It just wasn’t good, not for Blue Ridge.
Sure, there was a stretch in the middle of the second half where the Barons came together and looked strong.
But the momentum swung back and Saturday’s opener against North Cross turned into a frustrating day for Blue Ridge as the Barons fell 35-14.
The game got off to a rough start when the ball squirted out of quarterback Andre Roberts’ hands on the Barons’ opening possession, giving North Cross control just seconds into the game. It didn’t get much better from there as the Barons’ offense struggled to move the ball which left the squad’s defense on the field for long stretches against a punishing North Cross rushing attack led by Antoine Martin. He finished with 188 yards on 28 carries, hammering Blue Ridge late in the game when North Cross jumped under center and ran downhill while trying to burn the clock.
“I’m not convinced that some of our linebackers are in the best of shape right now, I don’t think we’re getting good run/pass reads and our tackling was very poor,” said Blue Ridge coach Del Smith.
North Cross led by just six at the break as the Barons’ defense surrendered a lot of yards but just one score, eventually finding a way to stop North Cross and give the ball back to the offense including Darryl Smith’s late first half interception. But those stops didn’t matter much because the offense only found its legs with less than two minutes left in the third quarter, when a 52-yard toss from Andre Roberts to Robin Moore pulled the Barons within 13-7. Seconds later, North Cross’ Martin fumbled and Cameron Anderson pounced on the loose ball. That quickly led to a 39-yard run by Mayn Francisco that set up a 15-yard fade from Roberts to 6-foot-7 Anderson in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter. Just like that, Blue Ridge led by a point and appeared ready to assume control — North Cross had other plans.
“I was actually excited about the third quarter,” Smith said. “We came out with two touchdowns and took the lead, we’re just not a very mature football team to be able to put that game away.”
On the ensuing drive, North Cross’ Thomas Weaver found Fuller Clark for a 28-yard scoring strike. That put the Raiders up for good and they later tacked on a pair of rushing touchdowns for good measure. Blue Ridge turned the ball over or were forced into punting situations for the rest of the fourth quarter.
“Going down by one and responding immediately — that shows we’ve got a good senior class, a lot of leadership and good poise,” said North Cross coach Stephen Alexander. “That’s what I’m most excited about.”
Moore had a productive all-around game for the Barons, playing both ways and hauling in four catches for 65 yards while playing well defensively including a forced fumble in the first half. Roberts struggled in his first start at quarterback, but he didn’t have much time to operate as he was forced out of the pocket quickly on nearly every play.
Isaiah Battle had perhaps the roughest day though as the Clemson commit and two-way lineman for the Barons drew an ejection for unsportsmanlike conduct late in the contest when Blue Ridge’s frustrating day boiled over.
Blue Ridge will have to recover quickly this week with a matchup Saturday against Hargrave looming.
