Cougars Hold Off Mustangs In Overtime
KSAL Sports - Fri 10:04 PM 10/12/2012
Salina South and Salina Central added another exciting chapter to their rivalry as the Cougars won 23-20 in overtime.
Salina South needed a quick, final minute drive to tie, then won the game in overtime as the Cougars rallied to defeat cross-town rival Salina Central 23-20.
It was a defensive battle in the first half. South moved into Central territory on all three of their possessions, but couldn't score. Central used a 55-yard reverse pass from JW Maldaner to Spencer Schraeder to set up Nathan Garlow's 21-yard field goal just before halftime to lead 3-0 at the break.
The offenses would get moving in the second half. Salina South took the opening drive for a score, using Mike Jones' 36-yard run to set up Jones' 6-yard scoring run on the next play, giving South a 7-3 lead.
Central answered right back, as Mark Vaughn used a play-action fake to hit a wide-open Maldaner over the top for a 61-yard score, giving Central the 14-10 lead with 8:33 to play in the third quarter.
Three drives later, South answered again. Facing third-and-long at their own 20, Justin Stonebraker threw deep down the Central sideline, hitting Aaron Mar, who broke a tackle and scampered the rest of the way for an 80-yard touchdown. South led 14-10 to the fourth quarter.
The defenses dug deep in the fourth quarter until the final two minutes. Central moved deep into South territory, but faced fourth-and-goal from the nine. Vaughn floated a pass into the end zone, and Schraeder made a sliding catch in the back of the end zone, putting the Mustangs up 17-14 with just 1:44 to play.
On the ensuing kickoff, it appeared South's Zach Nachbar fumbled the football at the 30, but the officials ruled Nachbar's forward progress was stopped before the fumble, giving South the ball with one timeout and 1:29 to play.
Using a series of out patterns and screen passes, South moved into the red zone in the final 30 seconds. Facing third-and-long with just nine seconds left, Stonebraker scrambled for a first down to the Mustang 2. The clock stopped to move the chains, and Stonebraker spiked the ball to stop the clock with one second remaining. Cameron Weishaar knocked home a 20-yard field goal, sending the game to overtime.
Central was held out of the end zone in their half of the overtime, settling for a 21-yard field goal by Garlow for a 20-17 lead.
South would need three plays in their half of overtime to win. The Cougars used a nine-yard run by Jones on second-and-goal to get to the one, and Jones found pay-dirt on the next play, giving the Cougars a 23-20 win.
Salina South is 6-1 overall, and claims a share of the AVCTL Division I crown at 5-1. The Cougars travel to Hays to meet the 6-1 Indians next week.
Salina Central drops to 2-5 overall, and will host 5-2 Great Bend next week.
Post a comment Log in or Register to comment
racinagain
Friday 12 October 2012 22:45 Report this comment
I was listening on the radio and in regards to South's last drive when they tied the game and sent it into overtime, the announcers went completely n#*! over the white hat ref who gave the ball back to South after an apparent fumble. Both teams were diving for the loose ball and Central finally came up with it at the 15 when the white hat said the South player was down at the 30. Without seeing the game, was wondering what others think who were at the game. It was an excellent game on the radio with the exception of this one call and both teams should be congratulated. I'm just wondering if the refs gave the win to South because if Central had kept possession, the game would have been over.
Wink
Saturday 13 October 2012 07:46 Report this comment
Seems to me there were a couple of sketchy fourth quarter calls by the head official.
itdoesntmatter
Saturday 13 October 2012 18:34 Report this comment
This game should have NEVER gone to OT. I was at the game and the pictures on Twitter confirm that Nachbar's knees were NOT down before the ball came loose. In addition, the official clock keeper didn't start the clock when they were to be running it. The officials should have kept a better eye on that as well...they should be ashamed of themselves for allowing this to have gone into overtime. It was a great game, but being one that has no interest in either team...Mustangs won that game! Maybe all the trash talk from South can stop now...no 60-10 score as they said it would be.