Latest Sports Tweets

Rushing game powers Har-Ber Past Mounties

Last updated Saturday, October 11, 2008 12:10 AM CDT in Prep Sports

By Matt Jones
SPECIAL TO THE MORNING NEWS

Wood said Brinker, who scored twice in the first half, bounced back well from the turnovers.

"He did a great job carrying the ball," Wood said. "I thought Tre Tyler came in and was a nice complement to him."

Tyler finished the game with 75 yards on 10 carries.

Rogers also lost running back Michael Tibbs with 58 seconds left in the first quarter with a knee injury. Coach Ronnie Peacock said after the game the prognosis didn't look good.

Wood, who had earlier in the week called Tibbs one of the best players in the state, said it hurt to see him go down.

"It's just heart-sickening for me to see a senior with that talent and that level hurt his knee," Wood said. "I'm sure it took away a lot of their game plan. He's been a big part of what they've done."

With the Mounties facing a second-and-8 from their own 44, quarterback Andy Couture found Tibbs wide open at the Har-Ber 46, but as Tibbs turned upfield he fell holding his knee. He spent the rest of the night watching from the sideline on crutches.

Peacock said the team couldn't find a way to rebound from the injury.

"We lost some continuity (after the injury)," Peacock said. "But if you're going to be a good team, you have to be able to move the ball without him."

The Mounties (3-3, 1-2 7A-West Conference) rushed for just 29 yards on 19 carries and finished the game with just 152 total yards of offense.

Despite that, the Mounties found some offense on its second drive of the third quarter.

With just three first downs in the entire game going into the drive, Rogers converted seven first downs. Couture highlighted the drive with four completions and capped it with a 5-yard touchdown run to pull the Mounties within 14-13 before the extra point was blocked.

"To keep that lead was huge," Wood said. "because even if something does happen and they get great field position, they have to go for two."

Each team had a PAT blocked.

After the score, Har-Ber used its rushing game to wear down the Mounties.

Brinker's longest run of the night of 37 yards set up Har-Ber's first of two scores in the fourth quarter, a Zach Faust 5-yard touchdown pass to Brye Payton to give the Wildcats a 21-13 lead.

The Wildcats' second score followed a Jacob Bundrick interception at the Rogers 11 late in the game. Faust took the ball in three plays later from 1-yard out to put Har-Ber up 28-13.

Har-Ber forced three Rogers interceptions, including one by Zach Smith on the final play of the first half after Rogers had drove to the Har-Ber 18.

"I thought they would run the field goal team to try and get points," Wood said. "It was a huge interception because it kept points off the board."

Smith finished the game with two interceptions.

The Mounties set up the good field position after a 46-yard kick return by Ethan Melton gave the Mounties the ball at the Har-Ber 32.

It was Melton's second big kick return of the night, earlier taking an 88-yard return back for a touchdown in the first quarter following Brinker's first score. Melton finished the night with two returns for 134 yards.

"There are three phases of football," Wood said. "We were pretty good in two of them, but in one we weren't the best tonight."

Har-Ber scored first on a 9-yard run by Brinker with 2:23 left in the first quarter to give the Wildcats a 6-0 lead.

Reader Comments (1 comment(s))

The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsibility of their authors. The Morning News does not review comments before their publication, nor do we guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by our comment policy. If you see a comment that violates our policy, please notify the web editor.