Lancers bump Blue Streaks

By Laura Clark

Published: November 19, 2008

The question hung over the field during the first half like the ominous fog that bore down on the players and blurred the sidelines: Could Amherst come from behind? Twice?

They hadn’t been put into this position since the season-opening loss to Brookville, but the Lancers prevailed –– coming back and then holding off a strong Blue Streaks team to win the Region III semifinal game 28-21 at home Friday.

Harrisonburg was on the board first. Running back Alex Owah two-stepped through the middle and broke wide for a 65-yard touchdown run. Jesse LeMasters’ kick made it 7-0.

Amherst answered on the next drive, rushing for 10 plays capped by Jamar Glover’s 7-yard touchdown. Tyler Dawson’s kick tied the game.

The Blue Steaks’ offense stalled and had to punt, but Amherst botched the return and gave it right back. Harrisonburg took advantage of getting the ball on the Lancers’ 20-yard line and opened the second quarter with Owah’s one-yard dive for a touchdown.

But Amherst wasn’t fazed. Quarterback Anthony Rose took the snap from his own 20 and ran left, shook off a defender who’d grabbed his jersey and cut back right, finding a gap and outsprinting the defensive backs for an 80-yard touchdown and the tie.

The Lancers didn’t make any big adjustments at halftime, with the score tied at 14, but they did get an attitude adjustment.

“I’m not going to make excuses,” Rose said, “but the week we had off … it just wasn’t there. So when we went in at halftime, it was like brand new. Coach hollered at us, chewed us out and everything. I wasn’t going to let us lose. I had to give it everything tonight.”

The third quarter continued to be a stalemate until safety Chris McDaniel intercepted a pass intended for Blue Steak Michael Atkinson.

“They just told me to man up on him,” McDaniel said. “We were basically just pass-rushing tonight.”

His interception set up Rose’s second touchdown, a 46-yard run to end the quarter. When the Blue Streaks faked a punt on the next possession, Amherst stopped them short to take over.

Then McDaniel’s hands came into play again. With tight-end Taylor Grubbs out with an injury, the Lancers didn’t have their usual target. One first-half series with Kirby Anderson at quarterback looking for Rose for the long pass ended in an interception.

This time, Rose found McDaniel to complete a 46-yard touchdown pass to the corner and McDaniel crossed the line with Blue Streak Todd Barksdale clinging to his legs. The score put Amherst up 28-14. It was a play put in just last week.

“That was just solid execution up front,” Lancers’ coach Cecil Phillips said. “Everybody bit, and they jumped on the sweep. Chris ran a great route, and Anthony made a great throw. I think it was a huge momentum lifter for us, and it took a little bit of wind out of them.”

Phillips said his team relaxed, which made them play better. With 4:20 to play in the game, Harrisonburg worked the pass, eking out first downs. Quarterback Jake Johnson made a dump pass under pressure to Michael Dean to set up Owah’s 2-yard touchdown run.

Lancer Devonte Brown jumped on Harrisonburg’s onside kick attempt, and all Amherst had to do was get one first down via Rose and Brown to let the clock run out.

“I know that they were able to shut down our blitz a bit more, and we weren’t picking up their blitzes as well as we’d hoped to,” Blue Streaks coach Tim Sarver said. “The biggest thing was we didn’t execute getting into the end zone a couple times. Defensively, we missed some tackles and paid for it.”