RedStorm falls to Rams in season finale

Rio Grande Sports Information
     BLUEFIELD, Va. - While the University of Rio Grande's last chance to post a win in the resurrection season of its football program didn't produce the desired result, the RedStorm's finale did provide a measure of optimism for the future.
     Head coach Mark Thurston's squad set a season-high for points in a game, for first downs and for total offense, nearly erasing a 21-point first half deficit in an eventual 38-21 loss to Bluefield University, Saturday afternoon, in Appalachian Athletic Conference action at Mitchell Stadium.
     The host Rams improved to 3-6 overall and 2-3 in conference play with the victory.
     Rio Grande finished 0-9 overall and 0-6 in the AAC.
     The RedStorm found themselves trailing 21-0 with just over a minute to play in the first half after a first quarter TD run by the Rams' Kyree Edwards and a pair of second quarter scoring tosses by Ethan Cash, but a 65-yard touchdown pass from freshman Ayden Ludolph (Martins Ferry, OH) to freshman Beamer Walker (Cincinnati, OH) got Rio on the scoreboard and sliced the deficit to 21-7 at the intermission.
     The RedStorm drew even closer when Ludolph connected on a 9-yard scoring pass to sophomore Devon Head (Hillside, IL), capping a short five-play, 20-yard drive with 9:25 remaining in the third period and making it 21-14.
     Cash added a 4-yard TD run just under four minutes later to push the Bluefield lead back to 28-14 but, again, Rio drew back within striking distance after sophomore Pierre Ricks (Hollandale, MS) returned an interception 40 yards for touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter to make it a one score game at 28-21.
     The Rams were finally able to settle the issue once and for all by scoring on each of their next two possessions - a 32-yard field goal by Dylan Ausley with 9:28 left and a 7-yard TD toss from Cash to Rayjuan Traynham with 4:25 remaining to set the final score.
     Bluefield converted 13 of its 16 third down situations en route to piling up 23 first downs and 447 yards of total offense.
     Rio Grande had 15 first downs and 320 yards of total offense.
     Cash completed 21 of his 29 pass attempts for 239 yards and three touchdowns in the winning effort, while Edwards rushed for 119 yards on 18 carries in addition to catching seven passes for 68 yards.
     Abdul Kaloko had four catches for 86 yards for the Rams.
     For Rio, Ludolph completed 10 of his 25 passes for a career-high 207 yards and two scores. He also rushed for a team-high 36 yards and 11 carries.
     Walker caught two passes for a career-high 117 yards in a losing cause.
     Defensively, sophomore Nathaniel Lopez (East Mims, FL) had a team-high 13 tackles for the RedStorm. Freshman Joris Gibson (Jacksonville, FL) and Ricks had 12 and 11 stops, respectively.
     Freshman Zach Goble (Pomeroy, OH) also had an interception for Rio Grande.