Tigers edged out at homecoming by Wade Hampton

With Friday night’s loss to Wade Hampton, Blue Ridge fell to 0-5 on the season with region play looming.

Blue Ridge came down to the wire against Wade Hampton on homecoming night, but ultimately, the Generals outdid the Tigers by one point, 33-32.

The loss dropped Blue Ridge to 0-5 on the season.

“We’re just not playing complementary football right now,” said Blue Ridge head coach John Boggs. “It sounds cliche, but that’s just what it comes down to.”

After a scoreless first quarter, the Tigers and Generals traded blows in the second. Mitchell Bobbitt’s 28-yard field goal put Blue Ridge up 3-0, but Wade Hampton returned the ensuing kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown to take the lead at 7-3. The Generals would go up 14-3 on their next drive to put the Tigers in yet another early deficit.

But Blue Ridge kept fighting.

A one-yard KB Henderson touchdown run on the following drive brought the score to 14-10, and after the Generals went up 21-10 on a 41-yard touchdown pass, Tigers quarterback Gavin Forrester took it 13 yards on the keeper just before halftime to make it a 21-17 game.

The Tigers came out of the second-half gates roaring, taking a 32-21 lead behind a 12-yard Henderson run and a 21-yard touchdown scamper from Forrester. Unfortunately, that would be the last time the Tigers found the end zone.

The Generals used two long, methodical drives to erase the 11-point deficit. Wade Hampton took a late 33-32 lead and used an eight-minute final drive to close the game.

“Credit to Wade Hampton, they took control of the game and control of the line of scrimmage at that point,” said Boggs. “It’s just frustrating for our kids because they’d battled back to take the lead.”

Up next for Blue Ridge is a trip to Landrum to take on the Cardinals. The Tigers took out Landrum 53-21 last season, but it’s a much tougher Cardinal squad this time around, said Boggs.

“Landrum runs the ball really effectively out of the spread formation. They’ve got a very good player at running back, and they’ve done a great job beating good teams to be 3-1 this season. It’s going to be a challenge for us.”