Panthers pounce

In an event that brought out the national news, only one football team on the field at Tommy Cash Stadium night was ready for prime time Friday.

The Ridgeland Panthers were more than happy to show off their stingy defense to the horde of national media, which gathered at the Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe stadium to witness the community's support of the LFO cheerleaders. The 34-0 Region 6-AAA win was Ridgeland's fourth shutout in five games and third in succession.

"We got it done. We said we were going to get another shutout and we did," said Ridgeland senior linebacker DeVaughn Buchanan, who made 12 tackles and an interception. "We were just flying around. It's all about hard work. We had the best practices I've ever seen this week. We were intense, and it showed tonight."

The Panthers (4-1, 1-0) recorded eight tackles for loss in the first half, including three on the opening LFO drive that reached the Ridgeland 11 before a dropped pass in the end zone and a missed field goal left the Warriors (4-2, 1-1) empty. It would be a portent of things to come.

"I'm not going to say that drive killed us," LFO coach Todd Windham said. "Sure, we would like to have had some points, but we had plenty more possessions. The bottom line is we just got beat by a team that played better football."

Ridgeland immediately took control, moving 80 yards in eight plays, the big one a 28-yard by Paul Walton. Josh Weller completed the drive with a 3-yard run.

Following an exchange of punts into the second quarter, Buchanan stepped in front of a Cody Commons pass at the Ridgeland 35 and returned the interception to the 44. Five plays later, including a 28-yard Dominique Wilkins pass to Duante Marsh, Walton scored from the 3.

Moments later, the Panthers' lead grew to 21 when Devin Bowman electrified the standing-room-only crowd with a 90-yard punt return. From there it was the Ridgeland defense, which held the area's leading rusher, LaGreg Burns, to 15 yards on 12 carries.

"We swarmed on defense all game," Ridgeland coach Mark Mariakis said. "The defense is playing with a lot of pride right now. They don't like to give up points. Lakeview has a good offense that's been putting up a lot of points.

"The older I get, I realize you just can't coach speed. We got out of position a couple of times, but the guys were able to make up for it."

Walton had 118 yards on 12 carries.