Great escape
Whitehaven drives 96 yards for game-winning TD with 15 seconds left
After giving Clarksville Rossview short field opportunities throughout the second half, host Whitehaven used one long, no make that very long, drive to escape with a 14-7 second-round victory in the Class 6A playoffs.
After throwing an interception earlier in the quarter, senior Jordan Williams was perfect on four passes for 51 yards of a 96yard march that he capped with a 1-yard touchdown sneak with 15.3 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
“We knew we had to play smart, play under control and take what their defense gave us,” said Williams, who timed several key passes underneath, and between, Hawk defenders, to finish the night 17 of 26 for 217 yards and a second-quarter TD pass to Kerrick Jones that came after a Hawk fumble.
After gaining just 17 yards in a rough first half for both offenses, Whitehaven’s Derwin Martin finished the night with 103 yards on 11 carries.
But it was the defense, even without star linebacker Joshua McMillon, that saved the day for the Tigers (12-0) and kept them on the road to what they hope is a second gold ball in three years.
“Our defense stepped up huge and filled the gaps when we needed it, and we knew not to let Johnson get a head of steam,” Whitehaven coach Rodney Saulsberry said.
“We tried to shoot ourselves with penalties and turnovers, but our defense kept coming through,” Saulsberry said.
Rossview had driven to the Tiger goal line just before halftime, but star running back Isaiah Johnson was turned back by an avalanche of black shirts that followed him all night and limited him to just 24 net yards, most on one big carry on that drive.
The Hawks (8-4) kept coming, turning a fumbled punt at midfield into a game-tying score on 5-yard run by Tequan Evans midway through the third quarter.
Both sides would miss short field goals, Whitehaven’s Mamadou Agne missing from 37 yards, and Riley Benson getting his 27-yarder blocked by Tiger sophomore Jabril Malone.
Evans picked off a Williams pass for the Hawks midway through the fourth quarter and returned it to the 22. But the Tiger defense, which allowed Rossview just 30 net yards in the fourth quarter, pushed the Hawks backward and forced a punt. It landed on the Whitehaven 4, and things looked headed to overtime — until the Tigers found their way one final time.
“We gave ourselves plenty of chances, but the offense didn’t play very well tonight,” Rossview coach Ron Lambert said.
“Our secondary was playing not to give up the big play. I thought our coverages were a bit loose at the end, but we probably asked our defense to do too much. You can see why they’re the second-ranked team in the state — but it took them 47 ½ minutes to get by us,” Lambert added.
Whitehaven will be at home Friday for a quarterfinal test against Arlington, which scored on the last play of the game.