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What Ridgewood starts, Land O'Lakes finishes in 37-20 victory

© St. Petersburg Times,
published September 29, 2001

NEW PORT RICHEY -- Ridgewood came out firing Friday against visiting Land O'Lakes, scoring on the first play from scrimmage and two of its first three possessions.

Then reality set in.

The Rams only scored once more against their Class 4A, District 6 rivals as the Gators rallied from seven- and eight-point deficits for a 37-20 win.

"We were down and we rose to the occasion," Land O'Lakes coach John Benedetto said. "Our kids kept their poise."

Jason Krupinski turned a 10-yard down-and-out pattern into an 80-yard touchdown from quarterback Jon Emminger on the Rams' first play just 15 seconds into the game. But Emminger, who passed for 171 yards and two touchdowns, faltered and was intercepted five times.

Emminger, a senior who moved from tight end last season, has thrown nine interceptions in the past two games.

Logan Payne picked off two passes, the first one setting up quarterback Drew Weatherford's 19-yard scoring run.

Weatherford passed for 191 yards and two touchdowns, a 17-yarder to Chip Whelan -- who caught four passes for a game-high 109 yards -- and a 30-yarder to Payne for the game's final score.

The Gators (4-1, 1-0 in the district) had an answer for each of the Rams' first two touchdowns.

Chris Clarke's 4-yard scoring run came on the first Land O'Lakes possession and Weatherford's touchdown run offset a screen pass from Emminger that Sean Jester turned into a 55-yard touchdown.

Land O'Lakes scored 24 consecutive points before Ridgewood (1-4, 1-1) pulled within 30-20 on Robbie Coghlan's 94-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

Whelan, Clarke and Michael Garcia also had interceptions for Land O'Lakes.

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