Preps

Land O'Lakes 20, Ridgewood 17

The Gators drive for the winning field goal after a turnover. Their reward? A district title.

By DAVID MURPHY, Times Staff Writer
Published November 3, 2007

LAND O'LAKES - One ill-timed turnover and one kick of the ball were all that separated jubilation from agony Friday night. And Land O'Lakes came out on the positive side of both.

After senior cornerback Willie Fields wrestled a fumble away from Ridgewood fullback Barry Johnsonbaugh, the Gators drove 36 yards in eight plays to set up a winning 37-yard field goal by Alex Spock with no time left that lifted them to a 20-17 win and the district title.

"I had a feeling it might come down to me," Spock said, "but I was kind of hoping it wouldn't."

For much of the night, it didn't seem as though he had much of a reason to worry.

The Gators rarely slowed down the Rams' vaunted power running game, allowing more than 250 yards rushing.

But two first-half fumbles killed promising drives for Ridgewood, and the Rams trailed 10-7 at halftime.

With 4:42 left in the third quarter, Ridgewood quarterback T.J. Haab found wide receiver Addidas Tolliver with a 17-yard fade in the back right corner of the end zone to give the Rams a 14-10 lead. Ridgewood intercepted a pass on the next possession but settled for a 33-yard field goal.

Land O'Lakes, meanwhile, put its offense in the hands of senior quarterback Ely Payne, who engineered an 11-play, 80-yard drive that culminated in a 2-yard touchdown run by Ben Hipps that tied it at 17 with 5:47 left.

Next came the fumble at the end of a 24-yard run by Johnsonbaugh, setting up the winning drive for the Gators.

Rams coach Chris Taylor said he thought Johnsonbaugh was down.

"It's just a shame that a judgment call like that can affect the outcome of a ball game," said Taylor, whose Rams must travel to face undefeated Daytona Beach Seabreeze in the first round of the playoffs.

Land O'Lakes 20 Ridgewood 17

[Last modified November 3, 2007, 00:09:03]