Falcons hold off Heathwood By Ray Moore
Another Friday night, another nail-biter for the Ben Lippen Falcons (2-1, 1- 1), as they traveled to Heathwood Hall (2-1, 1-1) to face the Highlanders in a SCISA 3A matchup. This week, as the final horn sounded, Ben Lippen linebacker Aaron McGuire broke up Brandon Walden’s pass to Thomas Barton in the back of the end zone to preserve a 25-19 victory for the Falcons and first year head coach Derek White.
The teams slogged it out in the trenches, and neither could gain an advantage until mid-way through the second quarter when Falcon defensive tackle Austin Brown vaulted over the protection wall to block Hill’s punt, giving Ben Lippen the ball near midfield. From there, McGuire struck again, this time from the one, after an alert Andrew Mack pounced on a McGuire fumble to keep the drive alive. Falcon holder Patrick McClure glided into the end zone for the two-point conversion, setting the score at 15-7 with 6:33 to play in the half.
In the fourth, Heathwood mounted a furious rally aided by 50 Ben Lippen penalty yards, including a taunting penalty that gave new life to a Highlander drive on fourthand 15. When a Heathwood punt return for a TD was erased by a block-inthe back penalty, Heathwood went to work from midfield. From there, Highlander freshman QB Corbett Glick hit Dehlon Brooks for a big gain, then found split end Todd Corley who wound his way through traffic for a 25- yard score. After the kick failed, the score stood at 25-19 with 7:17 to play.
The Falcons tried to grind out the clock, but after one first down, a penalty put the Falcons in third-and-long, and Heathwood safety William Anderson picked off Barrow’s pass, giving the Highlanders the ball and hope with 3:16 to play.
Heathwood moved the ball to the Ben Lippen nine. Walden extended the drive with scrambles on third- and- 11 and again on fourth- andseven for first downs. From the nine, Walden’s pass to Corley at the pylon was tipped away by McClure, leaving 5.1 sec- onds on the game clock.
On the final play, Garrison Moore flushed Walden out of the pocket to his right. On the run, Walden could not thread the needle to a sliding Barton in the back of the end zone, and McGuire batted down the pass, preserving the victory as time expired.
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