Recap: Blue Ridge Fighting Tigers vs. Chapman Panthers
After flying high against the Carolina Academy Trojans last Thursday, The Blue Ridge Fighting Tigers came back down to earth. Blue Ridge took a serious blow against Chapman on Friday, falling 50-21. Blue Ridge has struggled against Chapman recently, as their game on Friday was their ninth consecutive lost matchup.
Despite the loss, Blue Ridge still got an impressive performance from Kb Henderson, who rushed for 141 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.1 yards per carry. Henderson was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 67 yards. Another player making a difference was Colton Clouse, who threw for 120 yards and a touchdown.
Chapman's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Coleman Gray led the charge by throwing for 128 yards and two touchdowns while completing 100% of his passes, and also punching in a touchdown on the ground. The team also got some help courtesy of Shawn Cunningham, who picked up 89 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Blue Ridge's loss was their fifth straight at home, which dropped their overall record down to 1-8. Admittedly, the team was facing some tough opposition over that stretch, including 8-1 Broome and 6-3 Liberty (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 62.2% over those games). As for Chapman, the win (which was their sixth in a row) raised their record to 8-1.
Blue Ridge will head out on the road to face off against Travelers Rest at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. As for Chapman, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Broome at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Broome is also coming in off of a big victory, so somebody is in for a big reversal of fortune.
