Football is a game of inches, but it’s also a game of downs. And it was the final down that made all the difference in Enterprise’s home opener against Diamond Ranch on Friday.

While the D-Backs were 1-for-4 on fourth-down conversion attempts, the Wolves capitalized on theirs with three field goals en route to a 16-7 win.

Rick Ramos hat trick propelled Enterprise to early momentum, and a 9-7 halftime lead.

It didn’t feel too much different; I just focused up and put them in,” Ramos said. “I got to give it up to the line — they blocked and kept everybody out.”

The D-Backs scored the first touchdown of the game, but even in the rain, Ramos was flawless, hitting field goals from 28, 40 and 31 yards out.

The wet conditions did seem to slow down Enterprise running back Joe Holt in the early going. He was held to -13 yards on four attempts in the first half.

After the halftime discussion, Holt and the rushing offense came out refreshed.

“The second half we went in, figured out what was wrong, found a play that worked, and ran it over and over and over and ran it down their throat,” Holt said.

Holt averaged four yards per carry in the second half, rushing for 73. Most of those yards came at the beginning of the fourth quarter, when Holt ran the ball 11 times for 65 yards, capping the drive off with an 18-yard run for Enterprise’s only touchdown of the game.

“This is my senior year, first time being running back. This boosted my confidence and our team’s confidence a lot. It was just a good game for us.”

Holt’s defining drive of the game came in the beginning of the fourth quarter where he rushed 11 times for 65 yards, capping the drive off with an 18-yard rushing touchdown.

The Wolves’ stiff defense matched the offensive intensity as they stumped Diamond Ranch on 3-of-4 fourth-down attempts — two within 25 yards of the end zone.

With only a few minutes left to play in the final quarter and the Wolves up by two scores, the D-Backs put together a quick aerial strike that landed them in the red zone, but quarterback Ryan Ong was eventually picked off by Dustin Tullis to secure the game’s outcome.

“Our defensive coordinator called an excellent game tonight and I thought our kids executed it very well,” said Enterprise coach Malin Williams. “When you get those two things happening, stuff works out for you.”

The Spectrum & Daily News
Written by
Garrett Faylor
To read the entire article click HERE

Photos by Rock Tucker