Harrison Defeats White Plains 30-20 in Football Season Opener
For one half of the football game it looked like the White Plains Tigers would start the 2012 season with an upset victory. Unfortunately in the second half the Harrison Huskies triple option offense proved to be too strong to control and the Tigers lost the first game of the season 30-20.
They played the game at Harrison on Sunday because of the tornado/severe thunderstorm warnings on Saturday afternoon. This was the first time the two schools, which are located just a couple of miles away from each other, ever played one another in varsity football. Coming into the game a lot of the local press was centered on the Huskies and how talented they are and how successful they would be this fall.
It was the Tigers who stole the momentum early in the game. After holding the Huskies to only a field goal on their opening drive the Tigers put together an impressive 11-play 66-yards drive that reached a crescendo when junior Cameron Crabbe who was starting his first football game at the varsity level on Sunday hooked up with junior wide receiver Marshon Morris on a 29-yard passing play that went for a touchdown. Senior kicker Murilo Rosendo made the extra point to give the Tigers a 7-3 lead over the Huskies with 32 seconds to go in the first quarter.
The Tigers scored their second touchdown of the contest with about three minutes left in the second quarter when senior running back Ari Shamery took a hand off from Crabbe made a couple of cuts and he was off to the races and the endzone for a 59-yard touchdown. Rosendo’s kick was good and the Tigers took a 14-10 lead, which is what the score was at the half.
Throughout the game the Tigers defense had trouble defending two particular plays, the counter and the quarterback keeper play. These two plays were successfully run by the Huskies and were the key reason they won this game. The Huskies offensive line won the battle in the trenches and created some gaps in the Tigers’ defensive line that allowed them to accrue over 350 rushing yards.
They were able to score on their first drive of the second half in only six plays that covered 65 yards. The Huskies Jake Marino scampered in from seven yards away for a touchdown which was followed by an extra point to make the score 17-10.
The following offensive possession by the Tigers would be the turning point of the game. It looked like the Tigers were going to ride on the back of junior running back Chris Jordan all the way to another touchdown and tie the game up. Jordan was cutting and dashing his way through the Huskies defense and he helped the Tigers get the ball to their opponent’s 16-yard line.
With less than a minute to go in the third quarter and the Tigers facing a third and ten situation, White Plains head coach Skip Stevens called in a special play. Crabbe handed the ball off to senior wide receiver Luke Puff who instead of running it attempted to pass the ball down field and was intercepted. The Huskies returned the ball to the 39-yard line and nine plays later the Huskies had another touchdown and a 23-14 lead.
After this play it seemed the Huskies controlled the momentum of the game and didn’t let it go. The Tigers were able to score one more touchdown in the closing seconds of the game when Crabbe threw the ball to the right corner of the endzone and senior wide receiver Matthew Berubi made a spectacular catch for a 21-yard touchdown. They tried to go for a two-point conversion but it failed and 30-20 was the final score.
A quick note about defense and leadership of senior defensive lineman Elijah Young, who once again showed why he is a star on the rise with several big hits in the game and showing by his example on and field and off he is a strong leader. Despite the stats sheet showing the success of the Huskies offense there were still Tigers who made good defensive plays other than Young.
Making nice tackles during the game were senior defensive back Caesar Cantori, senior linebacker Marlon Smith, senior defensive lineman Robby Lorden and senior defensive lineman Juan Velez.
After the game Tiger head coach Skip Stevens in his post game talk to his team had a very short but serious message for his players when he said, “Stay the course.” Stevens told his players that they must forget about this game quickly and remind themselves that this game has no bearing on their goals for the season and postseason hopes.
League play will dictate the chances the Tigers might have of making it to the playoffs and their league schedule starts next Friday night at 7 p.m. when they host arch rival New Rochelle. Last year New Rochelle knocked the Tigers out of the state tournament in a tough game that went down to the final minutes.
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