|
On
the first drive of the second half the
re-charged Cougars came out with an effective
drive moving the ball up the field with relative
ease for the first time all afternoon. LCC
went to lots of misdirection and a few reverses
to mix things up and it had a dramatic impact on
opening up the lanes. Big gains by WR
Justin Garmyn and RB Doug Hawley moved the
Cougars forward. With focus being shifted
to the outside, LCC went right up the gut on the
option keeper from QB Matt Staudt all the way to
the Hornet 37. The Cougars failed to go
any deeper and turned the ball over on downs.
They had eaten almost 8 minutes worth of clock
and came away with zero points. It was a
momentum killer. The Cougar defense didn't
hang their heads however and came away with a
turnover when they needed it most.
Jorgensen rolled all the way to the right
sideline to elude pressure and then broke the
Cardinal Sin of passing when he through the ball
across his body to the middle of the field where
DB Pat Guysky stepped in front of the pass and
took it back to the Williamston 32.
Penalties plagued LCC all day and it continued
as they were flagged 11 yards for holding on the
first play after the turnover. With a big
3rd and 13, LCC went to the quick slant from
Staudt to WR Max Gover who made a few nifty move
and scooted 14 yards down to the Williamston 21.
After a 2 yard run from Staudt and a 5 yard run
by Hawley got the ball down to the 14, they were
faced with a 3rd and 3, much more manageable
then the last third down attempt. On the
first play of the fourth quarter the Cougars
went horizontal to Hawley on the quick screen
and he took it down to the one after picking up
the first down and 13 yard tally in all.
On first and goal from the one Garmyn came in at
QB to take the snap and run the option right for
the tying score. LB Glen Sible busted
through the line and blocked the attempted go
ahead XP.
Williamston started their ensuing possession at
the 20. Sawaya took the handoff for a nice
5 yard pick-up but the more important aspect of
the play is what happened afterwards. LCC
was penalized for a dead-ball personal foul and
instead of Williamston running their next set at
the 25, they would have first down at the 40.
Facing 3rd and 5 from the 45, Jorgensen dropped
back and hit WR Tyler Bengel for about 5 and a
half, just moving the sticks. Bengel had
an interception that stopped a Cougar drive
earlier in the game. Williamston hit a
wall again three plays later, facing a 4th and
inches. Jorgensen took the ball behind
left guard and plowed forward for the first to
the LCC 37. With just over 7 minutes
remaining in the game, the Hornets were moving
forward towards the potential game winner.
After two brilliant plays by LCC's defense,
including a 6 yard sack by LB Jeff Bien, came
the heartbreaker. Jorgensen dropped back,
was hit as he through just like the first half
and the ball was overran by the LCC defensive
backs. The desperation pass fell into the
arms of a Williamston receiver who was actually
almost on his knees to make the grab. The
34 yard pickup to the 13 yard line was the play
of the afternoon. On third and goal from
the six, came the eventual game winner. TE
Jon Hayes ran a basic seam route in the middle
of the endzone and caught a perfectly placed
Jorgensen ball that was lofted over the
defensive front. Of course, the extra
point was blocked and the lead stood at 6.
The Cougars had just enough time to put together
one last drive for the tying td. They put
together a well composed drive to get it into
Williamston territory, including a fourth and 14
conversion from Staudt to WR Christian Baker to
the Hornet 48. The next set of downs is
where the push ended. On the next fourth
down attempt, Staudt dropped back, the O-Line
did a great job of giving him time and he fired
it over the middle but it wasn't meant to be as
the ball went right off of the intended
receivers fingertips, 2 yards beyond the first
down marker.
It was a hard fought game, a game in which both
teams will have a lot to work on if they want to
get back into the thick of things. Both of
these teams could still be headed to the
post-season but for the Hornets their road just
got a lot easier, getting to the halfway point.
For LCC, they can only afford one more loss.
That's a tall task with DeWitt coming to town
next week and Fowlerville still lurking ahead in
the schedule. For Williamston they may be
halfway there but they have yet to face any of
the 'Big 3' in the Capital Area 3. The
next two weeks will tell us just about
everything we need to know about each team's
playoff aspirations. |
