TUNNEL HILL, Ga. — In football, generally the defense wants to keep the other team from scoring.

But in the waning minutes of Friday night’s Region 6-4A showdown between Northwest Whitfield High School and Ridgeland, Bruins head coach Josh Robinson told his defense to let the Ridgeland offense score a touchdown.

“It was the only way we were going to have a chance,” Robinson said.

The Bruins trailed 21-20 with 1:57 left in the game, and after turning the ball over on downs on their 20-yard line, allowed Ridgeland running back Jordan Blackwell to go 20 yards untouched for the touchdown. After the extra point, Ridgeland led Northwest Whitfield 28-20. That meant a touchdown and a two-point conversion could have tied the game.

After a solid kickoff return by Northwest Whitfield’s Matthew Redmond and two personal foul penalties on Ridgeland, the Bruins had excellent field position at their opponent’s 33-yard line with 1:49 left. But a Ty Fisher interception ended the drive, and another late Ridgeland touchdown allowed the visiting Panthers to leave with the 35-20 victory.

Ridgeland improved to 3-2, 2-0 in Region 6-4A while Northwest Whitfield dropped to 3-2, 0-1 in Region 6-4A.

The Bruins played a sloppy game, with four turnovers (three interceptions and a fumble) and a missed extra point that would have tied the game at 21 with about five minutes left.

“We made too many mistakes in the second quarter defensively and we just turned the ball over too much,” Robinson said. “When you have four turnovers and they’re that fast it will come back to bite you.”

The Northwest Whitfield defense also had trouble stopping the Ridgeland running game. Blackwell had a field day at Bruin Stadium, finishing with 232 yards on 25 carries and three touchdowns — including two in the final minutes.

“I got a little hyped at the end, started to get a little crunk to get us going,” Blackwell said. “It took us a while to get it going but we ended up with the result we needed.”

Northwest Whitfield started the game off right. It took the opening possession 72 yards in 11 plays, capping it with Fisher’s 11-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Seth Henderson. The extra point extended the Bruins’ lead to 7-0.

But Ridgeland controlled the first half as it went on three touchdown drives. In the first quarter Blackwell punched the ball in for a score from 3 yards out, then in the second quarter Terrance Roberts went 85 yards on a scoring run. Blackwell added another 3-yard touchdown run. At halftime, Ridgeland led Northwest Whitfield 21-7

But the Bruins battled back in the second half. With 8:03 remaining in the third quarter, running back Dominique Sistrunk caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Fisher, and the extra point closed the Ridgeland lead to 20-14. The Bruins defense held on several Ridgeland possessions, and after Northwest Whitfield blocked a punt they had the ball at the Ridgeland 5-yard line with about five minutes left in the game. Sistrunk ran for a 5-yard score. But the missed extra point left the Bruins behind 21-20.

After dropping the important first region game, Northwest Whitfield must regroup as the Bruins travel to LaFayette to take on the Ramblers next Friday night. Robinson’s message to his players was clear.

“My whole life I’ve gotten knocked down and the only answer is you’ve got to get up and go again,” Robinson said. “You can make the decision to lay down and there are not tough men that lay down. You’ve got to be tough. One of these days you’re going to have a family, you’re going to have a wife and you can’t just quit. That’s what I’m going to tell them now.”