East Ridge Rallies To Edge Brainerd, 21-14

Pioneers' Yarbrough Has Two TD Passes

  • Friday, August 28, 2015
  • B.B. Branton

" I would rather be ugly and 2-0 than pretty and 1-1 ... our defense played outstanding and we played our guts out at the end."

East Ridge coach Tracy Malone after the Pioneers rallied to defeat Brainerd

It's the type of comeback win a senior quarterback talks about with friends and teammates for years. 

Friday night on the road, down seven late in the fourth quarter and with a stymied offense, East Ridge senior quarterback Matthew Yarbrough turned possible disaster into a 21-14 come-from-behind victory against Brainerd.

Having thrown an interception, lost a fumble and was sacked for an 11 yard loss earlier in the second half, Yarbrough found the magic touch  throwing two long touchdown passes as the Pioneers improved to 2-0 for the first time (2008) since the signal caller was playing youth football in the fifth grade.

Down 14-7 and third and 17 at his 33 yard line, Yarbrough connected with senior Jesse Jones who broke a handful of tackles, cut back across the field and scampered 67 yards for a touchdown to the delight of teammates and Pioneer faithful with 5:20 remaining in the game. C.J. Bond's second of three made extra points tied the game at 14-14.

"I have never made a long touchdown run like that one and I was able to fight off the defenders for the score," said a smiling Jones after the game.

Brainerd then marched to the Pioneer 27 on runs by Robert Evans and Jamaul Herman, but an errant pitch was recovered by Pioneer junior Tre Hubbard and the orange and white was back in business with three minutes to go.

Junior Traneil Moore, who rushed for 70 yards in the second half, had important runs of six and 11 yards to give East Ridge a first down on the Brainerd 48.

Yarbrough, with good protection from his offensive line, found an open Quasey Vinson down the left sideline. He gathered in the pass and raced to pay dirt and a 20-14 advantage before Bond's final PAT and a 21-14 lead with 1:12 remaining.

But the host Panthers had one last chance and marched to the East Ridge 22 thanks, in part, to a pass interference penalty on the next to last play, but the game ended on an incomplete pass by Beavers as time ran out.

"We played our guts out at the end and found a way to win, but we have to improve on the simple, fundamental things," said East Ridge coach Tracy Malone.

First Half: Neither team moved the ball consistently in the first half, but the Pioneers capitalized on a Jesse Jones interception and scored two plays later on a 13- yard run by Lorenzo Stewart (41 yard, 6 carries in first half) for the 7-0 lead heading into the locker room.

Long Drives But Only 7 Points: Brainerd was able to put together three sustained drives in the game, but could only score on the one long possession in the fourth quarter to tie the game.

After the Pioneers led 7-0, the Panthers drove 39 yards to the East Ridge 21, but was stopped on a fourth and five play before intermission.

Brainerd also drove 62 yards to the East Ridge five yard line early in the second half, but 20 yards in penalties slowed the drive and the Panthers lost the ball on downs at the five.

The Pioneers then put together a long drive of their own moving 67 yards to the Panther 18 before Tyler Thapa recovered a bad snap fumble at the Pioneer 33 and Evans' 20 yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter capped the 9 play, 67 scoring drive and it was 7-7 with 11:44 remaining in the game

Two series later, Yarbrough fumbled inside his own 20 and Beavers ran 18 yards two plays later for a 14-7 Brainerd lead with 7:38 remaining. Yarbrough then had the aforementioned two long scoring passes.

"We were able to make some adjustments at halftime and had good drives, but we have to play fast at the start of the game, not just in the second half," said Brainerd coach Brian Gwyn.

Easr Ridge 21, Brainerd 14

2nd - ER - Lorenzo Stewart 13 run (C.J. Bond kick) 7-0  2 plays 30 yards 

4th - Brainerd - Robert Evans 20 run kick good  7-7 ... 9 plays, 67 yards

4th - Brainerd - Malik Beavers 18 run kick good  14-7 ...,  2 plays, 18 yards

4th - ER - Jesse Jones 67 pass from Matthew Yarbrough (Bond kick), 14-14 ... 3 pays, 67 yards

4th - ER - Quasey Vinson 48 pass from Yarbrough (Bond kick) ... 21-14 .. 4 plays, 64 yards

ER (2-0)  Brainerd (0-2)

contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net

 

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