The Unaka football team found themselves in a high-scoring battle on Friday night. Unfortunately, the Rangers were unable to edge ahead.
Unaka dropped a 60-42 decision to Rye Cove (Va.) on the road. With the loss, the Rangers fall to 1-7 on the season.
The early going was a back-and-forth battle.
After the Eagles took an early, lead, Unaka got on the board with a 1-yard touchdown run by Logan Benway. The conversion was unsuccessful as UHS trailed 8-6.
Rye Cove got back on the board, but Unaka answered as Landon Ramsey hit Benway for a 69-yard touchdown. Ramsey hit Daniel Shearl for the two-point conversion as the Rangers trailed 16-14 after a quarter of play.
The Eagles pushed their lead to 32-14 in the second before Shearl hit Austin Drew for a 51-yard touchdown in the closing minutes of the first half.
However, Rye Cove struck again right before the half, but Unaka answered as Ramsey found Shearl for a 73-yard touchdown as the Rangers trailed 40-28 at the half.
The Rangers continued to battle in the second half as Benway scored on a two-yard touchdown to counter an earlier Rye Cove score. Benway added the final Unaka score in the fourth quarter on a six-yard run.
Benway finished with 210 yards on 24 carries, while Ramsey was 11-of-21 passing for 285 yards. Shearl had 157 yards on seven catches.
The Rangers return to action with a trip to Hampton next week.
