COLFAX - Kyle Samples barreled up the middle untouched on a 20-yard touchdown run with 5:34 remaining in the game to give LeRoy High School's football team a 13-12 win over Ridgeview in a key Heart of Illinois Conference game Friday night.

The Panthers handed Ridgeview, ranked No. 7 in the Class 1A state poll, its first loss of the season while seeing their record improve to 5-2 overall and in the league.

Samples' touchdown run capped a 64-yard, five-play drive for the Panthers and came just over a minute after Ridgeview had taken a 12-7 lead in a hard-fought game that featured a number of momentum swings.

"We did some things tonight that we haven't done all year," said LeRoy coach B.J. Zeleznik. "Our defense maintained the line of scrimmage and we tackled. Offensively, we made plays when we had to make plays. We did some things tonight that we had to do to win a big football game."

One of the things they hoped to do was contain a potent Ridgeview running attack led by halfback Jacob Maffett.

Maffett was able to gain 125 yards on 29 carries with teammate Nick Bose adding 111 yards on 18 carries. But LeRoy was able to stop Ridgeview in some crucial situations.

The defense made critical plays when they had to," Zeleznik said. "We knew we were going to bend. We knew we were going to give up yards. We knew that they were going to score, but when we had to make critical plays at critical junctures, we did that."

Both teams were hurt by penalties and turnovers in the first half.

The Mustangs' opening possession ended with LeRoy's Jordan Stone recovering a fumbled pitchout at midfield.

Just two plays later, however, Ridgeview got the ball back when Dalton Ferguson recovered a Panther fumble only to have LeRoy take it away once more when Dushon Morris intercepted a Ridgeview pass and returned it into Mustangs' territory.

LeRoy was unable to capitalize on the turnover, however, and in Ridgeview's next possession it appeared as though the Mustangs had taken the lead.

Maffett bounced off a tackler at the line of scrimmage and headed 40 yards into the end zone. Ridgeview was called for a motion penalty, however, nullifying the score.

LeRoy would be the first to get on the board with Rodney Henson scoring from 3 yards out just 48 seconds into the second quarter.

T.J. Marcum's extra point kick gave LeRoy a 7-0 lead and the boot proved to be the difference in the game.

Ridgeview missed on both of its point after attempts, the first time on a bad snap from center. They also failed to score from a yard out after a penalty gave them a second try at the end zone after they scored the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Ridgeview's first touchdown came on the Mustangs' opening drive of the second half after LeRoy fumbled the kickoff. Ridgeview's Derek Powell pounced on the loose ball at the LeRoy 35-yard line.

Five plays later, Tyler Harper punched into the end zone from under a yard out to pull the Mustangs to within 7-6.

The Mustangs moved the ball well on their next possession also, putting together a 13-play drive that ate up nearly half of the third quarter. The drive stalled at the LeRoy 40-yard line.

Ridgeview had a fourth-and-one situation at the 35, but a motion penalty moved them back five yards when LeRoy stopped a fourth-and-six run just shy of a first down.

Ridgeview went ahead with 6:39 remaining in the game when Bose streaked to the outside and into the end zone on a fourth-and-four play from the LeRoy 17.

The Panthers immediately rallied back on their next possession to retake the lead and then held Ridgeview on the next series when Maffett was brought down in the backfield by Michael Byro on a fourth-and-two play.

Brent Alexander, who assisted on that fourth-down play, finished the game with 34 combined initial hits or tackles.

The loss for Ridgeview left a jam at the top of the Heart of Illinois standings with two weeks to play in the season.

"The penalties hurt us and we hurt ourselves tonight in a lot of situations," said Ridgeview coach Mike Benton. "But that's taking nothing away from LeRoy. Our kids played their butts off and laid it on the line and played as hard as they could. Hopefully, we can get better and learn from this."

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