SALEM — The Classical football team put together a dominant game on both sides of the ball, beating Salem 36-0 at Bertram Field.
Rams coach Brian Vaughan was happy to see his team continue on the right track with another win after losing three straight games earlier in the season.
“I think we grew up as team,” Vaughan said. “We battled some adversities. It’s not easy losing three games in a row. It just shows you the grit that this team has and the character they have. They’ll never quit. They showed up every day to work and worked hard every day.
“The goal was to get better everyday and I think we did that,” he said.
Quarterback Keith Ridley was 7-for-12 for 101 yards and one touchdown with the bulk of his passes going to Nashaun Butler (4 catches for 74 yards and a touchdown). Butler also added a 75-yard punt return for a touchdown.
“Our offense kind of runs through him,” Vaughan said of Butler. “He’s one of the better receivers in the state. I think right now he has over 50 catches, over 800 yards and 12 touchdowns. We’re happy he’s on our offense instead of us covering him.”
After starting the game at their own 48, it didn’t take long for the Rams to score. Running back Marcus Tucker (5 carries for 52 yards and two touchdowns) scored on a 26-yard run to put Classical ahead 6-0 early.
The Rams defense, led by Chase Buono, bent at times but kept Salem out of the end zone when it mattered. Buono had two huge tackles for losses and an interception in the first half.
“Chase is our guy on defense,” Vaughan said. “He’s a kid that needs to play at the next level and make those plays. He’s been making those plays all year on defense. He’s a captain, makes all our defensive calls and it showed tonight.”
Classical capitalized on Buono’s interception with a 7-yard touchdown run by Ridley to go ahead 14-0.
The game took a turn for the worse late in the first half when two Salem players were injured, each of them being taken off the field via ambulance. The Rams had a first down at the Salem 20 with 1:04 to go in the half but, because of the injuries, the decision was made to have a halftime break before the end of the second quarter.
“It’s terrible,” Vaughan said of the injuries. “It’s always a scary feeling when that situation happens. You’re out there and you feel helpless.
“At halftime it was quiet in our locker room,” Vaughan added. “No one knew what to say and I’m sure it was the same thing in theirs. When you see stuff like that you’re always worried and I hope everything works out for those guys.”
After the halftime break the Rams finished the drive, scoring on a 14-yard run by Tucker to extend the lead to 22-0.
Classical continued rolling in the second half. Butler added a 17-yard touchdown catch from Ridley and returned a 75-yard punt as the Rams cruised to a 36-0 victory.
The Rams finish the regular season at 4-3 and will look to see how their Division 3 North playoff hopes shake out this weekend.
“We have to see what goes on tonight with some games and hopefully we are in,” Vaughan said. “We just hope everything works out for us.”
