Nov 10, 2016 3 min read

Through a quirky occurrence, Ringgold High School’s football team gets an opportunity to return to the site of a playoff victory.

In back-to-back weeks.

The Rams played at Mars in the first round of the WPIAL Class 4-A and upset the third-seeded Planets, 42-31, thanks to some key defensive plays at the end of the game. Mars received the home game because of its second-place finish in the Northwest 9 Conference.

Second-round sites are selected by the WPIAL, and Ringgold was sent back to Mars for tonight’s semifinal matchup against New Castle, the third-place team in the Northwest 9.

“I’d play in a Wal-Mart parking lot if I had to,” said Ringgold head coach Nick Milchovich. “I’m just excited to be playing the game. I don’t think it gives us an advantage to play on that field again. I guess the one nice thing is that it will have a familiar feel to it. Hopefully, we can go back up there and pick up where we left off.”

The Red Hurricane played Mars this season but at Taggart Stadium in New Castle. Mars came away with a 34-7 victory in Week 6.

Ringgold played New Castle in a non-conference game in Week 9, falling 41-27 at Taggart Stadium. The two teams have first-round upsets with New Castle stunning South Fayette, 51-43. In that game, quarterback Geno Stone sparked a New Castle offense that rolled over the Lions defense for 587 yards. Stone completed 9 of 10 passes for 266 yards and three touchdowns. He added two rushing touchdowns, gaining 100 yards on 17 attempts.

“He’s a great football player,” Milchovich said. “He is an athlete and we’ve got to watch him because he keeps a defense honest. He throws a good ball and makes you defend every blade of grass.”

Ringgold will count on the arm of senior quarterback George Martin, who accounted for five touchdowns in the win over Mars. Martin ran for two scores and threw three touchdown passes. He passed for 257 yards.

“He has a canon for an arm,” said Ringgold wide receiver Dalton Holt. “When he is on, there is no stopping him.”

Martin has blossomed in the second half of the season, leading the Rams to an upset of West Mifflin in Week 7. Ringgold scored two touchdowns in the final eight seconds for a 29-26 victory.

“He is just unbelievable,” said Milchovich. “I haven’t been around a kid in the zone like this before. He’s elevated his game. George took that leadership role on the team at midseason.”

New Castle head coach Joe Cowart said Martin and Stone are big-game quarterbacks.

“I would take either one in a heart beat,” Cowart said. “They are different in skill sets but boy both are fun to watch.”

Brenden Small leads the running game with 822 yards, 178 shy of 1,000. Max Maciejewski (51, 839) and Holt (42, 635) have combined for 93 receptions and 1,474 yards. Small and Maciejewski have combined for 21 touchdowns.

“New Castle likes to play man (coverage) and Stone plays free safety and roams the secondary,” Milchovich said. “They are aggressive and tough.”

Notes

Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. … The game will be featured as the Xfinity High School Sports Game of the Week. All Xfinity TV subscribers with digital starter and above packages get free access to the Xfinity High School Sports Game of the Week beginning the day after the game is played.