RINGGOLD, Ga. - Even though his team had played a mostly forgettable first half, Robert Akins' Ringgold Tigers were very much alive in one of the Tigers' most important Region 6-AAA games of the season.
However, instead of closing the game on Adairsville, Ringgold laid an egg after intermission, watching the visitors score at will on the way to a 41-17 win.
"We thought we were in the game at halftime, but we lost our composure in the second half," said Akins, whose team was called for four personal fouls and failed to wrap up Adairsville star running back Sidnee Johnson. "They just stuck it down our throats, to be honest with you. When you lose your composure and your focus, you can't make plays."
Johnson had 212 hards and three touchdowns on 21 carries to lead a rushing attack that piled up 45 yards. Backfield mate Torrey Hale added 150 yards on just 11 carries, and Jason Cantrell had 58 yards and two scores.
Ringgold trailed just 13-10 at halftime despite a 4-for-16 passing performance by Devin Lancaster, though a few of his hard-throw passes were dropped, including a couple deep down the field. Adairsville, despite moving at will early, gave up three first-half turnovers, the third one setting up Abel Vargas' 37-yard field goal on the half's final play.
Johnson's 63-yard run on the second half's first play set up his 4-yard run for a 20-10 lead, but Ringgold put together an answering 80-yard drive as Lancaster started to find his mark. A 15-yard pass to Drake Starks on third-and-16 down to the 32 was followed by Ty Jones' touchdown run.
Adairsville (3-0) never flinched, using Marquell Lane's 51-yard kickoff return to set up a two-play drive, with Johnson going in from 14 yards out. After a Ringgold put, Adairsville quarterback Roger Redd connected with Cantrell for a 54-yard touchdown on a beautiful play-action pass and a 34-17 lead.
Johnson added a 6-yard scoring run to cap a night in which he broke numerous tackles.
"We've just got to get better and learn how to close out people, because we haven't done it three games," Akins said of his 1-2 team. "He's as good a running back as there is in the region, and he's going to give a lot of people fits. I thought we had them schemed up good, but we just missed too many tackles."
Dee King led Ringgold with 151 yards rushing on 19 carries, but he was limited in the second half due to injury.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296; follow at Twitter @youngsports22