COLONY — Late in the first half Crest High’s Lancers came up with a fourth-down stop of Cedar Vale/Dexter High’s Spartans. It kept the game tied at 14-14.
Then with eight minutes left in the game and protecting a four-point lead, the Lancers halted a Spartan drive at Crest’s 34-yard line.
“Those were pivotal plays in the game and our defense came up big,” said Brent Smith, Lancer head coach, after his team posted a 52-36 win in Eight-Man, Division I Bi-District play Tuesday night.
With the win, the Lancers advance into the second round of playoffs Saturday. The Lancers (9-1) play at Lebo, which defeated Downs-Lakeside 50-42 Tuesday.
Smith said he expected it to be a 7 p.m. game Saturday. Official word on the kickoff time was coming this morning.
Leading 32-28, the Lancers used the defensive stand to control the final eight minutes of the game. On the first offensive play after the stand, sophomore Jordan Morton completed a 13-yard pass to senior Dexter Wiley.
“I knew I had missed catching one in the end zone earlier. I just went up and got it for the team,” Wiley said of the play. “This feels awesome.”
The Lancers went on to score when Kyle Hammond capped the drive on a seven-yard run to the end zone. Morton flipped a two-point conversion pass to senior Luke Decker.
Then Decker recovered an onside kick for the Lancers at the Spartan 36-yard line with 3:20 left. It forced Cedar Vale/Dexter to use its timeouts trying to stop the Lancers to get the ball back.
On third-and-two, senior Dakota Ramsey bulled his way for the necessary yardage. Just barely.
Like in the first half when the Lancers stopped the Spartans on fourth down, Ramsey got a first down by less than an inch. That came with 3:01 on the game clock.
Cedar Vale/Dexter (6-4) used its final timeout with 2:35 to play in the game. But the teams weren’t through scoring.
Hammond, who rushed for 270 yards on 23 carries, scored his fourth touchdown of the night to seal the deal for the Lancers.
“I had tremendous blocking in front of me all night. The turning point in the game is that defensively we stepped up and stopped giving up yardage,” Hammond said. “Offensively, we came together in the second half and got the job done.”
Hammond almost had a sixth touchdown just 10 seconds later. He intercepted a Spartan pass and returned it to the one-yard line. Morton finished things with a quarterback sneak from one-yard out.
Smith wasn’t happy that his defense gave up one final touchdown in the waning seconds. Logan Snyder heaved the football down field where after two tips of the football, Brett Champlin gathered in the ball for a 70-yard scoring play.
“After playing great defense most of the night, especially in the second half, we gave up a long pass play there at the end,” Smith said.
“But our kids stood up and played solid football tonight. Cedar Vale/Dexter is a good team and has very good players. We allowed them to run on us at times. Our guys just wanted this win.”
Thomas Dietrich, one of eight seniors on the Lancer squad, said it came down to heart and desire.
“We picked our game up in the second half and really played tough defense,” Dietrich said. “Getting into the playoffs and winning games is something this class has worked for. We were the first group to play flag football here and we’ve just done this together.”
Wiley had some big plays in the game from the opening kickoff, which he recovered when the Spartan’s Mason Ridgeway fumbled the football. Wiley then caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Morton with 10:36 on the clock.
Hammond forced Ridgeway to fumble again midway through the first quarter. Right there for the recovery — Wiley.
But the Lancers turned the ball over on an interception. That set up Cedar Vale/Dexter’s first scoring drive. The Spartans converted three fourth down plays on the drive.
Ridgeway, who was the Spartan workhorse, scored from three yards out. Champlin connected with Trey Swain for the two point conversion to put the Spartans up 8-6.
Another interception by the Spartans came at midfield. They marched the 40 yards to paydirt to go up 14-6 at the 8:40 mark.
The Lancers drove down the field. On a fourth-and-five play at the 15, Morton found Hammond on a quick pass. Hammond turned it into a 15-yard touchdown play then tied the game by running in the two-point conversion.
Not all things went well for the Lancers. They muffed a punt and fumbled the ball away in a three-minute span. But the defense held on two fourth- down plays.
Crest had a chance at the end of the first half thanks to a long pass to Wiley. But two quarterback sacks threw the Lancers off schedule.
Morton tossed the ball to Decker, who appeared to be headed for the end zone. He was tackled at the five as time expired.
Hammond began the seesaw third quarter by returning the opening kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown. Ridgeway finished a Spartan drive with a short touchdown run.
The Lancers answered with a 68-yard run for a score by Hammond. Ridgeway responded by taking the ensuing kickoff 70 yards for a score. It was 28-26 the Spartans’ way.
Crest mounted a drive that to put it in front for good with under three minutes left in the third quarter. With eight seconds left, Decker hauled in a 19-yard pass from Morton on a fourth-and-11 play.
It set up the Lancers at the Spartan six-yard line to open the fourth quarter. Morton had a quarterback sneak for the go-ahead touchdown at the 10:50 mark.
Then the Lancer defense made the stand at its own 34 with eight minutes left.
“Last year hurt when we lost the three games at the end and didn’t make it to the playoffs,” Hammond said. “We felt we were better this year and worked hard in practices. Coach Smith pushes us.”
Crest gained 327 yards on 43 carries. Ramsey had 54 yards on 12 carries.
Morton was 6 of 11 for 102 yards and Hammond three 1 of 2 for 27 yards. Wiley made three catches for 65 yards while Decker had two receptions of 46 yards and Hammond had one catch for 15.
Leading the way defensively, Wiley racked up 15 tackles and Ramsey had 14. Byran Miller made 13 tackles followed by Dietrich with 11 and Decker with 10. Decker also had two fumble recoveries.
“This is just great,” Wiley said of the bi-district win and title. “We just had the heart to win tonight.”
Crest 6-8-12-26—52
CVD 8-6-14-8—36
Crest — Wiley 25 yd pass from Morton (run failed)
CVD — Ridgeway 3 yd run (Swain pass rom Chamlin)
CVD — McClure 1 yd run (pass failed)
Crest — Hammond 15 yd pass from Morton (Hammond run)
Crest — Hammond 70 yd kickoff return (run failed)
CVD — Ridgeway 2 yd run (Swain pass from Champlin)
Crest — Hammond 68 yd run (run failed)
CVD — Ridgeway 70 yd kickoff return (pass failed)
Crest — Morton 2 yd run (pass failed)
Crest — Hammond 7 yd run (Decker pass from Morton)
Crest — Hammond 25 yd run (pass failed)
Crest — Morton 1 yd run (pass failed)
CVD — Champlin 50 yd pass from Snyder (Ridgeway run)
Lancers snare Bi-District title
