Dalton uses early lead to down Mineral Ridge

Levi Leigh gained 190 yards on 31 carries, but the Rams fell 14-11.
By PHILIP K. MURPHY
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
MINERAL RIDGE - When two good teams are evenly matched and feature similar attacks, turnovers and a key play or two can make all the difference.
That was the case Saturday night, as Dalton High rode a blocked punt and two key late game plays to a 14-11 win over Mineral Ridge in a Division V, Region 17 playoff game.
After a scoreless first quarter, Dalton (9-2) broke the ice on Ryan Sullivan's 2-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter. Minutes later, the Bulldogs' Pat Stutz blocked a Mineral Ridge punt deep in Rams territory to set up Sullivan's second short TD run that gave Dalton a 14-0 lead.
The blocked punt served as a wake-up call to the Rams, who got their power running game untracked and advanced inside the Bulldogs' 20 on each of their next two possessions. Unfortunately for Mineral Ridge (9-2), the two drives only produced three points as Nick Ciavarella made one of two field goal attempts, a 31-yarder just before halftime.
Given that Mineral Ridge averaged nearly 25 points per game during the regular season, it seemed unlikely that Dalton could make its 14 points stand up, but the Bulldogs' defense stiffened at key moments in the second half.
However, Mineral Ridge did not go quietly as the Rams' defense held Dalton in check and senior running back Levi Leigh gained the bulk of his 190 yards on 31 carries.
Leigh scored the Rams' only touchdown on a determined 25-yard run with 5:40 remaining in the game. Vance Keirsey's conversion run cut Dalton's lead to three.
Key series
At this point, momentum had clearly shifted to the Rams. Two key plays, however, preserved the win for Dalton. Facing third down and 12 on the Bulldogs' final possession, Dalton quarterback Jason Koontz found Ryan Clark on a 13-yard pass play for the first down. Dalton ultimately punted, but the clutch Koontz-to-Clark strike allowed the Bulldogs to run precious seconds off the clock.
On Mineral Ridge's final possession, Stutz sealed the victory with a fourth down sack of Keirsey with 1:03 to go.
Dalton coach Bob Ramsay praised Stutz for his two key plays.
"Pat's blocked punt was big," he said. "That set us up for points. He also had the big sack at the end. Pat really had a nice game for us."
Ramsay had little concern that the Bulldogs were outgained.
"We gave up a lot of yards, but we only gave up 11 points," he said. "We were able to stop them when we needed to, and that was the key."
Mineral Ridge coach Shawn Brown bemoaned the missed scoring opportunities.
"I'm tremendously proud of the team," he said. "They really stuck together when we were down. They left it all out on the field tonight. They did that all year. & quot;