McGuffey answers challenge, handles Ringgold
MONONGAHELA – The McGuffey Highlanders jumped out to a 21-0 first-quarter lead en route to a 48-22 win over Ringgold at Joe Montana Stadium on Friday night.
McGuffey coach Ed Dalton said he and his staff worked the team hard all week after their loss to Southmoreland in the season opener.
“We had a (really tough) week at practice, and we were ready,” he said. “We played really bad against Southmoreland last week, no disrespect to them, and we challenged everybody.
“We were on the practice field 12 live hours this week, and the kids responded.”
The first 27 plays of the game, including every play in the first quarter, were played in the Ringgold end of the field.
“When you start off with a fumble the first play of the game, it is devastating to a team that is trying to get something going,” Ringgold coach Marcus McCullough said. “We will continue to fight through it.
“We put ourselves in that battle, and we have to fight our ways out of it.”
Ringgold’s Austin Pehowic fumbled on the first play of the game from scrimmage, and McGuffey’s Charles Wagers returned it 25 yards to the Ringgold 5-yard line.
Two plays later, Dylan Droboj scored from three yards out and Dylan Stewart’s extra point gave the Highlanders (1-1) a 7-0 lead 31 seconds into the game.
After a Ringgold (0-2) punt, Wagers scored from three yards out with 7:03 to go in the first, and he scored another three-yard touchdown with 10 seconds to go in the quarter.
Despite the three-touchdown deficit, Ringgold’s defense only gave up 73 yards on 11 plays in the quarter, but the Rams only gained 31 yards on their 11 offensive plays.
McGuffey’s Conner Crowe hit Brennan Mullins with a 13-yard touchdown pass with 10:07 to go before halftime, and Ringgold finally crossed midfield on the ensuing kickoff when Amoni Ward returned it 40 yards to the McGuffey 30.
Six plays later, Pehowic scored from two yards out to get the Rams on the board with 6:34 to go in the half.
The teams exchanged touchdowns the rest of the half as Malachi Ealy answered for McGuffey with a 44-yard run, Ringgold’s Matt Behanna hit Syzair Dungee with a 56-yard touchdown pass, and Crowe closed the first-half scoring with an eight-yard run to give McGuffey a 42-14 lead.
“We got a beautiful chunk on that catch and carry, and Matt put it right on the money for him,” McCullough said of Dungee. “It gave us some excitement and ignited our bench, but on the flip side, we have to keep playing defense after a big play like that.”
Crowe scored from two yards on McGuffey’s first drive of the second half, and Ringgold’s Jamar Bethea went in a yard out with 1:12 to go to close the scoring.
“The backs ran hard, ran through some hits, we blocked the option much better, and ripped a couple of midlines for touchdowns,” Dalton said.
Ealy led McGuffey’s rushing attack with 85 yards on only six carries while Droboj had 55 yards on eight rushes.
The Highlanders rushed for 237 yards on 33 carries, and Crowe completed six of nine passes for 78 yards.
For the game, McGuffey had 315 yards on 42 plays while Ringgold had 223 yards on 41 plays.
While McGuffey limited Ringgold to 33 yards rushing on 24 carries, Behanna finished 14 of 17 in the air for 190 yards passing.
McGuffey hosts Mt. Pleasant Friday while Ringgold is at West Allegheny.
“We really have a tough challenge,” Dalton said of Mt. Pleasant. “I think we are 4-4 against them and they are usually great teams. They have a nice team.”
McCullough said his team will keep working.
“I know one thing, we are stepping in the right direction and moving forward here,” he said. “We scored three touchdowns tonight.
“Last year, we only scored three offensive touchdowns all season. There is growth there and we are moving in the right direction. We are getting better and will continue to teach these kids. We will learn from this and move forward.”