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published: Friday, November 06, 2009
Knights top Ocoee
Knights top Ocoee
East Ridge takes 32-20 win, but is knocked out of 6A-5 playoff picture by Apopka's win over Orlando-Olympia
FRANK JOLLEY
Staff Writer
CLERMONT -- The East Ridge High School football team did its part Friday night to stay alive in the Class 6A-District 5 race.
Apopka, however, didn't do its part.
The Knights hammered Ocoee 32-20 to keep its faint playoff hopes burning, but Apopka was stunned by Orlando Olympia 22-12, virtually knocking East Ridge out of the district picture.
"We did our part by winning a big game," East Ridge coach Bud O'Hara said. "We had to win and to stay alive, but we needed Apopka to beat (Orlando) Olympia. I'm proud of kids, though, especially the seniors. We've been looking to get some leadership from them all season and they came up big for us (Friday)."
East Ridge (5-3 overall, 3-2 in Class 6A-5) used a time-consuming running attack, led by Randy Bergan, to wear down Ocoee in the second half. Bergan finished with 88 yards on 23 carries and scored two touchdowns, including the clincher, an 11-yard blast with just over five minutes to play to East Ridge a 25-14 lead.
After Ocoee raced down the field to score with 2:37 left, Dante Campbell added an exclamation by racing 53 yards with an onside kick for the game's final score.
"It was a great win for us," O'Hara said, before hearing the final score of the Apopka-Orlando Olympia contest. "It was a team effort and that's what we've been preaching about all season. When we all play together, we can a lot of good things done. When we don't especially when we play good teams like we have the past three weeks, it gets very hard to win."
The win snapped a two-game losing streak for East Ridge. Losses to Lake City Columbia and Apopka didn't take any of the luster off East Ridge, O'Hara said.
"Both of those teams are among the best in the state," O'Hara said. "In fact, Lake City Columbia had a receiver who is the best I've seen in 39 years of coaching. We weren't outmatched against either of those teams -- we just didn't play well enough to beat them. And we saw another good team in Ocoee.
"They play hard and can do a lot of things when they have the ball. You have to give them credit -- we had to work the full 48 minutes to win this game."
Ocoee (6-3, 3-2) totalled 276 yards in offense against East Ridge. Quarterback Dustin Denman completed 17 of 25 passes for 219 yards and one touchdown, but a pair of second-half interceptions by Travante Dash and Nehamish Crawford crippled Ocoee's offense.
East Ridge got 264 yards of offense. Fred Maxwell complemented Bergan with 18 yards on two carries and quarterback Mike Ferrara-Weed completed 6 of 18 passes for 130 yards with a touchdown, a perfectly executed flea flicker that involved three handoffs and a 41-yard grab by Elijah Guess.
For the Knights, who will may the playoffs for the first time since the school's first year of existence, O'Hara insisted they still have plenty to play for.
"We want our seniors to go out with a win," O'Hara said. "We've got two games left and winning them both will give us a 7-3 record and let our seniors walk off the field with their heads held high. We'll be on the practice field Monday, preparing just like we always do."
East Ridge will need help to reach the postseason this year. The Knights have to beat Orlando Olympia today and hope for an Ocoee victory against Apopka to force a three-way tiebreaker Monday at Apopka.
