DADE CITY — Pasco started strong and scored all of its points by midway through the second quarter. Friday The Rams mounted a pair of fourth-quarter drives that stalled in the red zone, the latter on an interception of a Nick Michaels pass by Isaac Johnson to end the game.
Key drive: Pasco’s defense forced Ridgewood into a three and out on its first possession and with a 7-0 lead needed just two plays to double that output on its second possession of the game. Grant Starling passed 27 yards to Bowman Archibald to set up a 26-yard touchdown pass to Tyree Austin.
Play of the game: Jakiah Felder returned the opening kickoff 81 yards to Ridgewood’s 1-yard line. That got the Pirates fired up early and on fourth down they punched it in on Archibald’s 1-yard plunge into the end zone.
Stars of the game: Starling began his second year as the starting quarterback by completing 8-of-11 for 93 yards and two touchdowns, which included a 19-yard scoring pass to Johnson in the second quarter.
Stat of the game: Ridgewood’s Glass Wilson was a workhorse, rushing for a game-high 73 yards on 21 carries.
Final word:“You want to start fast. You want to put the other team on it’s heels.” — Pasco coach Tom McHugh on Felder’s early kickoff return