The Adairsville Tigers (5-2) defeated the Ridgeland Panthers 55-7 Friday night.
The Panthers received the opening kickoff but could not do much in its first possession. After they punted, the Tigers took over with different plans. Ethan Blome found the end zone from 1-yard out to put the Tigers ahead 7-0 early. Ridgeland responded with a nice drive of its own, as Te’sean Choice scored a 55-yard rushing touchdown to make the score 7-7 late in the first quarter. Adairsville refused to let the opening quarter end with the score tied, as Ethan Blome scored from four yards out to put the Tigers ahead 14-7 before the second period could begin.
The second quarter was extremely quiet until the final few minutes when Jonathan Gough connected with Tre Winters for a 49-yard passing touchdown to put Adairsville ahead 21-7 late in the first half. The Tigers would score once more before the half expired as Blome scored his third touchdown of the first half to put Adairsville ahead 27-7 late in the second quarter. Unfortunately, the Tigers missed the PAT, so the score remained 27-7 going into halftime.
The third quarter was a lot like the second quarter, as both teams’ offense was pretty quiet until Adairsville decided to wake up and continue its scoring barrage. The Tigers finally scored midway through the quarter as Gough connected with Noah Matthews for a 71-yard passing touchdown to put Adairsville ahead 34-7. A few drives later, Gough hit Jamarian Pullum on a screen, who took the ball 44 yards for a touchdown.
Despite having a running clock and swapping in many of their junior varsity players, Adairsville did not slow down in the fourth quarter. The Tigers’ backup quarterback Ethan Hendley joined in on the fun early in the quarter, scoring an 8-yard rushing touchdown to put Adairsville ahead 48-7. Shortly after that, Xavious Nalls intercepted a pass and returned it 43 yards for a touchdown to put Adairsville up 55-7 late in the fourth quarter. That would pretty much end the game as the clock quickly ran out, and Adairsville walked away with a 55-7 victory at home.
Next week, Adairsville will travel to Chikaumagua to take on the Gordon Lee Trojans on the road. You can listen to that game on the Adairsville Sports Network, with kickoff set for 7:30 PM.