Matt Taylor (6) on the quarterback keeper. (Photo/Joe Seibles)
WINNSBORO – The Richard Winn Eagles staged a strong comeback from a 22-0 first quarter deficit against the Andrew Jackson Academy Confederates, but the Eagles still fell to the Ehrhardt team 22-20 Friday night.
The Confederates took command of the game from the opening kickoff, returning the ball to the Eagle 47 and driving down to the RWA 21, where Confederate quarterback Joseph Stanfield found Aaron Cleland for the touchdown pass. Christian Lee added the 2-point conversion and the score was 8-0 with 10:05 on the clock.
That touchdown went unanswered by the Eagles on their series and on the next Confederate possession, the Andrew Jackson team put together an eight-play drive that put Stanfield in position for a quarterback sneak play across the goal line. The 2-point pass attempt was broken up and the score was 14-0 with 5:46 left in the quarter.
The Confederates scored again the next time their hands touched the ball, returning the punt to the RWA 34 and carrying it to the 29, where Hunter Scharber got through the Richard Winn defense for the score and then took the pass from Stanfield for the 2-point conversion to make the score 22-0 with 3:51 on the clock. The quarter would end with the Eagles scoreless.
The first RWA score would come on their first play of the second quarter as the Eagles slogged their way from their own 15, where the Jackson punt was downed, to the Andrew Jackson 8-yard line. The forward progress during the drive was helped along by two quarterback sneak plays by Eagle Matt Taylor. John Coleman ran the ball in for the touchdown from the 8-yard line. The Mitchell Gibbons PAT kick was blocked and the score was 22-6, with 3:16 left in the half.
Richard Winn received a shot in the arm on the next Confederate drive when John Sandifer recovered a Confederate fumble, giving RWA the ball at the Jackson 46-yard line. The Eagles took advantage of good field position and Taylor ran in the ball for the score on a quarterback draw play from the Confederate 39-yard line. Austin Knox completed the 2-point conversion and with 48.6 seconds left in the half, the score was 22-14.
The final chance of the night for an Eagle score was in the third quarter, when RWA’s Alex Scott recovered a fumble at the Eagles’ 35. This began a long, 12-play drive that was hampered by two Eagle penalties in the middle of it, but helped along by a 42-yard pass play from Taylor to Gibbons. The score came on a 7-yard run by Coleman. The 2-point attempt was stopped and the score was 22-20, with 3:00 left in the third quarter. Neither team would score again in the final quarter of play.
The Eagles seemed to have a chance to pull ahead with a field goal in the final quarter of play, as they found themselves in the Confederate red zone at the 8-yard line. A 3-yard loss on the next play and an Andrew Jackson penalty put them at the 11 in a fourth down and 1 situation, still within field goal range. But the Eagles decided to go for it instead of kicking, a decision Eagles head coach Dickerson later regretted.
“We out-smarted ourselves on that play. A field goal wouldn’t have been a given, but I felt pretty good about Austin (Knox) being able to get that yard and we just didn’t get it,” Dickerson said.
Next week the Eagles will travel to Wardlaw to take on the Patriots, who are coming off an 80-20 win against the Cathedral Academy Generals.
“Wardlaw is pretty good; they’re one of the top teams in our region. We’re going to have to bring our ‘A’ game if we want to stay on the field with them,” Dickerson said.
AJA – 22-0-0-0 – 22
RWA – 0-14-6-0 – 20
First Quarter
AJA – Aaron Cleland 21-pass from Joseph Stanfield. Christian Lee 2-run. (10:05)
AJA – J. Stanfield 1-run. Pass failed. (5:46)
AJA – Hunter Scharber 29-run. C. Lee 2-pass from J. Stanfield. (3:51)
Second Quarter
RWA – John Coleman 8-run. Kick failed. (3:19)
RWA – Matt Taylor 39-run. Austin Knox 2-run. (0:48)
Third Quarter
RWA – J. Coleman 7-run. Run failed. (3:00)
