CHATSWORTH, Ga. — Ringgold now has three losses in its 2024 football season, all in excruciating fashion.
The latest one, a 27-26 setback Friday night at North Murray, may end up being the costliest.
With the GHSA Region 7-AA win, the Mountaineers (5-2, 4-1) stayed ahead of the Tigers (5-3, 3-3) in the standings and are in a position to control their own destiny. One win in their final three games could be enough to get coach Preston Poag’s team a home playoff game. Two wins might garner a No. 1 seed.
For Ringgold, it’s the latest entry in a nightmare trilogy of league losses that started with back-to-back overtime defeats against Rockmart and North Cobb Christian — the two teams expected to battle for the region title. The Tigers can, however, secure a playoff spot with wins in their final two games against Sonoraville and Coahulla Creek.
(READ MORE: Final scores and photos from Friday night’s Chattanooga-area prep football games)
“It was a tough loss to a really good North Murray team,” Ringgold coach Austin Crisp said. “When it comes down to it, we have to protect the ball on offense, get off the field on defense and execute on special teams. I felt like we played a good game minus a few mistakes on what were just routine plays. Those mistakes cost us the ballgame.”
The game turned with three fourth-quarter miscues by Ringgold that turned a lead into a loss, including a pair of errors in the kicking game, something that also contributed to the earlier overtime losses.
The Tigers had a PAT and a punt blocked in the final quarter, the latter returned 12 yards for a touchdown by Tyler Henry to make it 20-all with 5:50 left.
On the next offensive play, North Murray’s Jacob Daley recovered a Ringgold fumble at the Tigers’ 30, which led to Hudson Hulett’s 31-yard pass to Layten Myers for a 27-20 lead with 3:47 to play.
Ringgold rallied in just four plays, with senior quarterback Garrett Edgar completing back-to-back passes — to Kishaun Taylor for 56 yards, then to Zach Grower for 13 more to the 1 — before sneaking in for the score to cut the lead to one.
Having already seen two kicks blocked, Crisp decided to go for the 2-point conversion, but Edgar’s pass was tipped away by the ever-present Hulett to preserve the lead.
The Tigers got the ball back with just less than a minute left, and Edgar quickly moved them to the North Murray 36. The drive, however, would stall there as the hosts held on for the critical win.
Hulett was held to 71 rushing yards, but he lost 32 yards on a pair of sacks by Ringgold’s Nate Ownbey in the first half. Hulett, though, scored the game’s first touchdown on a 6-yard run and finished with 113 yards and a touchdown passing. Myers, North Murray’s tailback, did most of his damage through the air with two catches for 79 yards and the late go-ahead touchdown.
Edgar was 15-of-23 passing for 148 yards while also adding two short touchdown runs. Taylor finished with five catches for 127 yards, including a 63-yard touchdown on a pass from Grower to close out the first half.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com.