Careful clock management and a big third-down conversion late in the fourth quarter helped McLoud to a 21-14 home win over Cleveland Friday night and kept the Redskins’ playoff hopes alive.
Yes — at 2-4 in District 4A-2 and 2-7 overall, McLoud still has playoff hopes, thanks to Seminole’s 28-7 win at Cushing.
“We would have to win at Seminole next week and Mannford would have to beat Cushing,” McLoud head coach Eric Cardin said. If both outcomes happen, Cardin said “It could come down to margins of victory, but I don’t think we’d be able to catch up on points. I’d say it’s a real longshot.”
McLoud’s glimmer of hope kept burning on Senior Night, thanks to a big play on third-and-8 at the Cleveland 42 with 2:07 remaining.
The Redskins could have run the ball and forced Cleveland to call its final timeout, but Cardin made the aggressive call of a pass play, instead. If the pass had fallen incomplete, the clock would have stopped with McLoud facing fourth and long. But Redskin quarterback Dillon Endecott hooked up with Von Kendrick for a 17-yard completion to the Cleveland 25. The first down allowed the Redskins to run out the clock and preserve the victory.
Endecott, a 6-1 senior, had missed the previous five games with an injury. In his return for the final home game of his high school career, Endecott passed for 269 yards and two touchdowns.
“It’s good to have him back,” Cardin said of Endecott. “When he’s in at quarterback, we’re not a bad football team.”
Endecott completed 20 of his 41 throws and two were intercepted. Both of his TD tosses were to Travis Carroll — a 15-yarder on the game’s first possession and a 44-yarder in the third quarter.
At halftime, McLoud led 7-0 after nine rushes and 28 pass attempts.
“They (Cleveland) had nine defenders in the box and weren’t going to let us run,” Cardin said, “so we had to throw more than usual and take what we could get.”
Cleveland (2-7, 1-5) made the game interesting with a fourth-quarter surge. Down 21-7 after a 7-yard TD run by McLoud’s Jon Dockery, the Tigers put together a six-play, 50-yard scoring drive that was capped by quarterback Chas Stallard’s 1-yard TD plunge.
With 3:28 remaining, Cleveland recovered an onside kick and went back on offense at the McLoud 44. But the Tigers were unable to get a first down, failing on fourth-and-nine.
McLoud finished with 371 total yards, compared to 225 for the Tigers. Kendrick led the Redskins in receiving with 10 catches for 128 yards. Carroll had four grabs for 98 yards.
Austin Wills led the Tigers with 74 rushing yards on 13 carries. Stallard passed for 75 yards, all in the first half.
The Tigers hurt themselves offensively with 12 penalties, totaling 97 yards. Ten of the flags came in Cleveland’s scoreless first half.
Unlikely as it may be, the Redskins will try for the fourth and final 4A-2 playoff berth next Friday at Seminole.
|
|
|
Careful clock management and a big third-down conversion late in the fourth quarter helped McLoud to a 21-14 home win over Cleveland Friday night and kept the Redskins’ playoff hopes alive.
Yes — at 2-4 in District 4A-2 and 2-7 overall, McLoud still has playoff hopes, thanks to Seminole’s 28-7 win at Cushing.
“We would have to win at Seminole next week and Mannford would have to beat Cushing,” McLoud head coach Eric Cardin said. If both outcomes happen, Cardin said “It could come down to margins of victory, but I don’t think we’d be able to catch up on points. I’d say it’s a real longshot.”
McLoud’s glimmer of hope kept burning on Senior Night, thanks to a big play on third-and-8 at the Cleveland 42 with 2:07 remaining.
The Redskins could have run the ball and forced Cleveland to call its final timeout, but Cardin made the aggressive call of a pass play, instead. If the pass had fallen incomplete, the clock would have stopped with McLoud facing fourth and long. But Redskin quarterback Dillon Endecott hooked up with Von Kendrick for a 17-yard completion to the Cleveland 25. The first down allowed the Redskins to run out the clock and preserve the victory.
Endecott, a 6-1 senior, had missed the previous five games with an injury. In his return for the final home game of his high school career, Endecott passed for 269 yards and two touchdowns.
“It’s good to have him back,” Cardin said of Endecott. “When he’s in at quarterback, we’re not a bad football team.”
Endecott completed 20 of his 41 throws and two were intercepted. Both of his TD tosses were to Travis Carroll — a 15-yarder on the game’s first possession and a 44-yarder in the third quarter.
At halftime, McLoud led 7-0 after nine rushes and 28 pass attempts.
“They (Cleveland) had nine defenders in the box and weren’t going to let us run,” Cardin said, “so we had to throw more than usual and take what we could get.”
Cleveland (2-7, 1-5) made the game interesting with a fourth-quarter surge. Down 21-7 after a 7-yard TD run by McLoud’s Jon Dockery, the Tigers put together a six-play, 50-yard scoring drive that was capped by quarterback Chas Stallard’s 1-yard TD plunge.
With 3:28 remaining, Cleveland recovered an onside kick and went back on offense at the McLoud 44. But the Tigers were unable to get a first down, failing on fourth-and-nine.
McLoud finished with 371 total yards, compared to 225 for the Tigers. Kendrick led the Redskins in receiving with 10 catches for 128 yards. Carroll had four grabs for 98 yards.
Austin Wills led the Tigers with 74 rushing yards on 13 carries. Stallard passed for 75 yards, all in the first half.
The Tigers hurt themselves offensively with 12 penalties, totaling 97 yards. Ten of the flags came in Cleveland’s scoreless first half.
Unlikely as it may be, the Redskins will try for the fourth and final 4A-2 playoff berth next Friday at Seminole.
