Ridgeland quarterback Trevor Long (3) hands off to Bryce Williams (2) during the first half of the GHSA Class AAAA quarterfinal playoff game held in Rossville, Ga., Friday evening.While boys should never hit a girl, Ridgeland’s football team had no issue with punching Mary Persons in the mouth Friday night.
The Panthers kept it brutally simple against visiting Mary Persons, rolling to a 45-14 GHSA Class AAAA victory on the strength of 417 rushing yards on 57 carries, and only two passes.
Ridgeland’s defense was just as physically dominant, holding a high-octane offense to 171 total yards. Mary Persons had fewer than 100 rushing yards before its final drive against Panthers’ backups.
“We knew this would be a game that would be won in the trenches, and our guys accepted the challenge,” Panthers coach Mark Mariakis said. “We just lined up and went right at them on offense, and that was about as good as our defense has played all year. It was a complete effort all the way around.”
And if the flu couldn’t slow Darrell Bridges, the Bulldogs had no chance. Admittedly weak after the game, Ridgeland’s 6-foot, 215-pound bull of a running back was anything but puny in leading the punishing ground game, carrying the ball 25 times for 214 yards and four touchdowns. He also had the only pass completion of the game for the Panthers, who advance to the state semifinals for the first time in program history.