WHAT WE SAW: Ashley Ridge 17, West Ashley 0
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Summerville | When the Ashley Ridge defense plays well, the Swamp Foxes are a pretty good football team. In their four wins prior to Friday night, Ashley Ridge allowed only 32 points and had wins over Conway and St. James.…
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Continue ReadingSummerville | When the Ashley Ridge defense plays well, the Swamp Foxes are a pretty good football team. In their four wins prior to Friday night, Ashley Ridge allowed only 32 points and had wins over Conway and St. James.
However, in their two defeats, to Cane Bay and Fort Dorchester, the defensive unit allowed 72 points and more than 600 yards.
Coming off their worst performance of the season, a 42-7 loss on Monday night to Fort Dorchester, the Swamp Foxes brought a different mindset into Friday night’s game against a 7-0 West Ashley squad.
Ashley Ridge put together their most complete defensive performance of the season en route to a 17-0 shutout of the visiting Wildcats. The victory pushed Ashley Ridge to 5-2 on the season and 1-1 in region 7-AAAAA play. Ashley Ridge yielded less than 100 total yards in offense and West Ashley did not cross midfield until the fourth quarter. The Wildcats never threatened to score.
The anchor of the Ashley Ridge defense is at linebacker where three seniors start and lead the way. Middle backer TJ Wilson TJ Wilson 6'0" | 215 lbs | LB Ashley Ridge | 2023 State SC is a fourth-year starter and calls the sets from the inside. Wilson has more than 300 career tackles and arrives with an attitude.
On either side of Wilson are Alex Ledford Alex Ledford 6'1" | 200 lbs | LB Ashley Ridge | 2023 State SC and Christian Garland Christian Garland 6'3" | 220 lbs | LB Ashley Ridge | 2023 State SC . Ledford (6-1, 190) runs well and is a versatile player in terms of his ability to cover and play the run.
Garland (6-3, 220) is the guy drawing the attention of college coaches. Several were on hand Friday night to watch the impressive athlete perform. Garland jumps on offense as a running back in special situations and scored the game’s first touchdown on a seven-yard run.
On offense, the offensive line has two budding prospects in sophomore Bryce Lawhon Bryce Lawhon 6'6" | 350 lbs | OL Ashley Ridge | 2025 State SC and freshman Cody Peterson Cody Peterson 6'5" | 315 lbs | OL Ashley Ridge | 2026 SC . Lawhon is 6-7, 320-pounds and Peterson is 6-5, 315-pounds. Size is the obvious attraction to college recruiters and each will develop into Power 5 prospects as the gain strength and improve their footwork.
West Ashley’s top prospect is junior linebacker/running back Terry Grant Terry Grant 6'0" | 210 lbs | LB West Ashley | 2024 State SC , a 6-0, 200-pounder. Grant looks the part and plays physical. His play kept his team in the game while the offense struggled.