Rain delay doesn't slow down Ridge in classic, beats Kathleen 21-0
For nine months Polk County sports enthusiasts were waiting in much anticipation for football, but Mother Nature prevented that as rain and thunder delayed the Ridge Community and Kathleen preseason game by an hour on Friday at Ridge Community High School.
Still, Ridge Community looked as if they didn’t miss a beat, blowing out Kathleen by a score of 21-0 in a truncated game.
The final score was abrupt because lightning struck once more at halftime. Ridge officials waited an hour or so before the lightning calmed to start the game. But with the game halfway in the books and it being late in the night, the game was officially called.
Starting quarterback John Kostuch threw the ball well. He went 11 for 12 for 124 yards and three touchdown passes. Receiver Rick Penick caught the ball three times for 79 yards and two touchdown receptions.
Kostuch said he thought the offense played well.
“I feel great. We’ve been working all summer, pushing each other, competing and we just really wanted this win. We’ve been working our tails off over the summer, and so, we just wanted to achieve the victory," Kostuch said. “It felt great. We’ve been doing (work) in practice of course. But this is a real live game, and so we’ve never fully experienced that. It’s just great to achieve that with this group of guys.”
Here are three observations of each team on the first game of the season.
Kostuch looks sharp
Kostuch looked sharp in the game. He completed the gimme passes as well as the slants and the deep ball. On the first drive of the game for Ridge, he almost singlehandedly rushed the Bolts all the way down the field before pitching the ball to Penick on a reverse play out of a shotgun, which led to the game’s first score.
On the 71-yard TD pass to Penick with 6 minutes to go in the second, he got enough air under the ball to allow his playmaker to catch up to the pigskin. And the slant pass to Josh Petion with 4:45 to go in the second — the game’s final score — was a dart that was easily catchable.
Penick takes over the game
Penick had two spectacular scores in the game. On his first score, he received the pitch from Kostuch on the left. But there were too many defenders, so the Campbell-commit reversed to the other side of the field, utilizing his quickness before scoring a touchdown.
On the second score, Penick just outran the defense before allowing the ball to drop right into his outstretched fingers. He ran about 50 yards for the score that opened up the game 14-0 with 5:05 left in the second.
“After practice we work by each other… (and) have that team connection, so you know it was just like practice,” Penick said. “After practice we did extra routes. Every Wednesday, we work with our quarterback coach, receiving coach, building that good connection on the route — and it leads to Friday.
Kathleen has bright spots, miscues
Kathleen had several opportunities to score. Running back Arthur Kennedy was the primary reason the Red Devils were put in that position.
But the Red Devils got off to slow start, committing three penalties on its first drive. The slow start gave Ridge the momentum it needed to win.
“Everything wasn’t all bad. It was just the youth and the inexperience showed up big,” Kathleen coach Saul Speights said. “We made the same mistakes that we made last year.”
The regular season begins on Friday. Ridge will host Lake Wales, and Kathleen will host Bartow. Both games start at 7:30 p.m.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Rain delay doesn't slow down Ridge in classic, beats Kathleen 21-0
