Sep 18, 2014 5 min read

Ringgold’s football players did not fear a season-opening game against perennial powerhouse Thomas Jefferson. The Rams embraced a chance to catch the Jaguars flat-footed and end the school’s 51-game home winning streak.

When Aug. 29 arrived, Thomas Jefferson delivered Ringgold a loss the players won’t forget. The Jaguars scored seven touchdowns and held the Rams to a first quarter score in a 49-6 win. It was a rout that spoke volumes about TJ’s ability to reload, but did it have an effect on Ringgold?

“There’s no excuses. They just beat us man-to-man,” Rams senior quarterback Nico Law said. “They beat us everywhere. They were the better team that night, and we learned a lot from that. It’s just one game. We have plenty more after all of that. We can’t let it determine our season or ruin our season.”

Law and Ringgold (1-1, 2-1) responded with back-to-back wins over Big 9 Conference rival Uniontown and Knoch, which was ranked by several media outlets as a top-five team in Class AAA.

Under new head coach Nick Milchovich, the Rams’ goal was to upset the order of the conference, which has been dominated by TJ and West Mifflin.

Ringgold will get a chance to make it three straight wins tonight when it travels to West Mifflin for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.

West Mifflin head coach Ray Braszo brushes off the Rams’ opening loss to the Jaguars and doesn’t see much of a change in Ringgold’s offense.

“(Ringgold) ran the spread last year,” Braszo said. “Law obviously runs it very well and does read options off it. They have a nice, big offensive line, and they are a fast team. So despite the TJ loss, they are a very good football team. It doesn’t seem like a lot of us do well against TJ, so you can’t gauge them by that.”

Since that lopsided loss to TJ, the Rams have outscored their opponents 76-33 with a balanced offensive attack. Junior running back Chacar Berry was pivotal in last week’s win over Knoch and now has 291 yards with four touchdowns.

Law has been extremely effective, completing 62 percent of his passes and throwing four touchdown passes. The Rams’ offense uses several different receivers and senior Jake Gerard leads with just five receptions.

“A lot of different kids are touching the football,” Milchovich said. “Chacar has really stepped his game up as a running back from his 10th grade to his 11th grade year. He’s pound for pound one of the toughest kids I’ve ever coached. He’s been a pleasant surprise, and he’s doing more than I thought he could do right now.”

Beating West Mifflin (2-0, 3-0) requires a simple formula: stop the Titans’ running game and limit mistakes against an athletic, 4-4 base defense that has six interceptions this season.

Running back Jimmy Wheeler, who led the WPIAL in rushing and scoring last year, graduated. Senior DiAngelo Mitchell has shown similar skill as Wheeler’s replacement.

Mitchell has rushed for 513 yards and 10 touchdowns in three games and ranks third in the WPIAL in scoring. With dual-threat junior quarterback Karlyn Garner, West Mifflin is averaging 35 points per game in victories over Uniontown, Gateway and Albert Gallatin.

“Our tailback is the feature back, and we feel we have a good one in DiAngelo Mitchell,” Braszo said. “Our quarterback is back after last year, so he’s really improved. That makes our offense a lot better. Our receivers are back, our line is new and our defense has young guys. We’re trying to get a lot of experience and win games as we go.”

The Rams received a test last week against Knoch, which had a chance to tie the game late, but the work of Law helped seal the victory. Ringgold is looking for more consistency on offense and learning from the loss to Thomas Jefferson.

“(Law’s) a senior, and we expect a lot out of him,” Milchovich said. “At the end of that football game Friday, we were in a position where we had to move the sticks to win the football game. We put the ball in his hands and let him play. He knows he has to be the leader, and he has to make plays.”

Since conference realignment created the rivalry between Ringgold and West Mifflin in 2012; the Titans are 2-0 and averaging 45 points per game against the Rams. Last year, WM walked away with a 42-28 home victory. Since 2004, Ringgold is 1-4 against the Titans and has been outscored 139-62.

West Mifflin is going into the game with a simple plan.

“You have to control them up front and (TJ) contained Law a lot by winning the battle up front to keep Law from running all over them,” Braszo said. “You have to really control the run game. If they are mixing it up on you, you’re in trouble.”

Law believes this is the year Ringgold takes the next step.

“It’s time for us to take that number two spot finally,” Law said. “We’re not trying to be in third.”