Prep football: La Center 34, Ridgefield 21

RIDGEFIELD — Typically, fear is not the emotion a coach experiences when his team takes a 28-point lead midway through the second quarter, but La Center coach John Lambert will be the first to admit that this was not a typical game.

“I was worried,” he said.

He was worried because the planet-size advantage his Wildcats established in the first half had shrunk to that of a sliver in the second.

But after forcing a turnover on a critical late-game possession, La Center managed to survive, defeating Ridgefield 34-21.

This likely would not have been the outcome an objective fan would have predicted.

The Spudders came into the game with a record of 3-0 while La Center was 1-2 and fresh off a 36-point loss to Toledo.

Even so, Ridgefield coach Matt Martin preached throughout the first quarter to, “Throw the records out!” Unfortunately, his team was a little late in receiving the message.

La Center (2-2) scored less than two minutes into the game when running back Patrick Mayolo reached the end zone on a 2-yard run, the senior puncutating a drive that began with a 31-yard scamper by quarterback Jake Johnson.

The Wildcats added two more touchdowns before the second quarter began — the first on a 3-yard run by Mike Polyakov, and the second on a 10-yard run by Mayolo.

La Center then took its largest lead on its most dynamic play of the night, as Johnson tossed a 62-yard scoring pass to Polyakov in the second quarter to make it 28-0.

“I think we were a little overconfident,” Martin said. “We had a great week of practice, but I think we were looking at the records.”

But once the Spudders shook off the shock, they decided to find a way to keep their fans in the seats.

First, Ridgefield quarterback Gunnar Long barreled it in from the 1 yard line in the second quarter to make it 28-6. Then, running back Clayton Farr scored on a 7-yard run and watched teammate Michael Knox slither his way in on the two-point conversion to make it 28-14 early in the third.

Seven seconds into the the fourth quarter — four minutes after Ridgefield defensive lineman recovered a fumble — Spudders running back Ian Williams crossed the goal line on a 2-yard run to cut La Center’s lead to seven.

At this point, you can probably understand Lambert’s anxiety.

“You know what though? I’m really proud of these guys, because I challenged them to focus and bring the energy,” Lambert said. “We knew Toldeo wasn’t 36 points better than us. So in a way, we treated this game like it was our season.”

And suddenly, the Wildcats remembered that.

Ridgefield (3-1) had an opportunity to tie the score early in the fourth, but fumbled on La Center’s 47 yard line and lost possession. The Wildcats then charged down the field, handed the ball to Mayolo, and watched him score his third touchdown of the game on a 7-yard run.

La Center 34, Ridgefield 21

La Center 21 7 0 6—34

Ridgefield 0 6 8 7—21

First quarter

LC — Patrick Mayolo 2 run (Conner Wonderly kick)

LC — Mike Polyakov 3 run (Wonderly kick)

LC — Mayolo 10 run (Wonderly kick)

Second quarter

Polyakov 62 pass from Jake Johnson (Wonderly kick)

R — Gunnar Long 1 run (kick failed)

Third quarter

R — Clayton Farr 7 run (Michael Knox run)

Fourth quarter

R — Ian Williams 2 run (Dalton Ries kick)

LC — Mayolo 7 run (kick failed)

Leaders

Rushing — La Center: Mike Polyakov 15-92, Patrick Mayolo 16-81, Gunnar Lowery 16-77; Ridgefield: Michael Knox 12-72, Ian Williams 13-64, Clayton Farr 3-15; Gunnar Long 4-2.

Passing — La Center: Jake Johnson 5-7-0-95; Ridgefield: Gunnar Long 4-11-2-55

Receiving — La Center: Mike Polyakov 4-83, Colton Morgan 1-12; Ridgefield: Clayton Farr 2-36, Sam Gillenwater 1-14, Ian Williams 1-5.