Ritchie County looks for a 3-0 start vs. St. Marys
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ELLENBORO -- Class A sixth-rated Ritchie County will look for a 3-0 start when the Rick Haught-coached Rebels welcome in St. Marys for a 7 p.m. kickoff Friday inside Chuck Schofield Memorial Stadium.
The Rebels trailed Wahama 42-22 in the third quarter last week before rallying for a 50-48 overtime victory.
St. Marys and head coach Jodi Mote's youthful squad bounced back from a 6-0 opening week setback to Roane County to even its record at 1-1 following a 30-14 triumph against Ravenswood. In the victory, Josh Roush rushed 26 times for 170 yards with a touchdown. Quarterback Luke Powell hit on 10 of 14 attempts for 137 yards and a score, which went to Brady Illar.
An experienced RCHS squad awaits the Blue Devils, who will have to find a way to slow down Rebel signal-caller Ethan Haught. All the junior did last week aside from scoring the game-winning TD and two-point conversion in overtime was finish with 104 yards rushing and three TDs to go along with 333 yards passing, four more touchdowns and completing 16 of 31 attempts with just one interception.
"I saw them in person last Friday against Wahama," said coach Mote. "For a football person, if you enjoy watching football that was definitely an awesome game to watch. They are the real deal. Coach Haught and his staff do a great job with them and they are senior loaded as far as their starting lineups on offense and defense.
"This is their year so to speak. You just have to go over there and give it our best shot and that's what we told the guys, go over and play hard. Just go over there and play tough and that's what we got to do. Coach Haught and his staff, they've got a great thing over there."
Roush (19) leads the Blue Devils in total tackles and his followed by Wyatt Norman (13), Riley Boley (13), Peyton Girard (12) and Cody Houser (12). Boley has the team's lone sack and Girard has a pair of interceptions. Evan Doehring (5-31) and Houser (4-58) join Illar (2-41) as the Blue Devils' top pass catchers.
"They got rolling and hit a few plays and you can see their team growing up and getting confidence," coach Haught said of what he saw from St. Marys in its win last week. "I think it's a rivalry game, regardless of who has what. I think it's going to be a good game Friday night."
Gus Morrison has rushed for 118 yards on 19 attempts and also has caught 10 passes for 100 yards and a trio of scores. Marlon Moore has hauled in five passes for 153 stripes and one six-pointer.
"Every day is a new adventure," added coach Haught. "It (the OT win) turned out it was a wake-up call without having to get beat. It was a great game, but we got some stuff we got to clean up.
"It all came together. We were down by 20 midway through the third. Give credit to the kids. They kept battling and found a way to get back into the game and made the plays we needed to. From that aspect, it was a good thing."
Morrison (19) is the Rebels' top tackler and is followed by Austin Bartlett (18), Garrett Cunningham (15), Gavin Bell (13), Kolton DePinho (11) and Moore (10). Bell and Aiden Sellers have one sack apiece for RCHS.
"I think they've all progressed," coach Mote added of his team. "We had 10 guys on offense you know that have had to learn positions for Friday night games and eight on defense.
"You know, it's been a challenge for our staff but guys have worked hard and we'll continue to do so. It's definitely nice to see them get a win and getting the points on the board."
Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com