The Patrick Henry Patriots came into Friday night’s River Ridge football matchup with undefeated Salem much like magicians, hoping to pull some rabbits out of the hat.
Understandable strategy against the juggernaut Spartans.
The Patriots tried a kickoff reverse and deep bombs, looking to catch Salem off guard. A couple worked, most didn’t.
Scoring the game’s first 34 points, Salem clearly had the magic wand most of the night, as the Spartans rolled to the 51-14 victory at Patrick Henry Stadium.
“Salem is a very good team,” Patrick Henry head coach Alan Fiddler said at midfield after the game. “It’s hard to spot anybody 34 points, especially Salem. We had great field position on the opening kickoff, and got behind them twice in the first half (on deep pass routes) and couldn’t make the catch. We just didn’t execute early. We had our chances.”
On the other side of the ball, Salem’s offense had its way all night long, running at will on the artificial turf of Merrill Gainer Field. Tailback Donte Clayborne and fullback Alex Ramsey were the main thorns for the Patriots as the two combined for more than 300 yards on the ground.
Ramsey scored Salem’s first three touchdowns of the contest on a 24-yard burst and pair of 1-yard plunges, while Clayborne dashed any hopes of a PH second-half rally when he went 53 yards for a touchdown on Salem’s first play from scrimmage to start the third quarter. That made the score 41-7, and the only question was whether the Spartans would push their lead to 35 points to get the clock in continuous running mode.
Patrick Henry kept battling. Senior quarterback Quishon Calfee, who scored on a 2-yard run with 25 seconds left in the opening half to give PH some momentum heading to the break, connected with Sammy Trusclair on a 10-yard touchdown pass with 9:46 left in the third quarter that cut the Spartan lead to 41-14. But, it would be the last Patriot trip to the end zone, and Salem tacked on a 33-yard field goal by Nate Craft with 2:02 left in the third, followed by a 34-yard scoring strike from Spartan quarterback Noah Beckley to Viante Tucker with 27.6 seconds left in the third to settle the final score.
Beckley also scored on a 24-yard touchdown run for Salem’s fourth touchdown in the first half and Luke Owen ran back a 75-yard punt return that had staked Salem to the commanding 34-0 lead in the second quarter.
While Salem was clicking on all cylinders on offense, the Spartan defense was likewise dominating most of the evening. Calfee was forced to scramble all night and the Patriots often faced third-and-long situations.
“We ran the ball well early, and our defense got pressure most of the game,” Salem head coach Stephen Magenbauer noted. “It’s fun to coach a group like this that work hard for everything. Football is a humbling game, and we were fortunate to get it going early. But, against a team like Patrick Henry, you never feel comfortable.”
Bill Turner
