Rivercrest 27 Boles 14 Final

[HornetSenior]

Rivercrest clinches a playoff spot after scoring 20 unanswered in a 27-14 win over Boles. Rivercest scored 14 points in the last 4 minutes of the first half to lead 21-14 at halftime. Rivercest will host Wolfe City next week to decide who finishes 3rd and 4th in 2A-1 District 9. Boles finishes 6th in district and with host District Champions Cooper next week.

Boles had possession down 7 until a 39 yard INT return by Rivercrest So. LB Jaquan Brown set up 1st and Goal from the Boles 5 with 2:42 left. Then Rivercrest's Sr. RB Zane Dees scored on a 8 yard QB Keeper from the Wildcat with 2:03 left to seal the victory. The game could have been more out of reach earlier but the Boles defense forced 3 turnovers inside their own 25 including 2 interceptions in their own endzone in the second half to keep them in the game.

Rivercrest Sr. QB Chase Duffer completed 38.9 percent of his passes for 194 yards 2 Td(62, 95 yards) and 2 ints. Jr. WR Connor Young had 2 Receptions for 104 yards and a TD.

Boles was lead by Sr. RB/QB/FS Gabriel Drennan(24 carries for 161 yards and 1 TD, 1 defensive INT),Sr WR/CB Wyatt Staggs(1 INT, 1 34 yard reception), Sr LB/C Caleb Miller(2 TFL, 4 Solo, 11 total Tackles) & and JR. WR/SS Johnathan Cruthird(21 yard TD Reception, 3 solos). No other runner for Boles ended the game with positive yards due to Rivercests run defense and Boles' dropped shotgun snaps, handoffs, etc.

Boles started the game with a turnover on Downs at their own 32 with 8:46 left in the 1st after a fumbled snap on a punt attempt. Rivercest could only gain 3 yards on 2 runs and 2 incomplete passes after a Boles offsides on 1st down. The turnover on downs gave Boles possession at their own 24 with 7:21 left in the first. Drennan then had all 76 yards on the ensuing drive with runs of 3, 3, & 67 before scoring on a 3 yard Td run with 5:12 left in the 1st to put Boles up 7-0. On the following drive Boles' defense forced a 3rd and 12 before Rivercest So. WR Mark Grider got Drennan turned around on a slant-and-go and outran him for a 62 yard Td on a pass from Duffer to tie the game a 7 with 3:49 left in the 1st. 

Boles then Drove 73 yards to go up 14-7 with 9:21 left in 2nd. On the drive Boles Jr. QB Kole Lively was 4-4 passing for 71 yards, completing passes of 34, 7, 9 before connecting with Cruthird for a 21 yard Td pass on 3rd and 13. Lively was 0-6 passing with 1 Ints the rest of the game. Rivercrest converted a 4th and 4 from their own 46 with a 9 yard completion from Duffer to Young to start their next drive. Rivercest then turned the ball over on downs at the Boles 39 with 5:58 left in the half when Grider dropped a pass from Duffer on 4th and 4.

Rivercest's defense then forced a 3 and out regaining possession at their own 27 with 4:26 left in the half following a Boles punt. This was the turning point in the game. Rivercrest had 2 runs of 73 and 20 by Dees called back for holding followed by an unsportsmanlike penalty on Rivercest to start the following drive and set up 2nd and 32 from their own 5 yard line. On the next play Duffer caught Cruthird looking in the Backfield and connected with Young at the 35 yard line as he ran by him on his way to 95 yard Td to tie the game at 14 with 3:37 left in the 1st half. Boles then picked up a first down in Rivercrest territory after 2 runs by Drennan. Boles then faced a 4th and 7 from the Rivercrest 45 with 1:11 left after a run and 2 incomplete passes. Boles decided to punt and it was returned for a 80 yard TD by Rivercrest So. WR/DB Connor Herring to put Rivercrest up 21-14 with 49 seconds left in the half. Boles ran twice to run the clock out on the half.

Rivercrest went the Wilcat to start the second half with long runs by Dees setting up 1st and 10 from the Boles 20 before Duffer came back in. Duffer completed a 15 yard pass to Herring on 3rd and 7 setting up 1st and goal from the 1. Boles defense stopped Dees on a run up the middle on 1st. Rivercrest faced 3rd and goal from the 15 after a  fumbled handoff on 2nd and a false start. Drennan then intercepted a Duffer pass intended for Herring in the endzone and returned it to the Boles 20 with 5:27 left in the 3rd. Boles came out with Drennan running the Wildcat and had a first down at midfield after a 29 yard run by Drennan. Boles though lost 5 yards on their next 3 runs and they punted to the Rivercrest 26 with 1:51 left in the 3rd. Rivercrest started their drive off horribly losing 17 yards on a bad snap, but Dees gained 25 yards on a Wildcat keeper the next play to end the 3rd quarter. 

Rivercrest passed for a first down to start the 4th before Boles forced a punt that was downed at the Boles 20 with 10:18 left in the 4th. Lively completed a pass to Staggs for a first down but Boles was penalized for an illegal man downfield. Drennan then run for 6 yards on 3rd and 12. Boles went for on 4th down but Drennan's pass was dropped, Turning the ball over on downs at the Boles 24 with 7:56 left in the game. Boles defense then forced a 4th and 8 from their own 22. On 4th down, Staggs undercut a Duffer pass intended for Grider inside the 5 and returned to the Boles 19 with 6:23 left. Staggs who was 2A TSWA All-State second team DB last year with 11 Interceptions now has 5 or 6 this year. The second Interception of Duffer kept Boles in the game, but they could only gain 1 first down before Browns interception and return along with Dees Td run put the game out of reach.

Edited October 30, 2022 by HornetSenior