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| West return man John Stamper looks for running room against Parkland. |
They just failed to win it.
Seizing the early momentum with a first quarter touchdown against Parkland, the Titans had ample opportunities to claim the victory. But costly turnovers combined with the temporary loss of quarterback Maurice Hughes stiffled the promising West offense and enabled the visiting Mustangs to snatch a 14-13 overtime win.
Preparing for this week’s home game against East Forsyth, West head coach Chip Petree wisely kept the setback in perspective. Unable to get in a preseason scrimmage, he knew matching up against the Mustangs in week one was not going to be an easy task.
“This is a game we probably could have put away in the first half if we hadn’t turned the ball over twice in the red zone,” he explained. “Then Maurice (Hughes, West’s starting quarterback) goes down with leg cramps early in the second half and we have trouble moving the ball the rest of the way. It’s a shame because our offense looked good early and our defense was outstanding all night long.
“But things like that are going to happen the first time you go 11-on-11. And I give Parkland a tremendous amount of credit. They hung in early and made some big plays when they needed them.”
Playing in front of a near-capacity home crowd, West struck first when Hughes capped off a first-quarter scoring drive by reaching paydirt from nine yards away on a rollout. Landen Thayer’s point-after kick boosted the Titan lead to 7-0 and gave West firm control of the game’s momentum.
The Titans advanced into the Parkland red zone twice over the next two periods but a pair of fumbles short-circuited each drive.
Parkland also failed to produce offensively due to an array of mistakes.
But midway into the final period, the Mustang defense intercepted a pass and the Parkland offensive unit drove for a score to tie the game at 7-7.
With neither team able to put points on the board in the closing minutes, the game eventually went into overtime.
West opened the extra period on offense and scored on the first play from scrimmage when Ricky Finkley found the end zone from five yards out. However, the extra point attempt sailed wide left, leaving West with a six-point advantage.
Seizing the opportunity, Parkland answered quickly when Shawn Porter burst through on first down for a touchdown from 10 yards away. Mustang kicker Alex Rhodes then calmly drilled the point-after to give Parkland the win.
Petree said the loss did little to dampen his enthusiasm over this year’s West team. The Titans return 18 starters and are picked by many to be the favorite in the race for the Central Piedmont Conference title.
“We entered this season with great expectations and those have not changed at all,” he said. “This is a great group of kids and their goals are high. They have worked extremely hard and they can’t wait to get back onto the field this Friday night.”
In spite of the loss, West received several outstanding defensive efforts. Linebackers John Stamper and Kyle Jarrett led the way with eight solo stops each. Stamper also had 10 assists while Jarrett had eight.
Michael Eberle and Luke Elliott also had big nights in the middle. They each had five assists and broke up a pass. Josh Peterson finished with three assists and one sack.
“Credit should also go to guys up front such as Don Maciel, Alex Cutler and Ron Howell,” Petree noted. “In our scheme, the linemen don’t always get the praise they deserve because their role is to create opportunities for our second level players.”
Offensively, Hughes connected on 6 of 11 passing attempts for 83 yards. Tight end Brooks Ore had several key catches as did wide receivers Travaughn Long and Andrew Bodenheimer.
In the backfield, Finkley led the way for the Titans. Brad Brower was also effective before a cramp sidelined him in the second half.