Ridgeland's postseason ends with late rally by Cane Bay

A Ridgeland player's helmet rolled across the ground, tossed in frustration from the northwest end zone where the Jaguars were gathered. Meanwhile some 50 yards away, dozens of blue helmets bobbed in the air as their owners bounced on their tiptoes in exuberance.

The first playoff football game at Jasper County Stadium in 14 years began with such promise, but it ended with the Jaguars kicking at the sandy turf as they left the field after an 18-14 defeat at the hands of Cane Bay, a stinging loss for a team making its first playoff appearance in five years.

"Everything that happened tonight happened Week 1," second-year Ridgeland coach Richard Kirkland said. "We sort of had this ghost behind us that we just couldn't shake."

Ridgeland hurt itself with penalties (10 for 71 yards) and a crucial turnover -- a fumble on the Jaguars' first offensive play that Keenen Reid scooped up and returned 25 yards for a touchdown.

Still, the Jaguars seemed to be in control heading to the fourth quarter. They held a 14-12 lead and had a first down at the Cane Bay 14. But the Cobras stopped Torray Amlett two feet short on fourth down and Fritz Simmons capped a 10-play, 95-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to put the Cobras ahead for good.

Amlett's 5-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter tied it at 6, and that's where it remained at halftime as the defenses dominated the first half. Cane Bay regained the lead on its first possession of the second half, but the lead lasted less than a minute, as Amlett returned the ensuing kick 82 yards to set up Walter Nix for an 8-yard touchdown run. Jerry Scott added the two-point conversion run, and the Jaguars had their first lead.

But it didn't last, as the Jaguars watched Cane Bay rally and send Ridgeland to its fourth loss this season by eight points or fewer. The Jaguars' offense racked up 205 rushing yards, led by Amlett's 75 and Brent Walker's 71 before he was slowed by a knee injury in the first quarter. But they couldn't put the ball in the end zone when necessary, and the defense that played so well for three quarters faltered in the fourth.

"We knew what we had to do was try to make a statement," sophomore lineman Wesley Scott said. "The whole team felt good. We just didn't get the job done."

The Jaguars did finish with a winning record for the first time since 2004 and continued to build a foundation in only their second year under Kirkland, but that was of little consolation to the coach Friday.

"It still (stinks) to lose," Kirkland said. "If I say I'm satisfied with six wins, I'm satisfied with mediocrity."