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WPCNR PRESS BOX. By John F. Bailey. September 11, 2004, UPDATED COMPLETE STORY WITH BIG PLAY PIX 1:30 A.M. UPDATED September 13, 2004 10:30 A.M. E.D.T. With HIghlight Play Pix: A goal-line stand in the final three minutes, (the second of the game), held off Gorton from the tying/winning touchdown this afternoon, earning the Tigers their second win of the season over Gorton, 19-12. Kevin Avery threw a 30-yard TD strike to Mike Night Train Lane at the beginning of the second quarter for the first Tiger 6. Ike Nduka ran for a 9 yard TD run with 2 minutes to go in the half to make it 12-0, then on the second play from scrimmage in the second half, The Nuke rumbled 45 yards up the middle for the third Tiger score, before Gorton launched its 4th quarter comeback.
INCOMPLETE ON THE GOAL LINE: On 4th and goal from the White Plains 7 with 2:25 to go, the score 19-12, Gorton’s Mike Bailey (# 5) was hurried by Tiger Akin Benton (62) Shawn Jimison (18) and Mickey Morello(32), and had to hurry his pass to his receiver shown lying on the goal-line after a desperate dive to catch Bailey’s uncatchable pass that was too low and away. The ball is shown rolling forlornly on the turf. The Tigers took over on downs and after a shaky series and a clutch 45 yard punt from the goal-line by Pablo Siaba, Gorton had only one play left and stalled as time ran out. Game Over. Other Tigers in the Picture: Paul Scotman (29), Gerard Bryant (51). Photo by WPCNR Sports.
The dramatic goal line stand in 46th minute of the game, was a symmetrical finish to this strange contest that appeared well-in-hand after Ike Nduka had rumbled through the Gorton secondary for a 45 yard touchdown run two minutes into the second half on the second stanza’s second play.
The Nduka nuking play occurred after Gorton, trailing by two touchdowns starting the second half, inexplicably tried an onside kick to start the second half which an alert Nduka playing the upman in kickoff reception formation, caught, smothered and fell on the football flyer to give the Tigers a first down on their own 45.
NUKED! Ike Nduka at back of Endzone, completes his 45 yard Touchdown Run to start the second half. It was the winner. Photo by WPCNR Sports.
Paul Scotman burst through the line on the first play of second half to the Wolves’ 45. Then Kevin Avery handed off to Nduka, who followed a surging “clear away” by his line. Swerving like a dervish past desperate hands, he got into gear, bumping off a free safety, plowing over another Wolf at the Gorton 30, turning it up and cruising into the endzone for the touchdown. The Tigers made it stand up, despite a furious Wolf rally. There were to be no more Tiger drives the rest of the afternoon.
First Quarter Stand After Punt Fiasco.
The game began with
Pablo Siaba punting this week got a bad snap that skipped to his feet, and picking up the ball ran backward trying to find running room and was downed for a Gorton first down on the
The Wolves were hungry. Rashad Gorman reamed the ball to the 4 yard line. He ran it again to the Tiger 1 where it was 3rd and goal on the 1.
Illegal Procedure Turn-Around
Then the Wolves blundered. The quarterback moved his foot inducing a charge by the Tiger line. Illegal procedure! Back to the 8 yard line the ball went . What a break! There would be about six more illegal procedures called on Gorton the rest of the afternoon, the last of which would cost them a chance to win the game.
On 3rd and Goal from the 8, Gorham was overwhelmed at the 9 for a loss. On 4th and goal, Connor Gilmartin-Donahue sacked QB Mike Bailey at the 9 and the Tigers had held.
Tigers Capture Momentum
The stand started the first Tiger touchdown drive.
After two handoffs to Nduka and Scotman left the Tigers with a 3rd and 4 on the 13, Quarterback Kevin Avery handed off to
Mr. Third Down and Mr. Lee Step UP for the Set-Up.
On the first play of the second quarter, a holding penalty brought back another Nduka gain and Kevin “Mr. Third Down” Avery was faced with a 3rd and 13 on the Tigers own 28.
BINGO! Lee caught Avery’s pinpoint over the shoulder receiver-seeking missile between the traffic, slipping the defenders’ double grasp (Top Photo) and was quick-stepping down the middle, finally cut down by the deep men at the Gorton 30 yard line. A huge play, covering 42 yards. Photo by WPCNR Sports.
After a one yard run, Avery drifted back again looking right, looking right, and there was
TouchDOWN! Mr. Accuracy lofted a beauty, ear-high, right to Lane (at upper right of picture) who caught it Willie Mays-style over his shoulder, sidestepped the lunging lone Wolf defender at the 3 and loped into paydirt at the end zone pontoon. A 29 yard touchdown pass! The point failed and
Gorton was stopped on their next two series, setting the stage for an Ike Nduka running clinic on the next series.
A Nuke More Dangerous than Indian Point.
Starting on their own 24 with 5 minutes to go in the first half, Ike Nduka took the ball up the middle for a first down on the 36. He took it again up the middle for 5 to the 41. Avery threw to
Then, ka-BOOM, “Nuke” Nduka exploded up the middle, scattering Wolves like puppies for a 20-yard pickup for a first down on the Wolf 30.
AVERY TO LANTIER SETS UP TD # 2: A holding penalty pushed the Tigers back to the Gorton 35 and Avery stepped up again on first and 15, hitting Connor Lantier (seen as second Tiger from right) in the right flat, who made an acrobatic leaping catch Evan McGuire-style –slightly to the middle – the old DeVere to McGuire play — for his first big recept of the year and a first down on the 9. Photo by WPCNR Sports
Ka-BOOM again.
On the next play Avery slipped the ball to Ike Nduka who cruised around the left end on a sweep, the first time he’d run left all day for the touchdown that put the Tigers up 12-0, after the 76-yard drive in 7 plays.
Cardiac Quarter
Midway through the 3rd quarter after Nduka’s 45 yard burst for a TD, Gorton doggedly started a drive that got them back in the football game.
After a holding penalty on
Still, no problem the Parker Stadium crowd of 500 fans thought.
After a routine kickoff,
Gorton took over at their 25, and started to move it. A 28-yard pass from Jamell Schott to Rashad Gorham gave the Wolves a first down on the Tiger 46, with
After another Gorton illegal procedure put them back on the 50, Scott hit we believe Gorham for a first down on the 30. On the very next play, Rashad Gorham took out around the right side on a sweep and rambled into the end zone to make it 19-12. After a run failed, Gorton was one big play away from getting an opportunity to tie or win with 6 minutes to go in the game.
FUMBOOL!
Gorton started to move again.
Curtis Norman banged to the Tiger 32 yard line.
THE STAND: First down goal to go at the 9
On the first play, Gorton tried the reverse again. Not this time. Paul Scotman from linebacker came right into the backfield and bulldogged the runner in the backfield for a 5 yard loss.
SCOTMAN MAKES KEY FIRST DOWN TACKLE: Scotman (29) has just downed Rashad Gorman on a kniving tackle on first and goal to go at the 9. Defensive Coordinator Mark Armogida explained the play: “The kids did a nice job. We ran a blitz with our middle linebacker, and Paul Scotman blitzed. He sparked our defense and threw the kid for a loss. That gave us a little bit of a cushion. We just kept attacking. We weren’t going to sit in that goal line defense and be passive. We came at them. The kids did a nice job.” Photo by WPCNR Sports.
THE SECOND BIG STOP: It was 2nd and goal on the 14. Back to pass went Mike Bailey. But the Tigers were coming! Gerard Bryant Number 51 (on the deck with Bailey) and Tommie Lee combined for the key sack back all the way back on the 21. Photo by WPCNR Sports.
Third and Goal from the 21.
Bailey had one more big play and on bootleg up the middle got the ball to the 7 yard line.
4th and Goal:On the key 4th down play, Bailey rolled to his left looking for his receiver in the end zone, but the Tigers were overloading on the right and he was pressured to get the pass off. He had his man open in the end zone, but fired it low and away into the ground. Incomplete. The Tigers had held. There was still
Again Armogida explains: “They got one positive play, but when it was 4th and goal from like around the 5 or 6 yard line, I knew we were going to hold.”
“When they threw the pass, we blitzed off the corner we put a lot of pressure on him, so he had absolutely no time to throw. So it was either hit or miss. It looked like the kid was open, but we put so much pressure on him. The kids did such a nice job, it would have been an unbelievable pass if he connected because he had absolutely no time to throw.
Tigers hang on
Operating from their 7, the Tigers had one first down on an Avery to Scotman pass out to the 29 nullified by their 4th holding penalty of the afternoon and were set back to the 3 with
As his teammates helped him to the sideline the clock remained stopped.
The
As Scotman reached the Tiger bench, the clock started up.
However, the Gorton bench failed to call time out. They failed to call time out! The first major strategic blunder of the final minute. The clock wound down some 20 seconds before Gorton called Time Out to stop the clock with some 40 seconds to go.
And the Tigers ran one more play and had to punt. From their goal line with the ball spotted on their own 13.
Pablo Pounds It Out.
The snap was good as the crowd held their breath on the overcast afternoon. Pablo took his time but pounded out a beauty high and deep. His best puntaway of the day sailed majestically out to the Tiger 45 with the Tigers getting down there to contain the runback.
The punt return man caught it but did not run out of bounds. A critical time-wasting maneuver which burned the Wolves last time out.
Final jeopardy. Time Runs Out.
On their first play Gorton tried a play that was a run of all things, and the clock wound down and wound down. The Wolves were slow to line up, appeared not to know what to do. They came up to the line and Bailey spiked the ball with what they thought was 6 seconds to go.
However, one of the lineman was not set when the quarterback spiked the ball, according to Tiger Offensive Coordinator Skip Stevens. Stevens said that when a flag is thrown, the play continues and the clock runs, which it did.
When Gorton returned to set up, the Gorton coach had a major discussion with the officials saying his QB had spiked the ball. The officials explained the rule to the coach.
The game was over. The Tigers had their win and were 2-0.
Avery Perfect.
Tiger Quarterback Kevin Avery was perfect today (6 for 6, 123 yards) completing all his passes. A third down beauty to Tommie Lee to set up the first touchdown. His touchdown pass to
I asked Avery what has made his passing so effective the first two games:
“It’s really the offensive line blocking, “ Mr. Third Down said, “ They block great. They gave me a whole lot of time to see open receivers. And, you know our receivers run great routes and they always come down with the ball no matter where I put it so it’s really on them.”
We asked Kevin what was the secret of successful routes: “We have very intense practices. Our coaches are on us all the time. Every little mistake we make you know, we have to repeat what we did wrong and then make it right. It’s all about correcting mistakes in practice and coaches getting on us. That way we come out in the games and try to play as flawless as we can.”
PARKER STADIUM FAITHFUL. Photo by WPCNR Sports
