Boonsboro edges South on game-saving tip

September 18, 1999|By MIKE SIRBAUGH / Staff Correspondent

It's the stuff that high school players dream about. The game's on the line and you have a chance to make the game-breaking or game-saving play. Only one team goes home the victor.

Friday night, that team was Boonsboro, as the Warriors defeated host-South Hagerstown 21-18 in a Monocacy Valley Athletic League game.

South (0-3, 0-2) had first down and goal at the Boonsboro 6 yardline with less than a minute to go but two penalties pushed the Rebels back to the Warrior 24.

On third and goal from the 24, Dustin Short threw deep down the middle to a streaking Jeff Pheil, who had two steps on Corey Dixon. But Dixon made up the distance and got a hand on the ball, deflecting it away as two other Rebels desperately grasped for the football as it fell to the turf.

With 10 second remaining, Short dropped back to pass but Josh Lashley broke through the right side and hit Short as he made one last attempt. The ball fell harmlessly incomplete 10 yards away, leaving the Rebels just short of the thrill of victory and the Warriors thrilled to avert the agony of defeat.

Boonsboro (1-2, 1-1) won behind the strong running of Chris Dankmeyer and three big plays.

The Warriors scored first with four minutes gone in the first quarter when Dankmeyer took the handoff over the right side, broke one tackle and scored standing up from 46 yards out to put Boonsboro up, 7-0.

Dankmeyer scored on another long run from the 50-yard line with only 46 seconds left in the first half when he broke three tackles and streaked down the right sideline.

That score, plus Dankmeyer's two-point conversion run, put the Warriors up 21-12. Between Dankmeyer's runs, Boonsboro went to the air for its other score.

Chris Wright took the snap from the Rebel 37 and rolled left. The left-hander then turned and heaved a pass across the field to Justin Malott who was all alone at the 11. Malott sauntered in untouched but the point-after try was blocked.

Meanwhile, the Rebels were putting scoring drives together thanks to the three turnovers by the Warriors. Boonsboro fumbled four times, losing two, and was intercepted once by sophomore Nick Maas.

"I don't think we have any feet left," said Boonsboro coach Clayton Anders after his Warriors shot themselves in the foot time after time with turnovers and penalties.

"We finally got a 'W' but we could not consistently establish a margin. You have to credit South's defense. We could not consistently find something we could go to.''

The Rebels scored on a 2-yard run from Alberto Valentin, a 1-yard plunge by Tony Marker and a 7-yard pass from Jon Showe to Mike Jeter.

South's Achilles' heel was failed conversion attempts. South missed on two kicks and a two-point conversion pass was tipped and fell incomplete. Even so, South coach Greg Kellick was pleased with his team's performance.

"The kids haven't given up," Kellick said. "They haven't quit. The defense played well. Except for three plays, we held them to 109 total yards. They played very hard and anyone at the game got their money's worth."

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