Panthers have no answer for Ruffin, Southampton in 51-12 rout

Charles City's Troy Crawley (7) and RaShawn Shine (55) brings down Southampton's Tayriel Ruffin on a run. However, the Panthers would struggle containing the back who finished the night with 370 yards on the ground.

Andre' Jones photo

Tuesday night’s football contest between the visiting Southampton Indians and hosts Charles City turned out to be a rough one for the Panthers.

Check that. It turned out to be a “Ruffin” one for the home team.

Behind 303 first half rushing yards from running back Tayriel Ruffin, Southampton ran all over the Panthers 51-12, ruining the home opener.

Charles City survived an early scare in the first quarter as the visitors pounded the ball on eight consecutive runs from the Power I formation down to the one-yard line. However Indian signal caller Andrew Blunt would bobble the exchange on the handoff, resulting in Panther linebacker Richard Adkins’ recovery in the end zone, resulting in a touchback. That stop helped the hosts take a 0-0 deadlock into quarter two.

But from that point on, it was all about Ruffin and the Southampton offensive line. On the second play from scrimmage in the second quarter, Ruffin took the handoff and ran off tackle 58 yards in front of his team’s sideline for a touchdown and a 6-0 lead. After Charles City was forced to punt, Ruffin would scamper 70 yards two plays later on the very same play, with the result a 14-0 lead. Déjà vu occurred, as another Charles City punt placed Southampton back into their own territory. And once again on the very next play, the same play that scored this time was called again for the scatter back, who cut back across the middle of the field for a 66-yard score and a 22-0 lead within a six-minute time frame.

Charles City’s offense became successful after the aforementioned score. Quarterback Mason Jefferson would scramble 36 yards, setting up his 13 yard pass to Justin Thomas to narrow the margin to 16 (22-6).

As the Panthers’ defense looked to halt Ruffin’s progress, Southampton’s Blunt pulled the ball from the running back’s hand on a play-action pass, connecting with a wide open Darrius Bell for a score as part of a 30 point quarter for the guests.

Halftime didn’t treat the Panthers any better, as a score from Indian running back Jaylin Freeman tripled up the home team on the score board (36-12). Charles City would score through the air again with Jefferson’s connection to Troy Crawley, but another Ruffin touch led to his fourth score of the night, enough to push the game out of reach.

After the contest, head coach Steward Greene commented about his team’s letdown in the second quarter.

“We just had a lot of mental mistakes and that led to a lot of big plays,” he said, pointing to Ruffin’s long scores. “Our legs got tired and we just gave up after that.

“I have the athletes to go out and perform, but I think in this contest I could have used a few more bodies,” Greene added. “But this team can’t dwell on this loss as we have to turn around and play on Friday.”

Ruffin finished with 370 of his team’s 547 rushing yards on the ground to improve Southampton’s record to 1-1. Charles City falls to 1-1 on the season as they prepare to take on the fifth-ranked Group 1A team in the state Sussex Central on Friday.

2nd Quarter
S (10:51)- Ruffin 58 yard run (kick fail) 6-0
S (6:53)- Ruffin 70 yard run (Hall run) 14-0
S (4:21)- Ruffin 66 yard run (Hall run) 22-0
CC (3:38)- Jefferson 13 yard pass to Thomas (pass fail) 22-6
S (1:10)- Blunt 29 yard pass to Bell (Hall run) 30-6
3rd Quarter
S (3:58)- Freeman 1 yard run (kick fail) 36-6
CC (0:47)- Jefferson 7 yard pass to Crawley (pass fail) 36-12
S (0:00)- Ruffin 7 yard run (Freeman run) 44-12
4th Quarter
S (5:58)- Hunt 6 yard run (Holloway kick) 51-12

Passing (completions/attempts/yards)
SH- Blunt 1/2/29, 1 TD
CC- Jefferson 13/19/115, 2 TD, 1 Int.; Crawley 0/1/0

Receiving (receptions/yards)
SH- Bell 1/29, 1 TD
CC- Thomas 4/46, 1 TD; Crawley 3/42, 1 TD; K. Jones 1/16, Gardner 1/7, Tyler 3/4, C. Jones 1/0.

Rushing (attempts/yards)
SH- Ruffin 22/370, 4 TD; Smith 6/73, Reid-Wilkerson 8/60, Peden 3/17, Hall 3/9, Ricks 2/6, Hunt 1/6, 1 TD; Freeman 3/5, 1 TD; Blunt 2/1.
CC- Tyler 5/9, Jefferson 15/5, Gardner 1/5, C. Jones 1/3.