HS Football Pivot: What’s the ‘Ringer Raid’? Just watch the Rock Hill Bearcats

‘Ringer Raid’

They’re jokingly calling it “Ringer Raid,” this Rock Hill offense that wants so badly to sling the ball all over the place but is so much more consistently effective putting the ball into one of two running backs’ guts. It’s Rock Hill High’s offense, an effective marriage of football that looks more like what former Bearcats coach Jim Ringer would have used in the 1990s and early 2000s and current coach Bubba Pittman’s Air Raid.

Rock Hill’s 71-point outburst against Fort Mill was shocking. I can’t find a single-game point total anywhere near that since at least 2002, when MaxPreps came into existence. The Bearcats put 50 points on the scoreboard in the second half alone last Friday. Explosive plays came on the ground and through the air.

A key, key, key grain of salt: Rock Hill’s rushing success in the last three games -- well over 1,000 yards total on the ground -- has come against opponents that are a combined 3-18 this season. The Bearcats’ next three opponents, Clover, Nation Ford and Northwestern, should be much tougher. But there is no reason to believe that Rock Hill’s excellent offensive line will suddenly stop blocking, or that Noah Thompson and Narii Gaither will suddenly stop breaking off huge runs through those gaping holes the o-linemen are creating.

Nation Ford keeps plugging away

Nation Ford has had its share of offensive struggles the last two seasons, odd for a school that cranked out a couple college-level QBs for about four years or so. But offensive sluggishness didn’t stop the Falcons from contending in region play last fall, and they look set to do so again.

When Nation Ford’s offense froze in the second half last Friday against Clover, the defense took over, finishing the game with nine QB sacks and two interceptions, while blanketing a crew of very good Blue Eagles receivers. The Falcons’ coach, Michael Allen, is a scrappy dude, and that pluck is oozing into his program. It’s helped Nation Ford stay in the mix even when all cylinders haven’t fired.

Surviving

That’s what both South Pointe and Chester did last Friday, survive really good efforts from Westwood and Indian Land. The Stallions have leaned on their polar bear-like coolness in the biggest moments of the biggest games a couple of times this season, beating state-ranked Greenville and Westwood with game-winning fourth quarters.

That’s a characteristic Victor Floyd has slowly replicated in the Chester program since he returned for a second stint at the school four years ago. It’s the whatever-it-takes-to-win instinct that the Cyclones will need if they are to advance deep into the 3A state playoffs.

Looking ahead:

• Northwestern coach James Martin talked up the importance of the region games during the Trojans’ non-region struggles. They’re 0-5, but that will matter much less if they win at least two of the next four games -- beginning Friday against Clover -- and make the playoffs. And to be fair to Northwestern, consider the combined record and state rankings of the five teams that beat them: 24-4 and four out of five ranked in the state’s top-10 for either 4A or 5A football. Northwestern’s sixth game, against Sumter, was postponed or canceled (not sure yet). Of course, the Fighting Gamecocks are 6-0.
• York got a second straight win last Friday and one that could be very important for the Cougars’ state playoff hopes. An even bigger game looms this week, as York heads back down to Blythewood to face Westwood. No question the Redhawks will be stewing after blowing a realistic shot to knock off South Pointe.
• An earlier than usual Milltown Showdown takes place Friday at Nation Ford, when the Falcons host the rival Yellow Jackets. It’s the town of Fort Mill’s final year with just two high schools, as Catawba Ridge enters the frame next year (though the Copperheads won’t play either of their new rivals next year because 2019 schedules are already set). It would be tough to find a rivalry in The Herald’s coverage area (at least) that matches the atmosphere created by Fort Mill and Nation Ford’s student sections. And the football game usually matches the hype; six of the schools’ 11 games all-time have been decided by a touchdown or less, including last season’s.

This story was originally published September 30, 2018 at 6:57 PM.