ROSE RIDGE, Va. – There’s a new beast atop the football food chain in far Southwest Virginia.
All hail the howl of the Ridgeview Wolfpack.
Continuing its rise from a season ago, the consolidated fourth-year Dickenson County program proved ready for the spotlight Friday in a marquee Mountain 7 District clash with area power Union as the Wolfpack came away with a 27-14 triumph.
“We’re legit – and now everybody knows we’re legit,” said Ridgeview standout McKenzie Sproles.
Union had won 21 straight regular-season contests, including dealing Ridgeview its only loss prior to the playoffs in 2017.
“Big win – it really was, to get over the hump kinda,” said Ridgeview coach Rick Mullins. “I made the statement at our press day back in the summer that until somebody knocks Union off they’re the king and I felt that way. I won’t say we’re the king right now, but this certainly was a big win for us.”
The victory for the Wolfpack (4-0, 2-0) was far from fluky.
Both of Union’s scores came via short fields off Ridgeview turnovers and the Wolfpack defense was otherwise ferocious, holding the Bears (3-1, 0-1) to just 157 total yards, including a mere 89 on the ground via 30 carries.
“We played lights out tonight,” said Sproles, who stymied a promising fourth-quarter drive for Union with an interception. “We practiced harder than we’ve ever practiced before – we knew we had to because Union’s a good team. They run the ball down your throat and we were ready for it.”
Ridgeview forced Union to punt on its first two drives of the game, but came out sloppy offensively, turning the ball over on its own first two possessions as Union’s Avery Jenkins picked off a pass and Kalen Gardner recovered a fumble on a bizarre play in which the Wolfpack fumbled the snap before running back Trenton Adkins chased down the loose ball only to have Adkins cough up the ball again trying to push forward.
Overall, Ridgeview put the ball on the ground six times in the first half alone, but lost possession only once by a fumble.
“I told our guys at halftime that we were our own worst enemy in the first half,” Mullins said. “I thought at halftime if we settled down a little bit we’d be fine.”
Union capitalized on Gardner’s fumble recovery with quarterback Bailey Turner finding Noah Garrison for a 29-yard touchdown pass with 4:10 left in the first quarter.
Ridgeview put up its first points with a lengthy drive in the second quarter, taking nearly seven minutes to go 67 yards on 14 plays and in a fitting moment capping the march when wide receiver Timmy Hess alertly fell on a fumble in the end zone.
The Wolfpack then took control of the game by scoring on each of its next two possessions, getting a 10-yard touchdown catch from Quinn Turner off a fling from quarterback Tyler O’Quin with just eight seconds left in the first half before opening the third quarter by chewing up more clock with a six-minute, 17-second drive finished off by a 1-yard Adkins burst.
“It just takes a lot of effort to beat a team like that because that’s a really good team,” said Ridgeview right guard Chance Edwards, who helped pave the way for the Wolfpack to rush for 225 yards and throw for 145 more.
“We came out here with our heads held high. We knew we could beat them.”
Garrison gave the Bears hope early in the fourth quarter when he snagged an interception and returned it 34 yards to the Ridgeview 6-yard line, setting up Jenkins to score from a yard out on a fourth down play two minutes later as Union pulled back within a touchdown with 6:23 still remaining.
The Bears, however, were unable to make a stand.
O’Quin scrambled for 14 yards for a key third down conversion early in the ensuing drive for Ridgeview and Matthew Sexton scored the clinching touchdown on a 29-yard sprint with 3:19 left.
“We’ve played Union for four years as Ridgeview and they’ve beat us every year,” Edwards said. “It just means everything to us, the team, to me and Coach Mullins to win a game like this.”
Adkins and Sexton again were a potent one-two punch in the Ridgeview backfield.
Adkins, who also batted down a fourth-down pass to force Union off the field on its final drive, finished with 119 yards on 24 carries after being held in check by Union as a freshman last season, while Sexton added 93 rushing yards on just eight attempts and also caught four passes for 33 yards.
O’Quin threw two interceptions, but completed 10 of 18 passes for 145 yards, including throwing for 85 yards on the pivotal opening drive of the second half.
Hess had four catches for 67 yards to go along with his fumble-recovery touchdown.
Mason Polier was the only Union player to get much going rushing the ball as he had 13 carries for 64 yards. Garrison caught four passes for 51 yards for Union, but guys like Ridgeview linebacker Dylan Fuller and defensive back Jacob Hensley made life difficult for the Bears all night.
“I thought our defense stepped up and played huge,” Mullins said.
Ridgeview is the first team to beat Union in the regular season since Richlands in September 2016. Union overall had won 26 of its past 28 games.
“It’s a chance to kind of find out what we’re made of,” said Union coach Travis Turner. “Our backs are against the wall now.”
Union 7 0 0 7—14
Ridgeview 0 14 7 6—27
Scoring Summary
U—Garrison 29 pass from Turner (Falin kick)
R—Hess fumble recovery in end zone (Meggison kick)
R—Turner 10 pass from O’Quin (Meggison kick)
R—Adkins 1 run (Meggison kick)
U—A. Jenkins 1 run (Falin kick)
R—Sexton 29 run (kick failed)
Team Stats
First Downs: U 7, R 16; Rushes-Yards: U 30-89, R 43-225; Passing Yards: U 68, R 145; Comp.-Att.-Int.: U 8-15-1, R 10-18-2; Fumbles-Lost: U 1-0, R 6-1; Penalties-Yards: U 6-50, R 8-66; Punts-Average: U 5-35.6; R 2-36.5.
All hail the howl of the Ridgeview Wolfpack.
Continuing its rise from a season ago, the consolidated fourth-year Dickenson County program proved ready for the spotlight Friday in a marquee Mountain 7 District clash with area power Union as the Wolfpack came away with a 27-14 triumph.
“We’re legit – and now everybody knows we’re legit,” said Ridgeview standout McKenzie Sproles.
Union had won 21 straight regular-season contests, including dealing Ridgeview its only loss prior to the playoffs in 2017.
“Big win – it really was, to get over the hump kinda,” said Ridgeview coach Rick Mullins. “I made the statement at our press day back in the summer that until somebody knocks Union off they’re the king and I felt that way. I won’t say we’re the king right now, but this certainly was a big win for us.”
The victory for the Wolfpack (4-0, 2-0) was far from fluky.
Both of Union’s scores came via short fields off Ridgeview turnovers and the Wolfpack defense was otherwise ferocious, holding the Bears (3-1, 0-1) to just 157 total yards, including a mere 89 on the ground via 30 carries.
“We played lights out tonight,” said Sproles, who stymied a promising fourth-quarter drive for Union with an interception. “We practiced harder than we’ve ever practiced before – we knew we had to because Union’s a good team. They run the ball down your throat and we were ready for it.”
Ridgeview forced Union to punt on its first two drives of the game, but came out sloppy offensively, turning the ball over on its own first two possessions as Union’s Avery Jenkins picked off a pass and Kalen Gardner recovered a fumble on a bizarre play in which the Wolfpack fumbled the snap before running back Trenton Adkins chased down the loose ball only to have Adkins cough up the ball again trying to push forward.
Overall, Ridgeview put the ball on the ground six times in the first half alone, but lost possession only once by a fumble.
“I told our guys at halftime that we were our own worst enemy in the first half,” Mullins said. “I thought at halftime if we settled down a little bit we’d be fine.”
Union capitalized on Gardner’s fumble recovery with quarterback Bailey Turner finding Noah Garrison for a 29-yard touchdown pass with 4:10 left in the first quarter.
Ridgeview put up its first points with a lengthy drive in the second quarter, taking nearly seven minutes to go 67 yards on 14 plays and in a fitting moment capping the march when wide receiver Timmy Hess alertly fell on a fumble in the end zone.
The Wolfpack then took control of the game by scoring on each of its next two possessions, getting a 10-yard touchdown catch from Quinn Turner off a fling from quarterback Tyler O’Quin with just eight seconds left in the first half before opening the third quarter by chewing up more clock with a six-minute, 17-second drive finished off by a 1-yard Adkins burst.
“It just takes a lot of effort to beat a team like that because that’s a really good team,” said Ridgeview right guard Chance Edwards, who helped pave the way for the Wolfpack to rush for 225 yards and throw for 145 more.
“We came out here with our heads held high. We knew we could beat them.”
Garrison gave the Bears hope early in the fourth quarter when he snagged an interception and returned it 34 yards to the Ridgeview 6-yard line, setting up Jenkins to score from a yard out on a fourth down play two minutes later as Union pulled back within a touchdown with 6:23 still remaining.
The Bears, however, were unable to make a stand.
O’Quin scrambled for 14 yards for a key third down conversion early in the ensuing drive for Ridgeview and Matthew Sexton scored the clinching touchdown on a 29-yard sprint with 3:19 left.
“We’ve played Union for four years as Ridgeview and they’ve beat us every year,” Edwards said. “It just means everything to us, the team, to me and Coach Mullins to win a game like this.”
Adkins and Sexton again were a potent one-two punch in the Ridgeview backfield.
Adkins, who also batted down a fourth-down pass to force Union off the field on its final drive, finished with 119 yards on 24 carries after being held in check by Union as a freshman last season, while Sexton added 93 rushing yards on just eight attempts and also caught four passes for 33 yards.
O’Quin threw two interceptions, but completed 10 of 18 passes for 145 yards, including throwing for 85 yards on the pivotal opening drive of the second half.
Hess had four catches for 67 yards to go along with his fumble-recovery touchdown.
Mason Polier was the only Union player to get much going rushing the ball as he had 13 carries for 64 yards. Garrison caught four passes for 51 yards for Union, but guys like Ridgeview linebacker Dylan Fuller and defensive back Jacob Hensley made life difficult for the Bears all night.
“I thought our defense stepped up and played huge,” Mullins said.
Ridgeview is the first team to beat Union in the regular season since Richlands in September 2016. Union overall had won 26 of its past 28 games.
“It’s a chance to kind of find out what we’re made of,” said Union coach Travis Turner. “Our backs are against the wall now.”
Union 7 0 0 7—14
Ridgeview 0 14 7 6—27
Scoring Summary
U—Garrison 29 pass from Turner (Falin kick)
R—Hess fumble recovery in end zone (Meggison kick)
R—Turner 10 pass from O’Quin (Meggison kick)
R—Adkins 1 run (Meggison kick)
U—A. Jenkins 1 run (Falin kick)
R—Sexton 29 run (kick failed)
Team Stats
First Downs: U 7, R 16; Rushes-Yards: U 30-89, R 43-225; Passing Yards: U 68, R 145; Comp.-Att.-Int.: U 8-15-1, R 10-18-2; Fumbles-Lost: U 1-0, R 6-1; Penalties-Yards: U 6-50, R 8-66; Punts-Average: U 5-35.6; R 2-36.5.