by Ben Dejarnette
Atlee Student Correspondent
The scoreboard and box score told different stories in Friday night’s Hanover County showdown between Atlee and Patrick Henry.
The Patriots pulled out a 21-14 win despite only gaining 178 yards to the Raiders’ 366.
Quarterback Brandon Cash led Patrick Henry offensively with 72 passing yards and 96 yards on the ground, including a 54-yard touchdown scamper.
After taking the lead in the second quarter on a 22-yard touchdown pass from Cash to wide receiver Raquis Morris, the Patriots came up with a key play on defense. With time waning in the first half, Brandon Wong intercepted Dylan Garthright‘s pass and took it back to the house for a 14-0 halftime lead.
Cash’s 54-yard touchdown run in the third quarter seemed to have the game headed towards a blowout, but the home side came back strong.
As cramps began to plague the Patriots, the Raiders pushed forward, getting on the board with a 37-yard touchdown pass from Garthright to wide receiver Jared Epps.
After a three-and-out by the PH offense, the Raiders stormed down the field again, capping the drive with an 8-yard touchdown run by speedy tailback Trevor Elie.
Once again Atlee’s defense forced Patrick Henry to punt, but a fumble by wide receiver Tyler Earley on the ensuing possession dashed the Raiders’ dreams of a comeback.
The win moved FOX/DigitalSports #10 Patrick Henry to 1-1 while dropping Atlee to 0-2. Patriots’ head coach Ray Long, Jr. was far from thrilled about his team’s performance after the game.
“We’ve got to improve … If we don’t get any better on offense we’re in for a long year,” Long said.
Coach Long was forced to throw untested linemen onto the field, as his two top centers were injured coming into the game. The snaps were inconsistent all night and led to several costly turnovers.
“If our centers don’t get healthy then we’re going to have go back and we’ll have to scrap that offense and go with something else,” Long said. “We don’t want to do that this time of season but we might have to.”
Despite the loss, Atlee head coach Roscoe Johnson was pleased with the second half performance of his offense.
“That little three-, four-minute span shows you what we can truly do and what we’re supposed to be able to do with those athletes,” Johnson said.
The Raiders will host Douglas Freeman next Friday while coach Long and the Patriots will shift their focus to an away clash with Lee-Davis.
Atlee 0 0 0 14 – 14
Patrick Henry 0 14 7 0 – 21
PH – Morris 22 pass from Cash (Dyer kick)
PH – Wong interception return (Dyer kick)
PH – Cash 54 yard run (Dyer kick)
A – Epps 37 pass from Garthright (Boothe kick)
A – Elie 8 yard run (Boothe kick)
Total Yards – A: 366; PH: 178
Passing:
A: Garthright 25-42-262 1TD
PH: Cash 5-8-72 1TD
Rushing:
A: Elie 15-71 1TD
PH: Cash 12-96 1TD
Total Tackles:
A: Josh Doggett 10
PH: Adrian Cavanaugh 25
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