For the first time in 18 years, the Ryle Raiders are headed to the state championship game.
After defeating Great Crossing 35-7 at home Friday night, the Raiders will set their sights on Kroger Field next Saturday with hopes of bringing home the program’s first state title.
“I couldn’t ask for a better situation,” Raiders head coach Mike Engler said. “We’ve still got one more game to go, but there’s no better feeling. These guys have given us all we could ask for as coaches.”
Friday night’s victory marked the eighth straight forced running clock for the Raiders, who have been on an absolute tear, outscoring their opponents 312-87 over the last eight games.
What looked like a promising first drive for the Warhawks came to a halt when Great Crossing quarterback Jeremiah Clark threw into the hands of Ryle’s Dylan Lee. Marking his sixth interception of the year, Lee’s return set up a three-yard touchdown carry for junior quarterback Nathan Verax, who opened the Raiders’ scoring.
“Our defense is a force to be reckoned with,” Ryle junior Jacob Savage said. “We go in with the mindset to attack the opposition and wear them down, take away their strengths and attack their weaknesses.”
Defensively, the Raiders shut the Warhawks out in the first half with five straight stops, including a fourth-down stop in the red zone.
Through two meetings this season, Ryle has held Great Crossing to single-digit scoring twice and remains the only opponent to achieve such a feat. For perspective, a 14-0 Cooper program gave up 36 points to the Warhawks in September.
Two second-quarter touchdown carries by Savage put the Raiders up 28-0 at the half as a business trip to Lexington seemed even more within reach.
“The most impressive part about this season is that our guys have been playing at this high of a caliber for most of the year,” Engler said. “Our offense and defense feed off each other. You know, they just have fun.”
A 30-yard carry by Great Crossing’s Luke Ballard appeared to finally get the Warhawks’ offense going, as the run set them inside the red zone. Facing another fourth-down attempt, Ryle junior Gavin Lyons clogged the lane and forced an emphatic tackle to shut Great Crossing out of the end zone once more.
Verax found Lorms on a 21-yard pass to round out the Raiders’ scoring before Ballard finally found the end zone for Great Crossing, putting them on the board late in an uncontested fourth quarter. Nearly matching the 36-8 scoreline of their last meeting in October.
“Eight straight running clocks and nine on the season, I’ll take that every time,” Engler said.
For Savage, the statistics and historic storylines aren’t important until the job is completely done.
“I feel great about what we’ve accomplished, but we’ve still got one game to go,” Savage said.
After making the best of a five-game home stint, Ryle will make the trip to Lexington next Saturday to face Trinity in the Class 6A championship. The Raiders will look to create a different result than their 41-7 loss to the Shamrocks in the state championship in 2006.
A win for the Raiders would mean claiming their first state title, while the Shamrocks will make their 33rd appearance in hopes of claiming their 29th state title.
Fortunately for Ryle, history means nothing come Dec. 7.
“We’re going to prepare for this game just as we always have this season,” Engler said. “It’s time to take care of business next Saturday.”
RAIDERS 35, WARHAWKS 7
RYLE — 14-14-0-7 — 35
GREAT CROSSING — 0-0-0-7 — 7
Scoring Plays
1st Quarter
(R) Verax 3-yard run (8:28) Moses kick
(R) Lyons 7-yard run (3:39) Moses kick
2nd Quarter
(R) Savage 5-yard run (10:48) Moses kick
(R) Savage 1-yard run (5:58) Moses kick
4th Quarter
(R) Verax 21-yard pass to Lorms (11:53) Moses kick
(GC) Ballard 4-yard run (7:32) Tappel kick
Game Stats
Passing Yards: Ryle 190 (Verax 16-21, Welter 1-1), Great Crossing 23 (Clark 3-8)
Rushing Yards: Ryle 145 (Verax 13-81, Stephens 2-19, Lyons 1-14, Savage 6-12, Galicia 3-10, Welter 2-9), Great Crossing 269 (Ballard 14-131, Shaddix 5-78, Clark 8-50, Campbell 1-10)
Receiving Yards: Ryle 190 (Lorms 5-95, Lyons 4-32, Gay 2-29, Reed 1-17, Lee 3-14, Savage 2-3), Great Crossing 23 (Moody 2-17, Lewis 1-6)
First Downs: Ryle 20, Great Crossing 9
Turnovers: Ryle 0, Great Crossing 1
Penalties: Ryle 7-60, Great Crossing 6-45
Records: Ryle 12-2, Great Crossing 10-4
