It took just three plays for Red Bank senior defensive end Tra Stamper to leave an indelible mark on the Lions' home opener against Howard on Friday night.
Following a tackle for loss and a powerful run stuff in the initial plays after the Hustlin' Tigers took the opening kickoff, Stamper collected the game's first sack and forced a fumble deep in Howard territory, setting the table for the Lions' first score and establishing the tone for the Region 3-3A game.
Once the final whistle sounded in the Lions' 28-12 victory, Stamper had pounded the Tigers with 12 tackles, three sacks, three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. He was the epicenter of a relentless Lion defense that shook the Tigers at key moments throughout the contest.
With four seconds left in the first half, Howard - benefiting from 30 yards of Red Bank penalties on a drive that began at the Tigers' 40 - had moved the ball to the Lions' 1-yard line with one shot to pull within a touchdown. On the final play of the half, Stamper not only slammed the door on the Tigers' scoring chance, but his move into the Howard backfield to force a fumble provided the Lions the boost of momentum heading into halftime that helped lock down their first win of the season.
"I could see our crowd and our sideline getting pumped up after those first three plays," Stamper said. "They (Howard) knew we weren't going to make it easy for them, especially at the end of the half on the goal line. It feels good to get our first win."
For the game, Lions (1-2, 1-0) limited Howard to 93 yards of total offense and 45 yards on the ground.
"He is our tone-setter on defense," Red Bank coach Chad Grabowski said of Stamper. "To get him going that early in the game, it really helped the whole defense. "The defense was stout all night and didn't allow them to do a whole lot of anything. We needed a win to get going, and getting a win in our first region game definitely helps."
Red Bank's offense took advantage of premium field position as Demarcus Rivers capped drives of 16 and 40 yards by running for touchdowns from 3 and 11 yards out.
In a contest filled with strong defensive efforts, it was fitting that Howard's first score of the night was the direct result of a turnover. With Red Bank driving for what would have been its third TD of the first quarter, the Tigers placed a bone-jarring hit on a running back and the Tigers' Quattarius Porter picked up the loose ball and raced 87 yards to the end zone.
Rivers, who finished with 89 yards on 14 carries, powered the Lions toward their third score on the opening possession of the second half. Rivers was near the goal line when the ball was knocked from his hands by the Howard interior line, but Red Bank lineman Jessie Bonagua found it in the end zone for the touchdown.
The Tigers (0-3, 0-1) kept working throughout the second half, and their efforts were rewarded with quarterback Vincent Bowling capping his night with a 3-yard TD run to finish with 76 total yards of offense.
"Mistakes kind of did us in early. and they smelled blood in the water in the first quarter when our guys got a little excited," said Howard coach Mark Teague. "I told our kids this week it's all about effort. If you continue to give effort and keep it up throughout the game, good things will happen. We could see that tonight."
Contact Greg Thompson at sports@timesfreepress.com