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Ringgold stays cool, hangs on to beat West Mifflin

5 min read
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Ringgold senior running back Chacar Berry carries the ball Friday night against West Mifflin.

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Ringgold senior Connor Garry tackles West Mifflin’s Russell Tyree Friday night.

MONONGAHELA – George Martin isn’t shy about his nerves in big situations. Despite his level-headed approach, the first-year starter is still learning on the job.

Whenever those jitters show in Martin’s play, Ringgold head coach Nick Milchovich points to the billboard overlooking Joe Montana Stadium, where the former Rams quarterback raises his hands in the air after “The Catch” in the 1982 NFC Championship game.

The message: show poise like Montana and trust your teammates. Martin, a 6-4 junior, has even earned Montana’s nickname: “Joe Cool.”

He lived up to it Friday night. Martin completed just 6 of 8 passes for 81 yards, but Ringgold needed his two touchdowns to defeat West Mifflin, 14-7, in a Big Ten Conference game.

Martin threw touchdowns of 17 and 7 yards to junior wide receiver Octavius Vassar and senior wide receiver Brandan Newman, respectively, to keep Ringgold (4-0, 4-0) unbeaten.

“I thought he played very poised tonight,” Milchovich said. “Those two throws were big league and we’re going to need him. We can run the ball on people, but sometimes they’re going to stack the box and we’re going to have to throw the ball. His ceiling is so high.”

Facing 4th and goal after a personal foul, Martin took a snap from the shotgun with three receivers lined up to his left and just 22 seconds remaining in the first half.

With the Titans (3-1, 3-1) playing a quarter defense, Vassar ran a deep post and Martin’s throw beat the charging safety. The 5-9, 140-pound receiver caught the pass at the 2-yard-line and fought to cross the line for the game-tying touchdown.

He connected with Newman on a 3rd and goal from the 7-yard line late in the third quarter, firing a pass under West Mifflin’s zone defense for the touchdown. On the previous drive, Martin was almost intercepted twice and the Rams were forced to punt, but he delivered when it mattered most.

“Of course I was a little nervous, but I knew what I had to do. You can’t let it get to you. I just tried my best,” Martin said. “I have a lot of backup in these guys. They always have my back, so that really helps me out. I know I can trust everyone, so I know everything will be all right in the end.”

It was a mistake-filled first half for the Rams, which included two fumbles – one lost – and an inability to contain West Mifflin’s option attack. The Titans dominated time of possession, holding the football for more than eight minutes longer than the Rams, who had just 110 total yards in the first half.

West Mifflin’s first drive ended with a fumble, but Ringgold fumbled four plays later. The Titans drove 53 yards, but Tyler Beck missed a 26-yard field goal.

Ringgold held the Titans to just 24 yards in the second half and forced a fumble to set up Martin’s touchdown pass. West Mifflin was 1 of 5 on third down in the second half after converting 4 of 6 in the first. It drove to Ringgold’s 34-yard line early in the third quarter, but failed to convert on fourth down.

“In the first half, they got us with that option and that tends to happen,”Milchovich said. “You have a couple of blowout wins and kids can get away with playing undisciplined for a few weeks. We just had to really ratchet down and I’m proud of the guys for doing it.”

After another failed possession by Ringgold, running back Russell Tyree, who finished with 78 yards on 19 carries, scored from 9 yards out to give West Mifflin the 7-0 lead with less than four minutes left in the second quarter. He helped the Titans reach the Rams’ 33-yard line with five minutes left in the fourth quarter, but was stopped for no gain and a loss of three on back-to-back plays. On 3rd and 13, Garner, who ran for 60 yards on nine carries and completed only three of five passes, was sacked by senior Trevor Colucci for a nine-yard loss to force West Mifflin to punt.

Ringgold turned to senior running back Chacar Berry, who ran for 119 yards on 26 carries, helped the Rams clinch the win with 22 yards on the ensuing drive. Despite the Titans scheming to stop the run, Berry helped the Rams drive into West Mifflin territory in the second quarter, before Martin connected with senior wide receiver Dave Carpenter on a 39-yard play-action pass to set up first and goal.

Five plays later, Martin was asked to deliver on fourth down and shocked the Titans to tie it.

“(Martin) is an excellent passer,” West Mifflin head coach Ray Braszo said. “I thought we had the guys covered decent, but a couple inches. We had the coverages we wanted, but we didn’t make the play.”

The Rams aren’t satisfied yet, nor are they thinking about a conference title.

“We know we can’t call ourselves anything special yet,” Martin said. “We still have a long road ahead of us, but I know we’re a lot more confidence and hopefully that helps us play.”

Notes: Ringgold senior linemnan Dante Todaro was injured on the second play from scrimmage and did not return. He was replaced by junior Zach Giovaniello. … Senior linebacker Connor Garry recovered the fumble to set up the game-winning touchdown. … Berry, an outside linebacker, also had a sack for the Rams and recovered Garner’s fumble in the first quarter. … It was Martin’s first multi-touchdown game after throwing for one score in each of his previous three starts. … The Rams have won eight consecutive games at Joe Montana Stadium and defeated the Titans for the second consecutive year.

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