Trinity overpowers Ringgold in Big 6 Conference opener

The Rams trailed by 31 points at halftime in the 45-0 road loss.

Ringgold had high hopes in its Big 6 Conference opener against Trinity Friday night at Hiller Field.

After ending their WPIAL- high 27-game losing streak against Yough a couple of weeks ago, the Rams were playing more consistent football and were looking to start conference play with a victory.

Unfortunately for Ringgold, nothing went its way.

Trinity rolled to 31 firsthalf points and stifled Ringgold’s offense all night, as the Rams fell 45-0.

“Our offense has struggled all year,” Ringgold coach Robert Heller said. “It has been very frustrating to watch. If we make two good plays in a row, then the next three plays we go backwards and get behind the sticks. We just can’t sustain any consistent offense.”

The Rams (1-5, 0-1) were limited to 29 yards in the first half and only recorded two first downs. For the game, the visitors managed just 98 yards of total offense.

After being held to a field goal on their opening drive, the Hillers (2-4, 1-0) steamrolled to a dominant conference triumph.

“We have some very experienced guys on defense and they took the game over,” Trinity coach Dan Knause said. “That’s been our strength all season. The kids understand our schemes and they play fast. We wanted to take away their top two receivers and eliminate those fade throws. We had to make them one dimensional and put pressure on their quarterback with our front four.”

The Hillers have won the last eight meetings against the Rams. The last time Ringgold defeated Trinity was in 2016.

Trinity received the opening kickoff and took the ball to the 4-yard line on 11 plays for 80 yards, but was held out of the end zone. Andy Palm knocked in a 21-yard field goal at the 6:12 mark of the first quarter to give the home team the early 3-0 advantage.

After the Rams went three-and-out on their opening drive, John Williamson scrambled to his left and threw a dart to the back of the end zone for a 24yard scoring toss to Chase Kostelnik.

Trinity forced the game’s first turnover on Ringgold’s sixth play of the night when Jake Schreyer intercepted an overthrown ball by Amoni Ward at the 34-yard line. The Rams’ defense stiffened up and forced the Hillers to punt on their next possession.

An 11-yard swing pass from Ward to Keyshawn Goggins gave the visitors their initial first down of the game with 10 minutes left in the first half. Ringgold was forced to punt three plays later, and Trinity responded with a six-play, 70-yard drive that was capped off by a 25-yard scoring run by Owen Gardner.

A 1-yard keeper by Williamson pushed the Hillers’ lead to 24-0 with 3:17 left in the second stanza.

“The offense goes through Jonah,” Knause said. “He is a very deliberate and calculated thrower. We are young around him and we need to continue to mature these next couple of weeks. We have Thomas Jefferson next week, and we know they have a very solid defense.”

The Rams picked up their second first down of the half with a 10-yard pass to Demetri Lowe from Ward, but on the next play the home team’s defense got into the scoring with a 35yard pick six by Caden Vogel. Ringgold trailed 31-0 at halftime.

Trinity was looking to invoke the mercy rule at the beginning of the third quarter, but Lowe and the Ringgold defense came up with a pair of turnovers. Lowe intercepted a pass at the goal line to halt a Hillers’ drive and then tallied another pick on the ensuing Trinity drive in the red zone.

The Rams’ defense did not allow a score in the second half, as the Hillers got their two touchdowns by way of their defense — on a 45-yard fumble return by Semaj Fuse and a 100-yard interception return by Phillip Whitlock.

“Our defense has been stingy all year,” Heller said. “They have kept us in a lot of games. You take away those three defensive touchdown, they only gave up 24 points. Our offense put our defense in a lot of tough situations tonight. But credit to the kids, they didn’t back down and continued to fight.”

Ringgold picked up eight first downs in the blowout loss. Lowe led the offense with four receptions for 33 yards, and Ward was the visitors’ leading rusher with 22 yards. Szyair Dungee hauled in a 35-yard reception in the fourth quarter and picked up a pair of first downs on fakepunt runs.

Williamson finished with 129 yards on 12-of-20 passing for Trinity. Nico Mauro was the Hillers’ leading rusher with 88 yards on 12 carries, while Kostelnik finished his night with four catches for 54 yards.

“To be 1-0 in the conference is a great feeling,” Knause said. “For us, the conference schedule is like a new season. Right now we are 1-0. I think Ringgold is much improved from last year and they have a lot of solid players. But they are young, and sometimes it takes time to develop at the varsity level.”

Up next for Ringgold is a conference road matchup against Laurel Highlands.

“Our main message is to not quit and keep on fighting,” Heller said. “We are playing a lot of young kids and we are throwing them right into the fire. It takes time to get adapted to the varsity level and the speed is completely different than anything they have seen. It’s going to come, we just have to fight.”

“Our offense has struggled all year. It has been very frustrating to watch. If we make two good plays in a row, then the next three plays we go backwards and get behind the sticks. We just can’t sustain any consistent offense.”

ROBERT HELLER

RINGGOLD HEAD COACH