Second half spurs Memorial to win over NOAH
BY JOHN D. FERGUSON World Correspondent
Friday, September 14, 2012
9/14/12 at 4:35 AM
For more high school football stories.Original Print Headline: Second half spurs Memorial to win
Memorial's offense spent halftime outside in the north end zone. The Chargers were not there to watch the show, but got instructions from the coaches for how the rest of the game should be played Thursday night.
Whatever was said worked. Memorial scored 25 second half points to thwart NOAH 25-7 in a nondistrict football game before 500 at LaFortune Stadium.
The Chargers' victory moved them to 3-0 for the first time since 2003 and only the third time since 1986. Memorial played determined defense and rallied its offense to overpower the 0-3 Jaguars.
"It's really important," said Memorial senior Joe Bell on getting to 3-0. "It shows how hard we worked for it."
Bell had a nice game. He recovered two fumbles and got an interception to keep NOAH's early lead at only 7-0.
Quarterback Keith Driver threw two touchdown passes of 48 and 27 yards to Charger teammate Mike'Quan Dean. Dean finished the game with 102 yards on four receptions.
Dean was a determined runner after the catch, too. He broke three tackles on a 48-yard catch for Memorial's first touchdown.
Driver was 12-of-25 passing for 184 yards, with two interceptions.
The second half was a stark contrast for Charger coach Tony Daniels.
"We weren't executing and had two (promising) drives stall," Daniels said.
Keyondre Huntley added to the Memorial scoring with a 1-yard run in the third quarter to make it 16-7 after a 2-point conversion pass.
The Charger defense added a safety late in the game when NOAH punter Jacob McCulley chased a high snap into the end zone, where he was tackled.
NOAH had a tough night outside the scoreboard. Quarterback DeQuan Coronado went down with a leg injury and defenive lineman Rico Yarbrough was taken to the hospital after injuring a knee.
Memorial seemed on the verge of breaking the first half open, but it was NOAH that took a 7-0 lead.
Josh Garrison intercepted a Memorial pass and returned it 13 yards to the Charger 27. It took six plays, including a fourth-down conversion, to score.
Caleb Blom caught a 10-yard TD pass from Coronado with 11:13 left in the second quarter. Blom added the extra point kick for the 7-0 lead.
MEMORIAL 25, NOAH 7
| NOAH |
0 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
- |
7 |
| Memorial |
0 |
0 |
16 |
9 |
- |
25 |
N: Blom 11 pass from Coronado (Blom kick)
M: Dean 48 pass from Driver (Driver run)
M: Huntley 1 run (Murphy pass from Driver)
M: Dean 27 pass from Driver (Rathod kick)
M: Safety, McCulley tackled in end zone
|
|
NOAH | Memorial |
|
First downs | 12 | 13 |
|
Rushing yards | 47-92 | 30-114 |
|
Passing yards | 45 | 184 |
|
Passes | 5-14-3 | 12-25-2 |
|
Return yards | 22 | 73 |
|
Punts | 4-28.7 | 0-0 |
|
Fumbles lost | 7-2 | 2-2 |
|
Penalty yards | 5-40 | 6-55 |
