A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
South Ridge's Connor Bushbaum takes a kickoff return that resulted in the Panther's first touchdown of the game Friday night against the Cromwell Cardinals.
Cromwell's Jaeger Goranson gets rid of the ball before Jase Graves is able to make a tackle during Friday nights matchup at South Ridge High School.
For the first time in school history, South Ridge defeated Cromwell-Wright in high school football action, as the Panthers shut out the Cardinals 36-0 in Culver Friday, Sept. 6.
"We saw some things we thought we could do both offensively and defensively in the first game against Floodwood that we could have some success with," head coach Brent Johnson said. "We also saw the things they did well and we knew if we played our game we could win."
The Panthers would strike first Friday when Conner Bushbaum took the game's opening kick and returned it 81 yards for the game's first score. Following Tyler Anderson's two-point conversion, South Ridge led 8-0.
During the next few drives, each team would stall and not produce much offense until the second quarter, when Panthers quarterback Riley Kinsley connected with Nick Larson on a 21-yard touchdown pass. Another two-point conversion by Anderson put South Ridge up 16-0 at halftime.
Before the game, Cromwell-Wright head coach Jeff Gronner said numbers are hurting his team in the nine-man competition.
"We have only 11 players dressed, so it will be a tough challenge for us tonight against a solid team, they have a lot returning from last year's team and we need to play our best to win."
The Cardinals saw one starter injured in the first half and one more in the second half. With one of the two coming back to play in the second half - giving them 10 players to choose from - the Cardinals decided to play part of the third and fourth quarters in running time, despite being below the score frame which indicates running time according to the State of Minnesota High School League.
South Ridge scored three quick touchdowns to start the third quarter, which prompted the running time, done in the best interest of player safety. Matt Clark, Bushbaum, and Anderson all scored rushing touchdowns in a matter of 4 minutes, which blew the game open at 36-0.
Bushbaum finished with 118 yards rushing and two touchdowns; he also had an interception on the night to lead the Panthers offensively.
Cromwell-Wright, which racked up more than 50 points against McGregor the week before, was shut out and managed only 45 yards of total offense. Taye Anderson - who rushed for more than 200 yards the week before and scored five touchdowns - was held to 14 yards on 10 carries.
Both teams are 1-1. Tonight, South Ridge will play in Ely and Cromwell-Wright will face 2-0 Carlton-Wrenshall in Carlton.
The Raptors defeated Cook County 20-0 last week after a close win against South Ridge in the opener.
