Ridgewood’s 29-game regular season win streak has been snapped by rival Garaway
By: Bryce Tinson
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ohio (WOUB) — Once again, the battle for the Inter-Valley Conference would be a battle between undefeated Ridgewood and undefeated Garaway. The Ridgewood Generals were looking for their fourth straight IVC title, but Garaway was looking to play spoiler. Friday night would mark a classic chapter for this storied rivalry.
After exchanging three-and-outs, Ridgewood found the end zone first. Kauelen Smith walks in from two yards out and it’s 7-0 Generals.
The Pirates finally got on the board halfway through the second quarter with a Logan Yoder QB sneak. His touchdown would cap off a long drive that tied the game up at seven.
The Generals would force a three-and-out to open the second half. Ridgewood had momentum in their favor, but a huge mistake would take that away. The punt bounced off a Ridgewood player’s helmet and would be recovered by Garaway.
They capitalized three plays later when Yoder floats the ball over the Ridgewood secondary and into the hands of J.D. Young. The extra point was no good, giving the Pirates a 13-7 lead.
Garaway would follow that drive up with another methodical march down the field, allowing the Pirates to extend the lead to 19-7.
Ridgewood QB Gabe Tingle knew he needed to make a play and he did. Tingle fakes the handoff takes it left, looking for a hole. He thumps his way into the end zone stretching over the goal line to close the gap.
On the Generals’ next possession, Tingle tries again to make a play, but Pirates defender Ty Winters makes a bigger one. He reads Tingle’s eyes the entire way to make a diving pick and give Garaway great field position.
Looking to put the game on ice, the Pirates went for it on 4th and 10 from the Ridgewood 15. But Kigenn Millender makes a huge open field tackle just short of the sticks, and the Generals get the ball back.
Ridgewood sliced its way through the Garaway defense all the way into the red zone, but the Pirates’ defense stiffened. Brady Roden intercepts Tingles’ pass off a deflection, giving Garaway the ball and the IVC title, breaking Ridgewood’s 4-year championship streak.