VIENNA M. Ridge defeats ICL rival handily

The Rams scored on the opening kickoff and went on to defeat Mathews 46-7.
By CHUCK HOUSTEAU
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
VIENNA -- If Mineral Ridge High coach Shawn Brown was worried that his team might be looking ahead to a game next week against South Range, he didn't have to worry for long.
Senior Greg Dominic made sure of that when he ran back the opening kickoff against Mathews 83 yards for a touchdown.
The Rams (7-1, 5-0) tacked on two more scores in the first quarter and two in the second quarter, before the second and third units took over in the second half in a 46-7 Inter-County League win over the Mustangs Thursday night.
Mineral Ridge clearly overmatched the Mustangs (2-6, 0-5) who only dressed 24 players for the game.
"I was very impressed how we were able to focus on Mathews this week," Brown said. "We have a big game next week but we didn't let that creep into the back of the players' minds.
"We played one heck of a ball game."
Wanted to put on a show
With the game played on Thursday night, Mineral Ridge quarterback Chris Ault said he thought that there might be a lot of other teams in the stands watching, including South Range, and so the team really wanted to play well.
"We wanted to do well against the team we were playing," Ault said. "But we figured there would be future opponents watching and you also want to show them what you can do."
The Rams showed the versatility on offense and the tenacity on defense that has gotten them to the top of the ICL standings.
The Rams compiled 469 yards of total offense while limiting the Mustangs to 156.
Ault completed 7-of-10 passes for 130 yards and threw three touchdown passes, all in the first half.
Brandon Linert caught scoring passes of 45 and 29 yards and grabbed five passes for 164 yards. David Gillie caught Ault's other scoring pass of 3 yards.
Overall, Ram quarterbacks completed 11-of-16 passes for 211 yards.
Ground attack
Mineral Ridge also rushed for 258 yards. Junior Levi Leigh gained 104 yards on nine carries and scored once, while sophomore Micah Hall added 103 yards on five carries.
Steve Velti and Jeff Scott added short scoring runs in the second half.
"They are one outstanding football team," said Mathews coach Jim Parry, who has faced both Mineral Ridge and South Range.
"Mineral Ridge is a little bit quicker but South Range is more disciplined and will drive the ball," Parry said. "It's going to be one great football game."
Mathews' Adam Hughes, who played quarterback and running back, scored on a 44-yard run. He led the Mustangs with 67 yards rushing on six carries.