Laurel’s defense slams door on Freedom
Laurel (22) vs. Freedom (19)
Written: Oct 02, 2010
By DAN IRWIN
d_irwin@ncnewsonline.com
Brandon Ritchie knows he got it backwards.
He dropped a third-down pass he should have intercepted, and picked off a fourth-down pass he ought to have batted away.
But style points aside, the Laurel High sophomore still single-handedly ended the second of two Freedom fourth-quarter scoring threats in Midwestern Athletic Conference action last night.
Laurel’s offense then ran out the game’s final four-plus minutes to preserve a 22-19 win.
Dylan Jones, who rushed for 206 yards and all three of Laurel’s touchdowns on 29 carries, keyed that game-cinching, 11-play march with breakaways of 31 and 26 yards. On their two prior possessions, the Spartans (1-3 conference, 2-3 overall) had been unable to move the ball past their own 20.
“The line stepped it up and did a good job,” said Jones, who scored on runs of 4, 14 and 29 yards. “I told them if they did their job, I’d do my job, and we’d work together as a team and get it done.”
The march was set up when Ritchie spoiled the night’s final two passes by Freedom quarterback Derek Lehocky. Lehocky hit Ritchie in the numbers for what initially seemed to be an interception on third-and-eight from the Spartans 37.
Ritchie couldn’t hold on to that one, but on fourth down, he picked off Lehocky at the Laurel 9.
“No excuses, I should have intercepted it,” Ritchie said of his first chance. “It hit me, and the kid was on my back and I just dropped it. I should have had it.
“And then I shouldn’t have caught that ball at the end. I should have batted it down. Coach (Patrick) O’Shea, the defensive coordinator, probably isn’t happy about that.”
Likely, O’Shea wasn’t too upset, either, considering that Laurel shut out Freedom (0-5, 0-5) in the second half while limiting the Bulldogs to just 36 total yards and no first downs. Prior to intermission, Freedom rolled up 190 yards and three TDs.
Many of those yards, though, came via the big play. Delshawn Popovich’s 49-yard run helped set up the Bulldog’s first score, while Khalil Caracter’s 29-yarder paved the way for the second. Lehocky accounted for Freedom’s third TD on a 56-yard bolt.
“The first half, I think we were misaligned a few times,” Laurel head coach Jerry Holzhauser said. “ I think close to 25 percent of our team is not on the field with injuries or whatever, and getting ready for that spread offense with replacements, it was a tough thing to do.
“But at halftime, coach O’Shea made some adjustments, very simple, basic, and I think we did a nice job in the second half.”
That included Freedom’s first possession of the fourth quarter, when the Spartans stopped a fourth-down, Lehocky-to-Caracter hookup just inches shy of the sticks.
Ritchie’s knock-down and interception were next, followed by the final, clock-killing drive.
“Everyone got fired up,” said Ritchie, the Spartans’ quarterback and the only person other than Jones to carry the ball on the game-ending possession. “We knew that we needed to do it to win the game.
“The line got a great push, Dylan Jones, of course, was going to run hard, and we got fantastic kick-out blocks by (Tyler) Fennick and (Brian) McClintick.”
The result, Holzhauser noted, was a much-needed victory.
“It’s a great feeling,” he said. “We’re playing with a lot of young kids, and they really stepped up and played good football.
“Freedom, they came here and they were in the same position we were, and they played a real hard football game. I think our kids needed a win real bad.”
FREEDOM LAUREL
8 First downs 19
200 Yards Rushing 303
6 Yards Lost 29
194 Net Rushing 274
13 Passes Attempted 11
6 Passes Completed 4
1 Passes Intercepted 0
32 Yards Passing 55
226 Total Yards 329
1-0 Fumbles-Lost 2-1
3-35 Punts-Average 3-33
5-30 Penalties-Yards 5-45
FREEDOM 7 12 0 0 — 19
LAUREL 7 7 8 0 — 22
Scoring plays
FREEDOM — Derek Lehocky, 2-yard run (Franzee Barlamas kick).
LAUREL — Dylan Jones, 4-yard run (Joseph Johnson kick).
FREEDOM — Delshawn Popovich, 4-yard run (Pass failed)
LAUREL — Jones, 14-yard run (Johnson kick).
FREEDOM — Lehocky, 56-yard run (run failed).
LAUREL — Jones, 29-yard run (Jones run).
|