East Ridge High School’s football team checked off several important items on its late-season to-do list Friday night with a 35-13 win at Hixson.
The Pioneers (7-2, 2-2 TSSAA Region 3-4A) set the school record for single-season points scored with 381 so far — eclipsing by one the mark set by the 2015 team that went 12-1 and reached the state quarterfinals — and earned their seventh win in a season for the first time in nine years. Combined with Signal Mountain’s 42-12 loss to Loudon and Red Bank’s 47-0 win over Sequoyah, the Pioneers can wrap up the region’s No. 3 playoff seed with a win at Sequoyah next week to close the regular season.
“It was an ugly win, but we found a way to get it done,” East Ridge fifth-year head coach Chad Barger said. “We fumbled the opening kickoff and just never really played at our best. It wasn’t an effort thing, it was just a lack of focus that kept biting us. I’m not sure if it was just being rusty from coming off a bye week or what.
“We got some big stops when we needed them in the second half.”
Despite having just 13 offensive plays in the first two quarters, East Ridge led 21-13 at halftime. Its defense stepped up in the second half with two turnovers, including freshman Tre-yon Shoulders’ 32-yard interception return for a touchdown with just more than five minutes remaining.
East Ridge senior running back Jerl Young’s 21 carries in the game produced 251 yards and three touchdowns, plus a pair of 2-point conversions. The big night helped him surpass 1,000 yards this season as he now has 1,166. East Ridge rolled up 314 rushing yards and threw only twice, gaining 13 yards.
“Jerl has a lot of big-game experience, and he brings the energy for us,” Barger said of the offseason transfer from Boyd Buchanan, a playoff regular in Division II-AA. “He’s got that presence about him where the other kids look to him for leadership and feed off what he brings.”
Hixson (1-8, 0-4) was led by Braylon Hutchins, who ran for 169 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries, while Easton McEntyre threw for 63 yards. Keyon Burney added 44 rushing yards, and he also had six tackles as part of a defensive effort led by Colton Langford’s 10 tackles. M.J. Dennis had five stops for the Wildcats.
(READ MORE: Final scores and photos from Friday’s Chattanooga-area prep football games)
Meigs County 34, Austin-East 14: Class 3A’s second-ranked Tigers punished the host Roadrunners with 48 rushes for 330 yards to secure the Region 2-3A title.
Kaiden Brewster led the way once again with 194 yards on 17 carries and three touchdowns, including one that covered 77 yards. The junior also finished with eight tackles, two pass breakups and a 47-yard punting average to help limit Austin-East, which had scored 41-plus point in four of its previous five games.
Ethan Shaver added 118 yards on 24 carries with a pair of touchdowns for the Tigers (9-0, 4-0), who attempted just one pass and put the game away with a 21-0 scoring run in the third quarter.
Austin-East (6-3, 2-2) threw for 247 yards.
Soddy Daisy 37, East Hamilton 12: Bryce Yother was 5-of-6 passing for 134 yards and two touchdowns, and he ran seven times for 53 yards and a pair of scores to lead the Trojans to the Region 3-5A road win.
Soddy Daisy (4-5, 2-3) will host Lenoir City (3-6, 2-3) next week, with the winner claiming the region’s final playoff spot.
East Hamilton fell to 3-6 overall and 0-5 in the region. The Hurricanes finish their season next week at home against McMinn County.
South Pittsburg 71, Copper Basin 8: Class 1A’s top-ranked Pirates continued their Region 3 dominance from start to finish as Brandon Goldsmith returned the opening kickoff 65 yards to stake the reigning state champions to the early lead on the road. Goldsmith later added a 70-yard kick return for another score and caught a touchdown pass.
South Pittsburg (8-1, 3-0) also scored touchdowns on of its first two snaps and built a 54-0 lead by halftime. Senior quarterback Knox Israel was 10-of-11 passing for 159 yards and five touchdowns, all in the first half. He also added a 20-yard scoring run.
The Pirates, who have won 33 straight region games and beaten their three league foes by an average of 70-3 this season, were also helped by Dayon Cooper’s three touchdowns as he scored on both of his receptions and rushed for the other while totaling 90 yards in the first half.
Copper Basin (2-7, 1-2) hosts Sale Creek next week, with the winner taking third place in the region and the loser finishing fourth.
Whitwell 35, Jo Byrns 28: A goal-line stand on the final play helped the Tigers lock up the nonregion home win. Coming off an open date after beating Sale Creek the week before that, the Tigers (4-5) have won four of their past five games and will host South Pittsburg next Thursday with the Region 3-1A title on the line.
Whitwell ran 40 times for 379 yards, led by Levi Griffith’s 111 on 16 carries. Gabe Ross ran for 86 yards, including a 69-yard touchdown, while Bennett Goforth added 65 yards, including a 27-yard scoring run. Goforth also threw for 56 yards, all to Brody Harvey, who also ran for 70.
Jo Byrns (6-3) totaled 447 yards.
Boyd Buchanan 36, CAK 35: The Buccaneers pulled off their most impressive win of the season by knocking off Division II-AA’s second-ranked team. Boyd Buchanan (5-3, 3-3 DII-AA East Region) not only snapped a two-game losing skid — both against region opponents — but handed the Warriors their first loss of the season.
Coming into the game, Christian Academy of Knoxville (8-1, 5-1) had just two games this season decided by single digits.
Marion County 42, Cascade 7: Class 2A’s second-ranked Warriors scored 21 first-quarter points to roll to the nonregion road win. Marion (8-0) was led offensively by Zaiden Humphrey’s 197 yards, which included 116 on just seven carries, two of those for touchdowns.
Junior quarterback Colin Beason threw for 109 yards and two scores, Taedyn Bibbs ran eight times for 102 yards and a touchdown, and T.J. Starkey added 53 yards and a touchdown as Marion dropped Cascade to 3-6.
Loudon 42, Signal Mountain 12: Despite the Region 3-4A loss, the Eagles (3-6, 1-3) can still qualify for the playoffs with a home win over Hixson (1-7, 0-3) next week. That’s because of a win over Sequoyah (2-7, 1-3) earlier this season.
Loudon (7-2, 4-0) will travel to Red Bank (4-5, 4-0) next week to decide the region championship. Red Bank beat Sequoyah 47-0 on Friday.
Bledsoe County 38, Huntland 35: In a game with seven lead changes, Noah Shrum put Bledsoe up for good with a 14-yard scoring run with 2:21 remaining. From there, Noel Smith intercepted a pass with 1:30 remaining, which allowed the Warriors to run out the clock on the nonregion road win after two first-down runs by Marcos Ramirez.
Shrum led Bledsoe (7-2) with 141 yards and two TDs on nine carries, plus an interception on defense, while Ramirez added 12 carries for 128 yards.
Huntland fell to 5-4.
Walker Valley 35, Sequatchie County 23: The Mustangs (8-1) earned an impressive nonregion win just ahead of their Region 3-5A showdown next week at Rhea County. That matchup will determine the league champion.
Sawyer Ray threw for 186 yards and two touchdowns to lead Walker Valley, while Cason Cunningham ran 19 times for 79 yards, caught three passes for 60 yards and scored twice. Layne Farris recovered two fumbles for the Mustangs.
Sequatchie County (5-4) hosts Giles County next week, with the winner taking second place in Region 4-3A and earning a home game in the playoffs.
Maryville 49, Bradley Central 14: The game was tied at 14 before second-ranked Maryville (8-1, 5-0 Region 2-6A) pulled away. Bradley Central (4-5, 2-3) needs only to beat winless Bearden (0-9, 0-5) next week at home to secure a playoff berth.
Sale Creek 49, Lookout Valley 8: Brody Raby ran for one touchdown, threw for another and returned a punt for a third score to lead the Panthers to their first Region 3-1A win of the season.
Jayson Booker ran for 108 yards and a touchdown for Sale Creek (5-4, 1-2). The Panthers will travel to Copper Basin next week, with the winner taking the No. 3 seed from the region.
Lookout Valley (2-7, 0-4) will finish its season next week at home against Howard in a nonregion matchup.
Knoxville Webb 21, Chattanooga Christian 14: The Spartans held on for their second Division II-AA East win in three weeks, improving to 2-7 overall and 2-4 in the region. The Chargers fell to 2-7, 0-6.
Oneida 22, Polk County 13: The Wildcats lost their sixth straight game and dropped to 1-8 overall, 0-2 in Region 2-2A. Oneida improved to 4-5, 1-1.
Lenoir City 38, Ooltewah 35: The Panthers snapped a three-game losing skid with their second Region 3-5A win. Ooltewah is now 2-7 overall, 1-5 in the region, and will end its season next week at Hardin Valley.
Providence Academy 58, Grace Academy 7: The Knights earned their first Division II-A East win, while the Golden Eagles fell to 2-7 overall and 0-3 in the region.
Sweetwater 48, McMinn Central 20: The Chargers (5-4, 1-3 Region 2-3A) lost for the third time in four games and will be competing for their playoff lives next week at Austin-East.
Sweetwater improved to 8-1, 3-1 and will finish second in the region.
Warren County 41, Howard 18: The Hustlin’ Tigers lost their second straight game to fall to 3-6 overall.
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Calhoun 49, Heritage 28: The Yellow Jackets (4-4, 3-0 GHSA Region 7-AAAA) pulled away late for a home win at Hal Lamb Field that was closer than it looked.
The Generals (3-5, 1-2) scored on Cole Pritchett’s run on the first play of the fourth quarter to cut Calhoun’s 35-28, and they appeared to have recovered an onside kick, only to have it nullified by illegal touching. The Jackets took advantage and iced their win on Isiah Nalls’ 25-yard touchdown run.
Trace Hawkins had 203 yards and two touchdowns passing to go with 33 yards and a score rushing. Hudson Chadwick had two early touchdown runs and finished with 81 yards, with TK Christian catching a pass and returning a kickoff for touchdowns.
Caden Hight threw two touchdown passes to Brayden Stoker, including a 5-yarder to open the scoring for Heritage.
Dalton 57, Villa Rica 19: The Catamounts improved to 7-1 overall and 3-1 in Region 7-AAAAA behind junior quarterback Caine Woods, who had 221 yards and three touchdowns passing while leading the team in rushing with 161 yards and two more scores.
Havyn Searles caught eight passes for 115 yards and a touchdown, with Bronx Stallion scoring on a run and a reception. Akeem Cox also caught a scoring pass, as did Landon Cox on an 88-yard pass from backup quarterback Hudson Ruppert.
Villa Rica fell to 5-4, 1-4.
Northwest Whitfield 43, Ridgeland 14: Smith Browning had four first-half touchdown passes, two each to Kyle Cummings and Graham Nuckolls, as the Bruins improved to 7-1 overall and 3-0 in Region 7-AAAA after building a 36-0 halftime lead in Tunnel Hill.
The visiting Panthers fell to 1-7, 0-3.
Ringgold 42, Coahulla Creek 7: The Tigers (7-1, 4-1 Region 7-AAA) scored the game’s final 42 points after the Colts took the early lead on Fisher Blankenship’s pass to Brody Howell.
Zach Grower ran for three scores and Luke Wood threw a pair of touchdown passes for Ringgold, while Bryant Marshall added a touchdown catch and a long interception return for the Tigers in their road rout of the Colts (3-5, 1-4).
Sonoraville 43, LaFayette 32: The Phoenix (2-6, 2-3 Region 7-AAA) went on the road and pulled off a huge upset of the Ramblers (6-2, 3-2).
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com and Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com.