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Ridgewood 24, Wiregrass Ranch 0

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 13, 2008

RIDGEWOOD ... 24 WIREGRASS RANCH ... 0

THE DIFFERENCE: Ridgewood running back Sterling Ross had 23 carries for 203 yards and two touchdowns.

GAME NOTES: Ross scored right after a punt on a 40-yard run with 6:52 left in the first quarter. ... Ridgewood's defense held Wiregrass Ranch to 7 yards rushing and 48 total yards in the first half. ... The Rams had 135 rushing yards and 122 passing yards in the first half. ... Ross ran for 129 yards on 13 carries and one touchdown in the first half, and he ran on every play on a six-play 44-yard Rams drive. Ross scored on a 4-yard run. ... The Rams finished with 219 yards rushing on 30 carries and completed 12 of 22 passes for 122 yards. ... The Rams defense had five sacks for minus-44 yards. ... "We're just not there yet," said Wiregrass Ranch coach Ricky Thomas. "We have a long, long way to go. Ridgewood is a fine football team. Last year, they scored 48 points on us. I wanted a little bit better play out of my quarterback James Tringali, and that happened tonight. We didn't catch the ball too well. ... We are getting better."

STAT OF THE GAME: Ridgewood's defense held Wiregrass Ranch to 5 yards rushing on 21 carries.

QUOTE OF THE GAME: "We found out we have to play fast. In the last two weeks, our defensive backs have been a real plus for us. We work extremely hard at running the football. Ross is a special back. He does a good job." - Ridgewood coach Chris Taylor.

Larry Bugg