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Photo by Craig T. Greenlee
Mount Tabor's Thomas Brabham (2) proved himself as a dual-threat quarterback last week with timely scrambles and three touchdown passes.
TWple
from page Bl
the bizarre three-play
sequence that forced OT.
Here's what happened.
With less than five sec
onds left to play, the
Spartans Noe Jimenez
lined up for a 28-yard field
goal, which was blocked by
Parkland's Savion Hayes.
The Mustangs were penal
ized for being offside,
which gave Jimenez anoth
er shot, this time from 23
yards. Hayes smothered the
kick again, but his team
was flagged again for
another offside infraction.
On the third try, this
one from 19 yards out,
Hayes came through with
his third block and team
mate Devon Rucker picked
up the loose ball and ran 55
yards before caught from
behind by Payne of Mount
Tabor. Rucker was tackled
around the Spartans 20
yard line as time ran out to
end the fourth quarter.
"This game was all
about finishing and that's
something that we'll con
tinue to work on," said
Coach Lamont Atwater of
Parkland. "This was the
best that we've played all
season. This team is prov
ing that it can come togeth
er. With this loss, I look at
our defense. If we don't
shut them out, then we
don't win."
In the first overtime, the
Mustangs seized the
momentum right away
when Blake Schutt stopped
Mount Tabor's Rodnique
Godwin for no gain and
forced a fumble, which was
recovered by Parkland. Lee
Kpogba scored what
would've been the game
winning TD on an 8-yard
run, but the play was called
back because of a holding
penalty. The drive ended
when Mount Tabor's
Qumar Price intercepted a
third-down pass.
The second OT proved
is another case of missed
opportunities for both
teams. Parkland lost a fum
ble on second-and-goal
from the 5-yard line.
Mount Tabor returned the
favor on its next offensive
possession when Brabham
fumbled and the Mustangs
recovered, which set the
stage for the third overtime.
Parkland (3-5) sent a
strong message in the half
that this was not going to
be an easy game for Mount
Tabor to win. Kpogba
scored a touchdown on a
50-yard punt return in the
first quarter to put the
Mustangs on top. Jacque
Roseboro zipped past
Mount Tabor defenders on
a nine-yard touchdown run
in the second quarter.
Those two scores, along
with successful PAT runs,
put the Mustangs in com
mand at 16-0 by the end of
the half.
Mount Tabor managed
to regroup in the second
half. Late in the third quar
ter, Godwin scored on a
two-yard touchdown run
and Brabham threw a pass
to Moore for the PAT to cut
Parkland's lead to 16-8. Six
minutes later, Brabham
fired a 9-yard scoring pass
to Zyquez McMillian and
then connected with
Dashawn Jones on a PAT
conversion pass to tie the
game at 16-16 with 11:01
to go in the fourth quarter.
"Parkland showed us a
lot of different formations
and it took a while for us to
figure things out," said
Brown. "In that first half, it
was old school football.
Their desire to run hard
was greater than our will
ingness to tackle. I take my
hat off to No. 23 [Devon
Rucker] for Parkland. He
ran hard all night long.
"For us, Jalan Moore
came to play and we got a
big game from John
McClurkin, who was just
awesome. Cameron Payne
stepped in at linebacker
and played great."
This recent victory
could prove to be costly for
the Spartans in the closing
weeks of the season. Both
of their starters at running
back were unable to finish
the game. De'vante
Legrande left with a leg
injury in the first half and
Godwin was sidelined in
the first overtime with a
high-ankle sprain.
High Point Central @ Glenn, 7 p.m. ?
North Forsyth @ Southwestern Randolph, 7 p.m.
North Davidson @ Parkland, 6 p.m.
Davie County @ Mount Tabor, 6 p.m.
West Stokes @ Carver, 7 p.m.
Reynolds @ West Forsyth, 6 p.m.
Walkertown @ Mount Airy, 7 p.m.
Photo by Craig T. Greenlee
(ll)GL Garlington
Bobcats
from page Bl
55 seconds left to play.
"Once we scored and were
down by just three, we
needed a stop to give our
selves a chance to win,"
said Herring. "We didn't
get the stop and they kept
the ball for almost five
minutes. By the time our
offense gets back on the
field, it just wasn't enough
time for us to overcome a
10-point lead."
A rash of injuries to key
personnel hasn't helped
Glenn any. Over the course
of the season, the Bobcats
have had several starters
who have been sidelined
for varying lengths of time.
In the meantime. Herring
has been forced to move
several players to different
positions.
In the process, the
offense has gone through a
transformation. Earlier in
the year, the passing game
was an integral part of the
attack. Because of the
shortage of healthy bodies.
Sutton (kick return special
ist) and Tahliek Games
(cornerback) have stepped
up as the Bobcats primary
ball carriers.
Over the past two
C I
weeks, Tavis Garlington
has established himself as
the starter at quarterback
after being the back up for
most of the season. Even
though the Bobcats have
become a run-first offense,
Garlington has a talented
group of receivers to work
with in Jaquan Sanders,
Jordan Ivester, Joshua
Cranford and Christen
Wilson.
'Tavis has had the hot
hand lately," said Herring.
"Not only is he playing
within the system, but he's
getting the ball out quickly
and he's getting better at
reading the defense. But
most importantly, he has
avoided throwing intercep
tions and that's been a huge
help."
The defense, which has
carried Glenn all season,
has endured some trying
LJ
times. Due to the team's
problems with turnovers
and the inability to sustain
scoring drives, the Bobcats
tend to wear down, espe
cially in the fourth quarter.
Even so, this unit has got
ten stellar play from
Alpascal Reaves, James
Mclntyre and Kalill
Rogers, who split time
between playing on the line
and outside linebacker.
With two games left on
the schedule (at home
against High Point Central
tonight and next week at
Ragsdale), Herring is con
fident that Glenn can redis
cover its collective groove.
"It's been a while since
we've been able to put it all
together from start to fin
ish," Herring said. "We'll
play two or three good
quarters, but that's just not
good enough for us to get
over the hump.
"We're looking to end
this skid and finish up on a
positive note. We have
some good times and some
frustrating times. This team
doesn't always execute the
way it should. Whether we
win or lose, there's one
thing I can promise you
about this group. Every one
of our guys goes out and
gives it all they have for 48
minutes."
I
Herring
Photos by Craig T. Oieenk
Lee Kpogba of the Mustangs is a bruising runner who has breakaway speed.e
Mustangs
from page B7
their own in a fiercely con
tested game that could have
ended in victory instead of
defeat.
On a scale of l-to-10
with 10 being the highest
mark, Atwater gives his
team a rating of 8 at this
juncture. "We're coming
along, he said. "On the
other hand, we're no where
near where I thought we'd
be at this time."
Against Mount Tabor,
the Mustangs got solid pro
duction from their rushing
attack with plentyof help
coming from linemen Isiah
Greene, Taylor Hickman
and Blake Schutt. The
backfield showcased a nice
blend of power and speed
with running backs Lee
Kpogba, Devon Rucker
and Jacque Roseboro.
Of the three, Roseboro
is the most elusive when
he's able to operate in
space. Kpogba and Rucker
are punishing runners who
do not shy away from con
tact. Rucker has better than
average speed and Kpogba
has that rare combination
of brute strength and break
away speed to go the dis
tance from anywhere on
the field.
I
One feature of
Parkland's offense that's
sure to be refined is its ver
sion of the Wildcat forma
tion. In this set, the quarter
back comes out of the
game and Rucker takes
direct snaps from center.
It's pure power football.
At quarterback, starter
Tyrone Barber gives
Parkland a viable passer
who can successfully
attack opposing secondar
ies. But Barber has to stay
healthy in order to keep the
Mustangs from becoming
too dependent on rushing
the football. With the threat
of a passing game, defenses
can't totally gear their
efforts to shutting down the
run.
The defense, which has
continued to improve, is
the prime strength of
Atwater"s team. As a group,
they played very well
against the Spartans in
defeat. With Kpogba, Brian
Hollman, Andrew Grant
and Savion Hayes roaming
the secondary, the
Mustangs will be difficult
to throw on, especially as
Sisa Dreher and Archer
Smith continue to blossom
as fierce pass rushers.
Joseph McMillian shows
much promise at line
backer.
"At Parkland, we have
the players who have the
talent and skills and they're
knowledgeable about the
game," said Atwater. "In
the past, the difference
between us and other
schools has been what we
have in terms of our weight
room. We've improved a lot
in that area and now, the
results are beginning to
show."
Since Parkland's junior
varsity represents its varsi
ty future, there's every rea
son to believe and expect
that it won't be too long
before the Mustangs return
to the prominence they
reached in years past. Will
that happen overnight?
Maybe so, maybe not. In
assessing the results so far,
it's most likely that the
Mustangs rise to the upper
echelons of the Central
Piedmont 4-A Conference
will happen sooneraz rather
than later.
"I won't say that
Parkland is all the way
back just yet," said Coach
Tiesuan Brown of Mount
Tabor. "But they're defi
nitely taking the right steps.
If teams still feel like they
can go to sleep against
Parkland, they're going to
find themselves in a lot of
trouble."