DEWAYNE HOLLOWAY
MOUNT IDA – The Mount Ida Lions presented Homecoming Queen Natalie Hughbanks with a 48-0 victory over the Murfreesboro Rattlers Friday night at Preston Stidman Field in Mount Ida.
The win bumps the Lions record to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in conference play, while the Rattlers remain winless at 0-5 overall and 0-2 in conference play.
Mount Ida dominated on both sides of the ball with the Lions defense holding Murfreesboro to under 100 yards total offense. The Rattlers were able to muster seven yards on the ground and 90 yards in the air.
On offense the Lions rushed for 356 yards and threw for another 90 for a total of 446 yards.
Six different Lions scored in the win with Gage Dyer the team leader in yards with 99 on four carries. Jonathan Lagrange rushed for 62 yards and a touchdown on six carries, followed by Luke Forga with 53 yards and a score on two carries. Hunter Davis had seven carries for 32 yards and a score, Ridge Gibbs had three totes for 30 yards and a score, Cade Helms had five carries for 19 yards and a touchdown and Cade Jackson had three carries for 18 yards and a score.
Tyler Hamilton had four carries for 17 yards, TJ Walden had seven carries for 15 yards, Dawson Huff had two carries for 10 yards, Jaythan Dillon had a carry for six yards and Luke Fiorello had a carry for five yards.
Michael Hughes led the Rattlers rushing attack with 22 yards on six carries and Bryle Fatheree had six yards on three carries. JC Motley had seven carries for the Rattlers, but lost 12 yards. Tyler Tomlinson, Payten Diffee and Braden Cross also had touches for the Rattlers.
The passing game was even statistically with both teams amassing 90 yards. Three different Lions threw passes with four different receivers recording receptions. As a team Mount Ida was 5-6 for 90 yards and a touchdown. Ridge Gibbs was 3-3 for 60 yards and a score. Cade Jackson was 1-2 for 25 yards and Luke Fiorello was 1-1 for five yards. Dallas Weston had two catches for 43 yards, followed by Cade Jackson who had one catch for 34 yards. Cage Dyer had an eight yard catch for a touchdown and Dawson Huff had a five yard reception.
JC Motley was 6-13 for the Rattlers for 90 yards. Payten Diffee also threw an incomplete pass. Jakob Allmon led the team with six catches for 65 yards, followed by Jarrett Faulkner with one catch for 25 yards.
The Lions established their dominance from the opening drive, forcing a Rattler punt on fourth and 16 on the Murfreesboro 21. Gage Dyer appeared to have a touchdown on the return, but a block in the back called against the Lions brought the ball back to the 25 of Murfreesboro.
Mount Ida needed only three plays on the short field to put the first points on the board. Lagrange and Helms rushed for five yards each before Cade Jackson called his own number on a 15 yard touchdown with just under two minutes gone on the clock. Tyler Allenbrand missed his second PAT attempt of the year and the Lions held a 6-0 lead.
Murfreesboro’s struggles continued with their second series ending with an interception by Jonathan Lagrange. He returned the pass to the Rattler 33, but a personal foul called against a Murfreesboro player moved the ball to the 18 yard line. Lagrange and Helms took turns carrying the ball with Lagrange getting the two yard touchdown carry with 8:23 to go in the first quarter. Allenbrand’s PAT was good and the Lions led 13-0.
Murfreesboro took to the air in the next drive and was able to move the ball to their 44 yard line, but was forced to punt the ball away.
Mount Ida started the next drive deep in their own territory on the 12 yard line, but would once again score in three plays. Gage Dyer carried the ball to the 41 yard line and Cade Jackson hit Dallas Weston for a 25 yard pass into Rattler territory. Luke Forga got the call on a sweep around the end for a 34 yard touchdown run. The PAT was good and the Lions held a 20-0 lead with 5:11 left in the first quarter.
Murfreesboro was able to move the ball to midfield on a seven play drive, but was forced to punt the ball away.
Mount Ida started launched a six play drive on their own 30 yard line which ended with a seven yard touchdown run by Ridge Gibbs. The PAT was good and the Lions lead was 27-0 15 seconds into the second period.
Murfreesboro had one of their best efforts in their first drive of the second quarter thanks to a 12 play drive that finally carried the Rattlers into Lion territory. They moved into Lion territory on a Motley pass to Jakob Allmon. Three plays later the two connected again on a nine yard pass to the Mount Ida 34, but a pair of five yard penalties and a sack ended the drive on the 50 yard line as the Rattlers were forced to punt once again.
Helms got the call on the next Lion touchdown as Mount Ida ended a nine play drive with a two yard touchdown run. Allenbrand’s PAT was good to give the Lions a 34-0 lead .
Mount Ida would wrap the first half up with an eight yard touchdown pass from Gibbs to Dyer with 58 seconds left in the half. The PAT was good to give the Lions a 41-0 halftime lead.
The second half was a quick affair with the sportsmanship rule in effect from the opening kickoff. Mount Ida’s second team offense got to add seven points to the total with Hunter Davis scoring on a five yard line with 1:44 left in the game. Allenbrand’s PAT was good to round out the scoring.
Mount Ida will travel to Spring Hill Friday with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m..
Murfreesboro will host Mountain Pine for homecoming Friday night with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.