Spartans rally past Falcons
CONNELLSVILLE – Through 46 minutes of action Friday, Hempfield controlled nearly everything – total yards, time of possession, the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Everything, that is, except the scoreboard. The Spartans came through with two touchdowns in the final 2:02 of the game, rallying past Connellsville, 20-13, to open the Foothills Conference with a road victory.
The game-tying touchdown drive began at the Spartans’ 45-yard line after a 28-yard punt with 8:21 remaining in the game. Thirteen running plays later, aided by a 5-yard facemask penalty, Jordan Jury bulled into the end zone from three yards and Patrick Costello’s extra point was good to tie the game at 13.
Aaron Meade’s return on the ensuing kickoff gave the Falcons good field position at their own 41, but losses of 18 yards on second and third down forced a three-and-out. Another short punt gave the Spartans the ball at Connellsville’s 47-yard line with 1:22 left.
Carmen Testa had runs of 10 and 12 yards to push the ball to Connellsville’s 25. An illegal procedure, Hempfield’s eighth penalty of the game, forced Hempfield into a third-and 13 with under 30 seconds remaining.
Shawn Faulk rolled right and found Josh Gardner open in the Connellsville secondary and Gardner did the rest, outrunning the Falcons to the pylon for a 28-yard touchdown and the lead with just 15 seconds remaining.
“I thought we could’ve driven the ball better in the fourth quarter. We just couldn’t get going. We couldn’t pick up their blitzes,” said Connellsville coach Tommy Dolde.
Hempfield intercepted Trent Hurley’s desperation pass with five seconds to go and ran out the clock.
“We won the battle in the first half, but didn’t win the points,” said Hempfield coach Greg Meisner. “We knew it would be a dogfight. Penalties killed us in the first half. We just needed consistency on offense.”
The Hempfield offense controlled the ball nearly 33½ minutes to just 11½ for Connellsville, and ran 73 offensive plays to the Falcons’ 31. The Spartans had the ball for about 18 of the final 24 minutes.
The ground game pounded out 330 yards, averaging over five yards per carry, while the Hempfield defense held Connellsville to 51 total yards, all on the ground.
Hempfield’s Testa gained 136 yards on the ground while Travis Upchapher had 78 and Jury added 61 while the defense held Jones 57 yards on 17 carries.
“Our lineman controlled the line. That was the difference,” said Meisner. “We just needed consistency on offense.”
Hempfield scored on its first possession of the when it drove deep into Connellsville territory, but had to settle for a 32-yard field goal by Patrick Costello.
Hempfield had four turnovers and two came back to haunt them in the second quarter.
The Falcons’ Lance Straughters picked off Casey Teagarden inside the Hempfield 40-yard line. Fullback Alan Porter powered his way for 23 yards, and then Scott Jones gained the final 18, the last a 4-yard scoring run. The kick failed to give Connellsville at 6-3 lead.
Hempfield tried to make something happen on the ensuing drive when, on a fourth-and 10 at the Connellsville 29, Nick Higinbotham attempted a hook-and-lateral only to have Jones grab the ball out of the air with nothing but open space in front of him. He ran untouched for a 75-yard fumble touchdown return. Matt Jaynes’ kick was good for a 13-3 lead.
“With our speed, we were looking to break a big play. We did so defensively,” said Dolde. “We just couldn’t get anything going up front.”
Hempfield drew to within a touchdown on the opening drive of the second half, taking the ball 87 yards on 14 plays for a 22-yard Costello field goal. A stellar play by Straughters broke up a possible touchdown pass on third down.
Dolde cited as one of the differences in the outcome the commitment the district has shown to the Hempfield program.
“It’s the difference in the commitment. Their district is committed to the program,” said Dolde. “Connellsville kids are tough kids. It’s a commitment we’re going to have to make.”
Connellsville (0-1, 1-3) will seek a conference win on the road at Latrobe on Friday.