Lowe sparks Ringgold in 35-0 win over Mustangs
Demetri Lowe and Dennis Hawkins III are imposing figures at 6-foot-3 and 6-5. Add in their speed and the Ringgold wide receivers can give any opposing defense nightmares.
Laurel Highlands found that out Friday.
Lowe reeled in four passes from quarterback Jace Trumpe for 117 yards and two touchdowns and Hawkins added three receptions for 109 yards to help lead the Rams to a 35-0 victory in the Class 4A Big Six Conference opener for both teams during the Mustangs’ homecoming night.
“They present problems, that’s for sure,” LH coach Ian Edenfield said. “We had pretty good coverage I thought a couple times and it didn’t matter, they still made the catch.”
Lowe added runs of 28 and 24 yards, the latter for a touchdown, set up another score with a punt return and also intercepted a pass as Ringgold improved to 3-3 overall and 1-0 in the conference. Laurel Highlands fell to 0-1 and 0-6.
The Rams opened the game with an eight-play, 86-yard touchdown drive that ended with a 71-yard strike by Trumpe to Lowe on third and 19 for a 6-0 lead.
The Mustangs looked to get good field position after a 15-yard penalty forced the ensuing kickoff to come from the Ringgold 25, but the opposite happened when a flag on the return forced LH to start at its own 9. A three-and-out led to a punt that Lowe ran back 15 yards to the Mustang 25. Cristian Lowther scored on a 1-yard plunge four plays later to give the Rams a 12-0 lead with 3:57 left in the first quarter.
“We didn’t start well, they made some plays, we made a couple mistakes,” Edenfield said. “It’s tough when you get down two touchdowns early like that against a good team.”
The Mustangs’ offense showed some life on its next drive, picking up first downs on a 10-yard run by Nick Crouch and a spectacular, leaping 27-yard catch by Alafia Calloway near midfield. Ringgold’s defense held from there and forced a punt.
Laurel Highlands’ defense stepped up after allowing the early scores and forced turnovers on consecutive plays early in the second quarter. Mark Reed pounced on a Rams fumble one play after Trumpe had completed a 31-yard pass to Hawkins to the LH 39.
The Mustangs got one first down on a 6-yard pass by Gabe Centofanti to Crouch. After a botched snap resulted in an 8-yard loss, Lowe came up with his interception at the LH 41.
Again, the Laurel Highlands defense stood up with Joel Hertlein sacking Trumpe and forcing a fumble on the next play. The Mustangs’ Paxton Sigler recovered at the LH 41.
Ringgold’s defense forced a punt but Crouch pinned the Rams down at their own 1 with a 53-yard boot.
The momentum seemed to be changing as the LH defense forced a punt attempt.
Ringgold’s Ashton Mincin then delivered a game-changing play.
The Rams punter took the snap in the end zone then stunned the Mustangs by running around right end 16 yards for a first down. A late hit on the play resulted in another 15 yards, giving the visitors the ball out their 37.
The play sparked Ringgold to finish what turned out to be an 12-play, 99-yard touchdown drive that took 6:32 off the clock.
Lowe’s 28-yard run and a 14-yard burst by Dezire Satterfield helped get the Rams close and Lowe finished off the drive with a 24-yard run on a jet sweep. Bill Cameron’s extra point put the Mustangs in a 19-0 hole.
“That was just a gutsy call,” Edenfield said of the fake punt. “You don’t expect a team to do that down there, in their own end zone, but, still, we have to be more aware of that possibility.
“That was a huge play, maybe even bigger than some of those plays their two receivers made.”
Crouch gave the Mustangs great field position with a 57-yard return on the ensuing kickoff to the Rams 38, but Ringgold’s defense forced a turnover on downs with 26 seconds left.
Laurel Highlands kept battling and had its best drive of the game midway through the third quarter, thanks to the strong running of Crouch, which led to a trio of first downs.
Ringgold’s defense halted the march when it held Centofanti to a 4-yard gain on a fourth-and-7 scramble at the Rams 40.
Trumpe connected with Hawkins for a 62-yard pass to the LH 2 on the next play and Lowther took it in from there for his second touchdown. Cam Trilli’s two-point-conversion run made it 27-0 with 2:30 left in the third quarter.
Lowe capped the scoring with a 25-yard touchdown reception with 8:51 left in the game.
Trumpe, a freshman who took over at quarterback for coach Ron Heller’s squad the week before, completed 7 of 13 passes for 226 yards and the two TDs.
Lowe was the Rams’ leading rusher with four carries for 46 yards. Ringgold had 179 rushing yards and 405 total yards.
Laurel Highlands was limited to 100 yards of offense. Crouch had 14 carries for 41 yards. Centofanti completed 5 of 16 passes for 46 yards. Calloway had a pair of catches for 44 yards.
“I have no problem with our effort,” Edenfield said. “I thought we played hard the whole game. There are things we need to improve on for sure and we’ll address those.
“We know what the record is but we’re not going to quit. These guys are working hard. All we can do is keep at it and keep trying to get better.”
NOTES: Emme Cavaliere was named homecoming queen for Laurel Highlands. She was escorted by Jack Wilson.