Worth County found itself back on top of district standings after beating Rock Port 88-42 Friday night. It was not an easy game to prepare for, since Rock Port relied nearly exclusively on the run at the start of the year and relied a lot more on the pass later in the year after one of their main backs, Brady Minter, went down with a season-ending injury. The Blue Jays had barely beaten Greenfield 38-22 last week, but they had little trouble moving down the field on their opening drive, going most of the way on the ground and completing one pass to Tyler Jones and another to Caden Linthicum. The latter play converted a fourth and three that went 17 yards to the Tiger eight. On the next play, Colby Linthicum took it in and scored to make it 6-0.
But Worth County got it right back as Ben Badell jetted for 15 yards into Blue Jay territory at the 35 and then added a 5-yard run that converted a third and four at the 24. The Tigers later got into a third and 11 hole at the 25, but then Isaac Alarcon caught a short pass for 9 yards and Ben Badell converted a fourth and two, getting three to the 13. On the next play, Badell's fake handoff to Isaac fooled everyone and he scampered in untouched to put the Tigers on the board. Worth County lined up in the Wildkat with Isaac Alarcon; he fumbled a snap but picked it up and ran it in to make it 8-6 with 3:50 left.
It looked for a while like it might be a defensive struggle. Rock Port was forced to punt on its next series, but then Ben Badell threw a pick to Caden Linthicum, who returned it to the Tiger 32. Worth County nearly held on that series thanks to a delay of game penalty on Rock Port, but on fourth and six, Rock Port successfully aired it out to Tyler Jones, who took it for 28 yards to put Rock Port back up 12-8. The combination of Jase Hughes to Tyler Jones kept the Blue Jays in the game for much of the way.
Tevin Cameron apparently ran back the ensuing kickoff for a score, but it was called back to the Tiger 26 thanks to a targeting penalty that was not part of the play. But that didn't seem to matter as Brevyn Ross, who had been held to 17 yards on 7 carries at that point, suddenly got untracked as he ripped off 13 yards to the 39 and then ripped off a 41-yard score and then ran in the extra points to put the Tigers up for good at 16-12.
Two incomplete passes and a run by Caden Linthicum that went for only two yards forced Rock Port three and out, and Worth County responded with a 19-yard run by Ben Badell into Rock Port territory. They were faced with fourth and three at the 30, but Brevyn Ross, running around the right edge, picked up a perfect seal block from Tristan Miller and that was all he needed to score. He ran in the extra points as well to put Worth County up 24-12.
Colby Linthicum ripped off runs of 9 and 16 yards, and Rock Port drove to as deep as the Tiger 37 on the next play. But then a pair of false starts stymied them and Ben Badell broke up a long pass on fourth down to give the Tigers the ball back. They only needed one play to score as Brevyn Ross got a block from Jacob Hardy and ripped off a 40-yard score with 5:01 left in the second to make it 30-12.
That touched off a scoring flurry that lasted the rest of the half. Colby Linthicum dragged a defender 15 yards on the next play to the 38; later, Jase Hughes connected with Tyler Jones for 40 down to the Tiger 5 to set up Linthicum's five yard score with 2:55 left to make it 30-20. There was a heartstopping moment as the ensuing kickoff caromed off a black shirt, but Brayden Welch recovered for the Tigers at their own 38. That set up Brevyn Ross' 42 yard score and Isaac Alarcon's option run after he got a block from Mason Hawk to make it 38-20. A fluke play set up Rock Port's next score as Ryan McClellan played a pass to Alex Lawrence perfectly, but his deflection caromed right into his hands and Lawrences' pass went for 34 yards to the 23. Another long pass to Jones made it 38-28 with 30.3 seconds left. Worth County countered with a 55-yard screen pass to Brevyn Ross with 18.8 seconds left to make it 44-28, but a costly late hit on Worth County was marked off from the spot of the foul, giving Rock Port the ball at the Tiger 12 with 3.3 seconds left. That was enough time for Hughes to connect to Colby Linthicum for a score as time expired to bring Rock Port to within 44-34.
There were two stats that were at stake for Worth County and one of them had to give. On one hand, the Tigers, throughout their 90 year history, have never given up a three possession lead and lost. But on the other hand, they have never won a game in which Sunny 103 had broadcast; they were doing the game along with KAAN and KMA. The school had to put up an extra platform to accommodate all three radio stations.
But the second half started off well for Worth County as Isaac Alarcon picked up a squib kick, found a hole, and ran it back to the 26. With the short field, Worth County punched it in as Brevyn Ross and Isaac Alarcon each picked up 8 yards following the blocking of Drake Kinsella and Tristan Miller. That set up a 4-yard plunge from Brevyn Ross as he followed the blocking of Isaac and spun his way into the end zone with 10:25 left in the third to make it 50-34.
Worth County finally got a stop thanks to a critical defensive play. Jase Hughes threw a long pass to Tyler Jones, who twice eluded Ben Badell and Brevyn Ross in the open field. But then Chris Alarcon came out of nowhere to make a touchdown saving tackle at the 10, and Worth County kept them out of the end zone. A false start put Rock Port back to the 15, but then Caden Linthicum got loose on the jet sweep for 10 yards down to the Tiger 5. Drake Kinsella dropped Colby Linthicum for a loss of two yards and Jase Hughes, who had thrown seven straight complete passes, misfired on two attempts and Rock Port gave up the ball on downs. Three plays later, Worth County took full advantage as Brevyn Ross weaved his way through traffic and bounced outside for 61 yards with 7:15 left; Mason Hawk caught a pass to make it 58-34.
Both sides exchanged miscues on the next play. A late hit on Worth County set up a 30-yard pass from Jase Hughes to Tyler Jones with 6:13 left. Rock Port was then flagged for a late hit, which Worth County was able to convert into a score, although they almost gave it away. Consecutive bad snaps after Worth County had gotten good field position at the Rock Port territory set them back into their own territory. Brevyn Ross picked up 10 yards, but they were still stuck with fourth and 17 at the Rock Port 34. But then Ben Badell threw a strike to Chris Alarcon for a first down at the 14. A false start and a holding penalty moved them back to the 25, but then a play action pass fooled everyone and Chris Alarcon was left totally unguarded as he caught a touchdown pass to make it 66-42 with 2:21 left in the third.
That seemed to open the floodgates for Worth County as they forced a three and out on their next series. The ensuing punt was put under a heavy rush by Isaac Alarcon, and it was shanked out of bounds at the Blue Jay 30. Brevyn Ross ripped off three carries for 27 yards, going over the 300 mark for the night. On one play, he pancaked Mason Hawk out of the way to get some extra yardage. That set up Ben Badell's three yard score behind Isaac Alarcon's blocking; Ben Badell's pass to Mason Hawk made it 74-42. Isaac Alarcon's sack of Hughes set up Rock Port's lone turnover of the night; Ryan McClellan picked off a pass and ran it back to the Rock Port 18. Isaac Alarcon picked up six on the next play, but a bad snap looked like it would lose major yardage for Worth County. But Isaac Alarcon fought forward for yardage and was hit from behind. The ball flew loose 15 yards; for some reason, Brevyn Ross was well downfield on the play and it turned out that he was in perfect position to scoop the ball up and dive into the end zone. Ben Badell ran in the extra points to make it 82-42.
Rock Port picked up a first down, but a fourth and one pass shorthopped Colby Linthicum at the Tiger 29. Jacob Wimer ripped off a 16 yarder and a 29 yarder before being stripped at the end of the latter run. But Worth County forced three and out and Dalton Auffert tipped the ensuing punt and Brevyn Ross recovered it and ran it back to the 12. Given a second chance, Jacob Wimer ran it into the end zone with 3:38 left in the game and the game was called at that point.
Brevyn Ross rushed 23 times for 315 yards, an average of 13.7 yards per carry; it was the second most yardage in Tiger football history behind Austin Findley in 2005, when he had 375 yards against Stanberry. Ben Badell rushed 11 times for 90 yards, Jacob Wimer 5 times for 56 yards, Isaac Alarcon 4 times for 19 yards, and Nate Pointer 1 time for 7 yards. Ben Badell was 4 for 5 with one pick and 109 yards. Chris Alarcon had 2 catches for 45 yards. Brevyn Ross had 1 catch for 55 yards and Isaac Alarcon had 1 catch for 9 yards. Worth County ran 49 plays and got 596 yards for the night.
For Rock Port, Colby Linthicum had 24 carries for 114 yards. Caden Linthicum had 6 carries for 15 yards, while Tyler Jones had 1 carry for -5 yards. Jase Hughes had 12 completions for 29 yards with one interception for 257 yards. Tyler Jones had 6 catches for 174 yards, Caden Linthicum had 4 catches for 37 yards, Alex Lawrence 1 catch for 34 yards, and Colby Linthicum 1 catch for 12 yards.
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