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Scores and Photos: Friday Night High School Football - Aug. 28
The distance between the campuses of East Ridge and Brainerd is a little more than 3 miles - but on Brainerd's football field Friday night, the Panthers and Pioneers stayed with each other stride for stride until the visitors summoned two breakaway plays.
With his team trailing by seven late in the fourth quarter against a suffocating Panthers defense, East Ridge quarterback Matthew Yarbrough found Jesse Jones for the tying score on a 66-yard catch and run.
In the final 90 seconds, Yarbrough connected with Quassey Vinson on a 53-yard touchdown that stood as the difference in the Pioneers' 21-14 nonregion victory.
"Offense, you guys pulled it out of your hats when we needed it," Pioneer coach Tracy Malone said to his team in the postgame huddle. "You guys showed some real heart and you found a way. I'd rather be an ugly 2-0 than a pretty 1-1."
After going scoreless for the first three quarters, the Panthers had seized the momentum in the fourth, with Robert Evans finishing off a 60-yard drive on the first play of the period, scoring on a 19-yard touchdown run.
The Panthers (0-2) took a lead 14-7 lead on Malik Beavers' 16-yard touchdown run with 7:28 left in the game. The Panthers had the Pioneers pinned deep in their territory when the game quickly shifted momentum, despite the fact that Brainerd had the visitors moving backward on what became the tying touchdown drive
The Panthers, behind two of Tyler Thapa's four sacks, sent the Pioneers back to their 11-yard line. Then Yarbrough found the magic on third-and-long from the East Ridge 34. Yarbrough hit an open Jones, who danced through defenders before finding the opening he needed to score the 66-yard touchdown.
"That was the craziest run I've ever had in a game," Jones said. "I couldn't believe I got that far down the field. I was running out of breath for the last 30 yards."
The power of the play by Jones - whose interception set up the Pioneers for a second-quarter touchdown that stood as the lead until the final quarter - actually breathed new life into the Pioneers.
They recovered a Panthers fumble at the East Ridge 39 with 3:00 left in the game. After two running plays, Yarbrough hit Vinson with the deep ball that sealed the comeback victory.
"Jones made a great play to get free, and Yarbrough and Vinson have a good feel for each other," Malone said. "It wasn't pretty, and we've got a lot of work to do before facing Signal Mountain next week. But I'm proud of the way they came through tonight."
Said Panthers coach Brian Gwyn: "We've got to do a better job of taking care of the ball, and we've got to learn how to finish. We can't wait until halftime to make plays. We need to be able to come out fast and strong."