Sandies Blast Lions for District Championship
Grapeland Defeats Lovelady, 53-16
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
GRAPELAND – The Grapeland Sandies are headed back to the playoffs as the District 12-2A DII Champions after they blasted the Lovelady Lions by a final score of 53-16.
While the score indicates the game wasn’t really close, it very easily could have gone the other way except for a costly turnover by Lovelady, midway through the third quarter.
The Lions were down by a score of 24-10 and had driven deep into the Grapeland end of the field when a fumbled exchange gave the ball to the Sandies at their own 15. Three plays later, Cadarian Wiley broke free on an 85-yard scoring romp to effectively put the game out of reach.
The Lions won the coin-toss and deferred to the second half but Lovelady Head Coach Will Kirchoff had a trick up his sleeve as he had his team attempt an onside kick to open the game. It worked and the Lions started the game with possession of the ball at the Grapeland 45-yard line.
There was no love lost between the two intra-county rivals and that showed throughout the game as the chirping, posturing and trash-talking began shortly after the opening kickoff.
Josh Martinez picked up two yards on first down and then ripped off a 24-yard gain on second to move into the Grapeland red zone.
Martinez was stymied on first down from the 19 and then picked up five on second. A four-yard carry on third down moved the ball to the Sandies 10 but facing a fourth and one, the Grapeland defense stiffened and Lovelady turned the ball over on downs.
The Sandies took over at their own 10 and on first down BJ Lamb sliced through the Lovelady defense for 17 yards. Grapeland running back Cadarian Wiley broke free on the next play for 22 yards and when Lamb connected with Deco Bryant for five more, Grapeland suddenly was on the Lovelady end of the field.
A sack moved the ball back across the midfield stripe, but on the next play from scrimmage Lamb hooked up with Keizion Ashford on a 57-yard scoring strike to give the Sandies the early lead. A double-reverse on the two-point conversion caught the Lions off guard and with 6:44 left in the first quarter, Grapeland led 8-0.
Lovelady began their second possession of the game at their own 42 but once again, the Sandies forced a turnover on downs.
Starting at midfield, the Sandies stayed on the ground as Lamb and Wiley moved the ball inside the Lovelady red zone. From there, Lamb found Justin Bobbitt all by himself in the end zone and lofted a 19-yard TD pass to the senior wide-out. Ashford found the end zone on the try for two and with 1:46 left in the quarter, Grapeland pushed its lead out to 16-0.
Following a three-and-out from Lovelady, Grapeland took over at their own 35. Lamb found Bryant for 12 yards on first down. Then, the Sandies used a hook-and-ladder to pick up another 14 using the combination of Lamb to Cooper Ward to Wiley as the period came to an end.
On the very first play of the second quarter, Lamb slipped through a seam in the Lions’ defense and went 39 yards to pay dirt. The two point conversion made the score 24-0 with 11:52 left in the half.
The score remained that way until just before halftime. After Lamb picked off a pass from Lovelady QB Seth Murray, Grapeland had the ball at their own eight-yard line. After a first down incompletion, Lamb dropped back to pass on second, but lost control of the ball. It skittered into the end zone where a mad scramble ensued and while the Sandies recovered, the play resulted in a safety to make the score 24-2 at the half.
A holding call pushed the ball back to the 43 of Grapeland, but Eric Anderson, Logan LeBlanc and Martinez managed to pick up a first down to keep the Lovelady drive alive. The Lions moved inside the Grapeland 10 where three straight carries by LeBlanc resulted in a touchdown to cut into the Grapeland lead. Martinez bulled his way into the end zone for the two point conversion and with 7:12 left in the third quarter, the Lions only trailed 24-10.
As the second half got underway, the Lions opened with possession of the ball at their own 13. Lovelady went to a multi-back set, similar to a wishbone formation, and it paid dividends. Martinez knocked the Grapeland defense back on their heels as he picked up 52 yards on four carries.
On the ensuing kickoff, Lovelady rolled the dice again – and once again – an onside kick gave the Lions possession at Grapeland 40. Martinez picked up 10 on first down and followed up with two more carries for six yards.
It seemed the momentum had changed sides in Sandie Stadium as Grapeland was called for a penalty for having too many players on the field. The penalty moved the ball inside the Grapeland 20 but a holding penalty on the Lions pushed the ball back to the 29.
LeBlanc was held to no gain on first down but Martinez picked up eight on second. Murray connected with LeBlanc on third down for eight yards which left the Lions facing a fourth and four at the 13. With the crowd going wild on both sides of the stadium, the momentum jumped sides once again when a bad exchange by the Lions resulted in a fumble, giving the Sandies the ball at their own 15.
The Lions weren’t through, however, as they drove inside the Grapeland 10 on their next possession. From there, Martinez took it the rest of the way to make the score 32-16 with 39 seconds left in the quarter.
The Sandies put the game on ice as the fourth quarter got underway. On the first play from scrimmage in the final period, Ward got behind the Lovelady defense and Lamb threw a strike which allowed Ward to race 60 yards to pay dirt. Lamb added the two point conversion to give the Sandies a 40-16 lead.
An unnecessary roughness penalty was called on the Lions during the try for two which allowed Grapeland to kick from the Lovelady 45. A squib kick gave the ball back to the Sandies at the 34. After penalties on both teams and an incomplete pass, Wiley took matters into his own hands as he raced for a 34-yard TD with 11:33 left in the game to make the score 46-16.
Three plays later, Grapeland was back in the end zone thanks to a season-long 85-yard scoring romp from Wiley. Lamb found Ward for the two point conversion and the Sandies pushed their lead out to 32-10, with 3:19 left to play in the third quarter.
A late touchdown from Lamb to Ashford brought the game to an end with the Sandies winning by a final score of 53-16.
The win gives the Sandies at least a share of the district championship while the Lions now need to win out to lock down the second seed.
Grapeland travels to the Woodlands this Friday for a non-district game against The Woodlands Christian Academy. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30pm.
Lovelady returns home this week for a game against the West Hardin Oilers. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 pm.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
