By TIM TAYLORSouthern Tier Sports Report
OWEGO — A breezy afternoon didn’t help Horseheads' kicking game as the Blue Raiders left five potential points and a possible victory on the field in a 13-12 loss to Owego in Section IV football action here Saturday afternoon.
Horseheads missed a pair of PAT kicks before lining up to attempt a game-winning field goal with one minute to play, but Lyncoln Bennett’s 28-yard attempt was off the mark and the River Hawks were able to run out the clock.
“It was a tough one,” said Horseheads coach Kevin Hillman. “I’ve got to give our kids credit. They battled all the way to the end. We just left some points out there, missed some extra points. We thought we had a shot, maybe with the wind in our favor this time for the first time, so we thought maybe we'd have a shot getting that in, and we had a little exchange there on the snap. It's a good thing to learn as we go into the playoffs. In a high-pressure situation, it was a good learning experience.”
“Obviously we're not happy with the outcome of the loss, but there's a lot to build from, a lot of valuable experience these guys got. Hopefully we can turn that into a positive next week.”
As has been the case the majority of the season, the River Hawks defense rose to the occasion.
“They battled all day,” Owego coach Patton Taylor said. “They caught us in the first half. The pass play down on the north end there just kind of caught us trying to transition to different coverage, but other than that, we were pretty sound defensively.”
“They're a great, tough defense,” Hillman said. “They're physical. They make it tough to run. I thought we did a good job here and there, but they're tough, and they made a big stop on that third down when they needed it.”
The Raiders had their opportunities, but were unable to capitalize on some of them. It all started with a 57-yard drive which started at the Horseheads 40 and fizzled at the Owego 7. Bryce Thomas carried the ball six times for 50 yards and Dmitri Charlanow hit Keagan Zeller for a 12-yard gain as the Raiders set up just three yards from the end zone, but a tackle for a 4-yard loss and two incomplete passes gave Owego the ball at the seven.
A three-and-out gave Horseheads the ball at the Owego 45 and Chris Thomas ran five times down to the 30, but two more incomplete passes ended any threat of scoring.
This time the River Hawks took advantage of the situation, driving 70 yards to paydirt with John Farrell scoring on a 12-yard run. A bad snap on the PAT left the home team with a 6-0 lead at 8:07 of the second quarter.
Zeller’s 44-yard kickoff return gave the Raiders excellent field position at the Owego 36, and on the next play Bennett connected with Patrick Laney for a TD. Bennett’s PAT kick went right and the score was knotted at 6-6.
Owego would fumble the ball to Horseheads at the Raiders’ 47 following Garrett Phelps’ pass to Farrell. Owego claimed Farrell never had possession of the ball, but the call stood.
Unfortunately for Horseheads, the River Hawks’ defense stepped up again and Derique Ellis returned the punt 25 yards to his own 44. Then, on third-and-10, Phelps hit Farrell with a screen pass and the speedy back eluded a would-be tackler and raced down the sideline for a 56-yard TD. Brace converted the PAT kick, making it 13-6 with 3:17 remaining in the half.
In what was almost a mirror image of Zeller’s previous kick return, he set the Raiders up again with a 52-yard return to the Owego 26. On second-and-11 from the 13, Bennett threw to Laney, but the ball deflected to the River Hawks’ Sam Sherwood for an interception to preserve Owego’s seven-point Senior Recognition game advantage at intermission.
Following a 14-yard run by Stefano Scherrer to midfield to start the third quarter, Owego shot itself in the foot. Phelps fumbled but recovered the ball, then got dumped in the backfield by Wyatt Macneal, each play losing four yards. Phelps got the ball back to the 50, but Owego had to punt and Horseheads turned it into a 10-play, 68-yard scoring drive.
Back-to-back runs of 16 and 18 yards by Thomas and an 18-yard keeper by Bennett helped set up a first-and-goal at the six, but an Aiden Rhodes sack pushed the ball back to the 13. Bennett would find Jack Patchett open across the middle to get the ball to the one and Thomas scored on the next play. Bennett’s PAT kick missed wide right, leaving the River Hawks clinging to a 13-12 edge.
Despite a 23-yard pass from Phelps to Atlas Boland to the Raiders’ 39, Owego would again shoot itself in the foot with a holding penalty and Horseheads would get the ball back at its own 33 to start the fourth quarter.
The River Hawks’ defense stepped up again as Bolden and Farrell got Laney for a five-yard loss then Nolan Card sacked Bennett for a 5-yard loss. Owego partially blocked the punt and got the ball at the Horseheads 34, but a three-and-out forced a punt, which went into the end zone for a touchback.
Horseheads would punt after five plays, then Owego would turn the ball over on downs at its own 47 after four plays, with 4:04 still on the clock..
With the ball at the Owego 18, the Raiders appeared to score the go-ahead touchdown when a wide open Laney leapt up in the corner of the end zone to snag a Bennett pass, but the official ruled that he came down out of bounds.
Two Bryce Thomas runs put the ball at the 11, setting up Bennett’s field goal attempt.
“I think if we would have got a couple more yards and it was a little closer, then maybe we'd go for it, but it was just a little in that area where I thought we could kick it,” Hillman said. “That was my call on that kick and it didn't go through, and I can live with that.”
“They found themselves in tough spots,” Taylor said of his defense. “The last minute and a half there it was looking pretty dire, but they kept battling, kept battling, made him (Bryce Thomas) earn every inch.”
The Raiders finished with 234 yards offense, 152 of it coming on the ground. Bryce Thomas was the workhorse, carrying the ball 20 times for 120 yards. Chris Thomas had eight runs for 24 yards. Bennett completed four of his seven passes for 70 yards. Zeller caught two passes for 18 yards while Laney, Eli Miller and Patchett added single receptions for 36, 16 and 12 yards, respectively.
“These guys have nothing to hang their heads about,” Hillman said of his squad. “They played a great game, and you’ve got to give hats off to Owego because they're a tough team, well coached. They did a great job and they're going to be a tough out for anybody in the playoffs.”
The River Hawks ended the day with 198 yards offense, chalking up 138 through the air. Phelps went 11-for-12 with Farrell grabbing five balls for 77 yards. Boland had four receptions for 40 yards, and Card and Mason Schneider added one catch apiece for 11 and 10 yards, respectively.
Phelps was also the team’s leading ground gainer with 14 carries for 39 yards. Farrell, Stefano Scherrer, Dylan Brace, and Dom Scherrer combined for an additional 23 yards.
Horseheads (6-3), which has lost three games by a total of five points, visits Vestal (5-5) Friday at 6 p.m. for a Class A semifinal while Owego (6-3), which has lost three games by a total of 10 points, heads to Maine-Endwell (5-3) next Saturday at 1:30 p.m. for a Class B semi.
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PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.
