|
|
2004 Hoppers Game SummariesHoppers 8 - Greenback 20Photos by Jammie Graves
Greenback won the toss and wanted the ball. The headhunting Hopper defense took the ball away from the Cherokees, who had put together a seven play drive, and were threatening. A fumble recovery by #39 Ryan McNabb, thwarted that G’back scoring opportunity and gave the football back to the Big Red. First and 10, Loudon Hoppers on their own nine yard line. Loudon and the Cherokees swapped punts. Then the Hoppers started on the 44 yard line with 2:03 left in the first quarter. Going for it on fourth and two, #36 Jake “The Snake” Mourfield was stopped a yard short of the first down. Greenback was on the move again, they drew first blood on the eighth play of the drive. #2 Richard Seymour did the damage from the 15 yard line; he also posted the conversion points. There was 3:11 left before half time. Back on offense, #20 Brandon “Speed Demon” Tallent rushed twice for 12 yards, then QB #3 Justin Franklin threw an interception. Greenback took over on the 49 yard line. The ‘Kee’s were again threatening. The G’back QB made a mistake by putting the ball in the air. #36 Jake “The Snake” Mourfield repaid the favor by intercepting the pass and returning it 34 yards to the 46 yard line. There was 0:12 seconds before half time, Mourfield’s pick effectively sealed the goal line. The Loudon Hoppers went into the locker room, trailing by eight points. Loudon started the second half on offense. A rejuvenated Hopper team took the field, rolled up their sleeves and went to work. On fourth and three, #36 Jake “The Snake” Mourfield bolted up the middle and broke it out wide, out running everyone going the distance for a 58 yard touchdown! The conversion points were added by #39 Ryan McNabb, who busted through from the three yard line. Just like that the score is tied. The clock shows 5:18 left in the third period. After the score, Greenback fumbled on their first play, coming up with that loose ball was #14 Cody Morris! Unfortunately Loudon was unable to capitalize on that turnover, stalling out on downs with the ball sitting on the 28 yard line. With 1:08 left in the third period, the Cherokees embarked on a 15 play drive that had them knocking on the door. It was fourth and one; the Redskin defense bowed their backs, stopping the ‘Kee running back just inches short. The Loudon Hoppers took over on their own 13 yard line. There was 2:17 left in the game, the score is still tied at eight each. On the third offensive play, Loudon fumbled. G’back recovered on the 12 yard line. Three plays later #2 Seymour scored from the six. #14 Cody Morris stuffed the extra points. Back on the 35 yard line, Loudon had only 0:14 seconds to go 65 yards. QB Franklin completed a six yard pass to “Speed Demon” Tallent. After the time out, Franklin attempted another pass; it was picked off by #4 Brandon Williams, who returned it 40 yards for the Greenback touchdown. That would do it. Top defenders were: #39 Ryan McNabb with 15 tackles, #20 Brandon “Speed Demon” Tallent added 13 stops, #36 Jake “The Snake” Mourfield with nine knockdowns, and #68 Cody “The Menace” Manis and #71 Alex “The Kingpin” Silvey (of the Silvey Mafia had seven takedowns each. Your Hoppers (11-2) posted 28 rushes for 143 yards, one touchdown, and one 2-point conversion. QB #3 Justin Franklin was 1 of 3 passing for 6 yards and (2) interceptions. Total yardage was 149 yards. The Offensive MVP was awarded to #36 Jake “The Snake” Mourfield, while the Defensive MVP went to #20 Brandon “Speed Demon” Tallent. The final score of this Championship Game was 8-20, in the favor of the Greenback Cherokee Hoppers (13-0).
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
