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The situation was simple for Pleasant Ridge. Win by 12 or more points and the Rams would be heading to playoffs for the second straight year. The Rams’ rushing attack recorded 366 yards and Pleasant Ridge defeated ACCHS 42-14.
The Tigers struck first in the first quarter when senior quarterback Kyle Chew capped off a 12-play, 49-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown. With 3:45 left in the first, ACCHS led 7-0. On the Ram’s second offensive drive of the game, sophomore quarterback Nick Holmes rushed past the goal line from seven yards out and scored the two-point conversion to give the Rams an 8-7 lead with 50 seconds left in the first quarter.
In the second, ACCHS charged down the field, but the Tigers fumbled the football inside the five-yard line of the Rams. Pleasant Ridge took over and went 97 yards and scored off a five-yard rush by senior halfback Blake Graham to lead 14-7 with 5:18 left in the first half. The Tigers respond with an eight-play, 59-yard drive capped off by a 20-yard touchdown run by Chew to tie the game at 14-14 with 1:56 left.
After both teams punted the football, Pleasant Ridge had 16 seconds on the clock to drive down the field. A 10-yard pass to Graham from Holmes moved the ball to the 27 that only wasted eight seconds. On the next play, Holmes dropped back and fired the pigskin down the field to senior wide receiver Kyle Lansing. Lansing reeled it in, broke two tackles and sprinted down the field to score off a 73-yard reception to give the Rams a 20-14 lead after one half of play.
Pleasant Ridge used that momentum off the final play to dominate the second half, putting 22 points on the board and winning 42-14.
The Bank of Atchison Player of the Game went to sophomore quarterback Nick Holmes. Holmes completed three passes for 101 yards and threw for a touchdown and rushed 23 times for 139 yards and a touchdown. Blake Graham finished with 96 yards and two touchdowns, while senior tailback Kyle Grantham recorded 69 yards and a touchdown off six carries. Lansing finished with two catches for 91 yards.
For the Tigers, quarterback Kyle Chew completed eight passes for 96 yards and rushed for two touchdowns. Senior runningback Scott Birkinsha rushed 10 times for 31 yards and recorded two receptions for 43 yards. Senior halfback Justin Wagner recorded 30 yards on the ground.
Pleasant Ridge moved to 5-4 on the year and head to playoffs for the second straight year. ACCHS completed its season with a 3-6 record.
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