Comeback Cards: CHS erases 10-point deficit in fourth, stuns Hornets

Carrington scored 15 fourth quarter points and came from 10 points down to squeeze by HWC, 31-26, for a huge Class A Region 2 victory in Harvey on Friday, September 29.

With the win, Carrington secured a playoff spot, and would be in line to lock up the second seed and home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs which start on Saturday, October 21. The Cards have two Region games left, and would need to win just one of those for the number two spot.

The Hornets received the ball to start the game and took complete advantage of it. HWC went 65 yards on 11 plays, taking up nearly half of the first quarter. Quarterback Tallen Thorson scored on a 10-yard run with 6:04 left in the first. The PAT kick was wide, and the Hornets led, 6-0. Big plays on the HWC drive included a Thorson four-yard run on 4th down and four, and a 27-yard crushing run by Kayl Sieg.

Carrington responded with the same type of drive, using the remaining 6:04 on the clock and scoring a touchdown on the first play of the second quarter. The Cardinals used 10 plays and went 65 yards for the go-ahead score. The Hornets had stopped the Cards on 4th and 13, but a pass interference kept the drive alive and Carrington took full advantage of it.

McKade Zink's first touch of the game was a good one, as the sophomore scored from three yards out. Zink also added the PAT run, and Carrington led, 8-6, with 10:56 remaining in the half.

HWC used just two plays to score on the ensuing kickoff as Thorson found Jaxon Feist wide open down the middle of the field for a 66-yard scoring pass. The PAT failed, but the Hornets regained the lead at 12-6.

The Carrington offense had two more drives in the second quarter that went deep into HWC territory. The first drive was 16 plays long and got to the two yard line before a penalty and then a fumble recovery by HWC. Thorson also ended another Cardinal drive with an interception at the 10-yard line that led to a six-point Hornet lead at halftime.

The Cardinals continued their ground-and- pound game in the third quarter, using seven rushes and scoring on a Logan Weninger seven yard run. The big play of the drive was a 32-yard pass completion to Grady Shipman. Zink once again added the PAT run for a Cardinal 16-12 lead.

The Hornets again took the quick score approach, using just four plays. On a 4th-and-one, Thorson kept the ball on a bootleg play, found the edge of the Carrington defense and sprinted down the right sideline for a 54-yard touchdown run. The PAT kick by Carter Laber was good, and HWC had the lead back at 19-16 after three.

The Hornets continued a long drive into the fourth quarter, scoring on a 14- play 80-yard drive which ended on a 4th-and-10 play which resulted in an 18-yard touchdown pass from Thorson to Keaton Keller. The PAT kick from Laber was good, and the lead grew to 26-16 for HWC.

Carrington started their comeback on the back of quarterback Josh Bickett and wide receiver Grady Shipman. The two connected for 18 and seven yards to start the next drive, and then again for nine more later in the drive. Weninger eventually found paydirt on a seven-yard scamper at the 4:34 mark. Shipman added the PAT kick and pulled Carrington to within three.

With HWC seemingly expecting a squib kick or onside kick, the kickoff went deep and was eventually covered by the Hornets, but at their seven-yard line. Three plays in, the Hornets committed a penalty in the end zone, which resulted in a safety for Carrington and pulled them to within 26-25 and allowed them to get the ball back as a result.

The Cardinals took full advantage, moving the ball 55 yards on four double-digit yardage plays to get the score from Corbin Clifton with a 12-yard run off the left end. The PAT failed, but Carrington had regained the lead at 31-26.

The Hornets didn't have much time left, but did move the ball 18 yards before turning the ball over on downs, resulting in the five-point Carrington victory.

Statistically, HWC had 190 yards through the air and 147 on the ground. Thorson was 13-16 on the night and his leading receiver was Feist with four grabs for 92 yards. Thorson also led the rushing attack with 84 yards, while Sieg was the workhorse with 16 carries for 60 yards. Keaton Keller once again led the defense, this time with 13 tackles. Sieg and Carson Heilman each tallied 11 tackles while Jadyn Vollmer had eight.

In Carrington's statistical column, Weninger led a three-headed rushing attack with 106 yards on 16 carries. Bickett was 5-for-10 for 69 yards, with 67 of those yards and four receptions going to Shipman, and also ran for 69 yards on nine carries. Clifton and Zink had 63 and 46 yards on the ground.

Zink, along with Clifton and Jaxon Schaefer, all had a team-high seven solo tackles, followed by six from Brock Jungels.

HWC faced a key game for playoff positioning this past Friday, going on the road to take on the Cavalier Tornadoes in the Hornets' region finale. Cavalier is still very much alive for a playoff spot, with one game remaining against Thompson following the game with the Hornets.

With one week to go, the Hornets play the Central Cass Squirrels on the road in a non-region contest at Casselton starting at 7 p.m. on Friday, October 13, to end the regular season.

Class A - Region 2 Football

Carrington 31, HWC 26

Cgtn. 0 8 8 15 - 31

HWC 6 6 7 7 - 26

First Quarter

HWC: Tallen Thorson 10 yard run (kick failed)

Second Quarter

Carrington: McKade Zink 3 yard run (Mc. Zink run)

HWC: Jaxon Feist 66 yard pass from Thorson (pass failed)

Third Quarter

Carrington: Logan Weninger 7 yard run (Mc. Zink run)

HWC: Thorson 55 yard run (Carter Laber kick)

Fourth Quarter

HWC: Keaton Keller 16 yard pass from Thorson (Laber kick)

Carrington: Weninger 7 yard run (Grady Shipman kick)

Carrington: Safety; HWC com-mitted penalty in end zone

Carrington: Corbin Clifton 12 yard run (run failed)

Carrington Statistics

Offense

Passing: Bickett 5-10-69 yards

Rushing: Weninger 16-106-2 TD; Bickett 9-69; Clifton 8-63-TD; Mc. Zink 9-46-TD; Jaxon Schaefer 1-13

Receiving: Shipman 4-67; Weninger 1-2

Defense

Tackles (unassisted/assisted): Mc. Zink (7-4); Clifton (7-6); Schaefer (7-3); Brock Jungels (6-2); Jake Otto (3-3); Carson Ova (3-5); Maverick Zink (2-1); Bickett (1-0); Shipman (1-2); Weninger (1-0); Aaron Neumiller (1-8); Dylan Bachmeier (1-0); Cody Otto (0-2)

Tackles for Loss: Jungels 2, Bachmeier

Safety: Ova

HWC Statistics

Offense

Passing: Thorson 13-16-190 yards-TD

Rushing: Thorson 7-84-2 TD; Kayl Sieg 16-60; Christian Mertz 1-2; Keller 1-1

Receiving: Feist 4-92-TD; Keller 4-46-TD; Tyler Swang 2-35; Mertz 3-15

Defense

Tackles (assisted/unassisted): Keller (7-6); Sieg (5-6); Carson Heilman (7-4); Jadyn Vollmer (5-3); Mertz (4-2); Thorson (2-2); Nixon Buchmiller (3-1); Boston Fike (3-0); Easton Schuh (2-1); Izaak Richter (2-0); Alex Smith (2-0); Frank Richter (2-0); Swang (0-2); Dominik Hoffart (2-0); Gavyn Schuh (1-0); Collin Meckle (1-0)