McCallie stifles Red Bank in 47-0 victory

Football
Football

Cam Newton saw less pressure against the Denver Broncos on Thursday night in the NFL season opener than Red Bank sophomore quarterback Calvin Jackson did Friday night against McCallie.

The Blue Tornado pressured Jackson early and often and closed gaps to stuff the run, holding the Lions scoreless in the 47-0 victory.

McCallie's five-season winning streak against public schools from the area continued as the Blue Tornado improved their record to 3-1 and the Lions dropped to 1-3.

"I think there just is a difference now between Baylor, McCallie and some of the schools that used to be really our rivals. I think it's a shame, to be honest with you," Tornado coach Ralph Potter said respectfully. "I miss the old days. The last time we played at Red Bank was 2001. We had 8(000) to 10,000 people here; it was a great game. We won 18-13 in the last 30 seconds. I'm an old guy, so I kind of miss those days."

Quarterback Robert Riddle's dual-threat skills highlighted a contest full of McCallie highlights. Riddle finished the night with 254 of McCallie's 390 yards of offense and four touchdowns, and he didn't play in the second half.

The game started with a young Red Bank team playing well and keeping McCallie out of the end zone.

And then the Blue Tornado woke up.

Riddle connected with Walker Fannon on a 37-yard touchdown to start the onslaught. McCallie scored on its next three possessions, the final one ending in a 24-yard touchdown run as Riddle barreled through defenders and into the end zone.

Red Bank's offensive line struggled against McCallie's athletic defensive front all night. Early attempts to go to the air frequently turned into second- and third-and-long for the Lions.

One fan yelled, "Get rid of the ball!" as Jackson took one of many first-half sacks on the night. Before Riddle's 24-yard scoring run, the Lions' possession almost ended in a safety as Jackson scrambled away from pressure, running from the far right side back to the left and into the end zone before he was able to make it back to the 1-yard line.

The final score of the first half was a beautiful 16-yard dart from Riddle to Fannon that gave the Blue Tornado a commanding 41-0 lead and forced a running clock in the second half.

Red Bank almost converted two long passes in the first half that would've gone for touchdowns, or at least got the Lions deep into McCallie territory, but both went off the receiver's fingertips.

"What I love is the never giving up," Red Bank coach Chad Grabowski said. "These guys, they fight through everything. They give us everything that we ask them to give us in the games, and that's one thing I love about them is that 'never quit' attitude. Now we've just got to make the plays go along with the attitude."

"I was proud of how hard their kids played. They gave us some trouble early and I thought they had a good plan. I think they'll keep getting better," Potter said.

Red Bank managed just 45 yards on 41 plays in the contest and was held to eight first downs. Conversely, McCallie totaled 390 yards on 44 plays and finished with 18 first downs.

Contact Shakeem Holloway at sports@timesfreepress.com.

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