Nov 14, 2014 5 min read

HEIDELBERG – The first play of the game hinted this would not be the Ringgold High School football team’s best night.

Top-seeded Central Valley attempted a squib kickoff that Ringgold failed to attempt to field. Central Valley’s Kyle Vreen alertly fell on the loose ball at Ringgold’s 30-yard line to give the Warriors the first possession of the game. Five plays later, Central Valley was in the end zone and on its way to a 41-13 romp over Ringgold in the WPIAL Class AAA semifinals Friday night at Chartiers Valley High School.

“That set the tone for the whole first half,” Ringgold coach Nick Milchovich said. “I’ve never seen a kickoff like that. The kicker tried a lob kick but he line-drived it. The ball took one big bounce and then hung there in the air near their sideline for what seemed like forever.”

It was that kind of first half for Ringgold, which saw its 10-game winning streak end. The Rams finished the season with a 10-2 record – losses in the season opener and finale – and the program’s first trip to the semifinals since 1987.

Before the first half would draw to a close, the Rams would have a punt blocked, lose a fumble, throw an interception and have another squib kickoff recovered by Central Valley. The Warriors turned all but the latter into touchdowns.

Warriors head coach Mark Lyons admitted his team wasn’t attempting an onside kick on the opening kickoff or the one it recovered in the final minute of the first half.

“We were just trying to keep the ball away from their athletes,” Lyons said. “When you get turnovers in a game like this, they’re big.”

Before the first half would draw to a close, Central Valley (12-0) would tack on four more touchdowns for a 35-0 advantage.

Whatever Central Valley tried worked, sometimes even better than planned.

Meanwhile, nothing Ringgold tried worked. It was a bitter way to end a successful and memorable season for the Rams.

“I feel for our kids,” Milchovich said. “We had a good year. We exceeded the expectations of a lot of people.”

Following the key play on the opening kickoff, Central Valley took a 7-0 lead on a six-yard run by Jordan Whitehead, the first of two scores by the Pitt recruit.

Central Valley went 80 yards in eight plays on its second possession to take a 14-0 lead. Preston Johnson scored on a two-yard plunge that capped the drive.

Johnson then broke free and blocked a Ringgold punt on the next possession, setting the Warriors up at the Rams’ 19-yard line, from where Whitehead scored two plays later. Whitehead was hit at the 14, bounced off a tackler, scooted to his left and sped upfield to the end zone. Whitehead finished with 93 rushing yards on 11 first-half carries.

“You can’t have special teams mishaps in a big game like this,” Milchovich said. “We let a block slide when we were trying to directionally kick.”

Ringgold fumbled at the CV 48 to end its next possession and the Warriors’ no-huddle offense went back to work, needing only four plays to reach the end zone on a seven-yard pass from quarterback John George to tight end Chase Miladin that made it 28-0.

Whitehead intercepted a Nico Law pass at the CV 13 with 1:43 left in the first half, and that was plenty of time for the Warriors to score again. Seven plays later, George reached the end zone on a six-yard keeper around right end, making the score 35-0 and kicking in the running-clock Mercy Rule for the second half.

“In my opinion, Central Valley is the best team still playing in any classification,” Milchovich said. “They can run the ball, they can pass it and they play physical. … If we played them 10 times, I don’t know if we win one.”

Central Valley, which will play West Allegheny Friday in the championship game, made it 41-0 by scoring on the opening possession of the second half. Backup quarterback Chris Callaghan rolled right and scored on a four-yard run. The Warriors had six touchdowns on their first nine possessions.

Ringgold avoided the shutout when tailback Chacar Berry scored on a 6-yard run early in the fourth quarter. Berry, who injured an ankle in the Rams’ first-round playoff win over Gateway and was not at 100 percent, was held to 46 yards on 10 carries.

“This doesn’t take away from the year we had,” Milchovich said. “We still won two playoff games, even with Berry injured. The last two weeks we’ve been scuffling on offense. We were playing without one of our best weapons.”

Ringgold closed the scoring on a three-yard run by backup quarterback George Martin.

“The opening kickoff and blocked punt were tough plays to overcome,” Milchovich said. “Central Valley is a good team. We struggled offensively in the first to get anything going that would shift the momentum.”