Roane County: Harriman survives OT thriller
By BROWNIE ROSE/Roane Newspapers
roanecounty.com
The Harriman at Midway game last Friday night was such a spectacle that the packed crowd should have been asked to pay twice the admission for all that they saw.
The Blue Devils pulled out a 42-41 overtime win against Midway in a game that saw just about everything happen that can happen in a football game. Besides the teams combining for 83 points, both teams combined for almost 700 yards of offense. Midway won that battle 354 to 342, but the 12-yard advantage wasn’t enough at the end for the Green Waves.
“I don’t know if it could have been much more exciting,” Harriman head coach Travis Tapp said after the game. “It was a great game by both teams and we’re just fortunate to get the win.”
In the end it came down to a made extra point from sophomore kicker Parker Freeman that decided the game in the first overtime.
Kicking would hurt the Green Waves on the night as Midway had two PATs blocked on the evening, including one with 28 seconds left that would have given the Green Waves the victory in regulation.
“The key for us turned out to be big plays in the kicking game,” Tapp said. “Damian Miller blocked two extra points then Parker made his kicks.”
The Harriman win sets up the same scenario as last season. The Blue Devils (6-2, 4-0) will play No. 5 Coalfield (8-0, 4-0) for the region championship. Midway (5-3, 1-3) will play Greenback (1-7, 1-3) to try to hold on to third place in the region race.
Harriman, Midway and Coalfield have all locked a playoff berth. It is now just a matter of what seed they will receive.
Harriman scored first only 1:14 into the game. On third-and-nine from the 41, QB Julian Goins launched a rocket to Demetrius Williams, who was far behind the Midway secondary. Williams hauled in the throw at about the 10 and easily scored on the 59-yard completion.
Freeman tacked on the PAT for a quick 7-0 lead.
Harriman tested Midway’s speed on the kickoff and got burned. Midway’s Will Poe scooped up the ball at the 20, slipped through a hole, and rolled untouched for an 80-yard TD.
Daniel Chinn booted through the PAT to tie the game at seven with only 1:29 ticked off the clock.
Harriman’s second drive wasn’t as successful as the Blue Devils did pick up a pair of first downs, but were forced to punt from the Midway 38.
Midway would take the lead on the ensuing possession as the Green Waves marched 90 yards in eight plays to make the score 13-7.
QB Seth Lyle made a pair of big plays in the drive. The first came early in the drive when he ripped off a 15-yard gain on third-and-four at the 15. The second game when he made several tacklers miss on his way to a 34-yard score.
Miller blocked the PAT to leave the score 13-7 with 3:26 left in the first quarter.
Harriman answered almost as quickly.
Goins picked up 21 yards to get the drive started, but it would be a 15-yard keeper from Goins on fourth-and-five from the Midway 30 that kept the drive alive.
Harriman came up big on fourth down again four plays later. Facing fourth-and-nine from the 14, Goins found Demetrius Williams in the corner of the end zone for the 14-yard touchdown.
Freeman split the uprights on the PAT to put Harriman up 14-13 with 10:13 left in the second quarter.
The Green Waves started their next possession at the 20 and what a possession it was. Midway drove 80 yards and ate up over eight minutes of clock to give the Green Waves a 21-14 lead at halftime.
Robinson ran 10 times in the drive for 31 yards including the final three for the score. Lyle ran five times for 44 yards and had a long run of 17. Lyle also punched in the two-point conversion with 1:14 left in the half.
The third quarter started with both defenses making some plays.
After a Midway punt to start the half, Goins was picked off by Harley Davidson two plays later only to see Davidson fumble the ball back to the Devils at the end of the play.
Harriman, however, fumbled the ball away again on the next play only to see Midway return the favor three plays later.
Harriman hung on to the ball this time and ate up about six minutes of clock before tying the game at 21.
Harriman gambled early in the drive when Coach Tapp went for a first down on fourth-and-one from his own 37. The gamble worked as Goins picked up six yards for a first down.
Goins followed with runs of 16 and 22 yards and he would eventually cap the 13-play drive with a 12-yard pass to Shawn Williams with 21 seconds left in the third quarter.
The fourth quarter was a shootout.
Midway opened the quarter with a seven-play, 59-yard scoring drive that put the Green Waves back on top.
Robinson started the drive with a 14-yard gain. He later added a 17-yard gain around a 12-yard run from Lyle.
Robinson eventually found the end zone from one yard out then Lyle added the two-pointer to give the Green Waves a 29-21 lead with 8:35 left in the contest.
Harriman, however, answered quickly. A 20-yard kick return by Demetrius Williams gave the Blue Devils excellent field position at the Midway 45 then Harriman needed only three plays before Goins found Shawn Williams for a six-yard score, making the score 29-27 with 7:23 left to play.
Harriman’s two-point try was no good.
Harriman kept the momentum in their corner when they stopped Midway on fourth-and-one near midfield on the Green Waves next possession.
Starting from their own 48, Harriman lost a yard before Goins hooked up with Dominique Chatman for a 52-yard gain to the Midway one. Midway kept the Devils out of the end zone for two plays, but Goins took it in on third-and-goal to give the Devils the lead.
Harriman went for two on the conversion and Goins connected with Demetrius Williams for the points to make the score 35-29 with 2:19 left to play.
Two minutes proved just enough time for Midway to score.
The game appeared over three plays after Midway started their final drive of the night at their own 41. After a short run, an incomplete pass and an intentional grounding call, the Green Waves were facing fourth-and-20 when Lyle hooked up with Davidson for the necessary 20 yards and a first down at the Harriman 49.
Two plays later, Lyle hit Eric Stansbury on a short sideline route that turned into a 32-yard pick up after a slick move by Stansbury.
After a penalty on the Harriman defense moved the ball to the 12, Midway dodged another bullet when Lyle recovered his own fumble for no gain.
Lyle then hooked up with Stansbury for a 12-yard scoring pass to tie the game at 35 with 28 seconds left.
Miller, however, bailed out the Blue Devils when he blocked his second PAT of the night.
Harriman’s last chance to win in regulation ended when Lyle picked off a Goins bomb on the final play of regulation.
Midway got the ball first and scored quickly when Robinson found the end zone from six yards out on the second play of overtime.
Lyle threw incomplete on the two-point attempt to leave Midway up 41-35.
Goins scrambled on Harriman’s first play in overtime and finally found Shawn Williams near the sideline. Williams cruised into the end zone for the touchdown.
Freeman’s extra point didn’t clear the crossbar by much, but he did get it high enough for the game winning extra point.
As you might expect, most of Midway’s yardage came on the ground while most of Harriman’s was through the air.
Robinson had 25 carries for 111 yards. Lyle had 13 carries for 108 yards. Harriman’s leading ball carrier was Goins with 14 runs for 108 yards.
Goins was 14 of 26 with five TDs and two interceptions for 242 yards while Lyle was five of 11 for 86 yards passing.