BV comes back to beat Ringgold
Ringgold’s Max Maciejewski celebrates after scoring a third-quarter touchdown Friday against Belle Vernon.
Ringgold’s Brenden Small carries the ball Friday night against Belle Vernon.
Belle Vernon’s Larry Callaway attempts to evade the tackle of Ringgold’s Charles Franks Friday night.
Belle Vernon’s Logan Pfronger carries the ball just ahead of Ringgold’s Nathan Leaver Friday night.
BELLE VERNON – Rivalry games always have that special feel to them, but when the game goes down to the last minute, they are that much better.
Belle Vernon protected its gold turf Friday night with a thrilling come-from-behind 17-14 win over Ringgold in a Big Nine Conference game.
“We didn’t do a whole lot offensively but we made plays on special teams and on defense, which made all of the difference,” Belle Vernon coach Matt Humbert said. “But I give Ringgold credit because that team was a lot better tonight than it was on film.
“The important thing though is that we are now 3-0.”
Ringgold coach Nick Milchovich was happy with his team’s effort but disappointed with the game’s outcome.
“This is a tough one to swallow,” he said. “We made plays and had the game, but we just didn’t finish it. It seemed that every time we made a play, it was called back.”
Belle Vernon (3-0, 3-0) got on the scoreboard first as Logan Pfrogner returned a punt 34 yards for a score with 1:38 to play in the first quarter. Cam Guess added the extra point to give BV a 7-0 lead.
Ringgold (1-2, 1-2) tied the score early in the second quarter and it was aided by a Belle Vernon turnover. Leopards quarterback Jared Hartman hit Pfrogner with a short pass to the right flat, but Pfrogner fumbled it and Darius Tyree returned the loose ball 34 yards to the BV one-yard line.
Ringgold quarterback Bo Haines scored on a keeper on the next play with 11:30 left in the first half, and Jackson O’Connor tied the score with the extra point.
The score remined 7-7 into the second half, and neither offense showed a lot in the opening 24 minutes as Ringgold had 62 yards on 26 plays while Belle Vernon managed 61 yards on 23 plays.
One issue for BV was the loss of Blake Zubovic, the Pitt-bound offensive tackle with 6:51 to play in the first quarter to a lower leg injury and he did not return.
After stopping Belle Vernon on fourth down on the opening drive of the second half, Ringgold went 58 yards and scored on a 20-yard pass from Caleb Eisel to Max Maciejewski for a 14-7 lead. O’Connor’s extra point made the score 14-7 with 4:30 to go in the third quarter.
The Leopards countered on its next drive with Guess’ 32-yard field goal that cut Ringgold’s lead to 14-10 with 1:48 left in the third quarter.
The score held at 14-10 well into into the fourth quarter. The first eight minutes of the quarter was played deep in Ringgold territory, and the Leopards kept holding Ringgold to three-and-outs.
After taking over twice deep in Ringgold territory and getting no points, the third time was the charm for the Leopards. Pfrogner made up for his earlier fumble by returning a punt to the Ringgold seven-yard line. On the next play, Hartman scored on a quarterback keeper with 3:50 to play.
The extra point by Guess, which was the final point of the game, made the score 17-14.
Ringgold finished with 152 yards on 54 plays while BV had 120 yards on 45 plays.
The Rams were fueled by the return of Maciejewski, their unquestioned leader and best player.
He finished with three catches and was all over the field all night.