Northwest Guilford at Ragsdale

Below is what I found on the game last night.

Ragsdale 20, Northwest Guilford 0
Friday, October 16, 2009
By Keith Tolbert

JAMESTOWN - For the fourth straight game, the Ragsdale Tigers shutout an opponent, this time beating Northwest Guilford 20-0.

But it wasn't easy.

After a scoreless first half, Ragsdale took command in the third quarter. Tigers coach Tommy Norwood said he didn't yell at halftime and just told his players to not give up.

"We didn't do anything different, we just had a different mentality," Norwood said. "We had some penalties and that hurt us. You can't do that and keep drives alive."

But to start third quarter, a short kickoff and a good return set the Tigers up near midfield and they only needed two plays to score. A 14-yard run by D'Onovan Smith put Ragsdale into Northwest Guilford territory. Quarterback Luke Heavner then threw a short pass to Desean Anderson, who turned up field, broke a tackle at the 25-yard line and sprinted to the end zone.

An interception by the Tigers' Avery Washington on the Vikings' next possession set Ragsdale up at the Northwest 17-yard line. A 5-yard penalty backed them up, but Smith picked up 14 yards on the next play. He then scored from 3-yards out to give the Tigers a 13-0 lead after the missed extra point.

"I just got my hands under it," said Washington, who caught the ball just before it hit the ground after it was tipped by a defender. "We (the defense) just play as one. We've got to take it one game at a time."

Ragsdale's next possession resulted in another touchdown. This time Heavner found Tyquan Roberts in one-on-one coverage for a 39-yard scoring pass and a 20-0 lead with 11:53 to play.

"We just got better (as the game went on)," Norwood said. "I'm just real proud of the guys and that we are 9-0."

And while it took the offense some time to get going, the defense wasn't even threatened until the fourth quarter and the Tigers turned back a fake field goal to preserve the shutout.

Norwood said the experience of the unit is its biggest asset.

"We have six, 3-year starters and we are pretty good up front," Norwood said. "The coaches have also done a tremendous job."

Both teams played shutdown defense in the first half. There were eight punts between the teams, only 118 total yards and just five first downs.

The Tigers had the best opportunities to score, starting on the Northwest Guilford side of the field twice. Both times Ragsdale drove deep into Vikings' territory, but both times usually reliable kicker Kasey Redfern missed fields goals, one from 25-yards away and the second one from 40-yards out with 44 seconds to play in the first half.

Meanwhile, Northwest Guilford never even crossed midfield. Its longest drive was for 21 yards. They had 168 yards in punts.

NW Guilford Ragsdale
First downs 5 12
Rushes-yards 31-102 32-137
Passing yards 20 127
Comp-Att-Int 4-12-1 7-10-0
Punts-average 8-31.4 3-44.3
Fumbles-lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties-yards 5-39 10-85


Northwest Guilford 0 0 0 0 - 0
Ragsdale 0 0 13 7 - 20


R-Desean Anderson 37 pass from Luke Heavner (Kasey Redfern kick)

R-D'Onovan Smith 3 run (kick fails)

R-Tyquan Roberts 39 pass from Heavner (Redfern kick)