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St. Marys falls to Ritchie County, 12-0

By Kerry Patrick 7 min read

By KERRY PATRICK

Sports Writer

ST. MARYS - After getting sand kicked in their face by two football heavyweights to open the season, the Rebels from Ritchie County decided to kick back some of their own.

Thursday night at Bill Hanlon Field, Ritchie County snapped a four-game losing streak to St. Marys by pitching a 12-0 shutout.

"The guys who played out there tonight, we mixed and mingled and they did exactly what we asked from them," Ritchie County coach Jared Shipe said after his club improved to 1-2. "It's hard sometimes to be a guy on the practice field and maybe don't feel you are getting enough snaps that you want. But every guy at our practices, I guarantee they find a way to get on the field and make meaningful moments.

"We had first-year kids have big moments. Kids that have never played the game of football. So this is a big one."

A Ritchie County defense which allowed 90 points in losses to Wahama and Doddridge County prevented St. Marys from turning in a big gainer throughout the night. The Rebels forced four turnovers and stopped St. Marys on two fourth-quarter red zone opportunities.

"We are no stranger to knowing the tough road you started on is not the way you have to finish," Shipe said. "That first game, we knew that wasn't who we were. We got to the second game against Doddridge. We knew those guys were a quality football team and we hung with them except for a few plays here and there we missed on.

"Defensively, tonight we did a heck of a job. It was tremendous. We knew our defense was going to be good and going to be solid. It's easy to say that after a game like tonight, but we knew these guys were going to have a solid evening, a solid year."

All but seven of the 118 yards manufactured by the Ritchie County offense occurred in the first half. And a good chunk of that yardage occurred on the two second-quarter touchdowns which put the Rebels in front 12-0 at halftime.

Quarterback Landen Hanlon, one of only two seniors on the roster, scampered 24 yards on fourth-and-1 for the game's first points at the 9:23 mark of the second period.

The series, which began after an interception from Jenner Keen, took nine plays and covered 77 yards.

"We all watched film really well this week," said Hanlon. "We knew what they were going to run based on their formations and we stopped it pretty well.

"We played pretty tough teams those first two weeks. I would say we played decent, but we fixed our mistakes. We still have more mistakes to fix."

Following a Ritchie County penalty on the first play following the ensuing kickoff, Ritchie County's Ashton Byrd recovered the first of three St. Marys fumbles.

Both teams went three and out, but the Rebels struck for a second touchdown before intermission. After a punt gave Ritchie County a short field, the Rebels needed just three plays to punch it in on Jenner Keen's 21-yard run.

With 4:53 remaining in the first half, Ritchie County led 12-0.

"We can't afford to make any major mistakes," St. Marys coach Jodi Mote said after his Blue Devils dropped to 1-2. Anytime you are in a situation where we have to catch up, it makes it challenging.

"I appreciate the men's fight. They fought for four quarters. Credit to Ritchie County and what they did."

While the offense contributed its part in the first half, the Rebel defense continued to keep St. Marys out of the end zone after halftime. St. Marys' offense created some dangerous moments, but the Rebels responded.

After turning the ball over on a fumble on their first two possessions in the third quarter, the Blue Devils were able to move the downfield with consistency. Starting a drive on its own 3, St. Marys used 17 plays and took nearly eight minutes off the clock before the drive stalled at the Ritchie 18 when a fourth-and-14 pass attempt fell incomplete.

On its next series, St. Marys appeared to spoil Ritchie's shutout bid. At the Ritchie 16, quarterback Jeremiah DeMoss made his way toward the end zone before the ball popped loose and teammate Noah Dawson pounced on the football in the end zone.

However, a flag was thrown in the backfield for a St. Marys holding call. The Blue Devils eventually advanced to the 12, but another incomplete pass on fourth down gave possession back to Ritchie with only 3:15 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The Rebels were unable to produce a first down, but Byrd's 58-yard punt left St. Marys at its own 25 with just less than two minutes left and no timeouts to work with.

The Blue Devils' last gasp occurred with the ball resting at the Rebel 29 and St. Marys facing fourth-and-3. DeMoss, who threw for 99 yards on 8-of-24 passing, stayed from the pocket but sophomore defensive end Jason Barrett timed his jump perfectly and swatted the pass attempt away.

"Some people may not know this - Jason is in his first year playing football," Shipe said. "He has never played anything other than wide receiver. And we see Jason as a defensive end type of kid who is learning every day. Jason is a basketball guy who plays low post.

"The whole game we are coaching our guys up - drawing on a piece of paper showing them exactly what has to happen."

Ritchie took two knees and ran out the clock.

"St. Marys has a great offensive line and phenomenal coaches," Shipe said. "I think it was our kids being in the film room a lot. We had guys meeting on Saturdays and Sundays, and just getting together and eating out then watching some film together. They really studied what was going on."

St. Marys running back Elijah Kimball finished with a game-high 71 yards rushing on 14 carries. DeMoss added 45 on 14 carries.

Keen led Ritchie with 48 yards rushing, while Isaiah Poole added 46 yards on the ground.

"Last year, we made our way back from an 0-2 start - so obviously we just have to keep working the guys," said Mote, who will prepare his guys for a date with Frontier next Friday. "No, my goodness, it does not get any easier. Frontier beat Belpre then Belpre turns around and beats us last week. You get knocked down, so you are going to have to get back up in the fight."

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com

At Bill Hanlin Field

Ritchie County 12, St. Marys 0

RC (1-2) 0 12 0 0 - 12

STM (1-2) 0 0 0 0 - 0

Second Quarter

RC: Landen Hanlon 24 run (pass failed), 9:23

RC: Jenner Keen 21 run (run failed), 4:53

Team Stats

Ritchie County. First downs: 8. Rushes-yards: 30-110. Passing yards: 8. Total yards: 118. Passing: 1-7-0. Fumbles lost: 0.

St. Marys. First downs: 15. Rushes-yards: 40-164. Passing yards: 99. Total yards: 263. Passing: 8-24-1. Fumbles lost: 3.

Individual Stats

Ritchie County. Rushing: Jenner Keen 9-48, Isaiah Poole 12-46, Jake Waugaman 2-11, Landen Hanlon 5-5, Noah Shoemaker 1-(minus-2). Team: 1-2. Passing: Hanlon 1-7-0, 8 yards. Receiving: Keen 1-5.

St. Marys: Elijah Kimble 14-71, Jeremiah DeMoss 14-45, Ethan Pierce 4-31, Dru Binegar 4-19, Noah Mote 2-7, Team 2=(minus-9). Passing: DeMoss 8-24-1, 99 yards. Receiving: Elijah Kimble 3-37, Isaac Kimball 1-5, Dru Binegar 1-8, Owen Knight 1-14, Noah Mote 2-35.

Next Game: Magnolia at Ritchie County, 7 p.m.; Frontier at St. Marys, 7:30 p.m.

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