Stringer throttled visiting Richton tonight, 46-7, to secure the No. 3 playoff seed in Region 4-1A. The Red Devils (5-4, 5-2) will open the playoffs in the first round next Friday night at Coffeeville of Region 3-1A.
“It feels pretty good (to win tonight). Improving from year to year is the main goal. Any coaching staff wants to do that, and that's what we've done this season. In the regular season, we finished better and finished to get to the playoffs,” explained Stringer head coach Morris Cascio. “We've got to travel next week, but that's OK. We made the playoffs.”
Richton put the playoff brakes on Stringer last season, keeping the Red Devils from advancing into the first round of the playoffs, but Cascio's team dealt a strong blow early to the Rebels Friday night and kept pouring fuel to the fire.
“Our team just played in all phases of the ballgame tonight. Played well,” Cascio mentioned.
JoJo Sampson got things going for the Red Devils when he returned the opening kickoff 78 yards to Richton's three-yard line to set up Stringer's first touchdown of the night. Two plays later quarterback Jackson Parker barrelled into the endzone to hand the Devils a 6-0 advantage with not even a minute elapsed from the game clock.
Stringer went on to be productive on both sides of the football in the first half and took a comfortable 33-0 cushion into halftime.
Parker connected with Landon Duckworth on a 26-yard touchdown pass with 2:17 left in the first quarter to advance Stringer's lead to 13-0. Parker, later in the second quarter, hit Omarion Bridges on a 25-yard pass to set up the Red Devils deep in Richton territory. Several plays later, Parker got into the endzone for his second rushing touchdown of the night on a 1-yard run to boost Stringer's lead 20-0 with 6:20 remaining in the second quarter. Stringer then took advantage of a Richton bad punt snap that positioned the Red Devils at the Rebels' two-yard line. Bridges crossed the goal line on a 2-yard touchdown run to hand Stringer a 27-0 lead with 3:38 left in the first half. Following a fumble late in the second quarter recovered by Nick Newell, Parker aired out a 37-yard touchdown strike to Isaiah Morgan to put the Devils up 33-0 at the half.
In the second half, Stringer put the game on cruise control. Will Grice recovered a Richton fumble early in the third quarter, and Sampson eventually scooted into the endzone on a 10-yard run to give Stringer a 40-0 lead. Richton got on the scoreboard midway through the third quarter to cut Stringer's lead to 40-7, but the Red Devils put the final exclamation on the game with a Grice 16-yard touchdown run with 2:15 left in the contest.
