WEST LAFAYETTE — Ridgewood was dominant through the first four weeks.
But, veteran coach John Slusser was not impressed with his team's performance in the past two weeks.
The Generals only led by seven at the half before scoring 28 unanswered to rout Tuscarawas Valley 42-7 in Friday's Inter-Valley Conference South Division battle.
"I haven't been pleased with our approach. We've forgotten who we are," Slusser said. "The defense doesn't feel like it has given the same effort the past two weeks that it did through the first four weeks. We need to play harder and have a good mental approach every week."
Sluggish start for Ridgewood
The Generals (6-0) punted on their opening drive, but a short punt by the Trojans gave them a short field. Grant Lahmers carried it four times for 35 yards, including a 2-yard scoring run, and Jadon Smoulder made his first of six extra points for a 7-0 lead at the 6:27 mark of the first quarter.
Tusky Valley (2-4) took nearly eight minutes off the clock on its next drive, thanks to a fourth-down conversion and a pair of third-down conversions. However, the Trojans missed a 30-yard field goal about two minutes into the second quarter.
Ridgewood answered with an 8-play, 80-yard drive, capped by Lahmers racing 43 yards for the touchdown and a 14-0 lead.
However, the Trojans put together a drive late in the first half to cut the deficit to 14-7. Luke Miller hit Barrett Bandy for gains of 37 and 25 yards in that series, setting up a 7-yard scoring strike to Hunter McGuffin with 15 seconds left in the first half.
Numerous penalties also stymied Ridgewood's momentum. Senior Aiden Sparger said halftime allowed the Generals to regroup.
"The penalties had some guys rattled," Sparger said. "When you're facing adversity, you have to stick together. We're more than a team, we're a family. We talked and calmed each other down."
Running game sparks Ridgewood's surge
The Generals then turned to the ground game in the second half. After forcing Tusky Valley to punt, Ridgewood needed only four plays to cover 51 yards, as Lahmers scored his third TD, this one for 10 yards, stretching the lead to 21-7 early in the third.
A Preston Ator sack ended the next Trojans' drive, and Ridgewood went back down the field, as Sparger's 3-yard TD plunge capped an 8-play, 60-yard drive.
Sparger added a 20-yard TD run early in the fourth and Wyatt Marlatt scored from 10 yards out to cap the scoring.
Lahmers finished with 19 carries for 185 yards and Sparger added seven totes for 109 yards to lead the Ridgewood offense, while Tusky Valley had just one first down in the second half.
Miller finished 9-of-16 for 106 yards, all those yards came in the first half, for the Trojans.
"Running the ball is a big part of Ridgewood football. We can't be who we need to be if we can't run the ball," Sparger said. "We need to perfect some little things. If we get those taken care of then we can move on to other things that will make us better."
Slusser also believes making the game enjoyable will be a focus before a road trip to Sandy Valley. The Generals then host Indian Valley in Week 8 and go to rival Garaway in Week 10, as both games will factor into the division race.
"We're in a good place, but the game has to be fun for everyone," Slusser said. "We need to have fun at practice and carry that into games. We also need to be who we are, and that's been missing the last couple of weeks."
bhannahs@gannett.com; X: @brandonhannahs
This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: Ridgewood needs to return to its identity. The Generals did so in the second half on Friday
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