Berry is Rams tough in victory against TJ
MONONGAHELA – It was seemingly over. Thomas Jefferson rattled off 20 unanswered points and made Ringgold uncomfortable running the football, forcing the Rams’ fate in the hands of a first-year quarterback.
But the Jaguars underestimated Ringgold’s persistence and senior Chacar Berry, a 5-7 bruising, yet elusive tailback. He led the Rams on a comeback that will be remembered for quite some time.
Berry had 205 total yards and three touchdowns, helping Ringgold score 19 fourth-quarter points on its way to a 27-20 come-from-behind win over Thomas Jefferson in a Big Ten Conference game at Joe Montana Stadium.
The Rams (1-0, 1-0) handed the Jaguars (0-1, 0-1) their first loss in conference play since Oct. 28, 2011, and just the third since 2005.
“I just wanted to win,” Berry said, gasping for breath. “I had to keep the team up and I told them, we had to dig it out like we did in the playoffs against Hampton last year. It’s a great feeling to beat Thomas Jefferson. I don’t even know the last time they lost, but it’s only the beginning for us.”
Berry ran for touchdowns of 20 and 8 yards, and caught a screen pass from quarterback George Martin in the fourth quarter, weaved through the defense, broke two tackles and hurdled a defender for a 30-yard touchdown to give Ringgold a 21-20 lead.
Berry rushed for 174 yards on 27 carries and had 31 receiving yards.
“He’s the toughest kid I’ve ever coached,” Milchovich said. “I know about his size, but he doesn’t run like his size. If colleges don’t look at that kid they’re crazy.”
Milchovich felt the Rams had to play a perfect game to beat the Jaguars, but they were far from perfect. The Rams committed 13 penalties for 111 yards, threw an interception and missed a field goal, but its defense clamped down; holding the Jaguars to just 7 yards in the fourth quarter and Ethan Fine’s sack forced a fumble.
Fine’s sack came after Berry drew the Rams to within six points and Milcovich turned to sophomore running back Brendan Small to compliment the offense. Small stretched the Jaguars’ defense with jet sweeps, finishing with 78 yards and his 8-yard touchdown with 5:15 remaining gave Ringgold a 27-20 lead.
“Brendan was our spark tonight,” Milcovich said. “He brought our energy up. His runs kept those linemen running around and our line wore them down. We kept their big boys moving left and right.”
Thomas Jefferson head coach Bill Cherpak had to alter his game plan because quarterback Bobby Kelley sat out with injury, but he made no excuses.
“We lined up wrong on certain plays and they just blocked us,” Cherpak said. “They played well. (Berry) is a heck of a running back. We just didn’t play well.”
Facing seven- or eight-man fronts, Ringgold’s offense shied away from the running game, handing it off to Berry just nine times in the first half. Martin – making his first career varsity start – attempted more passes in the first half than he did in 2014. He completed 11 of 28 passes for 131 yards.
It looked like it was going to catch up to the Rams when Thomas Jefferson scored 20 unanswered points with junior Zane Zandier scoring three touchdowns (one passing and two receiving). He finished with 230 total yards.
“We have run, pass, read options and (Martin) read it well,” Milcovich said. “But I’m a run-first coach and I thought I was going to have a coronary with how much we were passing the ball.”
In the first half, Thomas Jefferson had a punt return for a touchdown nullified by a holding call, a potential 78-yard touchdown pass was dropped and the Jaguars’ offense failed to convert twice within the Rams’ 25-yard line.
The two teams combined for three turnovers and 16 penalties totaling 146 yards in first half.
“I’m proud of these kids for pulling it off, but we have a long way to go,” Milcovich said with a smile. “I wasn’t going to make our season about this game – win or lose. We still have work to do.”