Rams’ Berry healthy for CV
Ringgold junior running back Chacar Berry knew he was not ready for his usual workload last week against Hampton in the WPIAL Class AAA quarterfinals.
That did not stop him from suiting up to face the Talbots. Nursing an ankle injury suffered against Gateway in the first round, Berry carried the football 10 times for 25 yards in the Rams’ 21-20 overtime win.
After Ringgold made a defensive stand to prevent Hampton from winning on a two-point conversion, Milchovich told his tailback, “We bought you another week.”
“I didn’t want to let the team down or anything,” Berry said. “I feel like I wasn’t 100 percent from the game, but I still wanted to be out there with my team. They didn’t play me as much as usual, so it was like another week of healing.”
The Rams (10-1) will need Berry tonight against top-seeded Central Valley (11-0) in the WPIAL Class AAA semifinals at Chartiers Valley High School. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.
Since the school was established in a 2009 merger, the Warriors’ football program has been to two WPIAL title games, winning in 2010, and reached the semifinals four times. With one of the top college recruits in the WPIAL, senior running back/defensive back Jordan Whitehead, Central Valley has looked upstoppable.
While Whitehead is expected to play defensive back at Pitt next fall, he has rushed for 1,298 yards and 25 touchdowns, averaging 15.3 yards per carry. Junior quarterback Chris Callaghan has thrown 12 touchdown passes, nine to 6-4 wide receiver B.J. Powell.
“They are the No. 1 seed. They are undefeated for a reason,” Milchovich said. “Sometimes, when you get a superstar like Whitehead, he is kind of the center of what they try to do, and he’s really not. The quarterback is probably the best we’ve played all year.”
Berry will not play linebacker against Central Valley, but is expected to be close to 100 percent. Milchovich noticed his tailback slowly progressing during the past week of practice. Against a team that is allowing just 14.9 points per game, the Rams will need him.
He rushed 149 times for 1,279 yards and 18 touchdowns for the Rams, who are making their first appearance in the WPIAL semifinals since 1987, when they were eliminated by New Castle.
With Berry hobbled, Ringgold relied on its defense last week against Hampton. Behind the play of its secondary, the Rams overcame five turnovers.
“The defense has been a lot more physical and gritty than we were last year,” senior Nico Law said. “Guys have gotten more experienced because a lot of young guys were starting last year. It’s a lot different.”
In its two playoff victories, Ringgold cleared mental hurdles. First was its recent struggles in first-round playoff games. Then, it was playing at West Allegheny last week, where the program has a history of playoff letdowns.
Next will be attempting to knock off one of the top teams in the state.
“We earned our right to be where we are. No one gave it to us,” Milchovich said. “They put teams in front of us. We defeated those teams, and we earned the right to be here. We have a good football team. We can play with anyone on any field at any given time.”