Lancers hold off Harrisonburg in Region III rematch

AMHERST — The question hung over the field the first half like the ominous fog that bore down on the players and blurred the sidelines: Could Amherst come from behind? Twice?

They hadn’t been put in this position since the season-opening loss to Brookville, but the Lancers were able to put it together, come back, and then hold off a strong Blue Streak team to win the Region III semifinal game 28-21, Friday night at Stinger Stadium.

Harrisonburg got on the board first when senior running back Alex Owah, a Virginia commit, two-stepped through the middle and broke wide for a 65-yard touchdown run. Jesse LeMasters’ kick made it 7-0.

Amherst answered on the next drive, rushing for 10 plays capped by Jamar Glover’s 7-yard touchdown. Tyler Dawson’s kick tied the game.

The Blue Streak’s offense stalled and had to punt, but Amherst botched the return and gave it right back. Harrisonburg took advantage of getting the ball on the Lancers’ 20-yard line, opening the second quarter with Owah’s 1-yard touchdown dive.

But Amherst wasn’t fazed. Quarterback Anthony Rose took the snap from his own 20 and ran left, shook off a defender who’d grabbed his jersey and cut back right, finding a gap and out-sprinting the defensive backs for a tying 80-yard touchdown.

The Lancers didn’t make any big adjustments at halftime, with the score tied at 14, but they did get an attitude adjustment.

“I’m not going to make excuses,” Rose said, “but the week we had off … it just wasn’t there. So when we went in at halftime, it was like brand new. Coach hollered at us, chewed us out and everything. I wasn’t going to let us lose. I had to give it everything tonight.”

The third quarter continued to be a stalemate until safety Chris McDaniel intercepted a pass intended for Blue Streak Michael Atkinson.

“They just told me to man up on him,” McDaniel said. “We were basically just pass-rushing tonight.”

His interception set up Rose’s second touchdown, a 46-yard run to end the quarter. When the Blue Devils faked a punt on the next possession, Amherst stopped them short to take over.

Then, McDaniel’s hands came into play again. With tight end Taylor Grubbs out with an injury, the Lancers didn’t have their usual target. Kirby Anderson, Rose’s alternate, had ended one first-half series by throwing an interception on a deep pass intended for Rose.

This time, on a play put in just this week, Rose found McDaniel on a 46-yard touchdown pass to the corner and McDaniel crossed the line with Blue Streak Todd Barksdale clinging to his legs. The score put Amherst up 28-14.

“That was just solid execution up front,” Lancers coach Cecil Phillips said. “Everybody bit, and they jumped on the sweep. Chris ran a great route, and Anthony made a great throw. I think it was a huge momentum lifter for us, and it took a little bit of wind out of them.”

Phillips said his team was able to relax, which made them play better. With 4:20 to play in the game, Harrisonburg worked the pass, eking out first downs. Quarterback Jake Johnson made a dump pass under pressure to Michael Dean to set up Owah’s 2-yard touchdown run.

Lancer Devonte Brown jumped on Harrisonburg’s onside kick attempt, and all Amherst had to do was get one first down via Rose and Brown to wind down the clock.

“I know that they were able to shut down our blitz a bit more, and we weren’t picking up their blitzes as well as we’d hoped to,” Blue Streal coach Tim Sarver said. “The biggest thing was we didn’t execute getting into the end zone a couple times. Defensively, we missed some tackles and paid for it.”

Clark is sports editor of the Amherst New Era-Progress.