Tigers Hold On: EHS 35 FRHS 27

AP: www.ensworth.com

In Ensworth's first 2 seasons in Division II Father Ryan had always showed up to play, and this year was no different.

In the early going, it did not look like the game would be a mirror image of the close games in the past. Ensworth Senior Orleans Darkwa led the Tigers on a lengthy 85 yard drive and capped it off on a 13 yard TD run.

The Tigers forced a three and out on the ensuing Irish drive. Darkwa again drove the Tigers down the field and scored on a 2 yard TD run. Clayton McGlasson's PAT was blocked.

The Irish drive once more was halted on 4th down which forced another punt. Darkwa 'n' company again drove the ball all the way to the Irish 5 yard line. From that point, Darkwa would score his 3rd TD of the half. Cody Tollison's 2 yard pass to Malcom Grigsby was good for the 2 point conversion.

The Tigers were looking at a possible 28-0 lead before the half but Tollison's 70 yard pass to Daniel McFadden was called back due to an ineligible receiver downfield. The Tigers then had to punt from their goal line, but the snap went over McFadden's head and out the back of the end zone for a safety.

The Irish drove the ball after the free kick to the EHS 35 yard line. Irish kicker Nick Pollard set up for a 52 yard field goal and knocked it through the uprights. The score at halftime was 21-5 in favor of EHS.

The Irish drove the ball down the field 60 yards to set up a 9 yard TD run from QB Trey McPhail. The Irish's attempt at the two point conversion was good. They were down only 21-13 in the 3rd quarter. But the madness had just begun.

The Tigers responded with a TD drive of their of their own with a 1 yard TD run by Darkwa which was set up by a 43 yard dash by Darkwa. The score put the Tigers up 28-13.

On the ensuing kickoff WR Joe Francescon took the kick 90 yards to the house, but on the very next kick Darkwa took one 95 yards to paydirt. Darkwa finished the night with 364 rushing yards and 469 all purpose yards with 5 TD's. The 15 point advantage to the Tigers still stood at 35-20.

The Irish offense drove the ball down the field once again. RB Nick Bateman scored from 8 yards out to put the Irish within 8 points of a tie with the score at 35-27.

The Irish then went for the on-side kick and succeeded. The Irish received the ball at the 50 yard line but only went backwards from there and were forced to punt. However, Rodney Anderson muffed the return and the Irish got the ball back at the EHS 25. But, once more, the Irish could not convert. On 4th and 11 Sophomore DB Rico Watson intercepted McPhail's pass at the EHS 22.

Once more the Irish had an opportunity after forcing an Ensworth 3 and out. On 4th and 16 McPhail's pass to Alex Shoulders was less than one yard too short of the 1st down marker. From then on EHS ran out the clock and took the 35-27 victory.

The Tigers will take on Baylor next Friday at Ensworth. Baylor crushed JPII by the score of 51-7 on Friday night.

Here are some more stats from Friday's game...

Passing:
Tollison 1-4 3 yards 1 int
McPhail 12-21 122 yds 1 int 4 sacks

Rushing:
Darkwa 40 carries 364 yards 9.1 avg 4 tds (469 all-purpose yards and 5 total tds)
Bateman 17 carries 45 yards 2.6 avg 1 td

Receiving:
Alex Shoulders 5 rec 53 yards
Jackson Coursey 3 rec 22 yards

Returns:
Joe Francescon (kickoffs) 5 ret 165 yards (90 long) 1 td
Orleans Darkwa (kickoffs) 2 ret 105 yards (95 long) 1 td

Team:

Father Ryan:
11 first downs
37 rush yards
122 passing yards
159 total offense
3.1 yds/play
23:02 TOP

Ensworth:
18 first downs
384 rush yards
3 passing yards
387 total offense
7.7 yards/play
24:58 TOP