|

Sandies Fall in Regional Semi-Finals

Timpson Takes Down Grapeland, 67-28

By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter

RUSK – For most of the first half, the Grapeland Sandies played tough against the Timpson Bears and actually took a 20-16 lead at the 9:21 mark of the second quarter. Unfortunately, that’s when the wheels came off the bus.

Timpson scored on their next possession to regain the lead at 22-20 but when the Sandies got the ball back, they quickly drove across the midfield stripe and into Bear country. It was then that disaster struck when a Grapeland fumble was scooped up and returned for a 52-yard score.

After the two point conversion, Timpson led 30-20 and never looked back as they went on to win by a final score of 67-28.

The game opened with Grapeland in possession of the ball. On third and three from their own 25, Brannon Bedre picked up the first down. As he was being tackled, however, the senior running back lost control of the ball and fumbled.

The Bears jumped on it and took over at the Grapeland 29. Three plays later, Timpson’s Jordan Osby found a crease in the Sandie defense and slipped into the end zone from 15 yards out. The two point conversion by Jaden Johnson was good and with 9:32 left in the first period of play, the Bears led 8-0.

The Sandies came roaring back on their next possession. A great kickoff return from BJ Howard set Grapeland up with excellent field possession at the Timpson 48. From there, QB Rick Frauenberger led the Sandies with his arm and his legs. Frauenberger connected with Bedre for seven yards on first down. James Coleman picked up two on second down and then Bedre picked up four to move the chains.

With a fresh set of downs, Frauenberger connected with Brayden Cheatham for three yards and then found Tyrin Wiley for seven and another first down.

With the ball now at the 28, Frauenberger went to the ground on consecutive runs and picked up five and 18 yards to move the ball inside the five. From there, Bedre atoned for his earlier turnover and plowed across the goal line from two yards out to cut the lead to 8-6. The extra point attempt was blocked but with 5:07 left in the quarter, the Sandies showed the Bears they had come to play.

Timpson wasted little time in extending their lead as QB Jon Grogan picked up 20 yards on two carries and then gave the ball to Osby who ran away from the Grapeland defense for a 28-yard score. Osby also converted the try for two and with 3:41 left in the period, Timpson had opened up a 10 point lead.

The lead wouldn’t last long as the Sandies scored on their next two possessions. After the Bears scored, Grapeland went on a sustained drive that ended with a 31-yard Bedre TD to cut the lead to 16-12.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Sandies recovered an onside kick at the Timpson 45-yard line. This time, the Sandies relied on their passing game to move into the Bear red zone. On a third and long from the 13, Frauenberger found Josh “Bear” Ackley for a leaping 13-yard TD to put the Sandies ahead. The Frauenberger to Ackley combination worked so well, Grapeland tried the same combo a second time and this time it worked for two points to give Grapeland a 20-16 lead with 9:21 remaining in the first half.

On the ensuing kick, the Bears returned the ball for an apparent TD, but a block in the back nullified the score and moved the ball back to the 42 of Grapeland.

The penalty didn’t seem to faze Timpson as Grogan connected with Johnson for 27 yards on first down. Two plays later, Osby was back in the end zone from 13 yards out to reclaim the lead for Timpson by a score of 22-20.

Grapeland wasn’t just going to roll over and on their next possession, the Sandies moved across the midfield stripe and into the Timpson side of the field. That was when the turnover bug bit Grapeland for the second time in the first half. As Frauenberger fought his way to a first down, he was stripped and lost control of the ball.

Timpson’s Shane Peveto scooped up the loose pigskin and rumbled 52 yards for six to extend the lead. Osby added the two point conversion and with 6:51 remaining in the second quarter, the Bears now led 30-20.

Following a Grapeland punt, Timpson drove 70 yards on the Sandie defense and allowed Grogan to score from one yard out. Osby added the two point conversion to close out the first half scoring with the Bears ahead by a score of 38-20.

The second half was – there’s no easy way to put this – it was just flat out ugly. On the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter, Osby took the ball 66 yards for a TD while Johnson added the two point conversion to make the score 46-20.

After a Grapeland punt, Osby was at it again as he scored at the 7:08 mark of the third and then added the two point conversion to bring the score to 54-20.

The lone bright spot of the second half for Grapeland occurred when Frauenberger connected with Ackley on an eight yard TD pass with 24 seconds left in the period. Frauenberger then found Wiley in the corner of the end zone for two to make the score 54-20.

The Bears scored twice in the final quarter on a 60-yard gallop from Osby and a 47-yard romp by Grogan to make the final score 67-28.

After the game Grapeland AD/Head Coach Wayne Mahaffey summed up the Sandies 2017 football campaign.

“Good season, disappointing finish. We made strides this year, but we still have a ways to go,” he said.

From all of us at The Messenger, we would like to say thank you to the Grapeland Sandies for an exciting year of football and congratulations on your accomplishments both on and off the field of play.

 

Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].

Similar Posts

One Comment

Comments are closed.