Photo: West End High’s Jacob Jones (4) scrambles for yardage as Ragland’s Matthew Turbville, Bailey Wyatt and Hunter Day (pictured, from left) pursue during the Patriots’ 35-0 loss on Sept. 28 in Walnut Grove. (Sherry Abercrombie)
By Mike Goodson/Sports Correspondent
Ragland used a stonewall defense and an explosive offense on the way to a 35-0 shutout of West End last Friday (Sept. 28) in Walnut Grove.
The Purple Devils (2-4, 2-2) exploded for 492 yards of total offense – 299 rushing, 193 passing – while holding the Patriots to 113 yards of total offense. West End (0-5, 0-2) ended up with only 11 yards rushing and 102 passing on the evening.
Ragland jumped to a 21-0 halftime lead and never looked back. The visitors were paced by Nathaniel Kelley with 146 yards rushing on five carries while tallying TD runs of 62 and 44 yards. Kelley also had one pass reception for a 25-yard TD in the second quarter.
For West End, Jacob Jones was 19 of 28 passing for 102 yards. Eli Pearce had 5 receptions for 40 yards.
Despite the result, West End head coach Kyle Davis was proud of his team’s effort
“We had an extra week to prepare, but we did not coach them up, so this was a coaching problem. I’m proud of our effort, and we played hard. Ragland outplayed us, and they’re a good team. They deserved to win.
The Patriots resume Class 2A, Region 6 play this week with a visit to Ohatchee.