BINGHAMTON – Some things you just can’t practice. Like the improvisation of Johnson City quarterback Ricky Balles, who bailed his team out of broken plays time and again.
Balles threw for three scores against Norwich Saturday, and added two TD runs in the second half in the Wildcats’ 35-14 win in the Section IV Class B semifinals at Binghamton Alumni Stadium.
Balles threw for 234 yards on 12-of-15 passing as Norwich had difficulty matching up with JC’s athletic receivers. Balles hit seven different targets finding Anthony Johns, Dominic Taylor, and Quinton Johnson on scoring passes. The first of those – to Johns – was a direct-to-ESPN-top-10 highlight.
On second down, Balles was tripped up for a 17-yard sack by Tornado senior Spencer Stone. Facing a third-and-forever, Balles narrowly avoided an onslaught of Norwich pursuers as he weaved and bobbed breaking at least two tackles to extend the play.
Rolling to his right, he found Johns near the right sideline – in front of the JC bench. Johns broke two more tackles and raced down the right sideline for the improbable 64-yard TD to open the scoring.
“It seemed like we had (Balles) at least eight times, and then (Johns) another eight times,” said Norwich coach Mike Chrystie.
Just a week earlier, Norwich was blown out by JC, 55-7. The second quarter in that game was pivotal as the Wildcats scored four TDs to create a 34-0 halftime lead. This second quarter, though, was a different story.
A Zan Stewart punt for Norwich pinned JC deep, and Norwich’s defense forced a three-and-out, the only time that occurred on this evening. Taking over at the Wildcats’ 42, Norwich drove for its only score of the first half.
Using Stewart on the out- side – and his seven-inch height advantage over the JC defensive back – NHS quarterback Tristan Rifanburg lofted two completions to Stewart to cover the majority of the distance to the goal. The second strike went for eight yards and the tying touchdown.
Johnson City marched 50 yards for the go-ahead score as Balles completed four passes to three separate receivers. The drive concluded on a clutch fourth-down score as Balles rolled to his left, drew the Norwich defense toward him, then found Taylor at the last moment for the score. Corey Cochrane’s point-after kick left it at 14-7 at the break.
“Balles is a special kid, and we knew we had to contain him,” Chrystie said. “We didn’t do a good job of that, and when he gets in space, he is tough to stop.”
Johnson City had 188 yards of total offense in the first half, but 132 of them came on two pass plays. Johns broke a late first-half run for 36 yards, one that left him hobbled and sidelined for the rest of the game. To that point; however, JC had negative rushing yards.
“I think we did a great job defensively other than three plays, and I think we outplayed them,” Chrystie said. “It just didn’t show on the scoreboard.”
Johnson City’s ability to sustain drives – and Norwich’s inability – factored heavily in the second half. Norwich failed to capitalize on a JC lost fumble to start the second half, and the Wildcats proceeded to score on each of their next three possessions.
Balles drove his team 72 yards for the first score, a 10-yard slant pass to Johnson. In just two plays, Norwich answered. Rifanburg connected with Stewart for 21 yards, and Michael Oralls dashed 61 yards for the touchdown outlegging JC defender Conner Halladay. That would be Norwich’s last offensive highlight.
Balles scrambled for a 25-yard TD late in the third, and capped the scoring in the fourth with another instance of improvisation. Rolling to his left on a pass play, Balles reversed course to the right side dashing into the right side of the endzone.
To that point, JC had simplified its offensive attack with no-frills runs up the middle from fullback Reggie Williams and backup tailback Nick Neferis.
“Their offense just wore on us in the second half, and we couldn’t get their offense off the field,” Chrystie said. “When we did, we couldn’t sustain anything on offense.”
Norwich (4-5) was led by Oralls’ 75 yards rushing, Stewart’s 51 yards receiving, and Rifanburg’s 60 yards passing. On the defensive side, John Marvin had two fumble recoveries and one sack, and Everett Thompson intercepted a Balles pass in the fourth quarter.
Score by quarters
NHS 0 7 7 0—14
JCity 7 7 14 7—35
Scoring Summary
First quarter
JC: Ricky Balles 64 pass to Anthony Johns (Corey Cochrane kick), 3:26
Second quarter
N: Tristan Rifanburg 8 pass to Zan Stewart (Stewart kick), 7:22
JC: Balles 4 pass to Dominic Taylor (Cochrane kick), 1:43
Third quarter
JC: Balles 10 pass to Quinton Johnson (Cochrane kick), 4:18
N: Michael Oralls 61 run (Stewart kick), 3:36
JC: Balles 25 run (Cochrane kick), 1:08
Fourth quarter
JC: Balles 4 run (Cochrane kick), 7:42
Team Summary
N JC
First downs 6 17
Rushes-yds 26-11643-224
Passing yds 60 234
Total yds 176 458
Comp-att-int 6-18-012-15-1
Punts-avg 6-30.8 1-31
Fumbles-lost 0-0 5-2
Penalties-yds 3-35 6-55
Individual Statistics
Rushing: (N) Michael Oralls, 5- 75, Tristan Rifanburg, 13-28; Matt Burke, 2-8; Keagan Franklin, 3-4; Jaden MacRabie, 3-1. (JC) Reggie Williams, 9-72; Ricky Balles, 8-48; Nick Neferis, 10-40; Anthony Johns, 7-39; Nykiem Social, 7-25; Dominic Taylor, 1-7; Team, 1- (-7).
Passing: (N) Tristan Rifanburg, 6- 18-0, 60 yds, TD; (JC) Ricky Balles, 12-15-1, 234 yds, 3 TDs.
Receiving: (N) Zan Stewart, 3-51; Everett Thompson, 1-11; Keagan Franklin, 1-0; Mike Oralls, 1- (-2). (JC) Taylor, 4-83; Quinton Johnson, 3-42, Anthony Johns, 1-64, Adam Korutz, 1-16; Nykiem Social, 1-10, Conner Halladay, 1-10, Nick Neferis, 1-9.