NEW HOPE — New Hope High School football coach Seth Stillman said he preaches to his players every week to “strap up and get after it.” And the Trojans certainly started that way Friday night against Lake Cormorant, scoring on the first play from scrimmage and taking a 14-0 lead into halftime.
But there are two halves to every game, and the Gators turned the tables on the Trojans and outscored them 28-0 after intermission to post a 28-14 win.
Quarterback Ty Crowell started the night for the Trojans with a 77-yard touchdown run on the first play of the game, and the Trojans didn’t stop there. They racked up 194 total yards during the first hal.
Meanwhile, the defense, led by middle linebacker Rashad Williams and his 6 tackles and 2 pass breakups in the first two quarters, held Lake Cormorant to 83 yards of total offense.
Associate head coach Cameron Olsen told the Trojans that while they were “doing everything the right way,” they needed to go back on the field as if the scoreboard read 0-0.
But it was Lake Cormorant which came out firing in the second half. A return of a botched kickoff to start the third quarter set them up in field goal range, but the Gators didn’t settle for that.
Quarterback Telvin Amos found Kevin Watts for a 20-yard completion near the goal line, and with the end zone in sight the Gators trotted out their secret weapon: defensive tackle Dalton Raines, all 6-feet, 278-pounds of him, lined up at fullback and bulldozed his way into the end zone to cut the lead to 14-7.
Lake Cormorant coach Nick Nester made some adjustments at halftime, one of which was to find ways to get more pressure on Crowell. With defensive ends Kamarion Franklin and Demarious Leverson getting in the backfield on almost every play, Crowell felt the heat and was picked off by linebacker Jadelldrien Maggett to give the Gators the ball at their own 38.
The Gators were quick to capitalize on the turnover, and running back Jeremy Henderson punched it in to tie the game at 14-14. Lake Cormorant had the momentum, and, quite literally, the Gators ran with it.
They got the ball back quickly after a Leverson sack, and Amos quickly found Watts again, this time for 25 yards to set up Kejuan Williams for a 5-yard TD reception.
The Lake Cormorant formula remained the same, and the Gators forced a New Hope punt. This time, they turned to a bit of trickery, as wide receiver Kevin Watts took the ball on a reverse and raced 70 yards, capping the Gators’ 28-0 run and finishing the scoring.
The loss pushes New Hope (4-4) to 1-4 in Class 5A, Region 1 and all but eliminates the Trojans from postseason contention. Lake Cormorant (5-4) moved into a three-way tie for third with Columbus and Cleveland Central at 3-2 behind West Point (5-0) and Lafayette (4-1). The top four teams will advance to the Class 5A playoffs.
Lake Cormorant 28, New Hope 14
Lake Cormorant (5-4, 3-2 5A-1) 0 0 21 7 — 28
New Hope (4-4, 1-4 5A-1) 7 7 0 0 — 14
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