Football: Erie's defense shines; shuts out Rampart in 4A 2nd round
Nov. 10—ERIE — Star quarterback Blake Barnett was briefly taken out after absorbing a hard hit along the sideline in the second quarter of Erie's runaway win over Rampart in the second round Class 4A postseason Friday.
It was a short-lived worry on an otherwise dominant night for the title-hopeful Tigers.
Barnett returned to the field a few minutes later to lead a touchdown drive in the final minutes of the first half, and No. 2 Erie sat most of its starters with the 40-points-spread running clock on the rest of the way in its 52-0 win over the 15th-seeded Rams.
Afterward, Barnett said he felt fine.
"It was a dirty, late hit," Barnett said in his letterman's jacket. "I was on the sideline and got my head driven to the ground, which sucked. So just (needed to) sit out and make sure I'm good for next week."
In a 10th straight win, Barnett rushed for three scores and threw a TD in a half of work. But it was the Tigers' sometimes overlooked defense that controlled the game from start to finish, forcing a pair of turnovers in its first shutout since it beat Windsor 41-0 on Oct. 29, 2021.
"We know the offense is going to do their job and we know if we do our job as a defense we won't lose," said senior defensive back Preston Terranova, who had a pick-six in the win. "Throughout our school and a lot of places last year, people talked about our defense in a way that we thought was disrespectful to us. We felt like this year we had something to prove and every game we've come out and proven that."
The Tigers (10-1) recovered their own onside kick and Barnett finished a nine-play drive with an 11-yard TD run to start the game.
Their defense took over from there.
Terranova picked off Rampart on its first possession, taking his 4A second-most eighth interception back 45 yards for the score to make it 14-0. Not long after that, Barnett forced a fumble at his safety position and Braylon Toliver recovered to set up Erie's fourth TD drive.
The Tigers' defense has now allowed less than 10 points in six of its last eight games and has forced eight turnovers and scored twice in its last three.
"Our defense is the Erie Tigers," Barnett said. "We came into this season trying to change our identity as a defensive team and not an offensive team. I think the last two years we came up short on the defensive side of the ball. I think now it's our strongest part."
Briefly shaken up, Barnett was returning a punt up 28-0 when he was grabbed by two defenders and slammed to the ground as he went out of bounds. A replay of it showed one defender on his back and the other driving and falling on him from the front. His head hit the turf.
With Barnett out, the team's possible future at quarterback, junior Ronin Ward, delivered a screen pass that Mason Cowgill took for a 43-yard TD on the next play. The defense followed it up with another stop on the strength of a sack by Lincoln Hageman.
Barnett was then cleared to return, leading a 72-yard drive in the final minutes of the half to make it 42-0. His night was over after that.
"I was a little angry," Barnett said. "I just wanted to go put another one on."
In a lickety-split second half due to a running clock, Ward added a 57-yard rushing TD and Tyler Hoffman kicked a 24-yard field goal on the team's only two offensive possessions.
Next week, the Tigers host No. 7 Dakota Ridge in the quarterfinals. The Eagles beat No. 10 Thomas Jefferson 52-28 in the second round.
