dillon Mitchell said he’s proud of his team but knows there are still things that need to be cleaned up, especially in cleaning up errors. Mitchell said this loss starts with him, and takes responsibility for it.
“Defensively, I can’t say enough good things. I’m proud of their effort and toughness. That was a question mark for me: how physical we would be. They answered that question very clearly. We pretty much stoned them. We held them to 3 or 4 big plays,” Mitchell said.
But he said critical mistakes in this game cost the Chargers the game.
“Ripley’s known for having big, strong kids. They’re a physical team, and we held our own. They brought some good fight to them. We were able to take advantage of some things and open some run game up. I think we made some critical mistakes, things Ripley didn’t have anything to do with. I think we got in our own way more than anything. And that starts with me. I have to make sure we have the right people on the field. I take responsibility for that and that loss.”
In the first possession of the game, the Chargers were able to use the ground run to push Ripley up the field, and on a 3rd and long, the Chargers never bowed out but they dug
in and capitalized with KJ Cork to Caleb Cunningham connection on a 23-yard pass.
The Chargers then went for a two-point conversion, and on a pitch play from Cork to Jeramiah Miller to Tayshawn King, the Chargers went up 8-0.
Ripley attempted to answer back, but the Charger defense pushed Ripley to a field goal – and they showed they got a kicker. Ripley’s Freddy Lopez kicked a 51-yard field goal to make the game 8-3.
And with a three-and-out from Ripley’s defense, the Chargers went into the second quarter 8-3.
The Chargers were able to hold Ripley, but Ripley showed they were versatile as their Freddy Lopez kicked a 51-yard field goal, putting Ripley on the board 8-3.
However, Ripley couldn’t capitalize on the interception as Quaysie Lane repaid the favor with his own interception after a Charger penalty placed Ripley in good field position. The Chargers were able to capitalize, but not without their own delay of game penalties and sent the game 16-3 into halftime after a touchdown and another two-point conversion.
In the third quarter, the Chargers tried to put the game out of Ripley’s reach but couldn’t convert in the Red Zone at the 5-yard line. And in the third quarter, both teams were scoreless.
But Ripley got a new life in the fourth quarter, still riddled by penalties, Ripley was able to put it away with 14 unanswered points.
And Ripley walked away with the Homecoming win 17-16.
Toward the end of the Ripley game, Senior cheerleader Jalia James was injured on the last play of the game.
Saturday, James’s mother, Towanda Jones, posted on her Facebook: “Thanks, everyone, for the prayers, calls, and messages my daughter is doing ok. She has a bruised bone in her leg, and her ankle is very bruised, but nothing broke. She's still in pain from the impact of the hit, but hopefully, she will heal fast. Thanks again, you guys rock.”
The Plaindealer hopes Jalia has a speedy recovery and that she’s able to return to the sidelines, doing what she loves.
Mitchell said the matchup against Ripley was a learning and coaching game, and they’re taking away a lot from it.
“We take a lot from that game. I always say we either win or we learn. In those learning games, we learned a lot about our team, how we pushed through adversity, and how we really strained for four quarters. We learned that we can’t make critical mistakes in those big games. It hurts yourself, we’re working against ourselves while working against the other team at the same time. It’s lots of learning and coaching.”
This week’s game
Tonight, the Chargers face their Achilles heel. The Chargers are 3-6 against the Winona Tigers, and the Battle of the Big Black River should be a good one as the Chargers are licking their wounds from Ripley and hungry for a win against neighboring Montgomery County. Last year, after a really good start against the Tigers, the Tigers exploded in the second half and pulled out the win at Starkville High School. This year, the Chargers will face Winona on Winona’s turf.
“If you ask anybody around the state who they think will win a state championship in 3A, they’ll tell you, Winona,” Mitchell said. “They’ve got some D1 football players on both sides of the ball, they’ve got some good football players. They’re senior heavy. They’re the standard in 3A in the North half. They’re really well coached. I think it’s going to be a four-quarter fight. We’ll see how it goes.”
