Red Devils withstand late rally, beat Eagles
MOUNTAIN PINE — Cutter Morning Star made a late push, returning an interception for a touchdown and recovering the onside kick with 4:13 left in the game, but Mountain Pine forced a turnover to secure the 22-15 win at Stanley May Field.
“Cutter played us hard,” said Mountain Pine head coach Sam Counce. “We made some mistakes, and hey, we did some things to let them back in the game. I thought we should’ve put them away in the second half, but we didn’t; they fought back. I give a lot of credit to coach [T.C.] Shamel and those guys over there. … We’re 1-0 in conference, and we’ve got to build on it. That’s a foundation for us, and we’ve got to come out strong now; we can’t go flat. We’ve got to keep growing, and we’re going to work hard.”
Cutter Morning Star (2-2, 0-1) senior Matthew Cook snagged the pass from Red Devils (1-3, 1-0 2A-5) senior quarterback Collin Smith, returning it 88 yards for a pick-six with under five minutes left in the game. Junior quarterback Sam Moore carried the ball on the conversion, leaving the Eagles within seven points.
“I felt they got tired at the end, [but] we finally started to get some creases on the offensive line,” said Shamel. “Defense stepped up with a big interception there for a touchdown [that] helped us out a lot. But right here at the end, we’ve got a guy that’s wide open, but we can’t get that last block to give our quarterback enough time to throw it.
“If we had played the last half of the first quarter and the second quarter like we did in the fourth, I don’t think it would’ve come down. We wouldn’t have had to fight to get a tying touchdown; it might’ve been already tied. Who knows? But I thought it was just really a tale of two halves. We got the ball, went down and scored somewhat easily. They made some adjustments on defense; we didn’t adjust on offense the way we needed to until late.”
Junior Keshawn Blevins recovered the onside kick with 4:13 to go in the game, but the Eagle offense could not find its way into the end zone.
Both quarterbacks punched their respective team’s initial tickets into the end zone with Moore running in from the 8 near the halfway point of the opening quarter with Smith running the ball in from the 2 yard line with 2:56 left to pull the Red Devils within 7-6 after a failed kick.
With less than four minutes left in the second period, Smith again found the end zone from the 2 and punched it in on the 2-point play for a 14-7 halftime lead.
“Kayden Anzaldua played great tonight,” noted Counce. “Josiah Walpole played good, even on defense … Our defensive line played really good. They got after the quarterback; they [put] a lot of pressure on him and really played well.
“Our defensive ends, Jace Chacon and Bryce Langley, did a good job at end. They tried to keep the quarterback inside. … He was fast; he could get outside, [and] if he got outside, he was trouble for us, but they contained him most of the night.”
Nearing the end of the third frame, Smith connect
ed with Walpole on a 6-yard toss for another touchdown with 3:48 left, and Jeremiah Walker ran the conversion play for a 22-7 lead.
Smith was 4 for 8 for 62 yards with one score and an interception, and he rushed
24 times for 125 yards. Chacon had 10 touches for 40 yards and Walker ran 10 times for 47 yards.
Walpole tallied six catches for 32 yards and one interception while Anzaldua logged seven for 17 yards including an interception. Langley and senior Chance Godwin each had two sacks a piece while classmate Josh Bennett collected one.
“We’ve got to enjoy this a little bit,” Counce added. “Even though it stings a little bit, we’re going to enjoy it then we’re going to go back to work.”
Moore logged 14 yards on
2-of-9 pass attempts for CMS while rushing six times for 26 yards. Cook intercepted a pass for a score and senior Tyrone Harris caught an interception.
“I love these kids,” Shamel said. “They fought hard. Mountain Pine was preseason No. 1 … We’re preseason last in our conference. I think we proved tonight that we’re not the last place team. They may still be the first place team; they’re a good ball club. We’ve got homecoming next week versus Quitman, [and] we’ll go back to work.”
The Red Devils travel to Conway to face the Conway Christian Eagles next Friday, and CMS will host the Bulldogs for homecoming.