WAYNESBORO – As good as the Waynesboro Indians varsity football team must have felt after taking a 7-0 lead against Red Land after the first quarter, it was as bad, if not more so, after the Patriots torched the Tribe for 28 points in the second quarter.
Nothing changed in the second half. In fact, Red Land, who improved to 4-0 this season, scored the first two touchdowns of the second half to take a 42-7 lead. By game’s end, it was Red Land 56, Waynesboro 14.
But first, the memorable portion of the game:
It was the Waynesboro defense doing the most damage in the early part of the Mid-Penn Keystone Division tilt. The Indians quickly punted to the Patriots. However, three plays into a drive that yielded a total of minus-1 yard, quarterback Quinlin Shearer was sacked and fumbled the ball into the arms of Ryan Martin at the Red Land 12-yard line.
Kean Baumgardner bulled his way for a 6-yard run, and after a play that set the Indians back three yards, quarterback Rayshawn Fraser-Hewitt fired a strike to Christian Munday on a crossing pattern. Munday zipped on into the end zone, and Nick Cargaugh kicked the extra point to give Waynesboro, playing in its first home game of the season, a 7-0 lead.
The Tribe defense bent but didn’t break for Red Land’s next three offensive series. The Patriots had the ball for seven plays after fielding a Carbaugh kickoff following Waynesboro’s touchdown. But that possession, like the next one, resulted in a punt.
Shawn Smith sacked Shearer for an 8-yard loss on a first down at midfield. That came three plays after Red Land intercepted a Fraser-Hewitt pass that ricocheted off the receiver’s hands and into the arms of a Patriot defensive player.
Waynesboro, who was never able to establish any time of possession drives or a semblance of a running game or passing game. It was just one of those games that spiraled after Red Land had one more bad possession. Tribe defensive back Steven Howard stepped in front of the intended receiver and intercepted Shearer’s pass down the middle of the field.
Waynesboro punted from deep in its territory, and this time the Patriots converted a possession into points. Perhaps the play that catapulted the offense into video-game numbers was a 49-yard hookup between Shearer and Anthony Plever that gave the Pats a first down at the Waynesboro 12.
On third down, Indians linebacker Brady Myers dragged down Eli Phillips for a 3-yard loss, and, more importantly, brought up a fourth-down play from the 7. Hold the line now, and maybe the game changes. Instead, Shearer called his own number, a quarterback draw, and took it into the end zone at the 4:37 mark of the second quarter.
Despite a 20-yard completion from Fraser-Hewitt to Dwayne Robinson on the first play from its 18, Waynesboro made matters much worse when a fourth-down play was a total loss (as in a minus-18 yard loss back to the Tribe’s 29). It also came with 2:20 to play in the first half.
On the next play, Shearer connected on a 29-yard touchdown pass to Cason Hoffman and a 14-7 Red Land lead.
It looked like backup quarterback Austin Willequer might be able to lead Waynesboro’s offense down the field. He made completions of nine yards to Martin and eight to Munday. But the next play, Willequer was sacked and fumbled the ball over to the Patriots at the Waynesboro 34.
One play later, Shearer combined with Plever on a 34-yard TD play that made the score 21-7.
Waynesboro tried to do something on offense one more time, but to no avail. After three straight incomplete passes by Willequer, the Indians punted the ball back to the dangerous Red Land offense.
It wasn’t a good thing. With just 16.1 seconds left in the first half, Shearer needed only one play. He found Plever open down the sideline for a 54-yard catch and run that blew the game open.
Waynesboro’s final touchdown of the game came on a 63-yard touchdown pass from Fraser-Hewitt to Munday, giving Munday both of his team’s TDs.
The Patriots went on to score two more touchdowns to account for the final score.
Go back to the playbook, back to the drawing board, to try and bring a season back from life support. It’s all Waynesboro can do this week after losing for the third straight game and limping into a home game against Palmyra on Friday, September 19.
Photos by Toya McCleary
