Marvin Ridge won the toss and chose to defer. After a touchback, Berry took over at their own 20 and on the third play of the drive, Germone Hopper found a seam up the middle and scooted 76 yards down the field for a quick Cardinal touchdown. The PAT was no good and score stood at 6-0.
The Mavericks decided to answer back on their next drive, moving the ball into Berry territory before running back Joey Sanguine ran off tackle into open space for 45 yards and found the end zone, tying the game. The PAT was good, and the Mavericks held a 1 point lead throughout the rest of the fourth quarter.
The second quarter was a match of defensive stands by both teams. Every time one team would find a way to get a first down, the other would come back with a big defensive stop. Trying to find some momentum, each team decided to go for it on fourth down in the second quarter but both were stopped. The turning point in the second quarter was when the Mavericks’ Cameron Pittman made a big interception late in the half and returned it into Berry territory. A mix of runs and passes got Marvin Ridge inside the 10 with 0.2 seconds left, and Tyler Cochran kicked a field goal giving the Mavericks a 10-6 halftime lead.
Marvin Ridge took the second half kickoff and went on a time consuming 9 minute drive, covering 80 yards and resulting in a 5 yard touchdown run by quarterback Tyler Chadwick. Only a minute later, another interception by Cameron Pittman gave the ball back to Marvin Ridge. Overall, the Mavericks held the ball for 11 of the 12 minutes in the third quarter.
The fourth quarter began with a 9 yard touchdown run by Derek Smith, giving Marvin Ridge a 24-6 lead. Berry tried to get back in the game with a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, but a long pass from Chadwick to a wide open Taylor Capoziello for 73 yards and a score put the final nail in the coffin.
Asked about his team’s effort in the first round of the playoffs, Marvin Ridge head coach Scott Chadwick, “I’ve never been so proud of a group of guys in all my years of coaching. They’ve defied every bit of expectation that has been placed on them this year. Others said this would be a rebuilding year has been our best season in our school’s history.
On Joey Sanguine, who stepped in after the starting running back was ruled out with a concussion and ran for 172 yards on 20 carries: “You can’t say enough about him…I thought he came in and ran the ball extremely hard. We’re not really known for our running game, but we had some great line play tonight and controlled the line of scrimmage.”
Next week, Marvin Ridge travels to Charlotte Catholic for second round playoff action in the 3AA Midwest.
Check back with Carolina Gridiron for more information on the NCHSAA playoffs and information about future games of the week.
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