Scott sparks Appomattox to 28-26 win over Gretna

Kenny Scott already had two touchdowns by the end of the third quarter. Both of them on the ground. The first from four yards out and the second from 15 yards out.

Still, the Gretna Hawks had held him mostly in check, limiting him to short carries and stifling the passing game. So when Scott stood over the ball on his own 20 after a Gretna punt, with the game tied at 20 in the fourth quarter, facing a Hawks team he had never beat, he must have felt the eyes of the home crowd watching him, silently pleading with him to make a play.

Scott did, breaking loose from a pack of defenders on first down for an 80-yard touchdown, putting the Raiders on top for good in a wild 28-26 shootout win on senior night at Appomattox.

Raiders head coach Ben Martin was all smiles after the game.

“I don’t think it’s all sunk in just yet. To be able to beat them, we knew we were capable of it and we had a great week of practice, but it’s a four-quarter game and it all comes down to turnovers and the fourth quarter,” Martin said.

The first two of those four quarters see-sawed back and forth and the Hawks led 7-6 at halftime. The Hawks would gain the early second-half momentum after Devanti Perkins horribly botched the kickoff, shanking it nearly sideways off his foot to the Appomattox 43. Hawks quarterback Nick Miller would capitalize, taking the third-down snap up the middle for 35 yards and a touchdown. The Hawks failed to convert the extra point to take a 13-6 lead.

The Raiders would answer on their next drive thanks to a controversial call that swung in their favor. On third-and-goal from the 16 after a false start, Scott flung a wobbly ball high into the air before being tackled that was caught at the 9 by fullback M.J. Pennix. Pass interference was called on the play, giving the Raiders a first down instead of a fourth-and-goal. Gretna argued the ball had been tipped, which would have rendered the pass interference moot, but the call stood and Reed punched in the touchdown from eight yards out to pull within a point, 13-12.

On the Hawks next possession, Mark Wright picked off Miller to halt the drive and though the Raiders went three-and-out, Appomattox snagged another interception on Gretna’s next drive. Scott connected with Neal Thomas on a badly underthrown ball and Thomas stiff-armed his way to the 2-yard line. A Reed touchdown was nullified by holding but Scott found the end zone, avoiding a Gretna defender and diving for the left pylon to give the Raiders a 20-13 lead.

Appomattox grabbed four interceptions in all, three in the second half.

“Our defense is underrated. We’ve barely given up 20 points a game this year. Our defense played great,” running back Joe Reed said.

Martin was pleased, as well, with the second-half defensive performance by the Raiders.

“(Those interceptions were huge). Late in the game they started throwing the ball a little more … and our defense made some adjustments,” Martin said.

The biggest play of the night for the Raiders’ defense came after Miller hit Kevin Dale for a 35-yard touchdown pass with 4:52 left in the game. The touchdown pulled Gretna within two, 28-26, but the Raiders defense managed to pressure Miller into a bad throw on the two-point conversion attempt to seal their biggest win of the season.

“It’s unbelievable. It’s been five years since we beat them, it’s just hard to explain,” Reed said. “All of the underclassmen, we did this for the seniors.”