PHOTOS: Rising Sun football accomplishes three major objectives with victory over Harford Tech10/28/2018
Rising Sun football players didn't view their 13-12 triumph over Harford Tech as a major upset. Perhaps that's why the host Tigers managed to pull it off on a soggy Saturday afternoon. Although many outsiders expected the previously undefeated Cobras would prevail, one group in particular thought otherwise. "It's amazing," Rising Sun senior Dustin Flowers said. "You couldn't have written it up any better than this. No one expected us to do this. Not one person. We just believed in ourselves and we came out here and did it." By virtue of their victory, the Tigers (6-3) locked up the Susquehanna Division title, remained in contention for a playoff berth heading into this Friday night's regular season finale against North East, and assured themselves of a winning record.
"It's fantastic," Rising Sun coach Clem Vaughan said. "We've just got to take care of North East and see what happens down on the shore. We put ourselves in position. We've just got to keep working." It was Harford Tech's first regular season loss in two years. In their first eight games this season, the Cobras had outscored its opponents by a combined 363-44. Vaughan understood why Tech is thought of highly. "Their team speed," he said. "It was nullified a little bit in these conditions. Their team speed, we saw on film, is phenomenal. Number 1 and number 2 (Keith Green and Charles Brown) didn't play. They're two key players for them, but, still, one heck of a ballgame." The coach's message to his team last week was simple. "I said, 'hey, we've got nothing lose. We're here. Nobody expects us to have five wins at this point of the season. Let's just keep going'," Vaughan said. "These kids just keep doing their thing." Confusion reigned in the final seconds. Noah Boyd's second touchdown of the game capped a 19-play drive and gave the Tigers a 13-12 edge with 3:48 left in the fourth quarter. Relying solely on its running game, Harford Tech advanced to the Rising Sun nine-yard line with 44 seconds to play. The Cobras threw an incomplete pass on 1st and goal. That's when controversy came into play. On second down with 36 seconds to go, Jalen Dangerfield carried to the right side where he was eventually knocked out of bounds by the Tigers' Drew Opp and Ross Lunsford. Officials ruled that Dangerfield's forward progress was stopped while he was still inbounds and, unbeknownst to Tech, did not stop the clock. Tick…tick…tick. Situated across the field on the opposite sideline, the Cobras' coaches did not realize the clock was still moving while their players huddled to call the next play. Had it known, Tech certainly would have changed its strategy. The Cobras could have used their final timeout, called a passing play, or even attempt a field goal, which would not have been easy in the middy field conditions. Instead, Tick…tick…tick. Tech's Eddie Medina ran to the left side where he was tackled for no gain. Tick…tick…tick. Time expired before Tech could call its final timeout or run another play. Game over. "I don't know," Flowers responded when asked how his team had prevailed. "I don't know, man. We're just so happy. We came out here and we fought. We knew we could win. We knew. I don't know how we did it." "We just played as a team," lineman Joey Husfelt said. "We kept playing as a team. We fought hard and we just kept going. We never stopped. We go to the the scoreboard says zero-zero. We've been good from the start but we just gradually get better every game." The weather was a factor. It was chilly and blustery. Rain had fallen overnight and in the morning, and returned for most of the third quarter, making the field messy, but playable. "I think that benefitted us," said Flowers. "We're more of a ground and pound team and they like to air it out, so it definitely helped us." The Tigers took advantage of an early Tech miscue to take a 7-0 lead. Eric Farrell pounced on a muffed punt to give Rising Sun the ball on the Tech 31. After a holding penalty and a one-yard loss, Flowers raced 22 yards down the left side for a first down at the 25. Boyd carried on the next seven plays, ultimately scoring from a yard out. Ivan Herrera's PAT made it 7-0 with 4:15 left in the opening quarter. Tech countered quickly. After converting one fourth down on the ensuing drive, the Cobras faced a 4th and 2 on the Rising Sun 46. On the first play of the second quarter, Dangerfield galloped around left end for a touchdown. An errant snap prevented Tech from getting off an extra-point attempt so the Tigers led 7-6. Harford Tech took the lead on a 55-yard scoring strike from quarterback Ryan Hunt to a wide-open Curtis Mckisset. The two-point pass try failed leaving the visitors with a 12-7 edge. While Rising Sun's offense was having trouble moving the ball, its defense kept the Tigers in the game, stopping Tech twice on fourth down plays in the red zone in the third quarter. In the final minute of the quarter, Rising Sun embarked on The Drive, mostly a 19-play exercise in smashmouth football, grit, and determination, with one colossal fourth down pass play a critical part of the equation. The Tigers converted a total of four fourth downs along the way. Cole Stafford gained four yards on 4th and 1 from midfield. Boyd got precisely four yards on 4th and 4 from the 39. Then on 4th and 10 from the 35, quarterback Eric Williams found Cade Eyman on the right sideline for a 23-yard gain. On first down from the 12, the Tigers turned to their workhorse Boyd. He rushed four consecutive times and scored on a three-yard run on 4th and 2. The PAT was missed. Rising Sun led 13-12 and was 3:48 away from a monumental win. Boyd finished with 97 yards on 30 carries. For the season, he has amassed 1,625 yards on 203 attempts and has scored a whopping 24 touchdowns. That was by far the biggest. Rising Sun's defense still needed to make one final stop to secure the win and stood tall in the confusing final seconds. Harford Tech departed with its first loss of the season…and an unused timeout in its pocket. Comments are closed.
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