It’s not the home debut that Blue Ridge had hoped for. In fact, the Barons couldn’t be happier to look ahead to next Saturday when they host Flint Hill after falling 53-15 to Liberty Christian.
“We’re going to have a real short memory on that one,” said Blue Ridge coach Del Smith. “That’s a top shelf Division I program and we’ve got homecoming next week so our mind’s on that starting right now.”
Behind a 27-yard touchdown reception from Desmond Rice and 1-yard touchdown run from quarterback Seth Good, the Bulldogs jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.
The Barons (1-1) then appeared to get back into the game when AJ Williams returned the ensuing kickoff all the way to the Bulldogs nine yard line, with David Coe finishing the drive two plays later on a 5-yard scoring run.
But it was all Bulldogs from then on, as Cody Underwood returned two kickoffs for touchdowns, Rice rushed for two more scores, and Demitri Knowles scored another touchdown on a 47-yard pass from Good. The Bulldogs led by 33 points at the half.
“Our kids have just been battled tested,” said LCA coach Frank Rocco. “Coming into this game we’d played Gretna, Atlantic Shores and Charlotte Christian (NC) and all three were state championship teams from last year. So we’ve played some really good competition and weathered the storm of some injuries. Our kids are becoming highly competitive and nobody is going to out-compete them. We might lose because of athleticism, but nobody will out-compete them.”
The Bulldogs (3-1) led by as many as 46 until the fourth quarter when the Blue Ridge’s Mike Casey caught a 15-yard touchdown pass as well as a two point conversion.
While the loss stings, Smith was happy to see his team still trying to score when the game was well out of reach, and Casey’s effort on both sides of the ball stuck out.
“Mike’s a heck of a football player,” Smith said. “He plays with a lot of heart from whistle to whistle. He’s probably the best football player on our team right now.”
Coe led the way offensively for the Barons with 94-yards on 12 carries. Roderick Holloway was the top Blue Ridge receiver with two catches for 29 yards.
