Rams Running Back Overtakes Bulldogs

By Paul Tenorio

Saturday, September 8, 2007

After going into the locker room tied at a touchown, 18th-ranked Stone Bridge was confident it was more than just in the game with Robinson. But in the second half, the Bulldogs succumbed to Robinson’s rushing attack — namely senior running back Peter Ferrara, who had 172 yards and four touchdowns — and untimely errors in a 41-14 loss.

“In the second half, they just took it,” Stone Bridge Coach Mickey Thompson said. “We tried everything, and they just kept coming, coming, coming.”

In the first half, Stone Bridge kept it close. After falling behind on a six-yard touchdown run by Ferrera, the Bulldogs used special teams and defense to set up the tying score.

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Stone Bridge at Robinson

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Stone Bridge's Bryce Williams works on a one-handed catch drill during pre-game warm ups. (Preston Keres)

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Mike Olson and the rest of the Stone Bridge team get pumped up moments before kickoff. (Preston Keres)

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Stone Bridge Head Coach Mickey Thompson races on to the field with his team before kick off. (Preston Keres)

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Stone Bridge and Robinson team captains march out to midfield before the game. (Preston Keres)

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Stone Bridge captain Jeron Gouveia meets before the game with the Robinson captains for the coin toss. (Preston Keres)

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Robinson's Peter Ferrara races past Stone Bridge's Kevin Elliot for a first quarter first down. Ferrara ran all over Stone Bridge scoring several times on the night. (Preston Keres)

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Despite having a wall of blockers, Stone Bridge's Kareem Alexander (2) couldn't get anywhere on this second quarter run resulting in a two-yard loss. (Preston Keres)

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Stone Bridge's Matt Irwin runs a punt return down field only to be called back on a penalty, one of several damaging flags in the first half for the Bulldogs. (Preston Keres)

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Stone Bridge's Ryan Moody hauls in a 14-yard touchdown pass in front of Robinson's C. J. Nee in the second quarter. (Preston Keres)

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Stone Bridge running back Kareem Alexander yells for a defensive stop late in the second half. (Preston Keres)

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The Stone Bridge student section reacts to another Robinson touchdown. (Preston Keres)

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Stone Bridge Head Coach Mickey Thompson barks at his team on the field during second half action. (Preston Keres)

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Stone Bridge cheerleaders drop and do push-ups after their team scored a second half touchdown. (Preston Keres)

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Stone Bridge cheerleaders try and get the fans pumped up despite their team being down two touchdowns at the time. (Preston Keres)

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Stone Bridge junior cheerleader Kelsey McNichols reacts after being given cookies for the team from the Robinson cheerleader team. (Preston Keres)

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Robinson's Wynton Fox rushes through a pack of Stone Bridge defenders on his way to a big run in the third quarter. The Rams would score on the next play. (Preston Keres)

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Stone Bridge quarterback Patrick Thompson (6) sits on the field after being sacked in the fourth quarter, while Robinson's Derek Qadir (91) celebrates the stop. (Preston Keres)

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After a Bulldogs punt pinned Robinson on its 17-yard line, a five-yard face-mask penalty and a nine-yard loss pushed the Rams farther back, forcing them to kick from the back of their end zone. The Bulldogs took over on the Rams 29-yard line and needed only two plays to capitalize.

Quarterback Patrick Thompson hit senior Ryan Moody for 15 yards and then went back to the 6-foot wide receiver on a fade route in the right corner of the end zone to even the score.

Coming out to start the second half, coach Thompson called for an onside kick, but it failed and set Robinson up on its 49-yard line. Five plays later, Ferrera dived into the end zone to put Robinson up for good.

On the following drive, Stone Bridge moved the ball with two straight completions, but a third completion led to a fumble, and Robinson recovered. The Rams capitalized on the turnover and extended their lead on a 30-yard touchdown catch by Ferrera.

Robinson continued to pound the ball with Ferrara throughout the half. Ferrara rushed 11 times for 107 yards and three touchdowns in the final two periods. He also caught two passes for 47 yards and scored once.

“There were a lot of times [Ferrara] made plays by himself, made people miss,” coach Thompson said. “He had a tremendous game, I was really impressed with him. If tonight’s any indication, he’s going to be a heck of a player.”

Despite Ferrera’s dominance in the second half, Stone Bridge threatened to get back into the game in the third quarter.

After falling behind 28-7, the Bulldogs pulled to two scores on a great play from their senior quarterback. On third and three, Thompson avoided a rush, stepped to his right and found senior Matt Irwin down the middle of the field. The senior ran between the safeties and sprinted to 66-yard touchdown.

Senior safety Jeron Gouveia then came up huge on third and two, tackling Ferrera five yards behind the line of scrimmage to force a punt, and momentum seemed to favor Stone Bridge.

“We’re probably 15 of 15 with Ronnie kicking the onside to the right side. I mean he’s really good at it,” the coach said of kicker Ronnie Shaban. “He can do it over and over and over, and this time he didn’t do it.”

But Robinson sacked Thompson three times, including on fourth and 35 where Thompson was unable to get off a punt. It was all Robinson from then on, and Stone Bridge was left wondering what went wrong.

“We really expected to be right there with them, win or lose, in a much better football game, and I think that’s a disappointment,” coach Thompson said. “So we’ve got a lot to look at and a lot of fingers to point at ourselves and get better. But we’ve got a long way to go.”

Tagged: high school sports

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