Late-game drama lifts Mohawk past New Brighton
Mohawk (21) vs. New Brighton (15)
Written: Sep 12, 2009
 SPECIAL TO THE NEWS
NEW BRIGHTON — It wasn’t pretty, but it was exciting.
After a first half in which it managed just two first downs, the first of which didn’t come until there was 2:17 left in the half, and just 53 yards total offense, Mohawk rallied last night for a thrilling 21-15 overtime victory against New Brighton at the Lions’ Oak Hill Field.
Junior quarterback Johnny Beatty scored the winning touchdown on a 2-yard sneak on a second-down play in overtime. He had a big game in his second start under center, but the Warriors had plenty of heroes.
The victory evened Mohawk’s overall record and mark in the Class AA Midwestern Athletic Conference at 1-1. New Brighton is winless in two MAC games.
Trailing 15-7 with 7:43 left to play, Mohawk put together a 12-play, 94-yard drive to tie the score with 1:44 left in regulation. The scoring play was a 41-yard pass from Beatty to Matt Vogel on fourth-and-11. Beatty then flipped a pass to running back Justin Upham in the right flat for the two-point conversion.
“It was just a post pattern. I got pressure and I just threw it and saw him catch it. It was the best feeling in the world,” said Beatty, who completed 9 of 20 passes for 137 yards, 122 in the second half, and two scores. He also rushed 11 times for 80 yards and returned a kickoff 86 yards to set up the Warriors’ first score.
“I have a lot of confidence in Johnny Beatty,” Mohawk coach Jason Long said. “He’s got IT … like I think he can be pretty good. This was only his second start and he came through. All the kids played tough.”
It looked as if Mohawk might get close enough to attempt a field goal in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter. The Warriors got to New Brighton’s 33 but were pushed back to the 41 and Beatty was intercepted on third down.
It was the first turnover in what was a defensive struggle. The second turnover would prove to be much more dramatic.
In high school overtime both teams get four plays to try and score from the 10-yard line. New Brighton went on offense first and Trey Hall picked up 6 yards on first down. But the Lions fumbled the handoff on second down and Vogel fell on the football for Mohawk.
Beatty then gained 8 yards around the right side on first down for Mohawk and then drove into the end zone. Did Long call Beatty’s number twice to avoid a foul up in the backfield?
“We, we’ve had a lot of injuries and a lot of our guys go both ways and the kids were gassed,” Long said. “Besides, Johnny Beatty’s a playmaker … it’s kind of like you dance with the one who brought you. That’s what we did.”
Vogel had two big plays and Upham scored Mohawk’s first touchdown on a 15-yard screen pass, weaving his way through traffic on his way to the end zone. Josh Morrow caught three passes for 39 yards, including a 10-yard grab on third-and-8 to keep the tying touchdown drive alive. Tim Audia caught four passes for 42 yards. Colin Bredl seemed to be everywhere on defense and led a unit that limited New Brighton to just 101 yards total offense and only one first down in the second half.
“Defensively, our coaches got the guys flying around and well prepared,” Long said.
And then there were the offensive linemen.
“We didn’t change anything on offense in the second half,” Long said. “The guys up front just decided to play with a little bit of guts. To be quite honest with you, they were pretty pathetic the first half.
“It was a little bit of gut check (in the second half) and they decided to play with a little bit of pride.”
Long said he has been involved in a couple of comeback victories in his tenure at Mohawk, but admitted last night’s might have been the most exciting. Beatty said there wasn’t any “might” about it for him.
“Oh, heck no,” he said when asked if he had ever played in an overtime thriller. “It was a great experience … nothing like it.”
MOHAWK NEW BRIGHTON
10 First downs 5
144 Yards Rushing 71
29 Yards Lost 20
115 Net Rushing 51
27 Passes Attempted 10
9 Passes Completed 4
1 Passes Intercepted 0
137 Yards Passing 50
252 Total Yards 101
3-0 Fumbles-Lost 2-1
3-39 Punts-Average 7-35.7
8-60 Penalties-Yards 4-27
MOHAWK 0 7 0 8 6 — 21
NEW BRIGHTON 0 15 0 0 0 — 15
Scoring plays
NEW BRIGHTON: Trey Hall, 2-yard run (Nate Johnson kick).
MOHAWK: Justin Upham, 15-yard pass from Johnny Beatty (Cody Dean kick).
NEW BRIGHTON: Michael Florence, 89-yard kick return (Hall run).
MOHAWK: Matt Vogel, 41-yard pass from Beatty (Upham pass from Beatty).
MOHAWK: Beatty, 2-yard run (no kick).
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