TJ 20 vs Ringgold 27

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Ringgold topples Thomas Jefferson

By Rick Bruni

Saturday, Sept. 5, 2015, 1:21 a.m.

Updated 16 hours ago

There's a new king of the mountain in WPIAL Class AAA Big 10 Conference.

Ringgold scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns Friday and handed perennial contender Thomas Jefferson a rare conference loss, 27-20 at Joe Montana Stadium.

“No one is just going to make you great,” Ringgold coach Nick Milchovich said. “There are moments out there for greatness, and in the second half, we seized those moments.”

Senior tailback Chacar Berry shouldered the load for the Rams, scoring three touchdowns and churning for 173 yards on 23 carries. It was quite a different story from last year's 49-6 romp by the Jaguars.

“It's just a great feeling to finally beat them for however many years it's been,” Berry said. “I wanted it. The team wanted it. I wasn't letting up.”

TJ entered Friday's season opener having won nine consecutive conference titles under coach Bill Cherpak. The Jaguars had won 67 of 68 conference games — including eight straight over Ringgold — in the past decade.

“We only have four starters back, and our kids have to understand what that is to have everyone gunning for you,” Cherpak said.

Ringgold not only overcame 111 yards in penalties but an inability to run the football. Quarterback George Martin tossed 20 passes in the first half alone, more than he attempted all of last season.

“I'm a run guy, and I was having a coronary over there, but George is Joe Cool,” Milchovich said. “We made some mistakes with our routes, but we hung in there. The penalties … we had a couple unfortunate calls, but we overcame it.

TJ (0-1, 0-1) had two touchdowns called back on penalties, and receivers dropped two more potential scores on long passes. The Jaguars also were without starting quarterback Bobby Kelley, who was out with appendicitis.

“Hopefully Bobby comes back soon, and we can get back to what we do,” Cherpak said. “My biggest surprise was the amount of plays we had a chance to make and didn't make. We dropped a few interceptions. We dropped at least two touchdowns. The first game, things are never as good as you hope they are, but you just have to grow.”

Junior Zane Zandier accounted for all the Jaguars' scoring.

Splitting time between quarterback and wide receiver, Zandier threw for a touchdown and caught scoring passes of 24 and 78 yards from Julian Metro.

Ringgold scored on its opening drive when Berry ripped up the middle for a 20-yard score to cap an eight-play, 63-yard drive. A 2-point conversion made it 8-0.

TJ answered on the first play of the second quarter when Zandier launched a 71-yard strike to Jon Muehlbauer and Ringgold held an 8-7 lead at halftime.

”We weren't going to let one game define our season if we lost, and we're not going to let it define our season with the win,” Milchovich said. “The football season is like a snowball coming down a hill. People fall off to the side, and other people jump on, and you just keep moving forward.”