Abracadabra!

October 30, 2009

By Denis Vass of Graham High School

  For 3 quarters and 3 minutes, Providence Grove thoroughly handled Graham, as they built a 21-6 lead.  For the final 7 minutes and 26 seconds, it was all Dominique Snipes and Graham as they stunned the Patriots 26-21 tonight.

  The Patriots easily handled Graham and their mis-direction offense put 2 touchdowns on the board to take a 14-0 halftime lead.  Coleman Turner scored on a 9 yard run with 4:32 left in the first quarter.  With the PAT, Providence Grove was ahead 7-0.  Also in the 1st quarter with 10.1 seconds left, Trent Jones bulled in from 4 yards out . The PAT was once again good.  The Red Devils denied the Partiots a look at the endzone until the 4th quarter.

  Graham took the 2nd half kickoff and marched down the field, chewing up 7:49 off the clock.  Dominique Snipes tossed a 2 yard pass to Matt Thompson, and the Red Devils were on the board.  The PAT was blocked, and Providence Grove led 14-6.

  The Patriots did a carbon copy of the Red Devils' drive, and punched into the endzone when Trent Jones scored from 4 yards out with 9:07 remaining in the game.  The PAT made it 21-6.

  After that, it was all Graham and Dominique Snipes.

  Firing at will, Snipes hit Tamarcus Corbett on a 14 yard slant with 7:26 left in the 4th quarter.  The 2 point PAT failed, and Providence Grove led 21-12.

  Graham's defense stood tall, and Graham got the ball back late in the 4th quarter.  Snipes wiggled and wagged past the Patriot defenders for a 7 yard touchdown with 42.5 seconds remaining.  This time, Gexar Martinez was able to push the PAT through the uprights, and Graham cut the lead to 21-19.

  The Red Devils then recovered the onside kick, and 2 passes later, Providence Grove's defense collapsed. Dominique Snipes hit Jamaree Torain on a 47 yard bomb with 28.3 seconds remaining in the game, and jubilation erupted on the Graham sidelines.   Gexar Martinez hit his 2nd straight PAT, as Graham rolled off the last of 20 straight points to take a 26-21 lead.

  After almost recovering the ensuing kickoff yet again, the Patriots attempted their first pass of the night.  The 1st was almost intercepted, and the last one on the last play of the game was, as Graham held on for a stunning 26-21 victory.

  With tonight's victory, the JV's moved to 6-3 overall, 4-1 in the Mid State 2-A Conference.  Their lose loss was last week to Reidsville.

  Graham will play it's final game next Thursday when they travel to Yanceyville to take on the Buccaneers of Bartlett Yancey.