The Rockmart Yellow Jackets held on and finally notched their first win of the season on Friday night on the road at Ringgold.
The region opener for the Jackets went to overtime and ended with a 23-20 victory off a field goal kick by senior kicker Riley Gober.
Rockmart put up their first points – three off the boot of Gober – late in the second quarter to take a lead and scored a touchdown between Luke Parker and Tristan Anderson to make it 10.
Anderson also scored a rushing touchdown from two yards out against the Tigers defense in the third quarter, along with another field goal off of Gober’s boot.
Ringgold held on, adding two touchdowns in the third and a score in the fourth to take the game to overtime, but fell short when Gober notched in his final kick of the night.
Parker ended his night going 22 for 28 under center and putting up 231 yards and the TD pass, connecting the most with Anderson who had 61 yards in the air. Nate Davis had 22 carries for 141 yards on the night as well on the ground.
The Jackets struggled on turnovers, giving up five fumbles on the night to the Tigers defense.
Rockmart’s defense did have a solid night with a team total of 30 solo tackles – 8 of those put up by Davis – to shut down a Tigers offense who came into this contest with a 3-0 record.
The victory gave Rockmart it’s first win of the season after the rivalry loss to open the season against Cedartown, and a road trip to Cartersville that ended with a L as well.
The 1-2 Jackets host Union County in region play on Friday night. The Panthers also sit at 1-2 on the season, getting their first win of the season over Murray County. They took losses at Gilmer and at home to Fannin County in Week 2 and Week 3 of the 2024 season.
This is only the second time the two squads have faced each other. Rockmart defeated Union County in the Class AA playoffs in a 56-14 home victory in a second round game on their path toward a state title game.
