Longhorns use fast start to crush Mansfield Lake Ridge
George Ranch had more than enough offense to light up the scoreboard, but it was the defense that had the bright shine. The Longhorns forced three first half turnovers with multiple sacks, and pair of pass deflections.
With great field position in the early going, George Ranch scored often as its defense shut out Mansfield Lake Ridge to earn a 56-0 win in the Class 5A Division I State Championship game Friday night at NRG Stadium.
With both schools in its fourth season of varsity football play, the lopsided win gave the Longhorns its first football state title.
George Ranch (16-0) defense forced a total of four turnovers as it contained an athletic Lake Ridge team.
While Lake Ridge’s offense struggled, the Longhorn used it’s time wisely on offense.
“We put our defense in a bad situation not being able to put up points and leaving the defense out there too long,” Mansfield Lake Ridge running back Duke Carter said.
With great field position at its 45 yard line, George Ranch drew first blood on its first series with its power running game as tailback Darius Anderson carried the ball five times before running back Josh Scruggs finished the drive with a 32-yard touchdown run. Eric Michel’s extra point kick gave George Ranch a 7-0 lead with 7:25 to go in the first quarter.
“A lot of times these championship games are games of momentum,” George Ranch coach Ricky Tullos mentioned. “We wanted to establish that early and we were fortunate to get that early. What I was proud about, we didn’t relinquish it. A lot of times in a game like this, its up and down, momentum switching back and fourth and we were able to siege that early and keep it throughout the game and thats a tribute to our kids.”
Anderson led George Ranch in rushing on 24 carries with 246 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Josh Scruggs gained 108 yards on eight carries and a touchdown.
Lake Ridge (15-1) entered the title game averaging 59 points per game. But competing with an injured starting quarterback in Jett Duffey and running back Duke Carter took away the most important part of its offense.
“Losing our quarterback and running back changed our production but as far as our leadership, If we can’t go on the field, our job is to motivate whoever is next up,” Carter said. “We’ll coach them on the sideline if we see they need to know something.”
The two were injured in last week’s 42-21 semifinal win over Aledo. Carter suffered an ankle sprain with 58 seconds left in the first half and Duffey went down with a hamstring injury late in the third quarter.
“Coming into this game,” Carter explained. “We figured it was next man up when a starter is injured, because knew we had some starters going out and it hurt the team, but it doesn’t matter. If the offensive line come to play, we could put up the points.”
It showed how desperately Carter and Duffey were missed. Carter has gained over 2,000 ground yards on the season. But left after his first carry of the game while Duffey’s injury sideline him for the second half.
“We knew we had to stop the quarterback,” Longhorns defensive lineman Toby Ndukwe said. “We knew he was a real dominant and a key player on their offense. That was our main goal tonight.”
But the Longhorns, who didn’t allow Lake Ridge’s bad fortune to hinder its title-hopes, showed no pity in throwing a first half shutout. Its defense seem to be everywhere the ball was.
Meanwhile, the Longhorns, who amazed 536 total yards, added two more scores before halftime. Scruggs’ brilliant run down the right side, helped the Longhorns gain the Lake Ridge’s five yard line after a pair pancake blocks. Junior running back Alex Fontenot scored on a five yard run with no time left in the first quarter to pushed the lead 21-0.
George Ranch continued its stingy ways on defense. With a bend but don’t break mentality, the Longhorns surrendered yards but kept the Eagles out of the end zone.
When it rained it poured on Lake Ridge. On fourth and one, junior running back Joseph Rowe was tackled for a three-yard loss. On Lake Ridge’s following series, George Ranch’s junior cornerback Adam Beck intercepted Duffey at the Longhorns 20 yard line with 8:20 left in the second quarter.
“Turnovers kill you,” said Carter. “You can’t turned the ball over against a good team like George Ranch. We couldn’t get our running game established to get our offense in rhythm.”
Later in the second quarter, Duffey suffered back-to-back sacks by defensive MVP defensive lineman Toby Ndukwe and before halftime defensive back Jairon McVey picked Duffey at the George Ranch eight yard line.
“We wanted this ring,” says Longhorns defensive lineman Toby Ndukwe. “We wanted everything. We came into this game dominant, aggressive and focused. We had a big chip on our shoulder. We tried to loosen up and come out strong.”
“I didn’t think we would beat a team of this caliber, that’s so talented the way we did. I expected to win but I didn’t know it would be like that.
A day that started bad ended bad for the Eagles.
In the second half, George Ranch blew the game open by scoring five touchdowns in route to victory.
Coach Tullos credits his team for getting better each week of the season and its dedication to working hard.
“I really think we got better every week of the season and it started the second half of the Pearland Dawson game all the way up until now,” coach Tullos explained. “Thats a long grind. A lot of people working together keeping their head down, staying humble and hungry.”
