East Ridge 28, CCS 0
The star: The Pioneers’ Traneil Moore gained 251 yards, going over 2,000 for the season, and scored three TDs.Up next: East Ridge will host Notre Dame, which it defeated 14-9 in the regular season.
Chattanooga Christian held Traneil Moore to 79 yards, but just for two quarters. The junior running back wound up going over 2,000 yards for the season, finishing East Ridge's 28-0 victory over visiting CCS with 251 yards and three touchdowns.
The Pioneers, now a 12-0 team and the best in school history, will remain at home next week for a quarterfinal against Notre Dame, which walked all over Upperman in Tennessee's Class 3A playoffs.
While Moore was held somewhat in check in the first half by eight- and nine-man fronts, East Ridge's defense turned in a performance that was just as impressive. They turned back the Chargers' game-opening drive full of gimmick plays, killing it at the Pioneers' 3-yard line. And they got back-to-back pass breakups from senior cornerback Josh Williams in his own end zone just before halftime to keep CCS scoreless.
"That first stand was a game changer," East Ridge coach Tracy Malone said. "We knew they were probably going to go after Josh, but he was prepared and played both throws really well."
For his part, Williams was glad he was able to step up to the challenge.
"Hey, it's go big or go home," said Williams, a senior first-year starter.
The game actually ended with 2:48 still on the clock due to an injury sustained by Chargers receiver Kade Oglesby after a near catch in front of the CCS sideline. Play was initially suspended while the teams waited on an ambulance. Oglesby was placed on a backboard and then the rolling stretcher, but he was moving and managed a weak wave toward the CCS stands before he was loaded aboard the ambulance.
"That young man's mom works at East Ridge High and he comes from a really good family," Malone said. "Our prayers are with the Oglesby family. I'm happy to know that he had feeling in all his extremities, but our prayers go out to him and the entire CCS family."
As for Moore, who has scored 26 touchdowns this season, Malone has just about run out of superlatives to throw his way.
"He's a special kid, man, a good player, and he always wants his offensive line to get the lion's share of the credit," he said.
CCS went in to the game hoping to fill the gaps that Moore usually hits with both blockers and a head of steam. It worked for a while.
"We felt like we could handle them up front, but we made some adjustments in the second half. The whole offensive staff worked well, giving me some good ideas between series," Malone said.
The Chargers' ball-control offense limited East Ridge to three offensive possessions in the first half, but the Pioneers went to the locker room with a 7-0 lead on a 32-yard run by Moore.
East Ridge took the second half's opening kickoff and boosted their lead to 14-0 on a 3-yard run by Moore and added two fourth-quarter scores - a 36-yard run by Moore and a 2-yard run by Lorenzo Stewart - before the game was called.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.