Pioneers Pounce on Panthers, 34-6

Photo by Bill Shipley Photography

East Ridge got its first win of the young season with a 34-6 win over Brainerd Friday night at Raymond James Stadium/Shanks Field.

This time the Pioneers did it through the air. Quarterback Eric Bennett threw two touchdown passes in the first half before going out of the game with an injury. Bennett’s back-up, Alonzo Russell, didn’t miss a beat, tossing one of his own.

The win _ the first for new coach Tim James _ improves East Ridge to 1-1 on the year. The Pioneers will travel to take on Signal Mountain next week.

East Ridge never trailed in the game as Bennett (4-4, 45 yards) connected with Jordan Lindsey from 23 yards out with 9:27 left in the first quarter. The conversion failed and East Ridge led, 6-0.

Bennett went back to work later in the quarter, finding Jawaun Simmons on a 10-yard scoring strike. A two-point conversion failed and the Pioneers built the lead to 12-0, with 3:38 left in the first.

The Panthers got on the board with a Jamaul Herman touchdown, cutting the lead to 12-6 with 9:25 left in the first half.

Marquis Hinton hauled in a 57-yard pass from Russell (4-6, 115 yards) with less than a minute left in the first half for six points. Lorenzo Stewart tacked on a two-point conversion and East Ridge built the lead to 20-6 at intermission.

Kashawn Cosey added an 8-yard touchdown score and Stewart punched another six points on the board with a 1-yard plunge in the fourth quarter, accounting for the 34-6 final score.

On the defensive side, Russell and Simmons each had an interception and Tommy Stewart had a fumble recovery.

Photo by Bill Shipley Photography

About Dick Cook

Dick Cook has lived in East Ridge since the Kennedy Administration when his parents bought a house on Marietta Street. Dick graduated from ERHS in 1976 before going on to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he studied Political Science. Dick worked for the Chattanooga Free-Press and the Chattanooga Times Free Press for 22 years. Free-Press Sports Editor Roy Exum plucked him out of production in 1989 and gave him a job as a sports reporter. Dick covered everything from prep sports to the whitewater events on the Ocoee River for the 1996 Olympics. When Chattanooga's two paper's merged, he became the Crime Reporter covering both the Chattanooga Police and Fire Departments. He was among reporters who were honored by the Associated Press for the TFP's coverage of the 2002 fog-shrouded crash on I-75 in Catoosa County, Dick and his wife, Cathy, live on Marlboro Avenue where they are seen frequently chasing around their three grandsons.