Nov 1, 2014 5 min read

MONONGAHELA – As Nico Law weaved, zigged and zagged his way through a sea of potential tacklers and then raced untouched up the right sideline, it became official.

Ringgold’s string of first-round playoff flops was over.

Law’s 55-yard interception for a touchdown with 4:21 remaining sealed Ringgold’s 24-14 victory over Gateway Friday night in the opening round of the WPIAL Class AAA football playoffs.

The win was the ninth in a row for Ringgold (9-1), which will play Hampton a 33-14 winner over New Castle, in next week’s quarterfinals. It was only second first-round win for Ringgold, a perennial playoff participant, in more than a decade.

“That was a mental hurdle,” Ringgold coach Nick Milchovich said.

It was cleared by an opportunistic defense and an offense had to change plans in the second quarter, when Chacar Berry, a 1,000-yard rusher for the Rams, was lost to an ankle injury in the second quarter and did not return.

Ringgold turned to Brenden Small at tailback and the freshman responded with 88 yards and one touchdown on 23 carries. The Rams’ defense also came away with two fourth-quarter interceptions, including Law’s return for the game-clinching touchdown, and two sacks by Donte Tadaro the thwarted Gateway drives.

“(Berry) going down was a blow to us,” Milchovich said. “Small is a good running back, but he’s only a freshman. He did do a heck of a job. And the defense came through.”

Ringgold led 17-7 after three quarters, but Gateway’s Adam White, who rushed for a game-high 137 yards on 23 carries, scored from three yards on the first play of the fourth quarter to make it 17-14.

The Rams then had a drive stall at the Gateway 48, but Gators fumbled on the punt return. Skyler Scholl recovered for Ringgold inside the Gateway 20, but the Rams couldn’t deliver the knockout punch. On the next play, Small fumbled and the Gators’ Josh Horner recovered at the nine.

Gateway kept the ball in the hands of White and moved to the 49 before two mistakes changed the game. An illegal procedure penalty on first down moved the Gators back to the 44, then Todaro sacked quarterback Mike Loffredo for an eight-yard loss.

“Even though we got the penalty, we should have continued to the ball,” Gateway coach Tom Nola said.

On the next play, Law, from his safety position, intercepted a Loffredo pass and returned it for the touchdown.

“They ran a wheel route and the pass was a little high and enabled me to run under it,” Law explained. “For two straight years, we couldn’t past the first round. This is awesome.”

Ringgold took a 7-0 lead on its opening possession. The Rams took advantage of a 19-yard Gateway punt and moved to the Gators’ 26 in six running plays. Facing second-and-nine, Ringgold called its first pass play and it ended in a touchdown, though it appeared to be a disaster when Law, the Rams’ quarterback, was caught by a heavy rush. Somehow, the Ringgold quarterback spin away from a tackler and rolled right. He lofted a perfect pass to wide receiver Brandon Thomas, who was a step behind coverage in the back right corner of the end zone.

Following another poor Gateway punt, this one covering only 16 yards, Ringgold drove 44 yards in seven plays to take a 14-0 lead midway through the second quarter. Berry had a key 14-yard run on third-and-13 to keep the drive alive, but that was the play on which the junior tailback was injured.

The running load was then shifted to Small and the 5-9, 170-pound freshman responded with three runs, the last covering 16 yards up the middle and gave Ringgold a 14-0 lead midway through the second quarter.

A strange series of plays at the end of the first half enabled Gateway to steal the momentum. With Gateway at the Ringgold 13 with 32 seconds left, Loffredo fumbled as he dropped back to pass and Ringgold’s Daylen Penn recovered.

The Rams, however, didn’t run out the clock. Law ran up the middle and was stripped of the ball. It was grabbed by Horner, who returned the fumble 32 yards to cut the gap to 14-7 with only 17 seconds left.

“The fumble at the end of the half was on me,” Milchovich said. “With our offense, if we spread the field we might pop one. It’s a risk/reward thing and I was willing to risk it.”

Gateway couldn’t carry the momentum to the second half. The only score in the third quarter was a 34-yard field goal by Ringgold’s Josh Briscoe, set up by a 54-yard pass by Law to Dalton Holt.

It was the first loss in the opening round of the playoffs for Gateway (4-6) in 12 years. The Gators dropped to Class AAA this season.

“That’s a proud group we beat,” Milchovich said.