Mistakes burn Ridgeland in loss to Pearl

Though Ridgeland drew first blood in a non-region matchup against Pearl High School, they dropped their homecoming outing 22-12 to the now 2-2 Pirates.

Ridgeland High School falls to 3-1 as they prepare for the rest of their non-region schedule and upcoming region games. 

“We need to finish our non-conference schedule strong so we can go into the bye week 4-1 to get ready for Warren Central, our first district game,” Head Coach Todd McDaniel said.

Ridgeland was hurt by a number of fumbles, turning the ball over four times in the first half of the game alone, along with a heap of penalties.

Pearl was able to capitalize on those turnovers and mistakes and cobble together a winning score. 

McDaniel said he thought his guys were “tough at the point of attack” and had to deal with a noticeable size difference compared to the Pirates.

The Titans failed to capitalize on a goal-line stand with just over a minute left in the third quarter. They punted by the beginning of the fourth quarter and then failed again to capitalize on a fumble recovery by linebacker Elijah Adams.

The Titans would then fumble the ball away in a series that would result in a Pearl field goal sealing the game 12-22 with 8:35 seconds left. The Titans continued to fight but failed to produce a productive series.

“All is not lost,” McDaniel told his guys after the game. “We can still have a good year.” 

McDaniel said he looked forward to working with his offense to get “more crisp” and to get ready for Murrah and the rest of the football season.

McDaniel said he hoped the loss Friday gave his young team some perspective.

“We were feeling way too good,” He said referring to their three-game winning streak knocking out Crystal Springs, Florence and North Pike to open the season.

The Titans will travel to Murrah next Friday night. Kickoff is set for 7 PM.