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Lynn Dickey Field Classic PDF Print E-mail
Sports
Written by David Wolman   
Wednesday, 09 September 2009 08:00
Osawatomie huddled near the south end zone at Lynn Dickey Field following its 38-34 come-from-behind victory over Anderson County on Friday, and the first thing uttered by OHS coach Clint Bailey was a trait demonstrated by his team during the final quarter.

“This shows why you never give up,” he said.

An improbable victory, indeed.

Anderson County’s offensive line was having its way with Osawatomie for the first 34 minutes, or nearly the first three quarters. As a result, the Bulldogs’ powerful backfield, whether it was an option play to the outside or a strong run between the tackles, was able to spring loose for big gain after big gain. Over that span, the Bulldogs recorded 13 rushing plays of at least 10 yards, gaining 249 yards on the ground in the process, an average of 8.3 yards per play.

Joseph Wittman accounted for the first four Anderson County touchdowns, including runs of 3 and 13 yards in the third quarter, to build a 28-14 lead. His fourth score came as a result of an Osawatomie fumble near mid-field. Seven plays later, with Anderson County converting on two third-and-7 plays, he found the end zone. Osawatomie did stop Anderson County shy of the goal line on the two-point conversion.

“That was a big hold on defense,” Bailey said.

Still, Osawatomie found itself trailing 28-14.

The mood on the Trojan sideline was quiet. Many players had their hands placed on their hips, an accurate reflection of how the game was unfolding. Only moments after the opening kickoff, the Trojans had built a eight-point lead, but come late in the third quarter, it appeared the game was starting to slip out of their hands.

“We were getting down on each other, and that is not what we wanted to do,” said senior offensive lineman/linebacker Ryan Warner. “When they started building the lead on us, we were just like, ‘oh, come on.’ We still had that fire in us, but we weren’t showing it. That was our fault.”

Jameson Greenwood helped to re-ignite that fire. Up to that point, he had been limited to 27 rushing yards on 17 carries. The same thing with Osawatomie’s offense as it had gained only 130 total yards.

“They had a push on both sides of the ball, offensively and defensively,” Bailey said. “It looked like we were getting blown back on both sides. It looking like we were catching instead of going up and hitting.”

Greenwood pushed back.
Osawatomie had a short field to work with after Anderson County kicked the ensuing kick-off out of bounds. A seven-yard loss on a sack and a false start on the next play late in the drive, however, had the Trojans facing a third-and-22, but Greenwood rushed up the middle and down the left sideline for a 39-yard touchdown. He was met at the line of scrimmage on the two-point conversion, but he kept his feet moving and found pay dirt with a second surge to bring Osawatomie to within 28-20.

Having not being able to stop Anderson County’s offense, Osawatomie switched from a 3-5 to 50-front defense, and Warner was moved from linebacker to nose guard.

The move paid off.

On the second play of Anderson County’s next drive, Warner met Wittman at the line of scrimmage and drove him back for no gain. With the Bulldogs now facing a third-and-7, Jedd Froggatte and Seth Jones met another Anderson County running back in the backfield for a 2-yard loss, forcing the Bulldogs to punt.

“We just hit them in the mouth,” Warner said, “and that completely changed the game.”

Greenwood had tired legs after his touchdown run on Osawatomie’s previous drive, but he kept going. He gained 65 yards alone on the Trojans’ next drive, which contributed to his total 209 rushing yards. He sprung loose for a 53-yard gain on the second play, thanks to a big block by Warner.

“That’s going to be on the highlight film,” Bailey said. “That was a big momentum switch for us.”

Greenwood capped off the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run. Then, with a big push from the offensive line, he found the end zone for the 2-point conversion to give Osawatomie a 30-28 lead, its first lead since early in the second quarter.

Anderson County had a response. Quarterback Galen Ryman ran up the middle for a 4-yard touchdown for a 34-30 lead with only 5:31 remaining.

Ryman, also the Bulldogs’ punter, pinned Osawatomie within its own 1-yard line on a well-covered punt. Osawatomie only had 1 minute, 56 seconds to work with, but the Trojans were up for the challenge.

“For some reason, I don’t know why, I had a feeling when we started that drive that we were going to score,” said Jones, also Osawatomie’s quarterback.

Jones’ gut feeling proved to be correct. But, the Trojans had to do some work as they had to operate out of their own end zone. Greenwood, standing 5 yards in the end zone, helped them do just that. He found a hole on the left side to burst forward for an 18-yard gain.

“I don’t think it was a risk,” Bailey said. “That’s our thing we like to do is going running. The thing about him is that he might get hit in the hole, but he’s got some good yards (after contact). It’s his yards after he gets hit is what we look at.”

Jones and Brandon Oakes hooked up three plays later on a 32-yard touchdown reception. Oakes used his speed to break free from the Bulldog defenders, extended his hands to make the reception and found the end zone to complete the play.

“To tell you the truth, I couldn’t really judge it. I couldn’t see the ball,” Oakes said. “Once the ball hit me in the hands I knew I had to catch it, I couldn’t let it go. I dropped two passes earlier in the game. I couldn’t drop that one.”

Jones then completed a pass to Daine Needham for the two-point conversion and a four-point Trojan lead.

Dylon Needham sealed the win with an easy interception near mid-field in which no Bulldog receiver was to be found around the ball.

“This means we can get a step and get rolling,” Warner said. “For three years, we’ve lost the opening game. Now, finally, my senior year, we win an opening game, and we’re going to get on a roll.”

A flurry of scoring opened the game.

Oakes took the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown — an 8-0 lead after the 2-point conversion. Anderson County answered right back as Wittman broke free for a 10-yard touchdown to tie the game. Greenwood appeared he was going to bring the house down with Osawatomie’s second kickoff for a touchdown in as many opportunities, but a holding penalty negated a 92-yard touchdown.

Turnovers dictated play for the remainder of the quarter as the teams’ combined for five giveaways. Osawatomie had opportunities to run out to a big lead, but Jones was intercepted twice in the end zone. He was picked off four times. Oakes and Andy French recovered two fumbles, and Trojans made Anderson County pay for its second cough-up of the first half.

Jones overcame the early miscues and hooked up with Hunter Taylor on a 16-yard touchdown for a 14-8 Osawatomie lead early in the second quarter. Jones finished 9 of 19 for 149 yards. Taylor had six catches for 91 yards.

AC    8    8    12    6 — 34
OZ    8    6    8    16 — 38

Scoring summary — O: Oakes 90-yard kick-off return (Jones pass to Needham); AC: Wittman 10-yard run (run good); O: Jones 16-yard pass to Taylor (run failed); AC: Wittman 58-yard run (Wittman run); AC: Wittman 3-yard run (run failed); AC: Wittman 13-yard run (run failed); O: Greenwood 39-yard run (Greenwood run); O: Greenwood 3-yard run (Greenwood run); AC: Ryman 4-yard run (run failed); O: Jones 38-yard pass to Oakes (Jones pass to Needham).
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