Ridgeland advances with 34-14 win over Flowery Branch

Football tile
Football tile

Linebacker Terrance Roberts and his Ridgeland defensive teammates forced seven turnovers Friday night in a 34-14 win over the Flowery Branch Falcons. The Panthers move on in the Georgia Class AAAA playoffs and will face Cartersville on the road next week.

"It's incredible with everything we went through this season," Ridgeland coach Cortney Braswell said. "To start off 0-2 and see us beat one of the best teams in the state was unbelievable."

The scoring began in the first quarter when Ridgeland (8-3) capitalized on Flowery Branch's first turnover with a 47-yard field goal by kicker Connor Middleton. The Falcons (8-3) fumbled on the ensuing kickoff to set up a 17-yard touchdown run by Jordan Blackwell that gave Ridgeland the 10-0 lead.

Flowery Branch then drove down the field, but a sack by Terrance Roberts and a bad snap on fourth down gave the ball back to the Panthers. Roberts finished the game with three sacks and a touchdown on offense.

"Terrance was phenomenal," Braswell said. "I wasn't surprised, though. This is a kid that brings it every day. He's a competitor, and I'm certainly glad he's on our team."

Roberts made his presence felt again before halftime as he recorded back-to-back sacks to end a promising Flowery Branch drive.

After the break, the visiting Falcons ended the shutout on a 3-yard run by Cody Inman. The game remained 10-7 until the fourth quarter, when Flowery Branch quarterback Elijah Gainey threw an interception that was followed by a 34-yard touchdown run by Blackwell. Blackwell ended the night with 151 rushing yards.

Later in the quarter Ridgeland scored two TDs in a 15-second span when Roberts ran in from the 10-yard line and Blackwell returned a Gainey interception for a score.

Flowery Branch scored once more on a pass from Gainey to C.J Goodwin, but Ridgeland iced the game with a 37-yard field goal with 3:59 left.

Contact Dan Kopf at sports@timesfreepress.com.

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