Mineral Ridge rolls past Red Devils, to stay undefeated
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MINERAL RIDGE -- The Mineral Ridge Rams continued their unbeaten streak on Friday, scoring early and often in a 59-14 victory over Campbell Memorial.
"I'm just really proud of our total team effort," Rams coach Andy Hake said. "You can see there's so many people here today. It was really packed. Our community's really into this. It's just a real great atmosphere and a real great feeling. It really is. This is a special season, but it's a special program, and I couldn't be prouder of the kids. There's 71 kids that play on our varsity team, that's a lot of kids, and they play their apples off."
It didn't take long for the Rams to find themselves on the scoreboard, with Chandler Busse scampering in from 36 yards out. He did it again on the team's next possession, this time from 10 yards.
"We started handing the ball off early, but our line takes care of it every time," Busse said. "They're never disappointing whenever we run the ball."
Campbell punched back, but an 81-yard run by Demetrius Lambert Jr. was wiped away by a holding penalty. The drive stalled and the Red Devils ceded possession to Mineral Ridge. The Rams ran down the rest of the first quarter, scoring in the waning seconds off a 19-yard run by Ethan Deley.
On their next possession, Mineral Ridge tapped junior Preston Kline to go under center. Kline connected with a wide open Owen Sylak, finding him in the end zone on a 33-yard pass.
After trading turnovers on back-to-back plays - a Rams fumble and subsequent interception - Mineral Ridge re-gained possession. Giving tailback Timmy Serensky the nod, the junior raced to a 52-yard score to extend the Rams' lead to 35-0 before the halfway mark of the second frame.
Senior Austin Ohl recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, setting his team up just outside the red zone. Noah Aleshire did the rest, punching the ball in at the goal line.
Upon converting the point-after attempt, Rams senior Steven Gutierrez set the single-season record for extra points.
Gutierrez kicked a 31-yard field goal to give Mineral Ridge a 45-0 lead to close the first half.
"He's a Division I kicker," Hake said of Gutierrez. "We're gonna land him somewhere. We're gonna work really hard. He's got good grades. He's a wonderful kid."
The Rams opened the second half in similar fashion, moving down the field and capping it off with a 5-yard score by Colin Koniowsky. Evan Caraway added to the lead with Mineral Ridge's next possession.
Campbell earned its first points of the night off a 14-yard run by Jeffery Driskell at the tail end of the third. Driskell struck again through the air near the two-minute mark of the fourth, hitting TJ D'Altorio on a 49-yard strike.
Next week, the Rams hope to remain undefeated as they host Western Reserve in their final home game of the regular season.
Campbell (3-5) travels to Jackson-Milton for a Week 9 showdown with the Blue Jays.
"When you get punched in the mouth, you either punch back or you go lay down and just kind of let it soak in," Red Devils coach David Porch said. "We got punched in the mouth, and I got a group of kids that when they get punched, they usually respond pretty well. We're gonna watch a lot of film and show them what we did wrong. We're very direct about it. We're gonna watch a lot of film and learn from the mistakes and go play Jackson-Milton and do the best we can."