In a battle of Spartans, Friday’s Illinois 8-Man Football Association Central West contest between visiting Ridgewood and host Bushnell-Prairie City had a playoff feel.
In a back-and-forth battle, big plays by Ridgewood at the end of each half allowed the visitors to escape with a hard-fought 50-46 victory.
Ridgewood improved to 5-1 overall, 4-0 in Central West play.
B-PC, playing its Homecoming contest, dropped its second straight game after winning four in a row, slipping to 4-3 overall, 3-2 in the Central West.
The two teams were jostling for position, not only in the Central West, but also in the I8FA playoff picture.
“It was a tough loss, without a doubt,” said B-PC coach Jacob Schisler. “We knew going into the game that it wasn’t going to be easy, and I’m proud of the way our guys continued to fight all the way to the end.”
In a game of big plays, it was Ridgewood who made critical ones at the end of each half.
Ridgewood had the ball at its own 31 trailing 24-20 with 9.9 second left.
Hayden McCleary-Larson took the handoff and headed left down the sideline. Gaining the help of a pair of blockers, McCleary-Larson reached the end zone with the clock hitting zero.
Byron Catour added the two-point conversion run that gave the visitors a 28-24 halftime lead.
The drama reached a crescendo in the game’s waning minutes.
Driving for a potential game-winning touchdown, B-PC reached the Ridgewood three yard-line.
On a third-and-goal, quarterback Thomas Anderson rolled out to his right and attempted to loft a pass to Hunter Thompson in the endzone. However, Crew Roberson intercepted the pass ending B-PC’s hopes, touching off a wild celebration on the Ridgewood side of the field.
“There are definitely areas we need to clean up, and there are also things I can improve on as a coach,” said Schisler. “We’ll take a hard look at the film, learn from it, and continue working to get better.”
“I have a great group of athletes who continue to work hard and compete, and I have no doubt they’ll respond the right way and bounce back,” he added.
B-PC opened the contest with a n 11-play, 54-yard drive with Jonavan Harrell’s 19-yard touchdown run and two-point conversion run giving the hosts an 8-0 lead at the 7:23 mark of the first quarter.
Ridgewood answered with a six-play, 55-yard drive capped by Roberson’s 24-yard TD run. The conversion run failed, leaving B-PC with an 8-6 lead with 4:54 left in the opening period.
Harrell’s 34-yard TD run completed a six-play, 65-yard drive. He added the conversion run that made it 16-6 at the 3:10 mark.
Ridgewood responded with a five-play, 60-yard drive that culminated in a 15-yard pass from quarterback Carson Hancock to Camden Galle.
Roberson added the conversion run that made it 16-14 with 52.8 seconds to go in the quarter.
The two teams traded possessions before B-PC struck again, covering 64 yards in nine plays. Harrell scored on a 24-yard run with Anderson connecting with Landon Lear for the twopoint conversion that made it 24-14 with 2:08 left before halftime.
But Ridgewood needed just five plays to drive 49 yards with McCleary-Larson scoring on a 19-yard run with 54.1 seconds to go that closed the gap to 24-20.
B-PC then went threeand- out and was forced to punt, allowing Ridgewood the opportunity to score before halftime.
The start of the second half saw Ridgewood’s Garrett Franks misplay the opening kick with B-PC recovering at the Ridgewood 37.
Six plays later, Harrell scored on a two-yard run before Dylan King added the conversion, giving the home team a 32-28 lead two minutes into the third quarter.
Ridgewood answered with a 60 yard drive in eight plays with McCleary-Larson capping the drive with a 27-yard run and conversion run that gave the visitors a 36-32 lead with 6:38 left in the period.
But back came B-PC. Starting at its own 34, B-PC used seven plays with Anderson scoring on a 28-yard run. That gave the home team a 38-36 lead with 3:19 to go in the quarter.
Ridgewood had appeared to retake the lead on a kickoff return for a touchdown, but a penalty for an illegal block in the back wiped out the score.
Ridgewood picked up a pair of first downs, but a sack by King, along with three penalties against the visitors pushed the ball back to their 39.
Back in punt formation, Hancock’s punt hit off the back of a blocker and picked up by King, who ran 30 yards for the touchdown.
Harrell added the conversion run to give B-PC a 46-36 lead as the game entered the fourth quarter.
Ridgewood needed just three plays and 64 seconds to travel 54 yards. McCleary-Larson’s 21-yard TD closed the deficit to 46-42 with 10:54 remaining.
B-PC picked up two first downs the next time it had the ball, but a holding penalty played a part in stalling the drive that ended on downs at the Ridgewood 42.
Seven plays later, McCleary-Larson scored on a three-yard run. Hancock and Galle connected for the conversion, giving the visitors their 50-46 lead with 1:43 to go.
B-PC's last drive started with a holding penalty before Anderson and Thompson hooked up for a 39-yard connection that moved the ball into Ridgewood territory at the 35. Roberson’s interception came seven plays later.
B-PC finished with 431 yards of total offense.
Harrell rushed for 266 yards and four TDs on 37 carries.
Anderson was 3-of-7 passing for 60 yards.
Defensively, Zaedin Hart topped B-PC with 11 total tackles, followed by Lear (10), Harrell (eight) and Kendin Hart (seven).
“Our playoff hopes are still alive, and fortunately, next week is our bye week,” said Schisler. “It comes at a very valuable time for us, giving our guys an opportunity to recover, get healthy and prepare for our matchup with Blue Ridge the following week.”
