Published: October 14, 2006 12:28 am            

Maconaquah beats Taylor in thrilling fashion

Braves score twice in final minutes to claim victory.

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For most of Friday night, Maconaquah’s leading receiver, Ethan Pearson, was held in check by the Taylor Titans. But when the chips were down, the area’s leading receiver came up big.

Pearson snagged touchdown passes of 23 and 30 yards in the last 3:30 of the game to give the Braves a thrilling 33-27 victory in a game that produced three TD’s in a span of 2:40 late in the contest.

“[Friday] was a great win going into the sectional,” said Maconaquah coach Bob Freije. “This is a great situation for us and we’re proud of it.”

Tied 20-20 with just over five minutes to play, Mac got a big turnover when Brandon Johnson recovered a fumble at the Taylor 37. Facing third-and-eight at the 23, quarterback Justin Off found Pearson on a fly pattern down the left sideline. Pearson wrestled the ball away from a defender in the end zone to put the Braves ahead for the first time. Joe Shrock booted the extra point to make it 27-20 with 3:10 to play.

Zsan Black brought the Titans right back on the ensuing kickoff. Picking up a bounding ball at his own 25, he started down the right sideline, juked a tackler at the 40, and then reversed field, picking up a wall of Taylor blockers and scooting all the way down the left sideline for the score with 2:51 on the clock. A penalty for excessive celebration forced Titan kicker Andrew Aaron to boot a difficult 28-yard extra point in a strong crosswind, but the senior split the uprights to tie the game at 27.

After forcing a three-and-out by the Braves, Taylor took over at its 43 with 1:55 to go. The Titans managed one first down, but missed a pass on fourth-and-seven at the Mac 42, turning the ball over to the Braves with just 1:15 left and the game still tied.

Off immediately found Pearson down the right sideline for 28 yards to the Taylor 30. After a run netted no gain, Off connected with Pearson again on a pass into the right corner of the end zone to make it 33-27 with 34 seconds left. The extra point failed on a bad snap, but another Taylor fumble on the kickoff was recovered by the Braves’ Phil Hatcher and effectively ended the game.

Taylor had built a 13-7 lead at the half. After a scoreless first quarter, Taylor struck first when Kyle Maple went over on a two-yard bootleg with 10:13 to play in the half. The touchdown was set up by two big plays by running back Michael Williams — a 10-yard catch and a 27-yard run that took it to the three. Aaron’s extra point made it 7-0.

The Braves answered when Taylor lost its first of three fumbles on the night at their 26. Off found Dan Percival on a slant over the middle to take it to the one. After losing two yards, Off hit Ian Shively from three yards out for the score. Shrock added the PAT to tie it 7-all.

Taylor took the lead with just 0:29 in the half when Maple found Black from 20-yards out to put Taylor up 13-7.

In the second half, Maconaquah, which had been held to minus-five yards rushing in the first half, found its ground game. Hatcher repeatedly ripped the Titan defense as he amassed 121 yards on 17 totes in the last two quarters. The Braves tied the game at 13 on Hatcher’s 14-yard smash up the middle with 8:48 to play in the third.

Taylor answered when Maple found Black in the end zone again on a crossing route from 12 yards out to make it 20-13 at the 5:36 mark. After a 44-yard kickoff return by Percival, Mac returned the favor on the next play as Hatcher broke loose on a 46-yard TD run to tie it at 20.

Of Pearson’s late game heroics, Braves coach Bob Freije said, “We saw a mismatch situation there, Ethan had an edge on them, and we took advantage of it.”

Next week Mac (4-5, 2-5 MIC) travels to Fort Wayne Concordia for Sectional 20 action.

“[Friday] was a great win going into the sectional,” added Freije. “This is a great situation for us and we’re proud of it.”

For Taylor coach Josh Ousley, the loss, which came on senior night, was a big disappointment.

“I’m proud of my kids,” he said. “We played as hard as we can play, and just didn’t get some things done we needed to.”

Next week the Titans (3-6, 2-5 MIC) start Sectional 30 play with a rematch at Eastern (0-9, 0-7), where they won 48-8 last week.

        

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