SHIPPENSBURG – When is a 14-0 lead not safe? When it is against the Shippensburg Greyhounds.
The Waynesboro Indians found out on Friday on a hot, muggy and bug-filled night at Veterans Stadium.
The Tribe took a 14-0 lead and then sat back on defense and saw Shippensburg turn the tables thanks to a solid ground game as the ‘Hounds got back in the game and scored 28 unanswered points until Waynesboro scored to seal a 28-21 final score in a Mid-Penn Keystone Division varsity football game.
After a scoreless first quarter, Waynesboro (1-2, 0-2 Mid-Penn Keystone Division) struck first. A scoring drive on a short field was made possible by a booming punt off the foot of Ryan Martin from the Indians’ 36-yard line to the Shippensburg 6. A possession yielding just three yards forced the Greyhounds to punt from their 9, and Waynesboro cashed in.
Kean Baumgardner closed out the first quarter with a 9-yard run. He picked up a single yard on the next play. On 2nd down, quarterback Rayshawn Fraser-Hewitt threw a nice 19-yard pass to wide receiver Christian Munday for a first-and-goal from the three. Two plays later, Fraser-Hewitt finished the drive with a touchdown run.
Nick Carbaugh, who was three-for-three on points after touchdown, gave Waynesboro a 7-0 lead.
Waynesboro’s defense stopped Shippensburg’s offense from getting any points for its third straight possession to start the game, forcing another punt.
And, like the previous series that resulted in a TD for the Tribe, this one also bore fruit. Except on this drive, Waynesboro started at its own 18. It also took five plays, with the big play being an 88-yard catch and run by Munday. Just like that, it was 14-0 and all the momentum appeared to be on Waynesboro’s sideline.
But football can be a fickle game.
If the Indians could manage to frustrate Shippensburg’s offense one more time before the halftime intermission, they would enter the second half with a two-possession lead and still have all the momentum.
It didn’t happen that way. Instead, the Greyhounds used the running back combination of Mark Carothers and Damien Horan, frustrating Waynesboro’s up-until-now ball-hawking aggressive 3-4 defense. Shippensburg gained leverage at the point of attack, and both backs used second and third effort to gain more yardage.
But it was a 13-yard completion from quarterback Braiden Carroll to Noah Garvin that extended the drive. Carothers had gains of four yards and three yards, and Horan broke loose for 19 yards for a first down to the Waynesboro 20. After another short yardage run by Carothers, Horan took it into the end zone from 17 yards for the score with 1:35 remaining in the second quarter.
Waynesboro got the ball back quickly to start the second half, as Gavin Starkey recovered a fumble at the Shippensburg 35.
The Indians failed to move the ball, and the Greyhounds picked up where they left off late in the second period. It took only four plays to move 79 yards. The exclamation point was a 64-yard TD strike from Carroll to Brady Maciejewski that tied the game at 14 after the extra point by Seth Taylor.
Waynesboro turnd the ball over on downs for the second straight possession, and the Greyhounds scored a touchdown on their second possession of the second half. Horan reeled off a 17-yard run, followed by a 10-yard jaunt by Carothers. After a 7-yard gain by Horan, Carothers scored on a 10-yard run to make it 21-14.
Shippensburg closed out its scoring on a 10-play, 58-yard drive that spanned the third and fourth quarters. Maciejewski stretched into the end zone on a 1-yard run to give the Greyhounds a 28-14 lead with 8:10 left to play in the game.
The Indians punted after a lengthy possession, and the defense held on downs before Waynesboro’ quarterback Austin Willequer threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Munday with 41 seconds left on the game clock.
The onside kick was recovered by Shippensburg.
Waynesboro will try to win for the first time since a 27-21 season-opening triumph at Greencastle-Antrim when the Indians play their home opener at 7 p.m., Friday, Sept. 12 against Red Land.
Photos by Toya McCleary:
