COLLEGEVILLE - Tony Ayala hit Eddie Collins with an 18-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter for the winning points in the Warriors’ 29-27 victory over the St. John’s Junior Varsity on Sunday at Clemens Stadium.
It was Ridgewater’s first victory after having to forfeit its first its first four games for playing with an ineligible player, and then falling to Minnesota West last Saturday.
Dominic Wise ran 27 times for 171 yards and a touchdown, and Ayala threw two TD passes.
Johnnie Pope caught Ayala’s other scoring pass and he also pounced on a Wise fumble in the end zone for a third-quarter touchdown.
“Wise had a great game running the ball,” said Warriors head coach Rob Baumgarn. “The offensive line was able to open a lot of holes for him. We had short fields and did a decent job getting points on the board.”
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The Johnnies JV fell behind 22-6 but rallied in the third and fourth quarters and pulled within 22-21 before Collins and Ayala hooked up for the winning score.
“I feel that we fell asleep on defense and they got back into the game too easily,” Baumgard said. “Overall, I was pleased with our effort, but in order to reach the playoffs, we must play better.”
Ayala hit 12 of 25 throws for 97 yards and Chris Tidwell grabbed seven passes for 66 yards.
The Warriors have a week off before playing their final regular-season home game against the North Dakota State College of Science at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 18 at Hodapp Field. They wrap up the regular season at Central Lakes in Brainerd at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 25.
Ridgewater 29, St. John’s JV 27
Ridgewater 0 10 12 7 - 29
St. John’s JV 0 0 14 13 - 27
R – Glenn Meyers 30 FG
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R – Johnnie Pope 6 pass from Tony Ayala (conversion not available)
R – Pope fumble recovery in end zone (conversion failed)
S – Jake Stuedemann 1 run (conversion failed)
R – Dominic Wise 49 run (conversion failed)
S – Matt Miller 17 pass from John Kalthoff (conversion not available)
S – Kalthoff 4 run (conversion not available)
R – Eddie Collins 18 pass from Ayala (conversion not available)
S – Miller 30 pass from Kalthoff (conversion failed)
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Ridgewater
First downs: 13 … Rushing: 155 … Passing (com-att-yds-int.): 96 … Fumbles lost: 1 … Penalties: NA
Rushing: Dominic Wise 27-171, Julius Oygtuni 2-2, Tony Ayala 5-(-18) … Passing: Ayala 12-25-97-0 ... Receiving: Chris Tidwell 7-66, Johnnie Pope 1-6, Eddie Collins 1-18, Ryan Grunke 1-6, Wise 1-1 … Tackles (solo-assist): Norwood 4-0, Hall 3-0, Blanch 6-2, Archibald 6-2, Fountaine 6-0, Boykins 0-1, Bell 2-3, King 3-3, Johnson 3-0, Hampton 3-0, Goeman 2-2, Ebertowski 1-0, Gayden 1-0, Cawthon 2-0, Boateng 2-0 … QB sacks: Boykins 1, Ebertowski 1, Gayden 1
St. John’s JV
First downs: 16 … Rushing: 123 … Passing (com-att-yds-int.): 249 … Fumbles lost: 3 … Penalties: NA
Individual statistics not available
