Saturday, October 18, 2008
Madisonville-North Hopkins High School running back Ryan Robinson rushed for three touchdowns in another explosive running effort as the Maroons defeated the Graves County Eagles 35-14 after a sluggish first half.
Tied 14-14 entering the fourth quarter, Robinson and the rest of the backfield turned it on to put the game out of reach for North and essentially clinch at least a four-seed in the 6A playoffs for the first time in school history.
The Eagles (4-3, 1-3) appeared ready to take the momentum, holding the ball with less than 10 minutes to play to play. On second-and-10, however, from their own 34-yard line, the Maroons (5-2, 2-2) began the turn-around when North defender J.C. Wade dove to the ground to haul in an interception near the 40-yard line.
Robinson used just two plays to convert the pick into a seven-point lead. On second-and-four, Robinson ran to his left side. Receiver L.J. Gregory cleared two defenders on a wonderful block that created a running lane for Robinson and he sprinted the rest of the way for a 33-yard score.
Forced to turn to its passing game, Graves County felt the pressure and failed to gain significant yardage through the air and had to punt.
North inherited the ball at its own 40-yard line with just under five minutes to play. Back-to-back 23-yard runs by Robinson and quarterback Matt Levin gave the Maroons another rushing touchdown. Levin created the score when he sold the hand-off to Robinson and went untouched off the left side of the line for six points.
The Eagles turned the ball over on downs after a three-and-out on their ensuing drive, giving North the ball at the 20-yard line. Chris “The Bus” Scisney scored the Maroons’ fifth rushing touchdown on a 12-yard carry to put his squad up 35-14 with less than two minutes to go.
The first 24 minutes of play did not go as smooth though for North. Offensive miscues highlighted the first half as Graves scored on a fumble recovery and interception return, while the Maroon defense shutdown the Eagle offense to 61 total yards.
It took Graves less than one minute to score the game’s first points. Although North began the game with the ball, on second-and-one from its own 19-yard line, Levin made a lateral pass in the flats to Robinson, who could not find the handle.
Eagle defender Cassidy McAlpin alertly picked up the live ball and took it to the endzone with a 7-0 lead just 42 seconds into play.
The Maroon defense did its best, holding the Eagles to a three-and-out on their first offensive series.
A Graves holding penalty on fourth down allowed North to set up its ensuing drive on the Eagle 40-yard line thanks to a 10-yard return by Ryan Quinn.
On third-and-seven from the 37-yard line, Levin dropped back to throw and a Graves defender committed pass interference, giving the home team a first down just inside the red zone at the 19-yard line.
Robinson took the next play, a carry, to the house, running up the middle then bouncing to the right side for the corner. Rush Dugger added the extra-point opportunity to even the game at 7-7.
Once again, the Maroon defense limited the Graves attack and forced a punt on fourth-and-15.
During the punt attempt, North’s Joe Kington shred through the line and blocked the football. Graves recovered at the 5-yard line, but it was a turnover on downs.
One play later, Robinson took his second carry of the day into the endzone for his second touchdown and the Maroons went up 14-7.
North appeared poised to take that same lead into halftime as neither offense could muster any sustainable drives in the second quarter. The Maroons inherited the ball with 54 seconds remaining in the half and did not appear to be making much of the drive until a pass interference call on the Eagles gave North a first down near the 35-yard line.
The next play, Levin attempted a pass to Scisney, but the ball was underthrown and intercepted by defensive back Dustin Collins, who sprinted 52 yards down the left sideline to tie the game with six seconds left.
Madisonville-North Hopkins 14 0 0 21 – 35
Graves County 7 7 0 0 – 14
GC-Cassidy McAlpin 15-yard fumble return, Tyler Willett XP
MN-Ryan Robinson 19-yard rush, Rush Dugger
MN-Robinson 5-yard rush, Dugger XP
GC-Dustin Collins 52-yard interception return, Willett XP
MN-Robinson 33-yard rush, Dugger XP
MN-Matt Levin 23-yard rush, Dugger XP
MN-Chris Scisney 12-yard rush, Dugger XP
Madisonville-North Hopkins (4-2)
Passing: Matt Levin 12-17, 64 yards, 1 INT
Receiving: Isiah White 2-31, Ryan Quinn 2-19, L.J. Gregory 3-13, Ryan Robinson 3-6, Chris Scisney 1-(-2,) Carl Hatchett 1-(-3)
Rushing: Robinson 14-131, 3 TD, Chris Scisney 7-31, 1 TD, Levin 9-15, 1 TD
Punt block: Joe Kington
Forced fumble: J.C. Wade
Fumble recovery: Troy Collins, Jaquez Samuel
Interception: Jesse Donahue 1-12, J.C. Wade
Graves County (4-2)
Passing: Jake Clapp 4-18, 31 yards 1 INT, Larry Brown 0-1, 1 INT
Rushing: Dustin Collins 8-40, Dillon Pirtle 7-34, Chase Walls 8-22, Clapp 10-12, Zach Crawford 1-4, Steven Thomas 1-1
Receiving: Pirtle 3-23, Taylor Jones 1-8
Interceptions: Dustin Collins 1-52, 1 TD
Fumble recovery: Cassidy McAlpin 1-15, 1 TD
No comments:
Post a Comment