APOLLO: Friday’s game between Apollo-Ridge and Shady Side Academy was still up for grabs as the fourth quarter got underway. Shady Side had driven to the Apollo-Ridge 16, down by 12 points and facing a fourth-and-seven. But Vikings safety Grant Gourley blasted Indians running back Brian Deal for a six yard loss, giving Apollo-Ridge the ball and the momentum to score two more touchdowns and salt away a 27-0 victory over Shady Side in an Allegheny Conference game at Owens Field. The victory was the fourth in a row for the Vikings after an opening loss to Mars. Apollo-Ridge trails the first place Planets by one-half game in the conference standings. The Indians fell to 1-3, 1-4. Shady Side was on a 10-play drive and looking to score, but Gourley’s bone-jarring tackle prevented the Indians from scoring on their deepest penetration of the night. ‘I was firing on the blitz from the outside,’ Gourley said. ‘I saw him coming and it was all reaction.’ Apollo-Ridge had taken a 12-0 lead in the first period when sophomore Jarod Miller scored on a nine-yard run. Zach Gourley’s 38-yard return of the opening kickoff set up the successful drive. Tyler Brewer later recovered a Shady Side fumble caused by teammate Zach Gourley. Grant Gourley’s nine-yard pass To Luke Hill gave the Vikings a 12-0 advantage with 19 seconds left in the first half. The Indians turned over the ball on each of their first three possessions. ‘I made some mistakes on my play calls,” said Shady Side coach John Cappa. ‘That didn’t help our defense. We should have been in this game, but I took it out of our kids’ hands.’ The Indians’ defense stiffened, preventing Apollo-Ridge from getting anyfirst downs from early in the second period to early in the fourth period. ‘They took away some things we wanted to do,’ said Vikings coach Jerry Moore. ‘We had to scratch our heads a little bit and eventually we were able to pull it together and do what we needed to do to win.’ Shady Side was stopped two previous times on fourth down attempts before Grant Gourley’s big fourth quarter hit. Jeff Kirk’s sack on Damian Johnson in the second period was followed early in the third quarter by Jeff Faber and Justin Amendola teaming up to throw Johnson for a five-yard loss. After Apollo-Ridge had gained possession early in the fourth quarter, Indians cornerback D’Andre Bailey intercepted Grant Gourley at the Shady Side 10. But the Indians had to punt, setting up a seven-play scoring drive for the Vikings. Zach Gourley’s 29-yard run and brother Grant’s conversion run put the Vikings ahead by 20. On Shady Side’s third play from scrimmage, Zach Gourley intercepted Johnson and scored on a 52-yard return. Individual statistics Rushing: Shady Side Academy: Brian Deal 20-68, D’Andre Bailey 16-108, Damian Johnson 7-(-4), Ronald Snyder 1-15; Apollo-Ridge: Zach Gourley 16-105-1, Grant Gourley 7-46, Luke Hill 1-2, Jarod Miller 7-27-1, Tyler Brewer 1-4, Frank Colwell 7-29, Adam Ross 1-6. Passing: Shady Side Academy: Johnson 4-14-3-(-2)-0; Apollo-Ridge: G. Gourley 4-13-2-32-1. Receiving: Shady Side Academy: Deal 4-(-2); Apollo-Ridge: Hill 2-25, Colwell 1-3, Ross 1-4.

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