Ridge is stronger this time

Kent Cunningham and Mike McRoberts have been the Rams' leading tacklers.
By JOHN KOVACH
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
MINERAL RIDGE -- The Columbiana-Mineral Ridge rematch Saturday at 7 p.m. in a Division V semifinal at Boardman Spartan Stadium is expected to be a much different matchup than their first meeting in the second game of the season.
In that game, Columbiana held Mineral Ridge to only 4 yards rushing in a 21-7 victory. But the Rams were playing without injured senior running back Micah Hall, while senior John Hack was just making his transition from tight end to running back and carried the ball only seven times.
So Mineral Ridge had to rely solely on senior quarterback Vance Keirsey, who completed 12-of-24 passes for 191 yards, but also threw five interceptions.
Since then, Hall has returned, Hack has developed into the team's top rusher and Keirsey also has continued to connect through the air, his main target being senior wide receiver Wade Campbell. And the Rams' offensive and defensive lines have gotten better.
All of which means that a much stronger Mineral Ridge (9-2) team will be facing Columbiana (10-1) this time around, which should make for a much closer game.
Improved team ready
"Now both our running and passing attacks are intact and so that's going to be the biggest improvement in the game, in addition to [our] improved lines," said Mineral Ridge coach Sean Brown, who is 26-5 in three years.
"Now we have three offensive weapons with an improved offensive and defensive lines and that should make for a great game.
"We're playing more as a team on defense and offense. We play better up front on the offensive and defensive lines. Both are playing much better. That's where the biggest improvements have been."
Keirsey has completed 74-of-135 passes for 1,360 yards and 12 TDs with 11 interceptions. Campbell has been his favorite target with 25 catches for 468 yards and six TDs.
Hack has rushed for 1,252 yards in 139 attempts and 15 TDs, and has caught 14 passes for 253 yards and three TDs. Hall has rushed for 884 yards in 141 carries and 10 TDs.
Clippers stymied Rams
Brown recalled the first loss to Columbiana.
"They played hard-nosed defense. They flew around and got to the ball. They really stopped us," he said.
Brown is encouraged by the improvement of the Rams' offensive line consisting of tackles Jeff Coleman and Shawn Butson, guards Mike McRoberts and Jeff Mikolay and center Mark Greene.
"They hard work at practice and it has paid off in the game," said Brown. "[We] had only two players back [on the line], McRoberts and Greene, but they [all] came to practices and they work well together as a group."
The Rams' defense is led by sophomore linebacker Kent Cunningham and McRoberts, who doubles at defensive end. Cunningham has a team-high 112 tackles while McRoberts has 76 tackles and leads the team in tackles for losses (14) and sacks (8). Another standout has been senior nose guard John Desmond (57 tackles and six sacks).
Mineral Ridge is in the playoffs for the third time. The Rams made it last year and also in 1998.
Columbiana is in the playoffs for the fourth time, all under Spaite, who is in his 12th year with an 82-41 record.
Last Saturday, the Clippers rolled past Mathews, 49-9, in a regional quarterfinal to rebound from their only loss of the year to Crestview, 35-14, the week before.
Mineral Ridge, whose only other loss was to South Range, 28-7, on Oct. 7, got by Dalton, 14-6, last Friday in a regional quarterfinal.
kovach@vindy.com