Homecoming was electric Friday night in Union as Ryle turned it into a party, both on the field and off.
Fueled by the energy of the pregame festivities, the Raiders powered past Great Crossing 36-8 in a crucial district clash.
Amid all the potential distractions, Ryle remained laser-focused on their goal.
“We’ve got some great leadership,” Ryle coach Mike Engler said. “Even with the distractions we felt very confident and our kids have been playing that way. We’ve been playing really well.”
Whether through the air or on the ground, on offense or defense, everything clicked for the Raiders.
Jacob Savage’s six-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter set the tone with a 7-0 lead after the first eight minutes. He anchored the rushing attack with 84 yards.
“I felt like Ryle was ready to go and we were still trying to get loose,” Great Crossing coach Ricky Bowling said. “Didn’t feel like we played our style of football to the tempo that we like to play at and started out slow.”
Nathan Verax spearheaded the offense with four total touchdowns—two through the air and two on the ground.
“It felt like our whole team was clicking tonight,” Verax said. “This was the most well-rounded game we’ve played, with contributions from both my legs and my arm.”
Three of Verax’s four touchdowns came in a dominant second quarter, featuring a one-yard quarterback sneak, a 32-yard strike to Dylan Lee, and a nine-yard pass to Landon Lorms. Lorms recorded 67 receiving yards, while Lee contributed 58.
He continued to shine in the third quarter, adding a 26-yard rushing touchdown to his impressive performance, finishing the game with 152 passing yards and 71 rushing yards.
What Ryle accomplished on offense, they effectively denied Great Crossing from doing.
The Warhawks managed just a single score, with Trey Campbell’s 95-yard kick return coming in the third quarter.
“Their defensive coordinator does a great job of giving you a lot of movements,” Bowling said. “They did a great job of containing our quarterback and putting him under pressure all night. There wasn’t enough time for receivers to get open.”
Despite coming in as a high-powered offense averaging 35 points per game, they were limited to just 69 passing yards and 54 rushing yards. Additionally, the Warhawks racked up seven penalties for 96 yards.
“That was the number one scoring offense in 6A and they didn’t score an offensive touchdown tonight,” Engler said. “Our kids just wanted it bad and they’ve been proving themselves.”
Having already secured a victory over Campbell County, the Raiders find themselves in an excellent position at 2-0 in Class 6A, District 6, poised to claim the top seed and homefield advantage in the playoffs, with only onedistrict opponent left on their schedule: Simon Kenton.
“Honestly I think we’re just now hitting our stride,” Verax said. “Earlier in the season we did have some huge wins, but now that we started district play, it feels like we’re fully hitting it. We’re feeling great.”
Great Crossing, now sitting at 1-1 in district play, is set to face Campbell County in their next matchup.
Meanwhile, Ryle will head to Independence next week to take on the Pioneers, who are also 1-1 in district play.
RAIDERS 36, WARHAWKS 8
GREAT CROSSING — 0-0-8-0— 8
RYLE — 7-22-7-0— 36
Scoring Plays
1st Quarter
(R) Savage 6-yard run (4:08) Moses kick
2nd Quarter
(R) Verax 1-yard run (11:56) Savage run
(R) Verax 32-yard pass to Lee (4:25) Moses kick
(R) Verax 9-yard pass to Lorms (0:37) Moses kick
3rd Quarter
(R) Verax 26-yard run (10:21) Moses kick
(GC) Campbell 95-yard kick return (9:42) Ballard run
Game Stats
Passing Yards: Great Crossing 69 (Clark 6/8), Ryle 188 (Verax 8/18, Welter 1/2, Warner 1/1)
Rushing Yards: Great Crossing 54 (Ballard 7-16, Lewis 2-16, Campbell 1-15, Shaddix 5-6, Clark 12-1), Ryle 195 (Savage 10-84, Verax 9-71, Faul 2-21, Lee 1-12, Jenkins 1-8, Galicia 2-4, Welter 3-(minus)five)
Receiving: Great Crossing (Lewis 2-37, Moody 2-21, Hill 1-7, Shaddix 1-4), Ryle (Lorms 4-67, Lee 2-58, Karwath 1-26, Savage 1-16, Gay 1-15, Reed 1-6)
Turnovers: Great Crossing 1, Ryle 0
Penalties: Great Crossing 7-96, Ryle 8-85
Records: Great Crossing (5-3, 1-1) Ryle (6-2, 2-0)