Mason Harris does his best before a big football game to keep his emotions in check. Friday night, with Dalton visiting, the Ridgeland High School senior defensive end didn’t even bother to try.
Harris, a future University of South Carolina Gamecock, returned a fumble for a touchown, caused another fumble, had two sacks and generally made life miserable for the Catamounts in a rousing 21-0 Region 7-AAA win. The victory was Ridgeland’s first against Dalton in 19 tries.
“We’ve never beaten them, so to come out here my senior year and do it is one of my bigger accomplishments,” Harris said. “We haven’t played all that well this year, but this win should boost us up. We’re on our way.”
The game was barely two minutes old when Dalton’s Tre Beck was stripped of the ball on a first-down run. During the scrum that followed, Harris emerged with the ball, shook off a tackler and went 46 yards for a quick touchdown.
Following a three-and-out for Dalton, which included a hard hit by Harris on Dalton quarterback Trey Calfee, Toombs Norman’s punt was nearly blocked, traveling only 20 yards. Ridgeland (4-1, 1-0) needed only four plays to capitalize, the big one a 32-yard pass from Trey Stewart to Elijah Cutts. Senior fullback Paul Walton finished the drive with an 11-yard scoring run.
Ridgeland made it 21-0 after another Dalton three-and-out series, putting together a 16-play drive that covered 70 yards and featured hard running by the Panthers’ bevy of talented backs. Walton, Deonte Marsh, Zack Clayton and Sharik Smith took turns ripping off big gains, Marsh capping the drive with a 2-yard run with 9:07 still left in the first half.
“We talked all week about putting pressure on them quickly and see how they respond,” Ridgeland coach Mark Mariakis said. “What a great, great ballgame – offensive, defensively and special teams. My coaches did a great job of preparing the team. This is special, and it’s been a long time coming.”
The Ridgeland defense, which allowed a total of 128 yards, crowded the line of scrimmage and dared the Catamounts to throw the ball. When they did try, Harris and his line mates were always in the backfield. Dalton managed just one first down in the first half and 34 total yards.
The second half, with Ridgeland holding the big lead, was anticlimactic as neither offense mustered much.
“We’ve always relied on our defense to do what we do,” Mariakis said. “They flew around tonight. Beck can take it to the house on any play, and our challenge tonight was to fly to the ball and we did.”
The preseason all-state back was held to 59 tough yards on 14 carries, while quarterback Calfee was just 5-of-15 passing with two interceptions.
Mariakis admitted that removing the zero in the all-time series with the proud Dalton program is another step forward for the Panthers.
“We didn’t preach on it, but everyone knew it was there,” he said about the losing streak. “The kids have played in some big games before, and they knew what was on the line. They knew to win a third consecutive region championship, they had to win tonight. It wasn’t do-or-die for the season, but to win three in a row they had to do it.”
Walton, before being ejected on a personal-foul penalty, had 76 yards to lead Ridgeland rushers, with Marsh adding 67 and Clayton 45.