Football Friday Night: Ranburne outlasts Woodland, Handley gets first win of season
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Ranburne’s Crimson Champion ran for 82 yards and two touchdowns and caught five passes for 31 yards in the Bulldogs’ 23-6 win over Woodland Friday in Woodland.
Ranburne scored three unanswered touchdowns in the second half, and Woodland’s offense continued its early season search for any kind of rhythm as the Bulldogs knocked off the Bobcats 23-6 in Woodland Friday.
Several games throughout the state were delayed by lightning and/or weather of some kind, and this game was no exception, as distant but visible lightning forced officials to pause the game for approximately 45 minutes while the weather moved out of range.
That break came after Ranburne scored the first touchdown of the game and was getting ready to kickoff to Woodland with a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter.
When play resumed some sloppiness by both teams ensued. That played to Woodland’s advantage late in the second quarter when Avery Porter intercepted of Ranburne quarterback Creed Young deep in Ranburne territory. The Bobcats set up shop at the Ranburne 19-yard line and covered that ground in four plays, culminating in an 8-yard touchdown run by David Noles to make the score 7-6.
That’s where the teams stood at halftime, but in a physical game that took place between the tackles, Ranburne eventually was able to wear down Woodland’s defense.
The game turned in the third quarter when Woodland went for a 4th-and-6 from the Ranburne 48-yard line, but lost yardage and failed to convert. On the very first play of the ensuing possession, Ranburne’s Crimson Champion burst through for a 47-yard touchdown run to put the Bulldogs up 13-6 with 3:39 left in the quarter.
Ranburne added a 29-yard touchdown run by Brody Morgan and a 26-yard field goal by Brylee Cash in the fourth quarter to pad their lead.
On a night when neither offense put up gaudy numbers, Champion came away as the big winner with 82 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries, to go along with five receptions for 31 yards.
Ranburne, which has built its identity early this season with its ground game on offense, opened the game with a 23-yard pass from Young to Kalon Smith and incorporated Young’s arm into the gameplan.
He finished 8-for-13 for 74 yards and an interception.
Woodland found no such success against Ranburne’s defense. The longest play from scrimmage for the Bobcats was a 19-yard run by Garrett Hendrix, and the Bobcats had 67 rushing yards on 33 carries as a team.
Woodland’s offense played without starting quarterback Brayden Yates. In his stead, Bradly Brasher went 8-for-14, but got just 40 yards out of those eight completions.
Noles led the Bobcats with 38 yards and a touchdown on 11 runs. Hendrix had 42 yards from scrimmage on six runs and two receptions.
Ranburne won for the 12th time in the last 13 meetings in this long-running rivalry, which has had some bitter moments in the past. But the teams and coaches showed good sportsmanship after the game as they joined together in the on-field circle, and Woodland head coach Kevin Smith gave some encouraging words to all of the players and led the group in a short prayer.
Woodland is now 0-2 and will try to give Smith his first head-coaching victory when they travel to Victory Christian next week. Ranburne goes to 1-1 with the win and will begin region play at LaFayette next week.
Handley 48, Dadeville 21
Handley quarterback Cordan Patterson ran for over 100 yards and a touchdown and threw for 70 more yards and another score as the Tigers picked up their first win of the year in a 48-21 decision at Dadeville.
Patterson rushed eight times for 111 yards, 53 of which came on his only touchdown run of the game in the third quarter. He also completed 9-of-11 passes for 70 yards and a 28-yard touchdown strike to Daquavian Slaughter.
Handley also got a pair of touchdown runs from Jamarcus Daniel, who finished with 72 yards on 13 carries.
Taevion Houston’s 29-yard interception return for a touchdown in the first quarter gave Handley a 7-0 lead, and backups Deundrea Gray and Zae Dunson added scoring runs late as the Tigers improved to 1-1 on the season.
Handley will host Cleburne County in its region opener next Friday.
RCHS 48, Central Coosa 8
RCHS raced out to a 42-8 halftime lead and cruised to a 48-8 win over Central Coosa Friday.
Amari Molden ran for 108 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries to pace another effective night on the ground for his team.
Mo Winston had 73 yards and two touchdowns on six carries, and the Tigers also got touchdown runs from Ryder Pinson and Jacob Cook.
RCHS is 2-0 heading into an early-season off week. They will return to action September 13 with a road region game at Dadeville.
Other scores
Wadley 65, Horseshoe Bend 15
Clay Central 35, Benjamin Russell 28
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