HAGERSTOWN – In a game with more twists and turns than Halloween corn maze, North Hagerstown found a way out.
It was mainly because the Hubs had more twists of fate and less turns than Williamsport.
North used their two cornerstones – a potent running game and an aggressive defense – on Friday to build an early lead and hold off the Wildcats and their flashy comeback attempt for a 28-20 victory in a battle of two 4-1 teams.
North (5-1) used Ty’Qwell Fauntleroy’s 149 yards rushing and three touchdowns and a defense that menaced Williamsport quarterback Gabriel Parker to come away with the victory.
But it wasn’t that easy in the end as the Wildcats all but erased a 28-point deficit in the final 16 minutes of the game on the strength to two kick return touchdowns by David Grayton.
Both teams began the season with 4-0 records before suffering Week 5 losses.
“This was a great bounce back week,” said North coach Nathan Butts.
The only thing that bounced back (and forth) more than the Hubs was the ball itself as the two teams combined for seven fumbles – five lost – and an interception, not to mention some big plays off special team breakdowns.
The Hubs, who squandered a 13-0 halftime in last week’s 19-13 loss to Century, came out strong defensively in a first quarter that began with a number of those aforementioned twists and turns to open the game. (Explanation below).
North controlled the final 18:15 of the first half, starting with Fauntleroy’s first score on a 3-yard run with 6:10 remaining in the first quarter.
“I try to be the playmaker,” Fauntleroy said. “My team helps me a lot with the zone blocking by the front line.”
The score put North on track for a 21-0 halftime lead.
The Hubs, who run the ball more than 80% of the time, surprised Williamsport on the next possession.
North started at their 40 and ran five plays to get into Williamsport territory.
Colt Butts connected on a second-and-6 play with a pass down the right hashmarks to catch tight end Garrett Forrest in stride for a 44-yard touchdown. The extra point gave the Hubs a 14-0 with :20 remaining in the first quarter.
Each teams engineered long drives to start the second quarter, but Williamsport was forced to punt after the ensuing kickoff.
North took on its 20 after a touchback and started on a 13-play, 80-yard drive to a third touchdown. Colt Buttz connected on passes for 29, 11 and 16 yards to sustain the move downfield. With first-and-goal at the 2, Fauntleroy used two 1-yard runs to power in for the score and the 21-point lead at 2:05 before the half.
Each team had trouble handling the ball in the second half with three more fumbles that slowed the process.
North finally broke the trend with a two-play drive after sacking Parker on a Williamsport fourth-down try.
With the ball at the Williamsport 42, North started with a 4-yard run by Fauntleroy. On the next play, he took a handoff around right end and busted to the sideline for a 38-yard touchdown and the 28-0 lead with 4:00 left in the third quarter.
Williamsport came to life with its first bolt of kick-return lightning struck.
Grayton received the ensuing kickoff at the 3 near the right sideline. He found seam in the coverage and ran down the left sideline for a 97-yard TD. Williamsport missed the conversion and trailed 28-6 with 3:34 left in the quarter.
Grayton struck again in the fourth quarter, receiving a punt at the 13 and busting up the middle for an 87-yard TD to move Williamsport to within 28-12 with 8:53 remaining.
Williamsport drove 73 yards on 10 plays late in the game, scoring on a 14-yard, fourth-down pass from Parker to Tae’myj Boyce-Brown. The pair hooked up again for the two-point conversion to make it an eight-point game with 1:26 remaining.
The Wildcats failed on an onside kick try. And with both teams without timeouts, the Hubs took a knee on consecutive plays to end the game.
Comedy of errors
The first five minutes of the game resembled a slapstick comedy routine, with many pratfalls and self-inflicted bobbles.
Neither team could get out of their own way. Consider
12:00 (on the clock) -Williamsport opened with the ball on its 20 only to lose it on a fumble that was recovered by North’s Michael Stewart on the second play of the game.
11:41 – The Hubs, with the ball at the Wildcats 27, only to have quarterback Colt Butts on their second play. Xavier Bowie recovered the ball for Williamsport.
10:50 – With the ball at their 15, the Wildcats’ second drive only lasted – you guessed it – two plays, ending with a Parker pass being picked off by Damean Thomas.
9:55 – North now had the ball at the Williamsport 16, but only moved the ball three yards in three plays. The Hubs came away empty after Darius Geaman’s 30-yard field goal attempt was partially blocked.
7:49 – Williamsport gets the ball at the 20 after the miss and loses seven yards on the three-play series. The big play was a sack of Parker for a 9-yard loss.
The Wildcats were forced to punt near the goal line, only to have the kick blocked by North’s Bryant Noubissie.
6:14 – North recovers the blocked kick at the Williamsport 3. Fauntleroy bulls in over left tackle for his first touchdown of the game.
6:10 remaining in the first quarter – North 7, Williamsport 0
All this after the teams combined for 1 yard of offense with two fumbles, an interception and two blocked kicks.
NORTH STATS
Butts was 7 of 9 passing for the Hubs for 107 yards and a TD. Thomas, Ben Distefano and Stewart each recovered fumbles for North.
OTHER SCORES
Clear Spring 14, Smithsburg 7
Saint Frances Regional 40, South Hagerstown 21
Musselman 37, Boonsboro 14
Stonewall Jackson (Va.) 20, Hancock 8
