Ridgeland’s Vonn Bell (7) runs for yardage in the second round of the Georgia state playoffs.Mark Mariakis had seen enough. After Ridgeland’s offense had dabbled with balance by – gasp! – attempting a forward pass in the early stages of last week’s state quarterfinal game, the Panthers coach gave a very direct order from the sideline.
“Just line up and pound it right at them,” Mariakis said through the headset after the first series. “Let’s see if they can stop it.”
The Mary Persons defense fared about as well as the previous 12 opponents at stopping Ridgeland’s bruising wing-T. The Panthers rolled up 417 rushing yards on 57 punishing carries, attempting just one more pass after the opening series, and posted a 31-point victory. Tonight they host second-ranked Marist (12-1) in a Georgia Class AAAA semifinal.
These Panthers already have gone further than any previous team in program history, featuring an offense that averages 363 rushing yards per game. To put it bluntly, Ridgeland’s offensive linemen view a pass as something to try when you’re just not man enough to play real football.
“We take a lot of pride in being able to just put the game on our shoulders and make the way for our backs to take over,” said senior strong tackle Grady Matthews, who at 6-foot-3, 335 pounds is by far the most massive of a group that otherwise relies more on quickness and leverage than size.