Ardmore shut out by Randolph

Published 6:00 am Tuesday, October 3, 2017

One week after Ardmore rolled up 42 points against St. John Paul II, the Tigers could get nothing going offensively in a 28-0 loss to Randolph in a non-region game.

The Tigers were held to just 45 rushing yards and 108 total yards in the game and turned it over three times in the loss.

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“We couldn’t really do anything offensively,” Ardmore coach Andrew Smith said. “We didn’t do a good job of blocking or running the ball. Randolph has several guys who can run around and cover a lot of ground on defense, and everything we did, they were there to make plays. We really didn’t do anything well.”

Chase Lay was the leading rusher for Ardmore, carrying the ball seven times for 31 yards. Tyler Schrimsher also had seven rushes for 18 yards.

Quarterback Noah Barnett completed 7-of-19 passes for 63 yards with two interceptions. Mack Hughes was the leading receiver, catching three passes for 34 yards.

While Ardmore couldn’t get anything going offensively, Randolph was able to chew up yards and clock with its running attack, led by Troy University commitment Levon Fletcher.

Fletcher had 19 carries for 140 yards to lead the Raiders, which rolled up 274 yards on the ground. Quarterback Graham Copeland completed 10-of-16 passes for 124 yards for the Raiders.

“Defensively, we played pretty well,” Smith said. “We tackled better and held them to really just 21 points (not counting a 5-yard drive after a fumble). But they controlled the clock the whole game. They ran it a lot.”

The game was scoreless after one quarter, but Randolph opened the scoring early in the second quarter when Graham Copeland found Sam Kimel for a 49-yard touchdown pass.

Ardmore’s night got worse on its next possession, as the Tigers fumbled deep in their own territory. One play later, Randolph extended the lead with a 5-yard touchdown run from Colton Scoggins.

Randolph led 14-0 at halftime and scored twice more in the third quarter to put the game away.

Ardmore (2-3) gets back into region play next week by hosting Lee-Huntsville.