CALHOUN, Ga. — It just seemed like Eric McDaniel had switched schools. The way the Calhoun defensive tackle lived in the Ridgeland backfield during Friday night’s 28-9 Yellow Jackets win, he could have been mistaken for a Panther.

With McDaniel’s immovable force powering a suddenly smothering defense, the Yellow Jackets evened their record at 1-1.

“We were definitely more intense this week,” McDaniel said, last week’s 31-7 loss to Dalton still in his mind. “The defense made the little things work for us, and we were flying around. This was a huge team win.”

That defense held Ridgeland’s 2,000-yard rusher, Terryl Freeman, to 74 yards on 17 carries and made the game’s single biggest play. Moments after Kedron Aker’s 5-yard touchdown run gave Calhoun a 14-7 lead with five minutes to play in the first half, Ridgeland was driving when the game turned.

Ridgeland quarterback Alex Ridge, subbing for the injured Carlan Bowman, threw a swing pass to running back Devin Bowman, who was tripped up behind the line. The ball squrted free and Calhoun linebacker Cody Ralston scooped it up and raced 55 yards for a touchdown.

Though Ridgeland coaches argued the pass was not a lateral, officials ruled differently and the Yellow Jackets took a 21-7 lead into halftime.

“That was a huge play, definitely the turning point in the game,” said McDaniel, who had three tackles for loss and several quarterback pressures. “After that, it seemed to me the game was over.”

The second half had very little flow, thanks to 14 combined penalties. In all, the Jackets were penalized 16 times for 146 yards and Ridgeland was nailed nine times for 85 yards, including two costly penalties that negated huge gains.

Any chance of a comeback ended when the Panthers fumbled a punt at their own 17 midway through the third period. Five plays — and two Calhoun penalties later — David Collins burst in from 7 yards out for a 28-7 lead.

“We made too many penalties, but we’ve made a lot of progress since last week,” winning coach Hal Lamb said. “We’re still not there yet, but I’m very proud of the team for working hard this week.

“The difference was just playing hard the entire game. We didn’t let Freeman get loose. He’s a heck of a back, and we kept (Mike) Bowman (four catches, 68 yards) under control. All I ask is they improve from week to week, and so far they have.”

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