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Ridgewood 27, Springstead 13

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Bart O'Connell/The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 27, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY - Life couldn't get much better for Ridgewood's Byronell Arline.

Already the area's touchdown leader and captain of an undefeated team, the Rams senior tailback added two more distinctions to his growing resume.

At halftime, he was named homecoming king, drawing a huge roar from the crowd at Ram Booster Stadium. By the final whistle, he scored all four of Ridgewood's touchdowns in a 27-13 win against Springstead, clinching the Rams' first playoff berth since 2002.

Deciding which one was more special wasn't too tough.

'I'd have to say going to the playoffs,' Arline said.

The rest of the Rams (8-0, 4-0 Class 4A-District 8), which doused Coach Chris Taylor with a cooler of ice water before game's end, would agree.

Though Ridgewood was outgained by the Eagles (3-4, 1-3), it never seemed in danger of losing thanks to Arline. He rumbled for 197 yards, and seemed unstoppable in short-yardage situations.

After Springstead (4-4, 1-3) took a 7-0 lead on a James Mahla-to-Dominic Roberson 15-yard pass, Arline broke a 46-yard run, and finished off the drive with runs of 3, 11 and 2 yards to tie the game.

The Eagles had their next drive stall when Mahla (180 passing yards, 60 rushing, two touchdowns) failed to convert a sneak on fourth-and-1, setting up another Rams scoring drive. It was one of two unsuccessful fourth downs that seemed to doom Springstead.

'We're a couple inches away. We convert that, and who knows,' Eagles coach Bill Vonada said.

Quarterback T.J. Haab immediately took advantage of the turnover on downs, hitting Addias Tolliver for a 52-yard pass completion to the Springstead 3, setting up another Arline score. Haab threw for 103 yards, but had also threw his first interception of the year, thanks to Springstead linebacker Jake Earp.

Arline added two more scores after halftime to put the game out of reach, even after Mahla scored the game's final points in the fourth quarter. The senior has 30 rushing touchdowns this season.

Roberson finished with 70 yards on six catches, Ben Noury had six catches for 77 yards and Mike Greco had 76 yards rushing on 15 carries for Springstead.

The yardage allowed was a concern to Taylor, who already was thinking about the first practice in preparation for next week's game against Land O' Lakes, for the district title.

'We've got to understand that we've got to play better,' Taylor said. 'I think they were a little bit on the lax side tonight, but nothing against Springstead High School, coming out and giving us a tough football game.'

R-Arline 2 run (Koon kick)
R-Arline 3 run (Koon kick)
R-Arline 9 run (kick failed)
R-Arline 14 run (Koon kick)
S-Mahla 3 run (kick failed)

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