TIGERS 13, COWBOYS 10 : Late TD lifts Gold over Woodland
Posted on Friday, September 19, 2008
ANDY SHUPE Northwest Arkansas Times Bentonville Gold’s John Hembry, right, Woodland Juinor High’s Matt McEver and Gold’s Demarcus Murphy reach for a pass late in the second quarter of play Thursday at Harmon Field.
Bentonville Gold snatched victory from the jaws of defeat Thursday night by driving 68 yards in just over a minute to take a 13-10 win over the Woodland Cowboys at Harmon Field.
Woodland’s Max Coffin had just nailed a 38-yard field goal with 1: 33 remaining to put the Cowboys up 10-7 but Dallas Hardison had the final say. The Tigers’ quarterback, despite throwing two costly interceptions, went 4-for-4 on the final drive to set up Demarcus Murphy’s gamewinning 4-yard plunge with 15 ticks left.
“[Hardison ] is very football-savvy. He settled down and led them down the field very calmly and did what he was supposed to do, ” Gold head coach Toma Whorton said.
For Woodland (2-1, 1-1 NWAC ), it was a tough pill to swallow but head coach Bobby Crockett had nothing but praise for his team.
“ No words are going to help them at this point and time. I’m as proud of them as I can be, ” Crockett said. “ They fought their guts out and they played toe-to-toe from start to finish. I can’t complain a bit about my kids. ”
Both defenses outplayed the point-scorers in first half. Woodland stayed in Gold territory for much of the half but only netted 10 yards. The Tigers (3-0, 2-0 ) managed a few more yards than the Cowboys but their only scoring threat was snuffed out by a late sack by Bobby Stinson.
“ Our defense has been our mainstay all year long and they’ve done a great job, ” Crockett said. “ We just had a couple of breaks go against us late and that’s just the way football is sometimes. ”
The 0-0 score at halftime didn’t last long. On Gold’s first snap of the second half, Matt McEver stepped in front of a Tigers receiver, picked off Hardison and sprinted down the sideline 55 yards for the score. Coffin’s extra point made it 7-0, Woodland.
Hardison shook off the mistake and led his team on a 10-play, 59-yard drive. Hardison hit Murphy for 18 yards and threw to John Hembry for 13 more. Murphy finished the drive with a 4-yard run and Luke Crenshaw’s PAT knotted the game at 7.
Late in the third, Coffin’s 37-yard field goal attempt bounced off the left upright fell harmlessly in the end zone and the score remained tied.
Kampbell Walker intercepted Hardison on the Tigers’ next drive and set up Woodland at Gold’s 40-yard line. Austin Allen reeled off 7 yards and added 10 more two plays later. Coffin split the uprights this time and the Woodland faithful celebrated the 10-7 lead only to be stunned moments later.
Hardison threw for 173 yards, 59 coming on the last drive. His main targets were Chris Scroggins and Hembry with 61 yards and 48 yards, respectively.
Yards proved hard to come by for the Cowboys. Walker had two catches for 12 yards and Micheal Mahler had 29 yards on the ground.
In the eighth-grade game, Reese Dollins connected with Ramiro Valencia for two scores as the Washington Wildcats shut out Woodland, 16-0.
Woodland’s three-game homestand continues next week with Springdale Southwest coming to town. Gold hits the road for the third straight week, this time against Springdale George.
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