Before the season started, there were concerns about Worth County's depth -- how would they respond when they had to deal with injuries. Friday night, they went through four centers and still moved the ball at will on the CFX Hornets to win 56-34. The Tigers were victimized by CFX players who would chop block their centers below the knees; that is illegal under high school football rules, which are designed to protect centers from such injuries. However, the refereeing crew followed a double standard for the two teams all night -- they did not penalize CFX players for chopping at the knees, but simply talked to them. The CFX players obviously got the message that the refs didn't really mean what they were saying about not cutting people at the knees. On the other hand, they would penalize the Tigers and call back long touchdown runs without warning them against whatever they were doing. As another example of the one-sided officiating present Friday night, the refs would allow CFX players to come off the field and repair equipment without missing a play. However, they would make Tiger players miss a play whenever they needed to repair equipment. Consequently, Worth County's two main centers, Wyatt McClain and Logan Ridge, went down with injuries and were unable to finish the game. Josh Wagner then hyperextended his arm and couldn't perform center duties, leaving Coach Chuck Borey to turn to J.J. Mullock. The Tigers also lost Alex Harmening to a concussion as he could not go after the first half.
Worth County learned something valuable about themselves during the game -- they have at least four people who could snap the ball. Some teams, even at the professional level, have all the trouble in the world with the center-quarterback exchange. CFX killed drives all night because they could not get the ball to the quarterback and make use of their strength at the skill positions. After the 1995 season, the one in which Worth County won its first state title, then-Coach Mark Fletcher said at the Athletic Banquet that many teams had tried to imitate Worth County's fast-paced style of football, only to fail because they did not have anyone who could snap the ball. Consequently, despite having all sorts of weapons at the skill positions in P.J. Sanders, Daniel Gladstone, Nate Combs, and Dustin Lambert, he gave the MVP trophy that year to center Michael Adwell, who did not make a single bad snap that year.
The Tigers got off to one of their typical slow starts as CFX got the ball in good field position at their own 36. A sack by Dylan Kinsella made it second and 12, but Thauan Andrade took a reverse 11 yards to the Tiger 35 and then Kevin Dodson scored off a burst up the middle for the first CFX score of the night. Worth County was in a stupor as they were not huddling for defensive plays like they were supposed to and they seemingly hit the snooze button. The Hornets had nothing to lose and got a successful onsides kick to get the ball at the Tiger 37 as the kick caromed off Dylan Kinsella. The Hornets gave the ball three straight times to Jordan Showalter and they overcame a false start penalty to get a first down at the Tiger 27. But then the Tigers woke up as Barrett Baker nearly intercepted a long pass intended for Jacob Beck. Kevin Dodson tried a spread draw, but was met by Josh Wagner and Dylan Kinsella for no gain. The Hornets tried the same reverse play that worked for them in their initial series to Andrade, but he was met by Brian Hall, Dylan Kinsella, and Josh Wagner for no gain. On fourth and 10, Andrade caught a screen pass and was all alone for a moment until Brian Hall met him and drilled him for a one-yard gain, giving the Tigers the ball at their own 26.
Worth County got off to a promising start as Barrett Baker followed a Josh Wagner block down the right side for a 23-yard gain to the CFX 31. He was stopped for no gain on the next play and then Baker's touchdown was wiped out by a holding penalty on Eli Mullock -- the refs felt no warning was necessary, contrary to the repeated warnings they gave to CFX players. That made it second and 22 on their own 38. CFX nearly added to their lead as they jumped a flat pass, but Alex Harmening made a diving 37-yard grab of a long Zach Harmening pass on third and 22 to make it first and goal at the five. Two plays later, Zach Harmening scored off a sneak into the end zone. Eli Mullock took a sweep right on the extra point try, juked a defender, and ran into lineman Brian Hall but got the extra points to make it 8-6 Worth County with 5:46 left in the first quarter.
CFX got buried on their own five as Jordan Showalter bobbled the kickoff and it rolled out of bounds. They moved the ball to the Tiger 30 thanks to an assortment of dives and sweeps. But on second and eight from the 30, the Hornets aired it out and this time, Eli Mullock intercepted it at the 15 as nobody was there but him. Mullock weaved his way past blocks by Josh Wagner and Alex Harmening to the 40. But the Tigers could not take advantage. Barrett Baker got a seven-yard gain down to the 33, but the blocking was nonexistent on the next play as Barrett was stood up for no gain, Zach Harmening fumbled a snap, CFX players were chopping at the knees on defense, and Harmening threw an interception that was returned to the 25. Wyatt McClain was hurt on that series.
But CFX could not regain the lead as Barrett Baker shot up the middle and threw Andrade for a four-yard loss. The first of many fumbled snaps for CFX moved them back to the 21 and Josh Wagner got a sack for a loss of three back to the 18. Eli Mullock fielded the ensuing punt and had a long runback to the CFX 31 that set up Worth County's second score. They only needed two plays to do it as Wagner took a counter, ran over one would-be tackler near the line of scrimmage, and ran all the way down to the 17. From there, Barrett Baker took a dive, got blocks from Logan Ridge and Josh Wagner, and made it into the end zone for the score with 10:14 left in the second that made it 14-6. Zach Harmening was stopped just short of the end zone on the extra point try.
CFX could still get nothing going as Alex Harmening got a shoestring tackle on the kickoff to prevent a long gain and give them first and 10 at their own 25. Harmening then met Dodson after a two-yard gain and then Josh Wagner and Cody Green had a big hit on Jordan Showalter and forced a fumble for a loss of two. On the next play, CFX tried a flat pass, but Cody Green jumped the route and returned it for a pick-6 with 8:50 left. The extra point was a busted play, but Eli Mullock started left, reversed his field, got a block from Josh Wagner, and ran down the right side into the end zone for the two points to make it 22-6.
The ensuing kickoff was a knuckleball that Showalter fell on at the 10. But Showalter redeemed himself for CFX by winning a jump ball pass and corraling it at the Tiger 35 for a 35-yard gain. Eli Mullock shot through and threw Dodson for a three yard loss and CFX tried a direct snap to Showalter, but Cody Green stopped him for a loss of one on the play. But Jacob Beck juggled and caught a 13-yard pass to make it fourth and one and then Dodson took a sneak for nine yards down to the Tiger 17. But the Tigers stiffened there as their linebackers were finally coming up and making hits rather than waiting for the CFX backs to come to them. Dallas Greenland made the initial hit on a dive play to Showalter after a gain of two. Kevin Dodson tried another crack up the middle, but Dylan Kinsella grabbed him and pulled him down for no gain. A false start made it third and 13 at the Tiger 20 and then Dallas Greenland and Eli Mullock covered a long pass perfectly to set up fourth and long. A bad snap ended it there.
Worth County started off on their own 29 and went with a no-huddle look; however, it stalled after some initial promise. Barrett Baker took a 14-yard sweep to the CFX 39 and an encroachment penalty moved it to the 34. But on the next play, the refs called a holding penalty on the Tigers and ignored the one in which center Logan Ridge was hurt and had to sit out the rest of the game. On the next play, a bad snap allowed CFX to recover a fumble on the Tiger 37. A pair of flat passes to Showalter moved it down to the 25 and a spread draw by Dodson made it first and goal at the Tiger 8. A false start moved it back to the 13, but then poor tackling allowed Thauan Andrade to burst into the clear and score. Dodson ran in the extra points to make it 22-14 with 3:07 left.
The Hornets tried another onside kick, this one over the Tigers' heads, but Worth County fell on it at their own 25. But they stalled there thanks to yet another holding penalty and were forced to punt. Alex Harmening got a big hit on Showalter on the punt to pin them at their own 23. With time running out in the first half, Thauan Andrade took a reverse for five yards and then the Hornets aired it out, hitting Jacob Beck for a 45 yard pass play for first and goal at the seven. This was a potentially momentum-changing series, but the Tigers made a goal line stand to deny the Hornets a score. Brian Hall had a big hit that led to a fumble that CFX recovered for a loss of 2. Dodson then made two cracks at the line that set up fourth and goal at the Tiger four. But then the Hornets tried a pass over the middle and Barrett Baker knocked it down to preserve the eight-point lead for Worth County at the break.
CFX squibbed the opening kickoff to the Tigers, who recovered the ball on their own 23. Zach Harmening took a busted play and got seven yards out of it and the ref tacked on a late hit out of bounds for 15 more down to the CFX 33. Barrett Baker took a dive play and jumped to the outside for 21 yards down to the CFX 12 and then followed a block from J.J. Mullock for 11 more down to the CFX 1 as Mullock was learning the ropes of his new position in a hurry. Zach Harmening then bulldozed his way into the end zone and the Barrett Baker bounced off a tackle for the extra points to make it 30-14.
But the Hornets came right back after getting into a hole. Dodson's counter was met by Josh Wagner and Cody Green and then Dodson was hit as he threw a pass that Dallas Greenland nearly intercepted. But then threw a middle screen to Andrade, who fumbled it forward and the Hornets got the first down on the recovery at the 38. On the very next play, Dodson took a spread draw and was all alone as nobody was anywhere near him. Jacob Beck caught the two point conversion pass to make it 30-22 with 9:50 left.
Barrett Baker began cramping up and was stuffed for a gain of one on the first play of the next series and had to sit out that series. But in his absence, Eli Mullock took a burst up the middle for 16, Zach Harmening took a spread draw for 21 yards after following a J.J. Mullock block, and Eli Mullock bounced to the outside for the remaining 10 yards for the score with 8:35 left in the third. Cody Green caught the two-point pass to make it 38-22.
The Hornets were stopped at their own 21 on the next series thanks to an Adam Summers hit. From their own 21, CFX tried to air it out and had Beck open, but Dodson's pass was long. They tried a quick screen to Andrade, but Dallas Greenland snuffed it out for no gain. Dodson then took a spread draw for nine yards and then converted a fourth and inches sneak on a measured first down. The Hornets tried a direct snap to Andrade, but that fooled nobody as Dylan Kinsella stopped him for no gain. They then tried a reverse to Andrade, but Brian Hall shot through and stuffed him for a loss of 6. Eli Mullock broke up a pass to set up fourth and 17 from their own 24, and the Hornets were seemingly forced to punt. But once again, the refs showed a lack of familiarity with the rulebook as they allowed a Hornet player to run onto the field at the last possible minute and grab a pass out of a fake punt for a first down to the Tiger 35. The Tigers held anyway as Brian Hall broke up a long pass, the Hornets drew a false start penalty, Cody Green batted down a pass at the line of scrimmage, and Showalter fell on his route on third down, drawing a protest from the CFX coach, who thought he was interfered with. This time, the Hornets punted and the Tigers got the ball on their own 26. Worth County only needed one play to score as Eli Mullock caught a 54-yard play action pass to make it 44-22 with 4:56 left in the third.
CFX started on their own 20 and started off with an incomplete pass. A direct snap to Showalter went nowhere, and another incomplete pass forced the Hornets to punt to the Tigers, who got the ball on their own 31. But Worth County could not make it a four-possession game as they buried themselves with a false start penalty. On fourth and ten, J.J. Mullock lined up to punt and the Hornets went all out for the block. They would have gotten it, but Mullock alertly took the snap and ran eight yards and nearly got the first down to the Tiger 39. Mullock was seemingly auditioning to be the next Bo Jackson or Deion Sanders as he was doing a little bit of everything Friday night.
On the ensuing series, Thauan Andrade heard footsteps and dropped a pass and Wagner met Dodson on the same spread draw play that netted them a long touchdown earler to set up third and seven. But the Tigers were not familiar with the guard eligible play and nobody guarded Colton Kephart, who took a 36 yard pass for a touchdown to make it 44-28 with 1:30 left.
A stop and a score would have given the Hornets a one-possession game and they nearly held. A holding penalty wiped out yet another long touchdown run in what has become a common scene for the Tigers and the blocking was nonexistent as the Tigers were stuck with third and 21 at their own 21. But Eli Mullock took a short pass and turned it into a gain of 17 to the 38 for fourth and three and then the Hornets jumped offsides to give the Tigers a first down at the CFX 37. From there, Eli Mullock took a dive and nearly broke it as he ripped off 18 yards to the 19 and the Hornets were starting to get winded while the Tigers were still fresh. Barrett Baker came back into the game and outran two defenders and drove four more into the end zone to make it 50-28 with 11:51 left in the fourth quarter.
The Hornet players were sucking air at that point and the Tiger pass rush was finally starting to get to the quarterback as they were pinning their ears back and playing the pass. Dylan Kinsella and Cody Green each hurried Dodson into throwing errant passes and then Dodson's scramble was only good for six yards to bring up fourth and four from their own 31. The Hornets went for it from there and threw a jump ball pass to Beck, but Eli Mullock had it covered and the Tigers took over in CFX territory at the 31.
Barrett Baker outran a bunch of defenders down the middle for a 20-yard gain to the 11, but penalties stopped the Tigers once again. A holding penalty and an equipment penalty moved it all the way back to the 30, and Worth County could only get back to the 13 before a delay of game penalty stopped them again. After the Tigers gave the ball back on downs at the 12, CFX moved the ball through the air as they were throwing to try to get back in the game. But they were constantly stopped by bad snaps and penalties and came up short. Thauan Andrade caught a middle screen for 14 yards to the 26 but Dallas Greenland had a big hit on the next play to force an incompletion. A false start and a bad snap moved it all the way back to the 13, and Dodson aired it out to Showalter in desperation on third and long. Dallas Greenland seemingly had it zeroed in for an interception, but Showalter snatched it from him at the last minute for a 33 yard pass play that kept the drive alive at the Tiger 35. A dive and a flat pass made it third and inches at the Tiger 25, but yet another bad Hornet snap and a long pass for Beck that was too far for him gave the Tigers back the ball on downs at the 40.
Barrett Baker hit the hole for a gain of two and then Eli Mullock took a play that was designed to go left, got a block from Dylan Kinsella, cut back to his right, and was off to the races for a 38 yard touchdown run for the dagger that made it 56-28 with 5:15 left.
CFX had one last gasp in them as a pass interference moved the ball to their own 30. Jacob Beck hauled in a long pass for 21 yards down to the Tiger 29; Showalter's fourth down catch and run for 10 yards put the ball on the Tiger 17. Two plays later, Showalter beat Eli Mullock deep for a score to make it 56-34 with 2:52 left. The Hornets recovered the onside kick at the 30. Dylan Kinsella jumped a screen pass and broke it up; Wagner's pressure forced a hurried throw and made it third and 10. But Showalter caught a flat pass for four yards and a spread draw netted Dodson a 9 yard gain and a first down to the Tiger 27. But a fumble stopped them at the 31 and an incomplete pass made it third and 14 at the 31. Daniel Umbarger caught a 13-yard pass for fourth and inches at the 18, but yet another bad snap caused Dodson to hurry his throw and Dallas Greenland broke up the pass to end the game.
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