Late touchdown pass sinks Spartans
Courtesy of The Bastrop Enterprise
BASTROP — You’d liken it to the football equivalent of a half-court shot at the final buzzer: A touchdown pass on fourth-and-goal to win the game.
Holding a 12-point advantage heading into the final quarter, Prairie View surrendered two scores —the last with nine seconds remaining in the game — dropping a 14-12 decision against Porter’s Chapel on Friday at E.D. Baker Field.
“That was tough,” Prairie View coach Reagan Morrison said with a look of disbelief following the Spartans second loss to open the season. “We had a great effort and never gave up. We just came up a little short.”
Down 12-7, Porter’s Chapel (2-0) took the ball at the Spartans’ 44 yard line with 2:32 remaining in the fourth quarter. A 14-yard run by Montana McDaniel — the Eagles longest run from scrimmage of the night — coupled with a 15 yard penalty for a face mask violation, gave PCA the ball deep in Spartans territory. On third and goal from the eight, Hunter Binns and Sam Spires combined to sack quarterback Jonah Masterson for a seven-yard loss. On the next play, the freshman signal caller floated a pass and found
Chris Marshall on the left sideline. Officials consulted briefly before signaling the touchdown that gave the Eagles the win.
Morrison said the Spartans defense, which limited PCA to minus 1 yard rushing, played well enough to win the game.
“They kept battling back, flying to the ball like we want them to do,” Morrison said. “We just put them in some tough situations all night.”
The Spartans took a 6-0 lead with 5:58 to play on the first play of the second quarter. Brandon Goodson’s 11-yard run capped a 13-play, 78 yard drive that took almost six minutes off the clock. In his first game as starting quarterback, Cody Smith hooked up with Hunter Smith twice on third down plays to keep the scoring drive alive.
“I think Cody did a good job for us, keeping his head. He managed the game well and learned quite a bit,” Morrison said. “We could have maybe turned him lose a little more.”
PVA stretched its lead on Porter’s next possession, when Spires scooped up a fumble by Masterson and returned it 29 yards with 9:25 to play in the first half. After the score, Prairie View’s defense twice shut down the Eagles offense with stops on fourth down plays.
Neither team showed much life offensively after intermission. On its first possession of the second half, Porters’ converted one fourth down to sustain a drive that ended when Spires pressured Masterson, whose pass for Steven Moore was broken up by Hunter Smith.
Later in the third quarter, a PCA drive ended when Hunter Smith tipped a pass that was intercepted by Nathan Williams.
The Eagles first got on the scoreboard with 8:14 left in the game when linebacker Peter Harris picked up a fumble by Goodson and sprinted 68 yards for the score.
Prairie View’s defense again rose to the occasion when Porter’s Chapel took over at their own 41 following a short punt. Masterson hit Marshall for a 41-yard gain, putting the ball inside the Spartans 20. After a high snap in the shotgun formation pushed the Eagles back, Hunter Smith and Williams combined to break up a fourth-down pass and stop the drive at the Spartans 23 with 3:47 remaining. The Spartans couldn’t manage a first down and punted the ball to PCA, setting up the Eagles winning drive.
Prairie View continues its three-game homestand next week, hosting Sillman Institute.
Courtesy of The Bastrop Enterprise
BASTROP — You’d liken it to the football equivalent of a half-court shot at the final buzzer: A touchdown pass on fourth-and-goal to win the game.
Holding a 12-point advantage heading into the final quarter, Prairie View surrendered two scores —the last with nine seconds remaining in the game — dropping a 14-12 decision against Porter’s Chapel on Friday at E.D. Baker Field.
“That was tough,” Prairie View coach Reagan Morrison said with a look of disbelief following the Spartans second loss to open the season. “We had a great effort and never gave up. We just came up a little short.”
Down 12-7, Porter’s Chapel (2-0) took the ball at the Spartans’ 44 yard line with 2:32 remaining in the fourth quarter. A 14-yard run by Montana McDaniel — the Eagles longest run from scrimmage of the night — coupled with a 15 yard penalty for a face mask violation, gave PCA the ball deep in Spartans territory. On third and goal from the eight, Hunter Binns and Sam Spires combined to sack quarterback Jonah Masterson for a seven-yard loss. On the next play, the freshman signal caller floated a pass and found
Chris Marshall on the left sideline. Officials consulted briefly before signaling the touchdown that gave the Eagles the win.
Morrison said the Spartans defense, which limited PCA to minus 1 yard rushing, played well enough to win the game.
“They kept battling back, flying to the ball like we want them to do,” Morrison said. “We just put them in some tough situations all night.”
The Spartans took a 6-0 lead with 5:58 to play on the first play of the second quarter. Brandon Goodson’s 11-yard run capped a 13-play, 78 yard drive that took almost six minutes off the clock. In his first game as starting quarterback, Cody Smith hooked up with Hunter Smith twice on third down plays to keep the scoring drive alive.
“I think Cody did a good job for us, keeping his head. He managed the game well and learned quite a bit,” Morrison said. “We could have maybe turned him lose a little more.”
PVA stretched its lead on Porter’s next possession, when Spires scooped up a fumble by Masterson and returned it 29 yards with 9:25 to play in the first half. After the score, Prairie View’s defense twice shut down the Eagles offense with stops on fourth down plays.
Neither team showed much life offensively after intermission. On its first possession of the second half, Porters’ converted one fourth down to sustain a drive that ended when Spires pressured Masterson, whose pass for Steven Moore was broken up by Hunter Smith.
Later in the third quarter, a PCA drive ended when Hunter Smith tipped a pass that was intercepted by Nathan Williams.
The Eagles first got on the scoreboard with 8:14 left in the game when linebacker Peter Harris picked up a fumble by Goodson and sprinted 68 yards for the score.
Prairie View’s defense again rose to the occasion when Porter’s Chapel took over at their own 41 following a short punt. Masterson hit Marshall for a 41-yard gain, putting the ball inside the Spartans 20. After a high snap in the shotgun formation pushed the Eagles back, Hunter Smith and Williams combined to break up a fourth-down pass and stop the drive at the Spartans 23 with 3:47 remaining. The Spartans couldn’t manage a first down and punted the ball to PCA, setting up the Eagles winning drive.
Prairie View continues its three-game homestand next week, hosting Sillman Institute.
