DUBLIN – For the past two seasons, the Richland Springs Coyotes’ path to a 10th six-man state championship has been blocked by the Oglesby Tigers.
In Saturday’s latest meeting for the Class A Division II Region IV championship, the Coyotes exorcised their recent postseason demons and secured a spot in the state semifinals, ousting Oglesby, 72-22.
“This game was personal this week, we wanted to take back what’s ours,” said Coyote Cohen Ethridge, who sparked Richland Springs’ 425-yard attack with 227 yards and five touchdowns on the ground, to go along with 123 passing yards and two scoring tosses. “We’re not done. We want to go all the way and win state this year.”
Richland Springs head coach Harley Ethridge added, “This is redemption. We’ve been looking forward to this for a year. We had some jitters early but shook it off, and this just feels really great.”
Tied at 22 with 5:56 left in the second period, Richland Springs (12-1) reeled off 50 unanswered points to enforce the mercy rule against Oglesby (11-2) with 26 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Coyote defense limited Oglesby to 217 yards of total offense – 109 passing and 108 rushing – with five total stops, including a pair of interceptions by Evan Deeds.
Oglesby’s Holdyn Goff entered the contest with 2,203 yards and 48 touchdowns on the ground, but rushed for just 87 yards with one trip to the end zone against Richland Springs.
“He’s been running all over every team so we just wanted to get the pressure back there,” Cohen Ethridge said. “As soon as they down block us, come up and fill and get the ball out of his hands.”
Coach Harley Ethridge added, “In the past two years they made a lot of hay just running and cutting back. It was almost a counter, they’d look like they were running a sweep and then cut back on a block and we had to take that away. I thought the defense did a good job.”
Goff has also passed for 1,101 yards with 13 touchdowns and no interceptions, and completed 12 of 29 attempts for 109 yards with two touchdown and two interceptions.
Knotted at 22, Richland Springs began its closing run of 50 straight points with a 7-yard touchdown run by Billy Perry, who finished with 33 of the Coyotes’ 294 yards on the ground and three scores; carries of 25 and then 21 yards by Ethridge; and a 51-yard pass from Ethridge to Eli Hutchins after the first Deeds’ interception, and as the Coyotes opened a 50-22 halftime edge.
Ethridge then returned the opening kick of the second half 72 yards to set up a 1-yard Perry plunge; Perry scored again from 1 yard out at the 3:41 mark; then after Deeds’ second interception at Richland Springs 4, the Coyotes drove 76 yards in four plays with Ethridge sprinting the final 51 yards to end the contest.
“They couldn’t stop anything we ran, we just had to be patient,” Cohen Ethridge said. “My guys were doing a great job blocking for me, and doing a great job running routes.”
The Coyotes fell behind early, 8-0, on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Goff to Evan Williamson, while Richland Springs crept within 8-6 on a 37-yard toss from Ethridge to Ethan Deeds on its first play from scrimmage.
Oglesby extended the lead to 14-6 on a 20-yard scoring toss from Goff to Abram Shaw, but Richland Springs – which scored on every offensive possession – answered with an 8-yard touchdown run by Ethridge, and Ethan Deeds’ two-point kick knotted the score at 14 with 1:51 left in the first period.
Richland Springs took its first lead, 22-14, after a defensive stop and a 32-yard scamper to the end zone by Ethridge with 9:07 left before halftime.
Oglesby drew even at 22 on a 28-touchdown carry by Goff at the 5:56 mark of the second period, but never scored again.
The Coyotes will face Region III champion Strawn (12-1), which defeated Three Way, 46-0, Friday, next week in the state semifinals at 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6 at Art Briles Stadium in Stephenville.
“Strawn is tough,” Coach Ethridge said. “You’re not going to outcoach Dewaine Lee, you have to hope you get a few breaks and that evens the score. We’re looking forward to it, it’ll be a great challenge and we’re looking forward to it.”
