By LLOYD COMBS
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
GRUNDY, Va. —
East Ridge ran nearly three times as many plays and had a 2-1 edge in first downs and time of possession.
Grundy, however, more than made the most of the few opportunities it did have in a 34-7 win over the Warriors Friday at Nelson Memorial Field.
The Golden Wave scored after an East Ridge fumble, took the lead for good on a 73-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Cody Rife and added a defensive score as Grundy took a 27-7 halftime lead despite running just seven offensive plays before the break.
Grundy (2-0) made its visitors from Kentucky play from behind, which was exactly what it hoped to do against the Warriors' ground-oriented attack.
East Ridge (1-1) lost a fumble on the game's first play from scrimmage, giving the Wave its first possession on the Warriors' 29-yard line. Tyler Berglowe folled a 15-yard run by Eric Hodge with a 14-yard TD run to give Grundy a 7-0 lead.
The Warriors then drove 80 yards in 18 plays, using up 9:40 of the first quarter clock, and tied the score after a 6-yard touchdown run from Dalton Lewis.
Rife had trouble fielding the ball on the ensuing kickoff, got a great open-field block from Tyler McClanahan and Grundy needed just 15 seconds to regain the lead for good.
"East Ridge does what they do well," Grundy coach Greg Rowe said. "Getting a couple of turnovers and the kick return helped us a lot.
"Cody Justus coming back this week really helped our defense after that. He used that cast on his arm and he did a heck of job."
Tyler Justus returned an interception 30 yards for a Grundy touchdown with nine seconds remaining in the opening period. After East Ridge drove inside the Grundy 10-yard line three times without adding a single point.
A 20-yard run by Berglowe set up Grundy's only second quarter score, a 5-yard TD run by Hodge.
John Kelly completed three passes to Ben Rife, the third pass going 58 yards for a touchdown as Grundy took a 34-7 lead on the opening series of the third quarter.
Rife caught four passes for 75 yards overall, while Berglowe finished with 109 yards rushing on 10 carries.
Lewis gained 103 yards on 26 carries for East Ridge, which was without leading rusher Patrick Casey. Casey was ejected from the Warriors' season-opening win over Shelby Valley.
East Ridge ran 63 plays on offense, to 22 for Grundy, and had an 18-9 edge in first downs.
at Nelson Memorial Field
East Ridge...............................7 0 0 0 — 7
Grundy...................................20 7 7 0 — 34
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
G-Berglowe 14 run (Mutter kick) 11:29
ER-Lewis 6 run (Taylor kick) 1:49
G-Rife 73 kick return (Mutter kick) 1:34
G-T. Justus 30 Int Ret (kick failed) 0:09
Second Quarter
G-Hodge 5 run (Mutter kick) 8:44
Third Quarter
G-B. Rife 58 pass from Kelly (Mutter kick) 9:31
Team Stats
First Downs: ER 18, G 9; Rushes-Yards: ER 58-196, G 17-149; Passing Yards: ER 33, G 75; Comp-Att-Int: ER 3-5-1, G 4-5-0; Fumbles-Lost: ER 3-1, G 2-1; Penalties-Yards: ER 5-25, G 5-55; Punts-Average: ER 1-30, G 1-31.
