Halfway through the final quarter Friday night at Tommy Cash Stadium, the host Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe Warriors were one play from clinching their fourth consecutive win over Catoosa County rival Ringgold.
Leading 16-14, the Warriors ran eight minutes off the clock on a 17-play drive that reached the Ringgold 1. However, on fourth-and-goal a fumble ended the drive, giving Ringgold new life. The Tigers capitalized with a 94-yard drive for the go-ahead touchdown, then held off a late LFO drive for a dramatic 20-16 win.
“Our defense made some big plays on them when they were inside our 10,” Ringgold coach Robert Akins said. “Our kids fought hard, but there is a lot of improvement to be made. An ugly win is better than a pretty loss.”
Ringgold (2-2, 1-1 Region 6-AAA) got a pair of touchdown runs from Kori Dumas and the winning 5-yard touchdown run by Price Pennington with just more than three minutes remaining in the game.
READ MORE: Final scores and photos from Friday night’s Chattanooga-area high school football games