Ragland lost against Appalachian back in October of 2019, and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Friday. The Ragland Purple Devils came up short against the Appalachian Eagles, falling 35-14. The Purple Devils were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 28-7.
When it comes to explaining why Ragland lost, don't look at A'Ron Lee. Despite the final result, he rushed for 169 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 9.4 yards per carry. Lee's longest rush was for an incredible 70 yards.
Ragland didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Ethan Everett and Lee. Lee's rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his fourth straight game with at least 169 rushing yards dating back to last season. Luke Brewer was another major factor on D, making 16 total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Braden Gilliland continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines for Appalachian, rushing for 366 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 13.1 yards per carry. With that strong performance, Gilliland is now averaging an impressive 2.1 rushing touchdowns per game.
Ragland moved to 3-4 with that loss, which also ended their three-game winning streak. As for Appalachian, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a nice bump to their 6-2 record this season.
Ragland will be playing in front of their home fans against Gaylesville at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. As for Appalachian, they will head out on the road to face off against Woodville at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
