Loudon Edges East Ridge

Loudon got its first year on the win by withstanding a furious comeback from East Ridge, edging the Pioneers, 16-13, in a non-region high school football game Friday in Loudon.

Loudon (1-8) established a 16-0 halftime lead with a dominating ground game and taking advantage of East Ridge turnovers. But, East Ridge (4-5) came roaring back in the second half.

The Pioneers rushed for 200 yards and two scores in the third quarter.

East Ridge had a chance to draw even late in the fourth quarter, but a 36-yard field goal missed the mark.

East Ridge will play Chattanooga Christian in a critical Region 3/3A contest this coming Friday evening.

About Dick Cook

Dick Cook has lived in East Ridge since the Kennedy Administration when his parents bought a house on Marietta Street. Dick graduated from ERHS in 1976 before going on to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he studied Political Science. Dick worked for the Chattanooga Free-Press and the Chattanooga Times Free Press for 22 years. Free-Press Sports Editor Roy Exum plucked him out of production in 1989 and gave him a job as a sports reporter. Dick covered everything from prep sports to the whitewater events on the Ocoee River for the 1996 Olympics. When Chattanooga's two paper's merged, he became the Crime Reporter covering both the Chattanooga Police and Fire Departments. He was among reporters who were honored by the Associated Press for the TFP's coverage of the 2002 fog-shrouded crash on I-75 in Catoosa County, Dick and his wife, Cathy, live on Marlboro Avenue where they are seen frequently chasing around their three grandsons.